What did you spec and now regret/wouldn’t spec again? What do you wish that you had specced?

[Marra]

Heated steering wheel has been one of the best things I specified. I find the 14 way seats very comfortable and the memory function protects against me having to reset them after a service etc. I’m aware that my 19” wheels may lack presence but I appreciated the lower stress levels when parking or driving in multi story car parks. The pano roof is good for letting light into the cabin but I have suffered the water leak problem.

All in all after 5.5 years and 38,000 miles my S has been a hell of a motor!

[CKMAC]

Heated steering wheel has been one of the best things I specified. I find the 14 way seats very comfortable and the memory function protects against me having to reset them after a service etc. I’m aware that my 19” wheels may lack presence but I appreciated the lower stress levels when parking or driving in multi story car parks. The pano roof is good for letting light into the cabin but I have suffered the water leak problem.

All in all after 5.5 years and 38,000 miles my S has been a hell of a motor!

Was the leak due to blocked drains or seal problem? I am not sure how frequent is the pano roof leak issues among others.

[Marra]

Hi CKMAK - it was blocked drains. The rear drains were blocked at the bottom and water got into the boot and rear footwells. My fault as I’d never had them cleaned. A local small garage fixed the issue for under half of what the dealer would have charged.

[CKMAC]

Hi CKMAK - it was blocked drains. The rear drains were blocked at the bottom and water got into the boot and rear footwells. My fault as I’d never had them cleaned. A local small garage fixed the issue for under half of what the dealer would have charged.

After how many years of ownership did the leak occur?

[Marra]

Nearly 5

[CKMAC]

Nearly 5

How often did you open the pano roof?

I don't expect to open it for 99% of driving time.

[Jon A]

Blocked drains seem to be the talking point but surely water shouldn’t have ingressed into the cartridge in the first place?
Are “blocked drains” the problem or is it more to do with a failure of the sunroof seals??

[Nuclear Nick]

Blocked drains seem to be the talking point but surely water shouldn’t have ingressed into the cartridge in the first place?
Are “blocked drains” the problem or is it more to do with a failure of the sunroof seals??

A fair question, but as I’ve said before, if you cut a big hole in a metal roof keeping water out will always be a problem. It’s quite an engineering challenge to achieve repeatable water tightness in a moveable section of roof, hence the need for drains. Depending on the environment in which the car spends its life the drains will need cleaning at intervals. We will always get the “I’ve owned many cars with sun roofs and never had a problem” but an example of one doesn’t prove it won’t happen to others and experience on here shows that to be the case.

[Rarecolour]

Blocked drains seem to be the talking point but surely water shouldn’t have ingressed into the cartridge in the first place?
Are “blocked drains” the problem or is it more to do with a failure of the sunroof seals??

A fair question, but as I’ve said before, if you cut a big hole in a metal roof keeping water out will always be a problem. It’s quite an engineering challenge to achieve repeatable water tightness in a moveable section of roof, hence the need for drains. Depending on the environment in which the car spends its life the drains will need cleaning at intervals. We will always get the “I’ve owned many cars with sun roofs and never had a problem” but an example of one doesn’t prove it won’t happen to others and experience on here shows that to be the case.

You're bang on Nick. That's why doors have drain holes in them too.

[Jon A]

Blocked drains seem to be the talking point but surely water shouldn’t have ingressed into the cartridge in the first place?
Are “blocked drains” the problem or is it more to do with a failure of the sunroof seals??

A fair question, but as I’ve said before, if you cut a big hole in a metal roof keeping water out will always be a problem. It’s quite an engineering challenge to achieve repeatable water tightness in a moveable section of roof, hence the need for drains. Depending on the environment in which the car spends its life the drains will need cleaning at intervals. We will always get the “I’ve owned many cars with sun roofs and never had a problem” but an example of one doesn’t prove it won’t happen to others and experience on here shows that to be the case.

Completely agree Nick, was just pointing out that if you have wet carpets because of a blocked drain, your main problem is actually a failed seal?