Renault Clio - Stalling anyone?

[March_Hare]

Hmmm... I doubt I should start this as I am likely to blow a fuse if I start thinking about this too much. I will only say that I -had- a Clio, my third in fact, and I you'd have to -pay- me to drive a Renault again! Do not rely on their goodwill - they have none. I was a loyal customer, loved my little diesel Clio, and for the first time did not replace it at the 3 year point. Guess what? That's right - very bad move on my part. The main bearing cap sheared in two (yep, a machined part simply fractured in two) loosing the con-rod to smash engine, gearbox and practically everything else to tiny pieces. Luckily I had come off the motorway, but it left me stranded in the pitch black on Christmas day, in a country lane.

 

Four years old, 40K on the clock... Renault's answer?... not our problem... that will be £5k for a new engine and gearbox and £800 labour! My reply? I will let you guess.

 

Even when I found out that Renault had had a second level recall (supposedly not a safety issue - altho I would still not like to think what would have happened if this 'accident' had occurred five minutes earlier on the Motorway) on other models for precisely this risk - but they insisted it was not relevant to my Clio. QED clearly holds no sway with them.

 

I was forced to settle for a paltry cash sum to let me go away and get it fixed without Renault because I simply could not afford to do it any other way. Like I say, goodwill is not a word they understand.

 

Phew... breathe... LOL. Just want to share the story and recommend another car ... any other car you like... just not a Renault.

 

PS. Global warming is a fact. Now acknowledged by most of the scientific community and even... heaven help us... our friends over the pond. If I can bend a quote to breaking point... all that it takes for bad stuff to happen is that good people do nothing... at least do your wee bit and it will help in the end. The point about technology to replace the combustion engine is that without support for it, it will not happen. Therefore alternatives are good - for all their weaknesses. Just an opinion.

[teethgrinder]

The internal combustion engine is our saviour. Imagine all the beasts a farm would need to plough, etc, the multiply by tens of millions, and then realise just how mush worse all the methane produced by the beasts is compared to CO2. Currently, animals produce more 'greenhouse gases' than all forms of transport put together!

 

I do know that global warming exists, just I also think that it's cause is more to do with natural cycles, rather than man.

 

Vaguely remember being taught at school years back that we were coming out of an ice age...I guess that meand earth is warming up whatever we do.

 

And yes, Renaults suck. As do French cars in general.

[Maxwell1986]

I have had the same problem with my clio today, went out for lunch and it decided to rev itself up and then stall. then i couldnt get it started again for about 10minutes, in the ten minutes i was trying it would start up and then just konk out again. Soon after i had to get out and push it into a space it decided to run again. it then gets to 5.30 and i am on my way home, the same thing happens again only on a main road this time. Luckily a friendly passer by towed me to a side road, got the car running and eventually home. Have called rac to come out in the morning, any ideas as to what my problem is? sounds like the idle control valve to me? The car is only a 54reg and i have had it since new, never had any problems before and it was only service 3 months ago. HELP me please!!

[cumbria123]

There is a small electrical spade connector near the starter motor, this gets corroded and stops it working. Undo the spade connector and give it a clean with a wire brush, that should work.

[Maxwell1986]

Have at last had my clio fixed by Renault since my first post about it in early march!

 

It was originally booked in mid march and when the report came back there was apprently 'nothing wrong with you car sir'. So off I go (feeling like a fool for wasting there time) and guess what? it still stalling and now driving itself around as the rev counter was up so high! So the lady says bring it straight back in when it plays up again, so I take it straight back to them, only to be told id now have to wait another week as they are ver busy, surprise surprise!

 

Moving on, eventually get a call after two days of having my car, the engine coolant temperature sensor was broken and a couple of other things to, what I dont get is why they never found this out first time round?

 

They were also unable to supply me with a courtesy car (three month waiting list), however when dropping my car off there were atleast 6 courtesy cars (clearly marked) sitting in the car park.

 

Turns out a happy ending, as all was covered by the cars warrenty and I didn't have to pay a penny!! I am still not to happy with the service from renault though.

 

Sorry to have a rant, just have to let it all out somewhere!!

