9th Apr 2010, 05:54
I had the RAC fit a new coil (under warranty), and the RAC chap said he would clean the sensor, located at the top of the bell housing, while he was there.
He took out an aerosol can of water and squirted a jet of water at it.
I think it gets a coating of iron dust from the clutch, which interferes with its own magnetic field.
26th Jul 2010, 10:15
Original poster here:
I have got rid of that annoying vibration from the driver's door! It was driving me mad. On the outside of the door in the handle recess is a flat black plastic cap - I think it is to do with the keyless entry system (which mine does not have - I have to press the button on the key card to unlock the car). Well this was loose. I eased it out and put a blob of glue behind it. Bliss!
9th Aug 2012, 09:22
Original poster here.
Well 2 years on, and oh how I cannot wait to be shot of this car. The problems have mainly been with the air conditioner. It has been in & out of the garage about 6 times when it fails. Eventually the other day they fitted a compressor for which Renault had agreed to pay 80% of the cost, which is £1283. Next day it literally exploded!!! One of the pipes blew off the new compressor. This is dangerous as it runs at over 4000 PSI. It plastered the contents of the air conditioner all over the engine and a large part of Sussex.
Other problems are more easy to live with. Clutch judder, erratic rain sensing wipers, constant but random clonks & bangs from the steering & suspension and the body, brake squeal, headlight bulbs blowing every 3 months, etc etc etc.
If you are considering one of these, do not DO NOT buy it. You will regret it. Everything that other people have mentioned will happen on your car eventually. Please be warned.
26th Oct 2012, 03:45
Original poster here:
Ding dong, the Scenic's gone!!! I traded it in for something else for my wife; NOT A RENAULT - NEVER!!! And have taken a Ford C Max as a company car (older shape). It seemed strange at first, driving without the clonks from the steering and suspension, and all the body rattles, and I am getting used to not having clutch judder...
At least I did the deal with a garage, and they gave me a reasonable price. I just hope the unfortunate next owner manages to deal with the most expensive faults while it is under the warranty offered by the garage. I would never have sold it privately and slept at night.
1st Jun 2017, 22:08
I had a 52 reg Zafira diesel DTI - did 38 MPG over at 75k miles. Changed to a Chevrolet Tacuma 2.0L petrol - oddly enough same MPG??? I was of the opinion that the Zafira was a poor performer on consumption.
29th Oct 2019, 21:43
Bought a 1.6 petrol clunker for little money as a run around to replace a dying Picasso. No real issues at all in 8k miles in 6 months. Aircon never worked - compressor dead but I knew that when I parted with £600 for it. It feels more modern than the Picasso and at the price is totally disposable.
"Check emissions" warning came on - could be faulty sender or possibly dephaser (pulley in the engine which would render the car uneconomical to repair come next MOT, but as it passed a month ago that's a bridge to cross when I get there). Best of all somebody whacked it in a car park 2 weeks ago. Why best of all you ask? I just agreed a settlement of £1100 from her insurers and I keep the car!
Finally - I had a 15 reg C-Max as a company car - go look up my reviews on here - a company car that gave me 3 years of purgatory which I couldn't wait to be rid of.
Running a banger is so liberating.
30th Oct 2019, 20:22
Well said. I totally agree - no one would deny modern cars are way more advanced in safety, performance and security, but reliability? Hard to see any improvements in recent years. Even look at some reviews on here - 1990s cars seem to be the sweet spot for reliability. Well made cars and not too complex.
Myself I have had many cars through the 80s and 90s relatively trouble free, but more recently I have had a lot more trouble with electronic problems on post 2005 cars. Here's the new problem though - not many cars in the sub £2000 bracket are 90s cars (simply not many around anymore), so you are looking at 2008 cars which are still quite complex and expensive to fix, so it's getting harder to run a banger on the cheap.
9th Dec 2019, 00:29
It's funny but I bought a 90k clunker in April... just a means of getting around. Will do 400 miles + on a tank of petrol - reliable and comfy.
Bad news is I think the dephaser is rattling and the air con doesn't work. The electrics (h/brake - electric windows - key cards - all the bits that are failure prone) have been fine over 10k miles.
Sadly as well as the dephaser the clutch has started to make funny noises and the roof got dented by a falling branch, but finally (and thankfully) it got hit in a car park. Thankfully the lady owned up and I got a payout to repair the car of £300 more than what I paid for it, so at 98k it's being replaced. I get my new car tomorrow - same car, even the same colour... I lack imagination LOL!!
8th Apr 2010, 23:24
With regards to the crankshaft pulley, it needs checking during the maintenance service. I gather it's designed a little different from other makes, because it has a rubber insert that sometimes slips.
The flywheel sensor is cleaned by the Renault franchisee during service in Malaysia, however I believe it can be done quite easily on your own. I don't remember exactly, but if you look up some Renault/Renault Scenic sites, they explain the procedure.
It's generally a good car, but needs it regular services and maintenance.