Another common problem on the Renault Clio is the door membrane behind the door panels which can leak due to hot weather, the age of the car causing the membranes to shrink and adhesive to dry out.
If anyone does any work in the doors, it is not uncommon for them to punch a hole through them and not make good - it seems that even some mechanics don't know they are there to keep water out and not just a dust sheet from the factory. If the membrane is broken or coming away, this will also cause water to fill up in footwells, as it should only exit through the bottom of the doors.
We should mention that this isn't a problem unique to Renault. A huge amount of cars that come to us have water leaking through the doors because the adhesive that holds the membranes in place has perished with age. Debris building up in the bottom of the doors, blocking drainage holes, or old and dry door seal rubbers can also cause leaks.
On most cars, especially older cars, the door membrane is just a sheet of clear plastic held in place by a durable sealant. Although some now have a moulded plastic barrier, on most cars it is not a sophisticated part, literally just a sheet of soft plastic. So although you can order them from the dealership, it is usually more cost-effective that we make you new ones from flexible plastic, which we have large rolls of.
If we find one door leaking, we recommend replacing all the membranes because they tend to all perish at the same rate. If one starts leaking, the others won't be far behind.
Wet carpets? No problem! Bring your leaky car to the experts.
We have been finding and fixing car water leaks for over 30 years. We offer a complete service from tracing to repair and drying your car.
Question:"I have had my car back at the garage 4 times to find and fix the leaks, but my carpets are still wet."
Answer: The problem, especially with older cars, is that whatever is causing the leak in one place, could cause leaks all around the car. If the rubber, seal and grommets have got to that age where they are shrinking or crumbling, then you could have multiple leaks, and sometimes the only way to fix them is each in turn. And you do need to dry the car out once you have found a leak, because they generally won't dry out without help. How are you going to know if you still have a leak if the car is still wet from the last time?
Car Water Leaks Videos
How Much Water is in a Leaky Car?
You had a rain water leak in your car, and you got it fixed. What next? It will dry out on its own right? Maybe you can just vacuum the carpets, and it will dry?
This car came to us with a suspected rain water leak, there were wet carpets and water on some of the door shuts. We performed our water leak detection inspection and found the source of the leaks.
The second set of leaks on this Renault Megan. We like to be thorough, and it would have been easy to stop looking for leaks at these leaky doors, but because it's a Renault we went straight for the bulkhead and found a leak as shown in part 1.
Renault are prone to leak through the bulkhead, this is usually caused by blocked drainage holes in the trough that sits under the windscreen, which then fills up with water and leaks through.
We have seen a lot of these down the years. There is a trough in front of the bulkhead under the 'scuttle' which is the plastic panel just under the windscreen.
Renault Clio 2008 | Water Leak found | Bulkhead and Scuttle
Dec
07
2020
One of the drainage holes on the scuttle area was blocked, leading it to fill up with water. From here it can slop around and go in different directions depending on which direction the car is moving
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