[teza16]

Hello, i am having a lot of problems with my clio expression 51 plate, firstly i brought the car not knowing that it had been in an accident and was repaired quickly and sold to any mug who would buy it, that happend to be me! so ive replaced the drive shaft, got some of the electrics fixed (clock and heating stayed on without ignition) and now im experiencing more problems, i have already paid £1000 in labour and parts in getting the car road usable; anyway here are my current problems:

 

1) At times the car seems to have no acceleration, when i say this i mean my foot is to the floor and im doing 30 mph in 3rd cant go any faster and if i switch to a lower gear it basically comes to a standstill, this usually happens in the mornings when my heating is on but recently its been happening when ever, a little light comes up on the dash which means something electrical is wrong with the car when this happens. I usually have to pull over and then continually try and get the car to move like normal, i get stuck in 1st gear and there is no acceleration. My dad has put this down to my petrol usually being low and he says that i have let all the **** in the fuel tank come up, im not too sure about this because of the electrical light, infact im definately convinced that it isnt to do with fuel because tonight it happend and ive got half a tank of petrol, the light however did come on, so im putting it down to something electrical but does anyone know what?

 

If any one on here had any ideas or thoughts i would be very grateful to hear them.

[sequenci]

hi there, can i just ask, how long have you owned the vehicle?

[teza16]

i brought the vehicle in January 2007, privately from London.

[cgb123]

Hello no fear i have the answer the renult clio,s suffer from a wiring loom fault where the loom has rubbed through the wiring next to the throttle box its a task of putting a new loom on the ignition side does cost alot but should be covered on waranty if not write to renults dealers saying you had the problem from waranty and they should give sum discount of goodwill. thanks

 

not the only cause of this fault, it could actually be one of many things, plus it all depends on what engine your clio actually has, the d4f engine ( 1.2 16v ) has many problems causing poor running anything from spark plugs to an engine ecu

[stariq786]

Hi,

 

i have a clio 2002 1.2 16 v which has been a real beut till recently (about 12 months!)

 

i have changed the clutch,

coil packs

repaired the wiring loom,

changed all of the bulbs 4 times over,

new bearings on the back,

new brakes and discs both frot and back,

2 major services

4 new tyres

2 seat adjusters (i broke them )

and now the engine management light comes on

 

Renault have said it 'could' be the throttle body (parts and labour £650!) or the wiring loom which may short the sensor on the throttle body. Basically their badly designed tamper proof box made of metal to protect the electrics of the car rubs the cables as the engine vibrates the casing.

 

OK, I decided to go for the second option and pay Renault £80 to tape some cables together! Thats literally all they did. Kept the car for 1 day to tape some cables. After reading numerous posts its a common (or one of many common) problems Clio's have. I might add its the 1.2 16v model affeted and not the 1.4 16 model.

 

It got worse after that and began to stall at junctions, roundabouts and whenever the accelorater pedal was not pressed.

 

It had jerky starts and idling at just 100rpm. Took it to a Renault Specialist in my area and told him the issues. he said normally he would clean the throttle body with some carb cleaner but he thinks the electrics on the throttle body are sending the wrong signals to the ECU (the cars computer). Renault have repaired the wiring so it must either be the throttle body or the accelorater pedal sensor.

 

Right, were getting another solution to the problem. I told him to change the accelorater pedal sensor (it comes as a complete unit you buy the pedal and sensor together about 165 inc labour) and looking around for a second hand throttle body i found one for my clio and bought it quickly!

 

The new accelorated pedal now works as normal and no engine management light! (i have a throttle body for sale now with 3 months warranty if you are interested)

 

So lessons learnt - dont buy a french car!!

[stariq786]

incidentally have a look at this site - very helpful

 

2002 Renault Clio Extreme Comments - Carsurvey.org

[TBeckett100]

Hello

 

complain to Barry Williams, customer services manager at HQ. mention that he dealt with a similar case recently where he sanctioned a repair at their cost.

 

I guarantee this will deal with the stalling issue,

[TBeckett100]

also renault replaced the MAP sensor (for the third time) and insisted the problem was solved. I spoke to Barry and said this wont cure the problem and after another road test i got a call to say they will replace the wiring loom and the brain. incidentially the brain was at fault as it stalled when the wiring loom was replaced. not bad result on a 2001 clio.

[stariq786]

hi,

 

thanks for the post, can you put up the postal/email address for the man in renault hq?

