April Sniff petrol

[grober]

Yes its April fool time at Sniff Petrol. http://www.sniffpetrol.com/ Get the inside story on the Chrysler sale!

 

[Dieselman]

Excellent..

I like the Renault advert particularly.

Actually have a read of the Renault strapline....and numberplate...

 

[Carrotchomper]

Hey, don't mock the Clio! I had a brief but entertaining high speed pursuit with one of the 2 litre renaultsport models last night. They can seriously shift...

Sadly, the registered keeper, who didn't wish to stop for me, and abandoned said vehicle close to home, has now lost had his vehicle seized. As it's a 53 model I expect it is still on finance.
Hard cheese eh! :bannana:

 

[MBManInKen]

I had a brief but entertaining high speed pursuit with one of the 2 litre renaultsport models last night.

Keep up the good work, I say, get the *******s off the road

Was watching one of those traffic copper shows last night, they stopped some woman with no licence, no insurance, no anything in some old piece of junk. Seized the vehicle and (I assume) let her go. Moments later she passed them in another vehicle

 

[Dieselman]

Hey, don't mock the Clio! I had a brief but entertaining high speed pursuit with one of the 2 litre renaultsport models last night. They can seriously shift...

Sadly, the registered keeper, who didn't wish to stop for me, and abandoned said vehicle close to home, has now lost had his vehicle seized. As it's a 53 model I expect it is still on finance.
Hard cheese eh! :bannana:

I bet you wish his bonnet had flown up at an appropriate point...

 

[Dieselman]

Keep up the good work, I say, get the *******s off the road

Was watching one of those traffic copper shows last night, they stopped some woman with no licence, no insurance, no anything in some old piece of junk. Seized the vehicle and (I assume) let her go. Moments later she passed them in another vehicle

And when it went to court she was awarded what penalty.....a two year ban. She didn't have a licence anyway....

No wonder the Police feel like giving up sometimes.

 

[MBManInKen]

I bet you wish his bonnet had flown up at an appropriate point...

LOL!

I must say that I don't understand Renault. Surely an early recall would have saved them the embarassement of an almost weekly appearance in Watchdog?

Not to mention basic concern about their customers? I mean, if they are dead, they're not going to buy another Renault, are they??

 

[Dieselman]

LOL!

I must say that I don't understand Renault. Surely an early recall would have saved them the embarassement of an almost weekly appearance in Watchdog?

Not to mention basic concern about their customers? I mean, if they are dead, they're not going to buy another Renault, are they??

Ahh, but it stops them buying anything else, so Renault retain market share...

 

[MBManInKen]

And when it went to court she was awarded what penalty.....a two year ban. She didn't have a licence anyway....

No wonder the Police feel like giving up sometimes.

Agreed. Have noticed that youngsters especially seems to get off lightly, not exactly the way to enforce respect for the laws of the country...

 

[MBManInKen]

Ahh, but it stops them buying anything else, so Renault retain market share...

I hope you're not suggesting that there will be no driving in the afterlife!

If so, I refuse to die!

 

[Carrotchomper]

I bet you wish his bonnet had flown up at an appropriate point...

Erm yes, the point where he was negotiating a traffic calming-type concrete bollarded chicane at approximately 80mph would have been extremely helpful. My estate vehicle did struggle slightly!

 

[wallingd]

Aah thank god. Where was March? They're not very consistent are they?

 

[wobbly]

LOL!

I must say that I don't understand Renault. Surely an early recall would have saved them the embarassement of an almost weekly appearance in Watchdog?

Not to mention basic concern about their customers? I mean, if they are dead, they're not going to buy another Renault, are they??

Sorry dont know about this, is there a problem with Clio bonnets ? If so what year and model , I have recently bought the girlfriend a 04 plate.

 

[Dieselman]

Sorry dont know about this, is there a problem with Clio bonnets ? If so what year and model , I have recently bought the girlfriend a 04 plate.

Are you serious?? This has been all over the telly for the last month or two..

All Mk2 Clio bonnet catches have a failing whereby if they aren't lubricated both the primary and safety catches can stick in the released position.
When travelling fast the wind catches the lead edge of the bonnet and flings it up onto the windscreen and roof.

Due to this being on watchdog a few times Renault are now to issue a recall and check and lube the bonnet catches at service, as it's not in the schedule at present.

Go out and check the catches are lubed with grease and working freely.......

 

[wobbly]

I have just checked the BBC watchdog site, and will be taking the Clio to the Dealers after the bank Holiday.

 

[wobbly]

Are you serious?? This has been all over the telly for the last month or two..

All Mk2 Clio bonnet catches have a failing whereby if they aren't lubricated both the primary and safety catches can stick in the released position.
When travelling fast the wind catches the lead edge of the bonnet and flings it up onto the windscreen and roof.

Due to this being on watchdog a few times Renault are now to issue a recall and check and lube the bonnet catches at service, as it's not in the scehedule at present.

Go out and check the catches are lubed with grease and working freely.......

Sorry, I dont get much time to watch telly in the early evening.

 

[Swiss Toni]

Just an aside to the Clio story...

Audi USA were being taken to the cleaners by the media in the US due to increasing numbers of "unintended acceleration" incidents, where cars suddenly accellerated (usually from standstill - ie when started).

Audi insisted there was not a fault with the cars, the media made out they were the big nasty Germans - their sales fell as a direct result.

The truth?

The owners were putting their foot on the wrong pedal.

This was happening in equal numbers to every other make, but Audi got the initial publicity and suffered "me too!" incidents.

Watchdog do a really good job of sensationalising the unremarkable - would you want to be judged by media?!

Can you remember ANY of the Watchdog on-screen appologies? No? They aren't as hyped as their original stories...

 

[Dieselman]

Swiss, you are dead right, and Watchdog is often junk, but they do at least have hundereds of cases of accidents independently attributed to this cause.
The bonnet catches are definately sticking as a result of siezing.

It seems incredible that this has been omitted from the service schedule just to reduce the apparent cost.
Cost of grease, lets say 1p, time taken about a minute...err every two years would do...

 

[MBManInKen]

Watchdog do a really good job of sensationalising the unremarkable - would you want to be judged by media?!

I'm not a Watchdog fan as I think their coverage is often shallow. However, I don't think it is "unremarkable" that large numbers of Clio owners were confronted with a potentially fatal incident like the bonnets opening - not just a major risk for the drivers, but equally so for the others around them.

In addition, experts have been unanimous in condemning the design of the catch, so it's not the same as the Audi case you describe: Renault was not just at fault, it ignored its responsibility as well and put lives in danger as a result.

Since Renault was not even willing to recognise the problem, I think it's excellent that the media have reported on this in the way they did, being persistent in exposing all of this.

The media might not be perfect, but big business like Renault certainly ain't either. Exposing their cynical disregard for human life and for their customers was not a bad thing at all.

 

[MBManInKen]

The bonnet catches are definately sticking as a result of siezing.

Indeed - and wasn't there also a design problem with them?