Yellowish roof liner around moonroof

[FlipTrac_511]

Few days ago I was leaning back in my seat and I noticed around my moonroof the lining was yellowish. It's limited to this area, where the roof liner angles upward around the moonroof. Again the discoloration pretty much creates a uniform 1" border along the perimiter of the moonroof. I can't tell if it's water leakage or just yellowish foam starting to show. I have gray interior. Any ideas?

 

[TRACket Paul]

I have the tan ceiling and saw the same thing on mine about three years ago. Just recently, I noticed the fabric is separating in a few spots.:cry: I think it's the lubricant from the moon roof mechanisms. A new panel is over $400.:sad:

 

[FlipTrac_511]

Well I hope mine doesn't start ripping because it's in excellent condition otherwise.

 

[Ed C]

Mine has the same thing. It is due to it leaking in the past. It only happened when it rained while parked facing down on the steep driveway of my old house.

 

[Richard L]

I agree with SFCEd, It's caused by leaks around the sunroof. I think the yellow is a rust stain. There always tends to be small amounts of rust on the metal parts around the sunroof and they leach into the water and if is gets onto the headliner it will cause a yellowish stain.



...Rich

 

[FlipTrac_511]

Bummer. Prevention?

 

[TRACket Paul]

Interesting theory, yellow rust.

 

[Richard L]

TRACket Paul,

Yes, yellow rust. Not a theory, but facts based on experience.



I had the sunroof leak on my wife's Saturn while it was under warranty. Saturn replaced what they called the "Drain Pan" assembly that surrounded the sunroof and said that it had rusted out and was leaking. They replaced the pan under warranty but said that they could not pay for any interior damage. Fortunately, I caught it early and it only made a very small stain on the headliner just at the very edge where the fabric stopped at the sunroof and when the sunroof was closed, you could not see the spot.



The car was black and had a light grey headliner but the stain was yellowish. If you opened the sunroof and looked at the edge of the headliner from the outside you could see a darker red rust stain, but when it bled throught to the inside it came out yellow. It may be that the fabric is filtering out the red rust color and only a faint orange stain stain is getting throught and it shows up as yellow. The color shift may depend upon the interior color??



Also, rust can have a lot of yellow color tones in it, and if you take a rusty piece of metal and brush it with a wire brush you will see the red color get much lighter and even turn more towards a yellow.



...Rich