1998 Renault Clio RL Biarritz from UK and Ireland - Comments

Clio Sport- I've had a puddle under my drivers seat, which flows into the rear and front footwell. After my car came from the garage the leak had stopped, the leaks now back after 4 weeks. The garage tightened the door and cleaned the drains and checked all seals. Thought that the drains prob wouldn't block up after 4 weeks, is it the door? The garage couldn't offer any more solutions, but I'm going to put it back in - mouldy carpets and condensation are not good! Any thoughts/ solutions? I'm going nutty pulling bits apart and trying to figure it out!

I'm having the same leak problems. I have an 03 plate 1.2 litre petrol model. The back left foot-well has been gathering water for months now, and is now sitting at about 2 or 3 inches deep and needs to be bailed out regularly. I have no idea where it's coming from.

The other foot areas are also wet, particularly the front left, but not as much as the back left. The roof, walls and chairs are completely dry except for the condensation, which is causing mould now. I'm hoping to get the carpet up a bit to at least dry it out temporarily.

Hopefully it'll be drier in the summer!

I too have a leaking Clio (shock). The leak seems to be coming from the sunroof as I have checked the aerial fixing and all seems OK. The main threat - apart from a wet lap every time I turn a corner after a downpour - is to the immobiliser circuit board which is housed with the sunroof handle and interior lights. I have had water leak onto this and prevent the car from unlocking, and hence starting. To solve the problem (temporarily) I removed all of the plastic housing that surrounds the immobiliser chip board and unattached it from the black and red wires. I then dried the board out with a cloth and waited 5 - 10 minutes before "plugging" the board back in. This has got me out of trouble a few times now as I still cannot precisely locate the leak. To prevent it happening again until the leak is fixed you can leave the chipboard unplugged at all times except when you need to de-immobilise and it does not appear to create any problems.

Apologies for the long post, but I hope this helps anyone with a similar problem.

I too have a Clio with leaks from the sunroof, again getting soaked when driving around bends : (Mine is a Clio Williams so I am very annoyed about this as it is an immaculate car, special edition as you probably already know, and only has 50000 miles on the clock. everything in the is like brand new, mechanically it is like brand new, yet has a stupid water leak coming from the sunroof. I am going to have a good look at it next week when I get some time, then I will add some advice. To answer the question about the immobiliser, I used to have a RSI with that problem. The board is only a receiver, go to a scrapyard and buy a replacement, but make sure you get one from the same model and same year Clio or it won't work.

Clio L (1993) has a sun roof leak. I sealed the sun roof seals on the outside with sealant, thought it would do the job, but didn't do the job.

Does anyone know where the leak is coming from?!!

Help as its annoying me now.

Thanks...

Yet another member to the leaky roof club. I have a T-reg Clio I cannot tell where the leak is coming from, all I know is that in the morning after it has been raining, there is a puddle in the rear driver side footwell. I was going to try sealant on the sunroof, but the guys at halford said I wouldn't be able to open the sunroof in the summer... is this true!!

I have a 97 Clio with a leaking sunroof. After hours of investigation I have found the leak is not around the seal that the moving glass roof closes onto, but between the black frame of the sunroof where it fits into the car roof. The car roof appears to be made of plastic and is quite flexible and I guess this is why leaks occurs. I am considering using sealant between the black frame and the roof unless anybody has a better idea?

I also have a Clio... it's a biarritz 1.2 1997/8 great little car, but (guess what???) has a leak in the sun roof... or aerial...or at least that's where I think it is coming from. looks to be a common problem. Get problems with condensation on particularly bad weather, but generally its not such a problem. The main problem is when turning corners I get a cold shower!!!

Have no idea how to solve...please, if you have any ideas, let me know. I'm tired of getting wet when I got a car partly to stay dry and warm in the winter!!!

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. :-)

Many thanks.

We have an R reg Clio panache which has developed a sunroof leak. Definitely not at the aerial. Leaks pints when it rains. I have taken off all the plastic around the immobiliser and winding handle to let the water out better. It looks like it may be coming from under the sunroof frame. Any sealant suggestions?

