Why is there a water leak in my car Is it coming from the windshield?
Published on Mar 30, 2026
Hey folks! This is Jake from Magnatech Auto Glass.
Welcome to another Q&A session where I answer questions from y'all on the internet.
Today's question is:
"Why is there a water leak in my car Is it coming from the windshield?"
Answer:
Why is my windshield leaking water? That could be a couple different things. At Magnatech, we can run a test on the vehicle to see if your sunroof is leaking. We can test your windshield to see if your windshield is leaking. We can do an optical test on a couple different light fixtures on the vehicle and any sensors or anything that goes through the top of the roof.
But I’d say 99% of all windshield leaks come from a sunroof where the drain holes have not been snaked and they’re starting to overflow. Most people don’t know that, but you have to get those drain holes snaked every like five years. Some people have never done it while they’ve owned the vehicle for 15 years, and then all of a sudden they get a leak out of nowhere and they’ve never replaced the glass. So 99% of the time with a car leak, it’s the sunroof.
Summary:
Water leaks inside the car are often blamed on the windshield, but Magnatech says most are caused by sunroof drain holes overflowing due to lack of maintenance. They can test the windshield and sunroof and inspect roof fixtures and sensors, but sunroof drainage is the most common culprit.
