Faults:

I have a 2001 Renault Clio 1.5 diesel, and have have problems with running smoothly and starting issues.

Renault were not very helpful, and did not fix it after the £65 cost to put on their diagnostic tool. It came up with some problems, which were cleared, and they said if it persisted, then they would look into it further, no doubt there would be another £63 for diagnostic before they even started.

Although the running problem has rectified itself, I'm sure I narrowed it down to a very dirty EGR valve. Take of the airfilter and you will see a sound thing sticking out above the turbo, 3 10mm bolts and pull it out. Plenty of WD40 and kitchen roll, looking back rubber gloves would have been helpful as it's that really sticky black grease gunking it up.

As described in many comments here, I have also had a starting problem where more often than not the heater light would not light up, but after several turns of the key it would work. So I cleaned the 3 little black relays under the bonnet on the passenger side, which were corroded, and used a small nail file in each hole the relays sit in and it work for a short while. I think the left one is the heater plug relay, middle is the fuel pump, and the right relay is the starter motor.

So I swapped the heater plug with the starter motor relay, and the heater plug lit up every time, but it would not start, so although the relay was clean of corrosion, I think it must be corroded inside, so I'm off to buy a new one on Monday. I've read on this forum that they cost about £15.

In short, if you have this problem, don't waste your time and money at Renault, and try these 2 things, it could save you a bundle as most comments here say that Renault think it's wiring loom or throttle body.

General Comments:

The car is general a very good car, it's just these few problems that let it down, and Renault have no idea about. They seem to try the most expensive thing first.

Faults:

As with my 2 other Clios in the family, the UCH unit has went in two of the cars, and now the ECU has went in the other. As this is a dealer only fix due to all the data info, the cost and parts are a serious price, but always check the web as you can now get these problems done in England at a very good price.

I would never ever go near Renault cars again.

General Comments:

1.2 Clio models are very low on power and take off.