Faults:

Various creeks and groans from the cheap interior.

Cam and crank sensors failed.

Diesel pump seized.

Constant brake squeal with no apparent solution.

Useless Renault dealerships.

General Comments:

This was bought for me by my Dad as a present when my Leyland Daf van finally went to the motorway in the sky. Thought that a nice modern van would be a relief, and a nice change from my antique DAF! But I was soon begging for my Daf to be resurrected as it was a much better van.

This Trafic is poorly built cheap tat and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Totally unreliable and in the garage more often than on the road. My Daf may have been simple, but at least it worked and I knew I would get in it every morning and know it would start!

Do NOT get a Trafic, and be careful because for some bizarre reason, Vauxhall and Nissan vans are Renault Trafics in disguise! Avoid all these models!

Faults:

Rear exhaust box fell off at 70000 miles, and had to be welded back on. This is caused by the system being too heavy for the rubber supports.

Slight miss fire at about 72000 miles. Replaced distributer cap and plugs, this cured the problem.

General Comments:

These vans, especially in petrol form, are usually very cheap, don't let this put you off purchasing one. You will find that they are tolerably reliable, cheap to run (30mpg) and quite easy to work on. Some parts for the 2.2 models are not available from pattern manufacturers, you therefor have to go to a main dealer and pay main dealer prices. This is particularly true in the case of exhausts, so make sure this is in good condition. Service items can be bought cheaply though. One last thing you should be aware of is that due to the design of the floor, the pedals are very close together, making things quite interesting until you get used to it!

Faults:

Two glow plugs melted into the head. Attempting to take them off was an odyssey that has not yet finished.

In order to properly access the glowplugs you have to remove almost everything (maybe it would have been easier to take the engine off, I assure you).

Alternator, heating system funnel, injectors, injector linings, radiator, diesel pump, radiator grill, etc. had to come off in order to access the glowplugs perpendicularly.

It is outrageous that something taken as regular maintenance converts into a monstruous amount of work.

General Comments:

Drove from Portugal to Finland in it for six days - nerve racking and very uncomfortable.

Very prone to bounce in side winds, mediocre gearbox.

A cheap van.