OK guys, help me out here, please!
I bought a 2001/X Mk1 172 a couple of weeks ago. Full Renault service history, 30K miles, no HPI, etc. Seller seems decent, the cars very tidy, and Im very happy. Or at least I was, until 24 hours after getting it home.
I took it out for its first proper run (just learning the car, not thrashing it, I hasten to add!) and I had a ball for the first 90 minutes... but then things turned sour.
Out of nowhere it developed a misfire. It could maintain speed, but it struggled to accelerate. If I tried to gain speed the engine would splutter, similar to running on three cylinders. The emissions warning light would flash immediately afterwards.
I stopped to let the car cool down to see if it was just a glitch, but after restarting the problem persisted.
The next morning the starter motor struggled, and the next time I attempted to start the car the starter motor died altogether. Off to the local main dealer, then.
First job was to replace the starter - and the section of loom it fried in the process (I thought that was what fuses were for?!). There was a hope that an iffy starter had been causing a drain on the electrical system, but unfortunately this doesnt appear to be the case as the misfire continues.
Now the problems really begin, because the dealer seems a bit stumped. A compression test returned AOK and iffy plugs have been ruled out. The next suspicion (from diagnostic tests) was a leak in or around the inlet manifold. But now they reckon that this is misleading and suspect that the timing may be out for some inexplicable reason. But they dont seem too confident about that as they are checking "other stuff outside the engine" first, in the hope of saving me a big bill. (Some hope!)
So, any ideas? To summarise, the car runs fine when driven (very) gently, but boot it in any gear and it soon splutters and fails to deliver power. The emissions light will flash shortly afterwards. Remember that this problem came on very suddenly - one second all was fine, the next it all went pear-shaped.
Theyve now had the car for nigh-on two weeks so, as you can imagine, Im a little bit miffed. (In eight years with my old Mk1 Golf GTI even the worst problem only ever resulted in a three-day absence and a 300-quid bill. Read it and weep!
)Any suggestions gratefully received. And, yes, I will accept "getting the car away from a Renault dealer" as a suggestion!
Over to you...
