Clio RS200 - Serious lack of power (VVT Wiring Fault)

Hi all, and welcome to the most unreliable Clio on the internet

It’s an RS200 (59 plate) on 103,000 miles (unused for 2+ years)

It starts first time, without issue. It has a rough idle and feels as though it’ll stall when you get it off the line, like you’ve started in 3rd. It sometimes backfires and has surges in power at low speed. This started 18 months ago after it had not been used for 6 months

It feels like it has 20hp at most and limited to 30mph

There is a 1-2 second delay when you accelerate and sounds like it’s a cylinder down (whining noise under load)

There is a single code for a VVT wiring fault. There wasn’t previously an engine management light but has now come on since then 2nd garage has worked on it

There is a very rich smell of petrol, but no unusual smoke from the exhaust.

There are no knocking, rattling or grinding noises

The heater no longer works and just blows cold air.

There is a small amount of smoke from the engine bay after several minutes idling

The car passed its MOT – almost failed due to the wiper not completing a full motion (it’s always had small electrical glitches like this)

The emissions results are fine, so I don’t think its Cat related

I thought that because the car was so damp that some of the wiring or ECU were compromised. It rained solidly for 4 months and then one morning I started her up and found there was no power and a significantly quieter engine note.

I have had the ECU swapped out and cloned and an auto-electrician confirm that the wiring loom is intact and not the cause

The following have been replaced since the fault occurred (All new OEM parts)

• Fuel Injectors
• Water Pump
• Coil Packs
• Spark plugs
• Dephaser Pulley (Garage installed fine but mentioned it was ‘sticking’)
• Timing belt and tensioners
• VVT Solenoid
• Camshaft positions sensor
• Aux Belt

I have had 2 garages work on it, with totally differing opinions:

• Garage 1 (Aug 2024) suspects that worn piston rings are causing the low compression and lack of power (Readings attached) and that an engine swap would be the most economical solution
• Garage 2 (Sep 2025) thinks the piston rings are intact, and the low compression is caused by either the ECU or a broken camshaft

I’d really appreciate some help finding a specialist who can work on it or hear from anyone who has had similar issues.

I love this car but its forever breaking. Owned for almost 7 years and it’s been off the road for most of that time.
Just praying the fix isn’t an entire engine rebuild

Many thanks

Have you ever heard the car run right?

It may be timing related, which would also throw compression off. New dephaser pulleys MUST be checked and confirmed that they are locked prior to fitting. I replaced the dephaser in my 265 meg yesterday and it was not locked.

You need to put a nut and bolt through the dephaser bolt hole, tighten them. Lock the pulley in a vice and try turn the nut and bolt. It shouldn't move if its locked. If its unlocked, it'll move then stop moving when its locked. That being said, now that its been running, the dephaser will be in its locked position when the engine is off. I would check timing first.

Disconnect the VVT solenoid and see what happens. Could also test the solenoid with a 12v supply, or an actuation test with a good bidirectional scan tool. If you can't, or that doesn't work then check for voltage (as its only a 2pin there may not be voltage until it switches at higher RPM, I'm not sure) and earth at the dephaser solenoid plug, then check for resistance and continuity to the ECU. You'll need a set of back probes and an ECU pin out.

Compression test results are not good, if the test has done properly.

When was low compression verified, before or after cambelt.

Sounds like last 2 garages have been throwing the parts cannon at it hoping it will work, without any real idea. Ecu wont affect compression, and if camshaft was broken then you would definitely know about it.

Not sure where your based but id be booking it into somewhere who knows these engines to diagnose properly. Diamond motors renault specialists in Nottingham if your in that area, or AW motorworks if down south.

rik220 said:

Have you ever heard the car run right?

It may be timing related, which would also throw compression off. New dephaser pulleys MUST be checked and confirmed that they are locked prior to fitting. I replaced the dephaser in my 265 meg yesterday and it was not locked.

You need to put a nut and bolt through the dephaser bolt hole, tighten them. Lock the pulley in a vice and try turn the nut and bolt. It shouldn't move if its locked. If its unlocked, it'll move then stop moving when its locked. That being said, now that its been running, the dephaser will be in its locked position when the engine is off. I would check timing first.

Disconnect the VVT solenoid and see what happens. Could also test the solenoid with a 12v supply, or an actuation test with a good bidirectional scan tool. If you can't, or that doesn't work then check for voltage (as its only a 2pin there may not be voltage until it switches at higher RPM, I'm not sure) and earth at the dephaser solenoid plug, then check for resistance and continuity to the ECU. You'll need a set of back probes and an ECU pin out.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply,

It was running perfectly in June 2023 and by winter same year after being unused for several months, suddenly no power.

Im not able to work on it myself unfortunately, but I know the VVT solenoid has already been tested as you have suggested and it was not the cause

Is it possible to check whether the dephaser is broken. I bought it directly from Renault but the garage that installed it were worried it wasn't genuine as it wasn't working when they first installed it

,

Brigsy said:

Compression test results are not good, if the test has done properly.

When was low compression verified, before or after cambelt.

Sounds like last 2 garages have been throwing the parts cannon at it hoping it will work, without any real idea. Ecu wont affect compression, and if camshaft was broken then you would definitely know about it.

Not sure where your based but id be booking it into somewhere who knows these engines to diagnose properly. Diamond motors renault specialists in Nottingham if your in that area, or AW motorworks if down south.

Click to expand...

Hi, thanks for responding

Compression test was done after the cambelt was fitted. It had no power loss prior to parking it up. I would have thought if it was piston rings they would degrade over time, not suddenly. It also has no trouble starting and no unusual exhaust smoke

When they replaced the cambelt they commented the waterpump had failed, but I hadn't had any warning lights or excessive engine temp readings (it was just being started up and moved up and down the drive 1-2 times a month)

The only fault code is VVT wiring. Could this be caused by worn piston rings?

I'm based in Reading, so AW motorworks is 2 hours away. Would you recommend them over Ktec, engine dynamics?

Without wanting to add to your financial pain, your symptoms (ignoring the compression figures) match exactly how they behave when the lambda sensor is shagged.
I've also had similar previously which was solved by a throttle body, though the symptoms were only intermittent, and way worse as the car wouldn't run.

If the rings were as shagged as they're making out, it would be consuming alot of oil, likely smoking alot, and probably have a good amount of crankcase pressure

RSRowe said:

If the rings were as shagged as they're making out, it would be consuming alot of oil, likely smoking alot, and probably have a good amount of crankcase pressure

Click to expand...

Pretty sure the garage said crankcase pressure readings werent concerning
No smoke and has never had an issue with excessive oil consumption. I regularly check it and it barely needs topping up each time

RSRowe said:

Without wanting to add to your financial pain, your symptoms (ignoring the compression figures) match exactly how they behave when the lambda sensor is shagged.
I've also had similar previously which was solved by a throttle body, though the symptoms were only intermittent, and way worse as the car wouldn't run.

Click to expand...

I have had one of the lambda sensors replaced within the last 5,000 miles. But it had a fault code when it failed. I only have the vvt wiring one stored now