Leaking Exige/Elise hardtop roof
Discussion
Just posting this incase anyone else has suffered from this in their time of ownership 
After a bit of heavy rain the last few days i've begun to notice that the headlining in my Exige's roof around the top of the inside of the door windows is starting to get soaking wet - so much so that you need a towel to dry & soak all the water into
I've had a look at the rubber mouldings fitted onto the roof which i guess are designed to stop water getting in & it would appear that the adhesive used to bond these to the roof has dried & cracked completely so now when it rains water enters the crack in the rubber moulding builds up & then leaks into the inside of the car soaking into the headlining
Anyone else suffered from this by any chance & do people think that this should be paid for by Lotus under warranty to be fixed as my Exige is only 18 months old & i would have expected the roof seals/rubbers to have lasted for longer than that
CheeRS
After a bit of heavy rain the last few days i've begun to notice that the headlining in my Exige's roof around the top of the inside of the door windows is starting to get soaking wet - so much so that you need a towel to dry & soak all the water into
I've had a look at the rubber mouldings fitted onto the roof which i guess are designed to stop water getting in & it would appear that the adhesive used to bond these to the roof has dried & cracked completely so now when it rains water enters the crack in the rubber moulding builds up & then leaks into the inside of the car soaking into the headlining
Anyone else suffered from this by any chance & do people think that this should be paid for by Lotus under warranty to be fixed as my Exige is only 18 months old & i would have expected the roof seals/rubbers to have lasted for longer than that
CheeRS
I had an identical problem on my VXT, albeit with an aftermarket hardtop. I traced the leakage back to water getting between the rear of the hardtop and the rear clam - there is a gully ahead of the edge of the rear clam that the roof slots into, and rubber 'seals' on the hardtop so, when firmly attached, any water makes its way either side of the car and down the sides.
On my car there was some water getting between the roof and the clam, filling the gully with water, which then got *into* the hardtop and soaked through to the fabric liner. Taking the hardtop off when the headlining above the windows was soaking wet proved that there was water inside the fibreglass skin.
Given that the Exige is not a VXT, and I've just bought an Exige partly on the basis that it is guaranteed not to leak due to the fixed roof, it doesn't sound like normal behaviour to me. However if your roof was fitted badly at the factory, or more likely a previous owner decided he wanted an open Exige (why?) and the roof hasn't been re-fitted properly, or finally if the rear clam has been replaced and the roof not aligned properly, then water could get into that gap and cause the same problem I had with mine.
I solved the issue on the VXT by filling the gap with clear sealant (because I didn't ever want the roof off anyway...) but I doubt you want to do that to your Exige.
Do you know whether it's had the roof off at any point in its life? Or whether it's had a rear clam?
On my car there was some water getting between the roof and the clam, filling the gully with water, which then got *into* the hardtop and soaked through to the fabric liner. Taking the hardtop off when the headlining above the windows was soaking wet proved that there was water inside the fibreglass skin.
Given that the Exige is not a VXT, and I've just bought an Exige partly on the basis that it is guaranteed not to leak due to the fixed roof, it doesn't sound like normal behaviour to me. However if your roof was fitted badly at the factory, or more likely a previous owner decided he wanted an open Exige (why?) and the roof hasn't been re-fitted properly, or finally if the rear clam has been replaced and the roof not aligned properly, then water could get into that gap and cause the same problem I had with mine.
I solved the issue on the VXT by filling the gap with clear sealant (because I didn't ever want the roof off anyway...) but I doubt you want to do that to your Exige.
Do you know whether it's had the roof off at any point in its life? Or whether it's had a rear clam?
No i've had the car from new (June '07) so no new panels or roof removal in that time 
Had another look today in better sunlight & the trim is so loose you can actually slide it up & down & now out of where its meant to be stuck to (bangs head on wall) - would seem that whatever adhesive was there or used to bond the seal onto the hardtop was either non existant or in any case has dried out to the extent there is now nothing sealing it
I've added it to the list of things that dealer will have to sort (and that i dont think i should be paying for) although getting the car there should be fun (as per other post) battery went totally flat overnight & would appear the car is stuck immobilised even after putting charge in the battery it wont start or jump start either Best of all apparantly the AA cover Lotus pay during the warranty period doesn't cover the car being picked up by a flatbed from my home to be towed to the dealer to be fixed even though the car is not driveable due to being immobilised (wall)
Ah the joys of owning a car :lol:
Had another look today in better sunlight & the trim is so loose you can actually slide it up & down & now out of where its meant to be stuck to (bangs head on wall) - would seem that whatever adhesive was there or used to bond the seal onto the hardtop was either non existant or in any case has dried out to the extent there is now nothing sealing it
I've added it to the list of things that dealer will have to sort (and that i dont think i should be paying for) although getting the car there should be fun (as per other post) battery went totally flat overnight & would appear the car is stuck immobilised even after putting charge in the battery it wont start or jump start either
Best of all apparantly the AA cover Lotus pay during the warranty period doesn't cover the car being picked up by a flatbed from my home to be towed to the dealer to be fixed even though the car is not driveable due to being immobilised (wall)Ah the joys of owning a car :lol:
Had a water leak on my Exige in exactly the same place & car is same age. Dealer tried to fix it once with some success so now no wet headling but I appear to have a new leak. Original leak wa done under warranty & am hoping new one will be too. Also got coolant leak which was fixed but started leaking again, suede on dash starting to lift & condensation in indicators & misting to main lights which I'm not sure is covered under warranty but always worth asking anyway.
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