check your bonnet catches!

[sladen1720]

I have read a lot of horror stories on Clio bonnet catches and after seeing a video of someones bonnet folding back on itself and smashing the front windscreen and denting the roof I have always worried about it happening to mine as there will be no comeback on insurance. Today as I was taking my dad to the hospital I went on to a dual carriage way and had to over take a lorry (yeah I overtook a lorry in a 1.2!) as I got to around 70 my dad realized my bonnet was flapping around a bit. And as we passed the front of the lorry the bonnet flew open and bounced back off the top of the hinge and slamming back shut. This thread is to make people aware that it does happen and to look after the rusty little bugger as it may save your life. I am lucky that my dad was in the car as I didn't notice the bonnet as I was watching the road. Some of you low riders who recline your seat right back will not be able to see the bonnet! Thanks for reading. Tom x

 

[DanielJames]

Mine is looking a bit rusty, what can I do to keep it in good order?

 

[sladen1720]

Apparently if you take it back to a renault main dealer garage as they are such a problem on most clios the will re issue a brand new remade one made out of stainless steel free of charge. I'm going there after work tomorrow to see if this is true. And just a bit of wd40 will do for now.

 

[Kane.]

Do they not close properly when rusty ?

 

[sladen1720]

If it is the same as mine and it pulls out towards the front of the car and then springs back sometimes if it is rusty it will not move back and lock in.

 

[H182]

clean it up with a de greaser and wd40 it regularly. This is the safety catch i'm on about. The actual catch itself I use oil or grease.

 

[Jimbo_M]

I may be wrong but shouldnt there be a sticker some where in the bay which indicates that the car has at some point be recalled to have its bonnet catch looked at?

 

[montana]

I may be wrong but shouldnt there be a sticker some where in the bay which indicates that the car has at some point be recalled to have its bonnet catch looked at?

Yes, mine had been recalled for this reason

 

[Sam_]

Not a clio, but this happened to me on a mini I had after picking it up from a MOT! went back to the garage but they said I had to prove the bonnet wasn't shut properly by them and I didn't do it!

but ever since then been super paranoid about bonnets flying open!

 

[littlelise]

My sisters Clio did this when she was learning to drive, bless!
I called Renaut when I bought my car and they said there are no outstanding recalls on it. I do think my bonnet catch looks a little dry though so will probably grease it up regardless ^_^

 

[Dan1587]

Cheers mate, just phoned my local Renault dealer to ask, and its never been done, but its booked in next week
All she asked me was;
"Is it rusty"
I mean on the phone diagnostics ftw

 

[sladen1720]

Cheers mate, just phoned my local Renault dealer to ask, and its never been done, but its booked in next week
All she asked me was;
"Is it rusty"
I mean on the phone diagnostics ftw

How much will it be if you dont mind me asking. (pm if you want)

 

[sladen1720]

for those who have looked at this thread and though ahh itll be reet then have a look at this. ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kanlrQDVwNk

 

[sladen1720]

 

[stephen chadwick]

both my clios had to be recalled for this reason. on my 182 i was told when i went to get some other work done on the car. was replaced free of charge and a sticker to show it was done. what i did with my 1.2 clio was scrape all the surface rust off wd 40 it and keep pulling the leaver to free it up then re grease it.

 

[Dan1587]

How much will it be if you dont mind me asking. (pm if you want)

Its a recall mate so it'll be free!

EDIT: I assume, I might give a ring to double check actually!

 

[Andyman]

Was this ever an official recall ?

Iv owned the Clio since new and never received a letter of recall :S

Renault did however flag me down when i was in about something else a couple of years back and did a free check.


I just keep the hinge oiled and when ever the bonnets been open and closed give a tug up the way to make sure the catch has engaged

 

[W111ALG]

Ive had bother with mine recently and as I have no faith in renau;t to properly service/fix since I heard lot of people just had it greased?WD40'd when taken in by Renault Ijust greased it up myself and made sure the mechanism could move no bother by itself using a screwdriver to lever. Something I do visually check often and after I close the bonnet i usually do check to see if I can pull up be hand.

 

[Jimbo_M]

Yes, mine had been recalled for this reason

Thought i was right, a guy i know said thats what this sticker meant under my bonnet but i didnt know if he was pulling my leg, turns out hes was telling the truth...mines been done

 

[Steven103]

Was this ever an official recall ?

It was an official warranty problem, yes. Big folded A3 letter (yes, A3) from "Quality Assurance" at Renault UK sent via recorded delivery. Letters sent out to all DVLA registered owners.

Had my letter in the service history, went to renault, they checked to see if it'd been done. Answer = no. Book it in. Free bonnet catch. TBH mine didn't look rusty or in need of lubrication, happy they replaced it anyway though.

 

[Dan1587]

Was this ever an official recall ?

Iv owned the Clio since new and never received a letter of recall :S

Renault did however flag me down when i was in about something else a couple of years back and did a free check.


I just keep the hinge oiled and when ever the bonnets been open and closed give a tug up the way to make sure the catch has engaged

I just phoned Renault about the pricing and everything!

She told me its not a recall but Renault UK call it a 'Yellow Notice' meaning that someone will inspect it and if they think it will need changing, they will change it, paid for by Renault.

So basically a recall without the name!

