Potential damage to roof weatherstrip

[alpineshepherd]

Hey guys. My friend and I were talking about roof racks and he thought the roof weatherstrip popped off to accommodate one. Without warning he yanked on the stripping at the rear of the roof of my Hatchback Sport.

The rubber is no longer flush and I can feel and see inside that a metal bracket connecting the strip to the roof is loose. It seems to be bent and or a rivet was pulled loose. I've attached a pic of the one that is okay (shadowy side) and two angles of the side he pulled.

I'm worried that metal bracket will be more exposed to the elements and potentially rust or damage the paint. Am I over thinking this or will this be an issue down the road? The good side is very flush and secure. I can even slide the entire strip on the bad side back a bit, but it's secure up front and stays put once I slide it back forward.

Hope I explained that okay, thanks for any advice. Hoping it's fine as is or maybe I can bend/force that rivet back down but that sounds like a bad idea.

 

[alpineshepherd]

All right guys, this was bugging me so I took a closer look and actually removed the entire strip. It is held on by 2 thin metal brackets that connect to posts on the roof of the car. I had to bend the rear was back- it's not perfect but feels tighter.

I noticed I have 2 small chips in the paint in the rear, and one other in the front, right underneath the spot the roof weatherstrip runs into the windshield strip. It's only exposed when I was pulling the rubber back to check everything was flush.

The front one is rather large, and although he weatherstrip covers it, I'm concerned that dirt and moisture will cause damage in the long run.

Can I just use touch up paint on these small chips? They are so small and covered up in the front by the rubber that I don't mind if they don't look perfect, I just want to cover the chips and prevent further rust/damage/spreading. Thanks!

 

[SilverGhost]

I had this exact issue and my dealership replaced it.Free

 

[cypress]

Yes I would put touch up paint on the chips to prevent any rusting. If you feel like you aren't able to the weatherstrip back correctly then you might just be better of takign it back to the dealership.

Also, tell your friend not to touch what isn't his. lol

 

[alpineshepherd]

I had this exact issue and my dealership replaced it.Free

But yours wasn't caused by you or a friend right? Was it just loose from the factory? I wonder if that's what I should tell them.

Yes I would put touch up paint on the chips to prevent any rusting. If you feel like you aren't able to the weatherstrip back correctly then you might just be better of takign it back to the dealership.

Also, tell your friend not to touch what isn't his. lol

Okay, the ones in the rears can be accessed easily but the chip upfront is buried under the weather strip will be a pain but I can reach it. Yea they are more secure than before but not like factory; may just ask them to put new ones on and hope they warranty it.

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