 

i booked it in to renault again - this time its misfiring - again. The garage i used to deal with have gone into liquidation (this was a renault dealer garage) and subsequentley all the details they had have gone with them. They were independant from renault group but had the badge (and prices) to suit. They changed the coil packs at 60k 8 months ago under the extended warranty.

 

so now i have to pay the £85 the new renault garage want to run diagnostics on the car and tell me the coil packs have gone - again (?)

 

why??!! :/

[Conniff]

I am seeking to take Renault to task over their stalling clios. I have a Y reg one that stalls at traffic and they want 1200 to fix it!

 

Problem is it only did 29k when this started and a lot of people have had the same problem.

 

Are you one of them?

 

How did they come to this price - has the car been in the garage for diagnostics?

[mongaloo]

just a quick question,whereabouts did the aa tell you to jet the engine?thought i might give it a whirl

[slarty-bart-farst]

I am seeking to take Renault to task over their stalling clios. I have a Y reg one that stalls at traffic and they want 1200 to fix it!

 

Problem is it only did 29k when this started and a lot of people have had the same problem.

 

Are you one of them?

 

 

 

Yes my renault stalls yes ive spent money and iam fed up did you get your fixed free of charge, what happened?

[mongaloo]

i had my map sensor checked at no cost to myself,reprogramming the ecu cured my not so little problem!been fine for over 6 months,cost 80 pound only thank the lord:smile:

[slarty-bart-farst]

i had my map sensor checked at no cost to myself,reprogramming the ecu cured my not so little problem!been fine for over 6 months,cost 80 pound only thank the lord:smile:

 

Mongaloo you have an answer here! We the hapless victim are told theres only one option a new ECU at £460 +vat!!!! and once fitted it programs to the key/alarm and therefore theres no chance to just "try" a temporary one or get a secondhand one.........Where did you get the critter reprogramed cause a) Theres no more ECUs left in the UK !!!! and b) It's way cheaper oh yea and c) Throwing away perfectly good ECUs is a criminal waste of our precious resources.

 

Any pointers would be a great help..........don't say a Renault garage please ive just been quoted the £460++++ option or nothing sir routine by them.

[mongaloo]

hello slarty,you will have to bear with me for a few days as im on holiday in sunny cyprus!glad to here its been raining in the uk by the way:razz:all the info i have is back home but will post it as soon as i get back as i know this prob is a nightmare as well as dangerous!all i can tell you is i took it to a place in bilston,west midlands.dont know how far that is for you but surely worth a journey if it saves 400 quid?i will get you the number asap.i do know he did use renault but through someone he knew so would the word 'foreigner' come into it?

[slarty-bart-farst]

Mongaloo you spoke too soon the suns out in uk! Anyways any info would be a great help, yes foriginer sounds spot on! I work with Renault and other car companies so I know what problems they have keeping the software on track. The failure seems to go like this, tin lid on ecu cuts wires n feeds + up various signal wires, it destroys sensors, wires, the ecu and if your unlucky enough the car! It goes up in smoke!!

 

The + going in the wrong way wipes programs in the ecu before finaly destroying it.

 

Not good all 1.2 engines with the tin lid are in the process of self destruct, spurious reports of water in-gress in loom are where the loom was already fried by the tin lid short.

 

The diagnostic machines rely on good wiring to work., theres not much sense out of some reports.

[mongaloo]

slarty this is where i went,martyn billings automotive,unit 5g stag industrial est,oxford st,bilston wv14 7hz,01902 497985,hope this helps:grin: back in the uk monday so long may the sunshine continue8-)my work is done here enjoy!

[Wandering]

I bought a R reg Clio ( the old model ) in March this year, Great little runner, however have noticed in the recent warm weather, that the little minx does stall at times, i put this down to myself not controlling the revs and clutch good enough, my partner does'nt have the same problem with the Escort. nor do i when i borrow it, i have also noticed that when i 1st use the car in the morning, the 1st time i brake, i hear a slight scraping noise, this i have had checked at kwik fit, and i'm assured nothing is wrong with the brakes etc. another thing that bafflied me. but all said and done, i find the clio a great little car, great for the city where i live and good on fuel consumtion.. Keep hold of the car, as it wont lose much in value.

 

Yes I replaced my brake disks and pads, with cheaper ones, and min makes that noise after a wet or damp night, it is only for the first few times brakes applied, then alright for the rest of the day, I just asume it is getting rid of a light coat of rust. I hope this helps you, but no need to worry.