Moonroof Mod: Fixed the bad BO smell issue

[Storx]

I have not been on this forum in a while, but figured i would give an update to the bad BO issue i was chasing with the Moonroof. I took the truck to all 3 major Ford dealerships in my town and all 3 had different reasons on why the truck had BO issues and all 3 claimed to fix it and the smell would always come back.

Dealer 1: Claimed the gasket on the moonroof was bad and not sealing properly, so they replaced the gasket with good faith coverage from Ford. Issue returned after a few rains.

Dealer 2: Claimed one of the drain hoses was leaking and the moonroof was not adjusted properly, so they replaced the hose assembly and adjusted the moonroof they claimed. Issue returned after a few rains.

Dealer 3: They claimed the issue was not from the moonroof, it was draining properly. That the evaporator core was covered in mold/mildew, so they did a system cleaning with some chemical kit. Issue returned after a few rains.

I had tried the lysol trick many do spraying the intake, but that only seemed to mask the issue.

I was reading so many gas forums for the same body style and many modified their sunroom sealing it with either gasket sealer or silicone, claiming the smell went away. One night i was googling sealers for sunroofs and came across a subaru posting about how to fixed their leaking sunroom with PPF film, because its thicker and somewhat clear. So out of desperation i started looking for PPF film and found a roll that just barely covered the moonroof in dimensions for $40 and ordered it. Not knowing anything about putting PPF on, i gave it my best and installed it on the truck one evening, because when i called around for quotes, the cheapest quote i got was $900 for just covering the moonroof.

Well its been 3 months since i installed it and the smell has not returned. It took a while to get the smell to go completely away, but after i changed the filter twice and driving with the windows down over time it went away and has not been back. It no longer reappears after a rain shower like it did before. Its probably the best mod ive done to the truck to date...

I will say a bonus, the film is not perfectly clear, so it reduces the sun light inside the truck a good bit and ive actually enjoyed having the shade rolled back, because the cabin doesn't get as hot as it did previously due to the little sun shade the film produces with its frosted clear effect.

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[The Weatherman]

Interesting approach. How far outside of the sunroof does the PPF reach?

 

[Brent@ANParts]

So basically just covered the entire glass section with PPF? If it was leaking that would sure do the trick, just have to make sure to never try and open it.

 

[Storx]

Interesting approach. How far outside of the sunroof does the PPF reach?

If you look closely in the picture, its just to the edge of the inner lip of the body on the roof on the edges. In the front it is about 6 inches and the rear is much smaller due to the 2 black parts on the roof. Its not perfect, but i can't see it standing next to the truck and even standing uphill near the truck i can't tell its on the truck.

So basically just covered the entire glass section with PPF? If it was leaking that would sure do the trick, just have to make sure to never try and open it.

Yup, can't leak if the entire moonroof is sealed from the world. I have actually hit the button a few times on trying to close the sunshade. It is so solid that the roof tries to open it for a split second before it gives up and just blinks the button. I have since stuck a strip of tape over the button to remind me to not press it.

 

[daczone]

I wanted to tint my sunroof but there were too many horror stories of the tint causing the glass to shatter because of heat.

Our sunroofs are not nearly dark enough, they are more of a moon roof cause you really can't use them in the SUN.

shattered moonroof

 

[zakress]

I wanted to tint my sunroof but there were too many horror stories of the tint causing the glass to shatter because of heat.

Our sunroofs are not nearly dark enough, they are more of a moon roof cause you really can't use them in the SUN.

YMMV, but I’ve had a tinted sunroof since 2019 on my ICE and for 6ish months on my Lightning without any issue. Now I’m in WA, not the SW, but I always use ceramic for superior heat deflection and UV protection. I’d wonder what types of film those with shattered glass had.

 

[Chaldaean]

This is great! I have been wanting to seal the sunroof on my platinum as it has a minor leak and I never open it. My first thought was to use clear duct, tape, but your solution is cleaner and more normal.

I was also going to 3-D print little covers for the sunroof button so I don’t accidentally hit them or try to find a fuse specifically for the sunroof and remove it.

Are you able to share a link for the film product that you purchased?

Nice work and I’m glad the smell is gone!

 

[nate002]

Sorry you guys with moonroofs are dealing with the leak and smell issues. This is exactly why I went with a 2024 Flash over a Lariat, read too many of these threads. I wanted ventilated seats but decided the trade off of not having a moonroof and sliding back glass to deal with was worth not having the ventilated seats. Most of the other differences in trim were negligible.

 

[chl]

I'd never opt for a sun roof or moon roof after my experience with a 1968 Peugeot 404's 'sun roof' that filled with water every time it rained which it would dump on me when I accelerated or stopped quickly.

The long rubber drain tubes would clog all the time with pollen, dust, and sometimes an insect crawling up from below to nest (I sometimes see the same issue with my boat's bilge drain tubes), and a new rubber gasket was hard to come by (import from France?) and probably would not have helped that much anyway.

So I sealed the edges with metal tape - not pretty but then the 404 was almost 20 years old and had over 100k on it, and I was just using it to go to and from night school classes, and I bought it at a school auction for $80, lol.

It was a metal roof, not glass.
If it had been glass I might have gone for a clear tape of industrial strength.

Yes, the Peugeot had a musty BO issue for some time, not great for dates unless you wanted to get rid of one - I had to take out all the floor rug and sponge (foam) under it and put it out in bright sun to kill the mold.

What fun!

 

[daczone]

YMMV, but I’ve had a tinted sunroof since 2019 on my ICE and for 6ish months on my Lightning without any issue. Now I’m in WA, not the SW, but I always use ceramic for superior heat deflection and UV protection. I’d wonder what types of film those with shattered glass had.

Yes I did ceramic on all of my cars. I'd really like to tint the sunroof so it it more usable. What shade did you go with?

 

[zakress]

Yes I did ceramic on all of my cars. I'd really like to tint the sunroof so it it more usable. What shade did you go with?

I did 70% and it gave the proper balance between summer/winter light levels, but I’m in WA. If I lived in CA I’d do 50% in a heartbeat, but no darker.

 

[roddiaz1]

You could have used clear packing tape. About a $5 fix.
Of course you would have gotten the tinting benefit that you did from the PPF.
Cheers,
Rod

 

[026TB4U]

Have you already had the service campaign 25B08 done? It's listed as a trough assembly replacement and repair on the sunroof.

 

[RocketGhost]

Has anyone figured out exactly what causes the moonroof to smell? Mine doesn't appear to leak. Water pooling in the trough? The fabric wind deflector? Water getting into the headliner undetected?

 

[Lightning Rod]

Sorry you guys with moonroofs are dealing with the leak and smell issues. This is exactly why I went with a 2024 Flash over a Lariat, read too many of these threads. I wanted ventilated seats but decided the trade off of not having a moonroof and sliding back glass to deal with was worth not having the ventilated seats. Most of the other differences in trim were negligible.

I've had my Lariat for 37 months and I've had zero issues with my moonroof or smells. I open or vent my roof almost daily and it's been good to me thus far.


*knocks on wood*

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