# water drip from headliner?



## tonyvancity (Jan 2, 2017)

this past sunday i hopped into my Xtrail to take my mother Xmas shopping. I hadnt driven my Xtrail in over a week as i drive a company dodge caravan all week. It was raining pretty heavy out....i go put my hand on the auto shifter and i feel a small drop of water on the top of my right hand. Now at first i thought oh no the windshield is leaking???? ..but i personally replaced my own windshield myself in the shop over 9 months ago. And it rained heavily on and off since that day with no leaks at all. So i was looking for the source and the small water drips were coming from the right side sun visor. If you look at the sunvisor, on one side it is screwed into place and the other is a hook-hanger that pops into the headliner . My leak was coming from that hook-hanger. I just twisted it off with my fingers and a bit more water dripped out from the hole. Still been very busy with work so i have not had a chance to investigate further, but sure is an odd place for water to leak from. I did run my fingers along and under the headliner where the urethane glue meets to top edge of the windshield...that was bone dry so it aint a windshield leak. Next few days will be sunny and cold (zero or minus one) and if it gets slow at work i will attempt to track the leak dwn and hopefully an easy, simply patch job.


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## MikeHJ (Mar 7, 2017)

Got a sunroof?


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## tonyvancity (Jan 2, 2017)

hi Mike, nope ,no sunroof. But now you mention the roof....i'm thinking possibly the water leak entry might be coming from the right side roof rail. It snowed yesterday a few inches and this morning/week will be sunny and hovering around zero or less. Will wait till it warms up a tad so i can inspect the roof rails for rust or see if loose, etc. Hoping it is something i do not need to drop the headliner down just to seal a leak or tighten bolts/screws for the roof rails.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

I think it could only be coming from the roof rails. If you have a shop vac you might want to pop out the visor clip anew and suck out the water as best you can. Don't want mold forming on the inside of your headliner. Good luck.


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## tonyvancity (Jan 2, 2017)

yah, that is what i was thinking. Oh i forgot to mention on my previous comment, when i was warming up my truck i turned the dash vents/upper windshield defrost air flow on and it sorta smelled like wet dog.There was no previous odours coming from the ventilation Ever before. Is there any previous forum chatter about water entry from that sun visor clip? Or any other bulletins/known water leaks from that area? I can see the possibility of the roof rails either being slightly loose or possible rust around the screw holes and that may cause water to seep inside as a tiny drip and exit on the inside of the cab wherever it can find a spot to escape. The weather here is getting a bit cold to work outside on the Xtrail ...but hey, it's sunny and dry!


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Only thing I recall not sunroof related was water getting into the rear well, and I think that was related to looseness of the last section of the roof rail. The nut holding on the inside can over time work its way off, so that the bolt going through the roof is held on by nothing and in a car wash that section can then get pushed up a bit and water can get in and drip down to the spare tire well. 

http://nissan4u.com/parts/x_trail/e..._floor/roof_panel_and_fitting/illustration_1/

Did you by chance replace your antenna in front? Otherwise it can only be roof rail related or possibly top of windshield.
You may also want to check under the carpet passenger side for water.

I get the wet dog smell occasionaly but its because there is in fact a wet dog named Gizmo in the car!


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## MikeHJ (Mar 7, 2017)

Without a sunroof, there are just not a lot of perforations thru the roof other than roof rails and antenna. Unfortunately, water on the wrong side of the headliner could be pooling from any perforation and just dripping out at the visor clip. Fortunately, other than the windshield, most water leaks up there will be largely gravity related (leaking while sitting still) rather than wind blown. 

I'd look at the antenna simply because of the proximity to the visor clip, but the rails are more likely dam up a little pool of water while the car is parked.


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## tonyvancity (Jan 2, 2017)

good advice from both Quadraria and MikeHJ.  i will check out my roof antenna and see if the base is a bit loose...it should be an easy fix if just a matter of taking it off and applying a form of sealant/tighten down the screws, etc. This morning i cleared about 3 inches of mostly frozen snow from my rooftop, defrosted my Xtrail and drove around for an hour or two...no water drips came out of the right front sun visor hook. But i do need to stop any leak into the cab as im getting tired of finding frost on the inside of my windshield and/or condensation that needs to be wiped dry with a paper towel. Also, it was about minus 2C this morning and surprise-surprise!...my doors were not frozen shut and they seem to close/latch shut ok. Still it took a long time to defrost my windshield and side glass as the xtrail takes wayyyyy longer to get to warm engine temperature then previous vehicles i've owned.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

All the best for the New Year Tony. Was wondering if you found the source of the leak?


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## tonyvancity (Jan 2, 2017)

hi same to you. No i was busy with my job...then saturday the 29th while working i blew out my right knee...heard cartilage crunch and pop and i went for an ambulance ride to the hospital. So i have crutches and a leg brace on, limited to what i can do. But today was a nice sunny day....started up my Xtrail...drove around the corner and Down the street (im at higher elevation)....and then came the drip drip drip from that same spot...the passenger front sun visor hook. I'm pretty sure it must be the antenna. Since i am off for a week or more cuz of my blown knee, when i can i will either take off the antenna on the roof or use a tube of black silicone i have in my work van. I believe the antenna has a cap on the mounting base....hoping to just pop that off and unbolt the antenna base, clean it up and use black silicone to reseal it. If still get a leak, then next step is to see if it is my roof rails...which might be a more involving project. Reallllly hope it is just a leaKy antenna base.


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## tonyvancity (Jan 2, 2017)

i believe i fixed my drip. With my busted up right knee i climbed a step stool to inspect my roof antenna. I determined i could not remove my antenna base from the roof top. So i went inside my vehicle and popped of my overhead dome light cover (in front of the rear view mirror). THat revealed a small thin black metal cover with a tiny black phillips screw in the center. Removed that and next i popped out the entire dome light assembly from my headliner. I noticed two things : my roof under the headliner was wet from condensation , but the headliner is perfectly dry and no water streak stains. Next i noticed how the antenna was secured to the roof.....there was a 3/8 size locking nut that i had to use a socket/extension to loosen and remove. Then i could pinch in two tiny tabs that release the antenna base and up it popped up onto my roof. So i hop back on my step stool, clean under the antenna base where it makes contact with my roof. All i had for glue/sealant was a small tube of white silicone bathroom and tub sealant. Says its good for metal contact and for water leaks....perfect. Added a generous amount to roof base , put antenna back on and went inside my xtrail to tighten the nut, put everything back as i found it. Lastly i went back up on the roof, cleaned up the excess oooze of the sealant (tighten the nut and sealant oozed out so i made good contact). Today in vancouver very heavy rain...no drips at all and my radio reception is fine.  I did take a few photos on my iphone but this site a bit frustrating to upload photos , leave it for another day i am in a better mood (knee issues).


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Way to go Tony. Glad you sorted it out. Its good info in case any one else experiences the same thing.


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## tonyvancity (Jan 2, 2017)

thanks...rained really heavy up till early morning here. Drove my xtrail to 7-11 for cigars and coffee ...not one drip of water anywhere and no condensation on the inside of my windshield. Loving the Xtrail....


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## tonyvancity (Jan 2, 2017)

steady heavy rain for the past week or more...still no interior drip. ! no more mouldy wet smell inside my cabin, no more condensation on the inside of my windshield. I sent the water leak to it's watery grave.


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