Why Are Renaults So Crap?

[rees_A]

My Wife has a Renault Megane Cabriolet that we've had since new(2003). I've replace the ignition coils 4 times so far and they failed again last night!!!

She was stuck in the middle of a main road!!!

The car has only done 28,000 miles as well!!!

I Hate Renaults!!!!!

Another set of coils ordered...

 

[Vlad]

When friends ask me what cars not to buy, its always Renault....absolute rubbish and the AA mans favourite.

Next time you head down a motorway see which make of car is the most often broken down and its often a Renault

 

[Spin_bowler]

You're right. Our family had a succession of them when I was growing up so I have always had a soft spot for them and loved the R12, R16, R18, R20 & R30 of the 80's which always seemed to work OK. Bits dropped off them, sure, but they started in the morning and rarely left you stranded. So when I see a new one, which quite often look good (I give you the current Laguna Coupe as an example) I desperately want to love it but I don't know anyone who owns a modern on who doesn't have your ownership experience.

A real shame.

 

[ringway]

12ts.



Seems okay to me.

 

[rees_A]

I think the main issue with them is they kill ignition coils!!! This is really annoying as I thought coils were supposed to last for the life of the car. Have never had a coil fail on any other car I've ever owned and I've had a few...

The car itself wasn't exactly cheap(Its an auto with full leather etc so cost me the best part of £18,500 new) I could of bought a decent second hand conv M<erc for that

 

[w124coupe]

Assuming the new coils are Renault, they offer a parts warranty. Did you try to claim? (Consumer Direct will help if you show the multiple invoices for the same part - Sale of Goods Act etc).

 

[rees_A]

They tend to last just over a year so are out of warranty, I've had it with Renault so am trying some other non Renault ones as there are threads that suggest the Renault coils are crap...

I've found a guy on EBay who has non Renault ones so I'm hoping they will be more reliable. Only time will tell I guess..

Oh..The first 2 times the coils failed, the car had warranty so Renault fixed FOC. If I want Renault to do them now, they charge approx £300 to supply/Replace.

It takes about 5 minutes to do each coil and I just bought a set from E Bay for £35 so I'll do them myself again. The only thing I can't do is reset the engine management light...

 

[lxi]

bought my wife a megane convertible from new.

probably 12 coils in 6 years (you can replace in pairs - it was alway one unit that failed on hers but they use "redundant ignition" with the other cylinder on the same stroke)

hers also went into limp mode (with a progressively more violent bang as it dropped into third as the years went on) - stop, switch off, restart, fine.

The build quality is non existent, the dealer attitude a mixture of unbeliveable arrogance, pig ignorance and overall, the worst car ever in my family.

Oddly, my wife really liked it (faults aside) I think it was the colour

 

[bigyin1]

Who makes the coil packs? Is it Bosch? If so then Renault aren't alone, older VAG 1.8 T cars (plus other engines) have coil pack problems, they've even made it to Watchdog about it!!! Other than replacing them there isn't much you can do... as i don't think there is a better make/upgrade available.

 

[rees_A]

Mine likes hers too. When they work they are quite good problem is they don't stay working for long enough and I agree with dealer attitude...

I try to replace them in pairs but the car won't start this time so I'm doing all 4...

I had my car serviced by them and they broke the A/C pipe whilst doing the service!! Not sure how but the A/C was working before they got it and not working when I got it back. The pipe had snapped where it attaches to the bulkhead.

I took the car back to complain and they just denied all knowledge... *******s!!

They then quoted me £120 for the part and 150 labour to replace/regas. Good money maker!!!

 

[Gridlock]

French.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

French.

Ditto, every French car is crap - nearly as bad infact as a Rover.

 

[renault12ts]

12ts.



Seems okay to me.

I love you too

 

[SpikeUK]

My brother's experience of the Megane is exactly the same as Rees A and Ixi. He is mightily p*ssed off with replacing those coils.

On the other hand, the Renault 12 can be seen providing amazing service all over Turkey..

 

[renault12ts]

My brother's experience of the Megane is exactly the same as Rees A and Ixi. He is mightily p*ssed off with replacing those coils.

On the other hand, the Renault 12 can be seen providing amazing service all over Turkey..

As a Dacia Denen.

 

[Rory]

My Wife has a Renault Megane Cabriolet that we've had since new(2003). I've replace the ignition coils 4 times so far and they failed again last night!!!

My daughter has a 2004 SEAT Ibiza (so a VW Polo with a different body) and an ignition coil has failed 4 times in that too. Only one coil, but it's always the same position, and, as a the car is a 3cyl, it's undriveable with one failed.

OTOH, we had a 1998 Clio II. Came with a 1 year warranty and I paid to extend to extend to 5 yrs for a sum that was about the same cost as full AA cover, which the warranty included. There was also an arrangement that if no claims were made then we could claim the cost back. The salesman laughed at the prospect!

However the only thing that went wrong was both rear springs broke at 4yrs. I could have claimed on the extended warranty, but a quick call to Renault customer service and they agreed to replace FOC (that's 3 yrs out the original warranty - try that on a Merc).

At 5yrs I claimed the cost of the warranty back and got a full refund.

 

[JerryC200Cdi]

My wife has a 2004 Clio Dynamique which she has owned for over 3 years and to date it has been faultless.
No rust, no gremlins, no electrical problems to report - she loves the car

Maybe we were lucky??

 

[rees_A]

Wait a couple more months, the coils will start failing...In fact, I'd buy some now so you can just swap them out when they fail.....LOL

Once Wifes car is fixed again, I'll get an extra set for next time they fail...

 

[lxi]

"Maybe we were lucky??"

You sure are (or were - it probably heard you !!)

 

[Gridlock]

But what's the interior like? How many door cards do you have left?