Q: Sunroof seal.
 

Is there supposed to be a gap in the center (back-side) on the black seal that goes around the OEM sunroof?

Ordered one from mazda trix and it was too short, just got an oem one from the dealer and it is about 1/2" short, no matter how much I tug... I cannot remember if there was one before I took the car apart. I'd assume not as that would =leak.

The drains are what keep water from leaking into the cabin. The seal is there to keep wind and noise from entering the car.

So is this gap acceptable then? To me it looks bad. Could other owners check their cars and LMK if they too have a gap in their seal?

http://i46.tinypic.com/s15hci.jpg

Gap

I put a decal on my sunroof, and I had to take the rubber seal off before I did it. When I put the seal back on, I had the gap, and I didn't have it before I took it off. It makes ZERO sense to me why I can't make it fit right, but I tried for hours. All the other FC's I've owned did NOT have the gap. It boggles the mind...

FWIW, my car has had the gap for a couple years now, so far I haven't had any problems with water coming in.

I have no gap on mine. From what I can tell, it's the original seal that was installed by the factory.

I guess since you have now bought two seals, you could cut a piece from the unused one and insert it in the gap so it looks better. Might need to use some weatherstrip adhesive to keep it from falling out.

If you stretch it little by little as you're installing the seal, you will probably make up enough length to close the gap.

No. You won't. As I said earlier, I tried for HOURS to stretch it to make it fit. Never did.

even if you heated it and pulled it most likely it would shrink back

if you notice the hatch seal has a small rigid piece that hides where the seal shrinks- perhaps mazda should have used one of those up there too