Satellite antenna leaking over sun visor!

Rolling Thunder · January 20, 2017

It's still been wet and heavy fog here so it's leaked again. What can I put on that hole on the sat antenna that will work while it's cold and wet? My truck won't fit in my garage so that's not an option. The rain water is staining the head liner and I need to stop it before it gets worse.

Run a bead of clear silcone RTV or black RTV around the periphery of the base if you have a black truck.

Colossus · January 21, 2017

How do you run a bead around the base? Kinda hard, don't you think?

Donstar · January 21, 2017

Took me a minute, Colossus! I personally would not attempt to repair a leak on a 2014+ vehicle unless it was caused by accident or misuse. I would expect this to be covered. I assume that if it is a manufacturing defect it would be noticed within the first couple of years.

brown1william · January 21, 2017

I bought my 2015 used and it had 130k miles on it. Now it has 137k. I am out of any kind of warranty so I have to fix it myself. The DEF pump is already ordered so that I can replace it.

I'll get some clear rtv today and try to figure out a way to seal the leak. Still foggy and rainy here. My truck is the silver ice.

Donstar · January 21, 2017

I bought my 2015 used and it had 130k miles on it. Now it has 137k. I am out of any kind of warranty so I have to fix it myself. The DEF pump is already ordered so that I can replace it.

I'll get some clear rtv today and try to figure out a way to seal the leak. Still foggy and rainy here. My truck is the silver ice.

That truck has covered a lot of ground! You could try a bead of sealant around it for now and then do a proper repair when you have nicer weather. I would take it to a reputable body shop or GM dealership and get an estimate to fix it properly and permanently. You might find that this is worth paying extra and getting it done right!

Colossus · January 21, 2017

Took me a minute, Colossus! I personally would not attempt to repair a leak on a 2014+ vehicle unless it was caused by accident or misuse. I would expect this to be covered. I assume that if it is a manufacturing defect it would be noticed within the first couple of years.

bc-chris · January 21, 2017

had my antenna replaced today

thankfully it was still covered under the bumper to bumper warranty

brown1william · January 23, 2017

I used clear rtv around the sat antenna for now. It looks worse than I thought it would for being clear rtv. This summer I'll try and remove it and fix it properly. In the mean time hopefully it stops the leak for the rest of winter and spring.

PAtimberguy · February 14, 2017

My leak just started at the center overhead console. I can't believe it was the sharkfin antenna, as the vehicle was parked slightly nose down and driver's side down. It sat without being driven for a few days with a couple inches of snow on the roof before rain melted it off.

The water would have to have run "uphill" to get to that location. Anywhere else it could be coming in? 3rd brake light? Called the dealer and it sounded like they fixed a few and said to bring it in, but I'm out of town until the weekend.

426ted · February 14, 2017

The dealer thinks that my truck has the same issue with the antenna, only they couldn't do the repair when I stopped by due to their water lines being frozen so there was no way to test the repair. I will have to stop by as I am getting tired of having to scrape the inside of the windshield...

scott19677 · February 14, 2017

Hey you guys with water leaks, I have three words for you.

MOLD,MOLD,MOLD!!!

I cannot stress enough how important it is to check for mold no matter how minor of a leak you have. I know this because I had very "minor" leak coming from the rear third brake light on my 2007 Silvy that nearly killed me. No shite. I mean really almost put me six feet under because I have asthma.

What happened was I noticed a little fogging of the windows a few times and found it a little wet under the drivers side floor mat. So I made a service appointment and right away they diagnosed it as a leaky OnStar antenna gasket. Fixed it and off I went. Problem was is that the water was coming in from the back and running downhill to the front. It took a few visits before they found out what was really leaking. So a few weeks go by and by this time Spring is here and as usual( remember the asthma) I start to have the usual problems that go along with allergies and Asthma. I never really noticed a distinct smell myself but someone that had never ridden in my truck really noticed the smell so I took it in for another service appointment and they said they could smell it immediately Even from the outside with the doors shut. So here I am thinking I'm just having Asthma attacks due to Spring allergies and once after having a horrible coughing fit in my truck and trying to get home quickly because my inhaler was clogged ('cause you have to rinse 'em out) I actually hit the ground between my driveway and house but luckily my Mother knew exactly what was happening and ran me my rescue inhaler. I was in bad shape. Anyway I'll spare you all that stuff and get back to the truck.

The dealer had to pull out my entire interior from the headliner to the carpet and had to clean it up due to Black mold everywhere. It was so bad those guys had to wear masks and take precautions that nobody around the area they were working would be affected. So even though you may not notice any signs or smells you really need to check for mold. And just because you yourself may not be affected just think what it could do to a child or someone that is sensitive. Some asthma attack symptoms seem like cold or flu issues such as a nonproductive cough or wheezing and can spiral out of control quickly. Anyway, sorry I took up all your time but I thought maybe this rambling info just might help someone. Thanks ?? for listening and be shure to have 'em change out that carpet and/or headliner. You might just actually save someone's life.

Thanks, Scott

That might have been a little more than three words ?

Pacfanweb · February 15, 2017

My leak just started at the center overhead console. I can't believe it was the sharkfin antenna, as the vehicle was parked slightly nose down and driver's side down. It sat without being driven for a few days with a couple inches of snow on the roof before rain melted it off.

The water would have to have run "uphill" to get to that location. Anywhere else it could be coming in? 3rd brake light? Called the dealer and it sounded like they fixed a few and said to bring it in, but I'm out of town until the weekend.

Do you have a sunroof?

3 main things that can leak there are, sunroof, antenna, windshield. And never underestimate how water can get from point A to point B, even when you think it can't.

PAtimberguy · February 15, 2017

Nope. No sunroof.

Guess I'm getting sensitive...Last month I had it throw 7 codes, stabilitrack warning, abs light, brake light, trailer brake warning, and electronic power steering warning, and a couple others. I made the dealer come get it with a rollback. They had it for a week and, of course, no "active" codes when they looked at it and they couldn't replicate in test drives. They said they reviewed a couple TSBs and checked some wiring, but everything checked out.

So now I'm waiting for it to act up again so I can video the dash when it lights up like a Christmas tree...And I see water dripping from the ceiling. I've only got 10,000 miles on the truck and I'm getting frustrated with these little issues. I don't have time to keep running it to the dealership once a month.

Pacfanweb · February 15, 2017

Run a bead of clear silcone RTV or black RTV around the periphery of the base if you have a black truck.

Don't do that, remove the antenna and do it right. It's easy.

eMc9002 · February 15, 2017

Just picked up this truck and did a first wash down 2 days ago and noticed when I was driving I had drips come out from the headliner onto my leg, exactly where the antenna would be. Guess it's time for the dealership.