A tunable, thermally actuate, self-sealing grommet for sealing a hole in a vehicle panel through which a steering gearbox protrudes from an engine room to a passenger compartment. The grommet includes a shape memory alloy component embedded in a resin matrix. The shape memory alloy is selectively moveable from a deformed configuration toward a pre-deformed configuration upon being heated to a critical temperature from heat from an initial operation of an engine of the vehicle, which causes a sealing portion of the grommet to move from a non-engagement position to an engagement position such that the sealing portion contacts the panel to form a water-tight seal around the hole.