 

[kerry-w]

I just phoned them up and said I had been called for a recall on the catch, no idea if it needed doing or not as id just bought the car. It was booked in and replaced the next day free of charge

 

[sideways danny]

it's the plastic release handle that I've found to be the worst part for sticking. I clean and lube the catch on every service

 

[panda15]

Eeep i wasnt even aware that this was an issue and i have had the car for 3 years taking a look at mine tonight and then going to renault tomorrow...any ideas what the sticker that indicates a check has been done?

 

[Gaz_]

If you've had it three years it wont have been done. Its the safety catch, so in essence, the bonnets not been shut properly to start with if its on the safety latch. Just make sure its all free moving, as said they go sticky

 

[Wakz]

After reading this I got on the phone to Renault to do mine took it in today.
Mine did look rusty, the right hand side plastic part, it was dry and rusty but seemed to work fine.

On the phone I mentioned id heard about the recall and the reply was its not a recall as such but we will take a look at it :S

After an hours wait all they did was WD40 a rusty catch! And what a rubbish job they managed to get WD40 on the engine cover and it was dripping off the front grill.

Seems like they should of replaced it reading every one else's comments, should I be worried about it or should i ring them and demand they change it?
Ill upload some pics in a few hours!

 

[orbital45uk]

We haven't had our car long and had noticed that a couple of times the bonnet had not been closed properly :boring:
Anyway according to our records this recall has been done but the problem still persists

Looking at this myself the thing I have notised is the nobble that is on the bonnet side of the catch is a bigger replacement part
And looks like it hasn't been done properly so instead of being a sharp step so the catch would catch its sloped so the catch just slides off
All I had to do is make sure that the nobbley bit was flat to the catch, I hope that you know what I mean its hard to explain!

 

[Filippo]

Can someone put up a photo of the sticker please

 

[Dan1587]

I havent got a photo, but will get one tomorrow.

Mine is blue and is just a small chart with months up the side and years on top with a cross in the mix for when it was done.

It has already started pealing away and it was only done a month ago.

Phone your local Renault dealer, give them your reg/VIN number and they will tell you. That is all I did, booked it in as it wasn't done and it took about 30minutes. They also did a 25point check on your car...which is crap but mine came back with nothing on...apart from my number plate is illegal. Haha

 

[Dan1587]

I havent got a photo, but will get one tomorrow.

Mine is blue and is just a small chart with months up the side and years on top with a cross in the mix for when it was done.

It has already started pealing away and it was only done a month ago.

Phone your local Renault dealer, give them your reg/VIN number and they will tell you. That is all I did, booked it in as it wasn't done and it took about 30minutes. They also did a 25point check on your car...which is crap but mine came back with nothing on...apart from my number plate is illegal. Haha

 

[Wakz]

I havent got a photo, but will get one tomorrow.

Mine is blue and is just a small chart with months up the side and years on top with a cross in the mix for when it was done.

It has already started pealing away and it was only done a month ago.

Phone your local Renault dealer, give them your reg/VIN number and they will tell you. That is all I did, booked it in as it wasn't done and it took about 30minutes. They also did a 25point check on your car...which is crap but mine came back with nothing on...apart from my number plate is illegal. Haha

So thats what that blue sticker on the side of the engine bay in my car is!
That would mean its already been done before and the replacement has gone rusty..
That doesnt sound good!
After only having it wd40'd by renault someone gave me the idea of telling them it had opened on its own while driving previously and i want it replaced... too late for that now!

Oh and thats why the lady asked me if i have locking nuts! They could of done the least and changed them to normal nuts, i havnt been able to get 1 locking nut of my self and could hear the air gun struggling to open it while i was sat waiting haha!

Ill get my pics up of the catch and this blue chart tomorrow!

 

[d4nmc]

I went for bonnet catches to make sure + I like the look of them.

 

[gdw]

I called renault out of curiousity, the guy was really helpful, he said the system did not flag anything up on from my VIN nor was he aware of any problems but that they would check it for free...

 

[Mason-G-]

THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE COVERED ON YOUR INSURANCE POLICY! FYI

Def get them done though to save the XS, increased premium and hassle

 

[Andyman]

Apparently Mk4 Escorts are bad for this too.

There is a company that offers a lead which attaches to the bonnet and the other end to engine iirc which if it was to fly up, would not hit the screen.

 

[Mike...]

Happened to me.... on a country lane... up the side of a mountain.,... In the pissing rain. I'm sure a couple of nuggets were actually released.

With me it didnt go back down and shut on its own as it flew past the safety catches on the hinges. So had to pull a van up and ask if he had any tools to bend back the hinges. Cost me £800 to repair, this happened on the second day of ownership. So yeah, watch out guys!

 

[Arctic_182]

does anyone have a picture of the new & old catch please

 

[st3ve]

does anyone have a picture of the new & old catch please

One's rusty one isn't afaik.

I thought everyone knew about this, not exactly difficult to prevent.

 

[Filippo]

Apparently Mk4 Escorts are bad for this too.

There is a company that offers a lead which attaches to the bonnet and the other end to engine iirc which if it was to fly up, would not hit the screen.

Knowing my luck it'd end up pulling the engine out.

 

[Sam]

I had this done on my old sport and my non sport. Didnt even have to book it in. Just drove to the garage, mentioned it, and they took the car out the back for 10 minutes and fitted a new catch.

Funnily enough, both times i didnt see a new sticker on either on the engine bays.

Sam!