15th Sep 2009, 12:09

Hi all, My car 1.2 16v 2001 is currently booked in for a new ECU on the 24th Sep... but after reading comments I don't know what to do. When driving, from turning the car on, I have the light in the middle of the dash constantly on... another light in the bottom right hand corner, which I believe to be the engine management light constantly on. The car cuts out every time I come to a stop and now more frequently when I put my clutch down!!! I hate it, it's unsafe and an accident just waiting to happen... I am expecting a bill in the region of £1000 for a car only worth £2000 in good condition!!! Can anyone help??? How do we get Watchdog involved???

Email is Vicky1301@hotmail.co.uk... thanks x.

15th Sep 2009, 15:59

I have owned a 1.2 16v Expression from new in 2002. Over the last few months I have spent hundreds of pounds trying to get the stalling problem sorted. The car sometimes, momentarily misfires when pulling off or slowing down. If you are unlucky, it stalls and can be a pig to get started again. So far had MAF, TDC sensor, 2 sets of coils and a full top end wiring loom, and yes it still does it. Not sure what to do next, any suggestions? Jon.

19th Sep 2009, 10:24

It's a good job I found this site, as I had agreed to buy a Clio which was for my daughter. It had the SERV light on, but was told that it just needed to be extinguished after a service.

Googled this, and came to the site and found this lot. I had left £50 deposit, but then backed out of the deal and told the seller to keep to £50. I am so glad that I did not buy one of these, and consider myself lucky to escape so cheaply.

I had looked at another Clio and noticed a metal lid lying on top of the engine, I now know that this was the lid to the dreaded black box.

How Renault can get away with this is beyond me, they should be exposed for what they and their incompetent dealers are!

21st Sep 2009, 09:52

I bought a 2001 Renault Clio Dynamique 16v about 6 months ago, it was running perfect until about 2 months ago when the engine management light appeared. With this light on I experience complete loss of power and have to keep my foot flat on the accelerator to get the car going. The light comes on completely unexpectedly and am very un-easy driving.

I have been reading up about this problem for weeks, and have found people with the same problem, but there are many things that could be wrong. I am a student and do not have the money for people to fix something and for the problem to re occur. Help Please this problem is really irritating!

24th Sep 2009, 10:33

I have had the same problems with this engine on my 2001 Twingo (120,000 miles), and after endless and expensive bit changes the local garagiste suggested the only thing left was that the catalytic converter was clogged and at the end of its life - 500 euros to replace - so as the French equivalent to the MOT is every two years, I thought I would experiment first as the next test is more than a year away.

The car really was in a dreadful state of endless stalling, juddering before I started, so it really was a last resort.

Drilled a small hole, dragged out all the clogged mesh/honeycomb used a GunGum silencer bandage and voila! It runs perfectly! For the moment...

Might be worth others checking this as well.

30th Sep 2009, 11:22

Hello, I owned Renault Clio Authentique Reg 2004. I have no problems until 4 days ago.

The window mechanism on the driver side stops working. It doesn't go up and down. It's only one side that is not working though. So I thought it might need a new part/s, which I don't know. I apparently drove 300 miles without other problems aside from getting off the car to get and insert a parking ticket.

I rang Renault HQ, which will charge me £83 for diagnostics + parts if needs be + an hour rate + VAT. I don't know if this would be a right option even though they have the right tools and equipment, but cost a lot. Is there anyone who have the same problem like this and can recommend locale garage which suited for my budget around £100 - £120.

Email: edjoysteptrish@aol.com

2nd Oct 2009, 06:47

I have a 2 year old Clio 197 Renaultsport and have had the same issue 2 times now. The car has the keyless ignition system with a push button start system; 2 times now the vehicle seems to have lost its way, in that when you press the start button, the electrics seem to switch off and the car won't start (i.e. does not even turn over). Renault can find no fault with the thing, despite 2 AA recoveries.

Anybody had similar issues?

4th Oct 2009, 02:46

Hi. Had a similar problem where it wouldn't ignite, but could turn the key. It's like the immobiliser kicked it.

There is a wire clipped to the starter motor. Remove it, clean it with some wd40 and clip it back on. You will see it just sitting behind radiator. Could be a white wire. AA cured my problem. It's started again.

7th Oct 2009, 03:25

Hi again, I thought I would update you on my problem, after having a new cat, coil pack, leads, spark plugs, crank shaft sensor, wiring loom, injector loom/rack replaced and then being told I could have 'sticky valves'!? And that they would have to open up the whole engine!

I quickly got the hell out and took it to a mechanic friend, he then told me that Clios are know to have the 'tappets' put in too tight and over time this causes the misfire and further damage to the car. He replaced them all and now it is working fine! (touch wood) I'm still thinking of getting rid because I can't afford for anything else to go wrong.

Good luck everyone.

Natalie.

14th Oct 2009, 09:26

I have had my 1.2 Clio (51 reg) for about 5 years and have had the same problem with the engine management system light repeatedly over this time. I have had various parts and sensors replaced as mentioned in these comments pages, and it still occurs during wet or damp weather. Just this week it has happened 4 or 5 times, it's very frustrating.

I haven't found a cure, although it's usually OK for a while when I spray the wires with WD40. I think it's down to poor wiring! I will be selling my Clio soon as I'm fed up with it. If anyone finds a cure, please share it!

25th Oct 2009, 13:43

Renault Clio 2004 Va Va Voom.

I'm so glad that I am not the only person experiencing problems with my car... I am seriously starting to dislike my car and considering to sell it, but unfortunately no one is interested in buying a Renault!

A couple of months ago, my car also started losing power, whilst driving. My husband took the car in for a diagnostic test and they told him that some electrical box under the petrol pedal needs replacing, but that they need to replace the whole unit - it would've cost a fortune. My husband, being an electronic engineer, opened the little box under the petrol pedal cleaned the wires (and to his surprise there was nothing electronic about it) and it solved the problem. Every now and again it starts acting up and then he just cleans and reconnects the wires under the petrol pedal. Ie, when the coil light comes on.

But today, and him being away on business is Kazakhstan and not being able to come to my rescue, the airbag and serv light went on, I am dreading to take it to a Renault dealer due to their unreasonable high prices. I have tried wriggling the wires as I read in some of the comments, but that didn't seem to work. Any other suggestions to try and solve this problem - don't want to spend an extraordinary amount on trying to fix it, as I have come to realise that the problems aren't necessarily always serious... In this case I honestly hope that this isn't the case! Any suggestions please?