My '06 Saturn Ion, while not the standard for automotive quality, is a cheap, fun car to drive (and paid for). But a few months ago, the sunroof drain tubes got clogged with dirt, and every time it'd rain, the headliner and floor would get flooded.
Well, I eventually had enough of it, and figured it out. Did it myself, and cost $0.
First, I had to pull the headliner out. It wasn't too bad: a few screws, removed a few plastic trim pieces (the A and C pillar panels) and the 3rd brake light (which just pops off), and gently pulled it down. Make sure you disconnect any wiring harness plugs.
(PIC #1)
On the actual sunroof, there's 4 plastic hoses with rubber boots. They leak, so I gorilla-glued the hoses to the boots, and zip-tied the boots to the sunroof. (I even borrowed the glue!)
On the bottom end of those plastic tubes, there's rubber boots that have this tiny little slit for water to pass through, and they get clogged easily. I took a pair of scissors, cut the openings bigger, and put them back in (the two under the dash were HARD to get to, the ones in the trunk were easy).
With that finished, I needed to pull out all the carpet and let the car dry out. There was 1" of standing water in the floor pans. Yes, you read that right. It required removing the plastic trim by the doors, front seats (2 bolts each) and rear seats (they just pull out, no tools), and pulling the center console. I also had to unbolt the seatbelts from the floor with a huge Torx driver.
(PIC #2)
Towels, and more towels. It's important, that before you put everything back in you test the drains to make sure they're working! I drove the car with no carpet or interior trim for a few weeks to make sure. Or, you could just use a garden hose to test it. Meh.
Eventually I was satisfied enough with the fix job that I put the headliner back in, which wasn't too bad. You have to be careful not to flex it too much, it's cheap fiberglass matting.
I then steam-cleaned the carpets (after letting the sound deadening felt completely dry out!) and put them back in the car. I got a refurbed Bissel steam cleaner from Big Lots for around $50 a few years ago.. worth its weight in gold.
(PIC #3)
Then everything goes back in. The plastic trim panels mostly just snap in place, you don't even need tools to remove or install most of them.
(PIC #4)
Things I learned from doing this:
Plastic panels are usually held in with spring clips. Gently, steadily, pull them to see how they come apart.
Pull in different directions to see, they don't all go the same direction.
Look for telltale screws, or plugs where they have hidden screws.
Don't force the headliner, you can break it if you're too forceful with it.
Look for hidden wires connecting things... like the airbag or seatbelt sensor wire in the front seats.
Google, Google, Google.
If anybody would like pictures or more info on how to do this, let me know.