Hi, sorry the problem is not with the immobiliser, it's near the starter motor. Just squeeze the wires together and you're sorted, and the immobiliser will work. If it doesn't work, go to www.automotiveelectronic.com, pay them £85 and get that crap immobiliser turned off, it gave me bloody hard time.

OK, I've just bought a clio 98 1.2petrol. yes, the footwells were soaking wet. the problem is definitely the manual sunroof. it ain't the sunroof drain pipes. they were clear, and dry. it's just poor workmanship on the part of renault. I'm going to seal the blasted thing. use something like "everflex weathermate all weather sealant". OK so you can't use the sunroof again. so what. it only tips up a bit anyway. shame on renault as this problem has affected a whole load of clios over a wide manufacturing period. the real pain is to get the car internally dry again. you must pull back the carpets to access the spongy insulating foam beneath. this stuff holds tonnes of water. use lots of absorbent cloths and sponges. will require many wringing sessions. but after a while it will get dry. just be patient. will not buy a car with a sunroof again. it aint worth the hassle.

Amir paisley uk.

I also have a 98 Clio Biaritz with a leaky sunroof. The water leaked into the immobiliser and the circuit broke. Renault thought it was the aerial, took the car in to reseal the aerial and replace immobiliser circuit at cost of £130. They found out it was the sunroof, said they couldn't fix the seal and left it out in the rain all night so it broke again! They took it back in and replaced the unit again - also placing a plastic bag around the circuit to protect it. I then taped up the roof - doesn't look pretty, but has been working pretty well! If anyone knows where I can get the seal replaced in S. E London/Kent, please let me know!

After investigating the leak in my 1998 1.2 clio biarritz along with a excessively stiff clutch that snaps up, I found that the thick black rubber seal around the edge was waved and not pushed on, so I pulled it off and found that the plastic underneath (the roof of the interior) ran straight into the immobilisor and central housing, I fixed it by pushing it on hard and using small spots of super glue to hold it, but not excessively. Right, if your immobilisor doesn't work, take the black casing off; you will see green corrosion and this is due to the sunroof leak. Get some wire wool and scrape it off. Make sure you unclip the whole receiver and scrape off the metal connection unit then get a knife and place wire wool around it and push it into any holes you see. DO NOT BREAK THE 3 BLACK THINGS IN THE FRONT - if you do then all is lost. Now use your fob key and check which ones; work mine is the far left one. Point the key about 10-15cm away from the receiver and click it a few times. If this unlocks the doors, do it a few times and if you leave the chip hanging out a bit you will never have problems with it again. On a sunny day, leave the sun roof open and dry it out as much as possible. Also, another tip, if you over tighten your sunroof that works good too. If you have a clutch like mine, WD40 on the pedal helps. If you have any question reply. I'll check every few days, but if you follow this then you won't have to spend any money and will save yourself many late days to college/work. Btw I'm not a mechanic and know nothing about mechanics so please don't ask lol, but I've fixed my car for free so I wrote everyhthing I did.

Hi, I am also a member of the leaky Clio crew!! I have a Renault Clio Panache and recently it has been leaking from the roof, I thought it might have been coming from my aerial as water was dripping through my light which is directly under it. I sealed the aerial up, but it still leaked? Now it’s coming through the immobiliser and when it gets wet I cannot start my car. I now realise that it is coming through the sunroof as I can see the ‘outside’ through the gap. I have been told that you simply cannot re-seal the sunroof (not that it would make much difference according to the comments I have read!) and it will cost £200 - £500 replace the whole sunroof?... is this true? I know hardly anything about cars, but is there any other way to save my car without it costing that much? Please help!!

Hi I am also part of the leaky sunroof Clio Club!!!

Help!!

'97 Panache.

I get drenched whenever it rains and I would probably remain dryer if I walked in the rain!!

My car smells when I get in it and condensation forms on the windows !!

It will cost a fortune to fix and I really want to sell it. Any ideas??