Clio 182 - Engine Gone 25k

[JEEV2002]

As much as you wouldnt believe this on saturday i was driving lost all power the car cut out opened the bonnnet and got the RAC down they took a look at it ....

The Aux belt has sheared on its way round it caught the cambelt and took that with it... there RAC guy used a telescopic magnet and found a piston knocking around in the engine as you could imagine im furious.

The cars done 25900 miles which is next to nothing; its a 54 Reg and well lets be honest something like this should never happen. What really furiates me is that i took it to Renault in Colchester last week to ask them when the cambelt and aux belt needed doing they said 76k or not until next year. I did read on here this was changed to 36k but they definately didnt recommend that!

At the moment im sitting in Renault Leicester spoken to the service department who say without speaking to customer services they can judge whether or not they will repair the car and an adjusted cost or free of charge. They dont open until 10:30 so if theres any wise suggestions or anyone whose had a similar experience please reply.

 

[Turkish]

Go with the line "fit for purpose" and mention trading standards. Yes it's out of warranty on age but it's fair to say that if serviced as per Renaults intervals with genuine parts then you shouldnt suffer a catastrophic failure. As for the Piston "knocking about" are you sure? I find it hard to believe a snapped belt would result in a snapped con rod, bent valves maybe but wrecking a con rod takes some doing.

 

[Jamesstone]

Unlucky mate, good luck getting it sorted...

Have seen a cambelt snapped 172 smash a piston so i'm sure its possible to fook a con rod, esecially if your at 7,000rpm..

 

[Christopher]

More likely is the piston hitting the valve/s as they've bent and remained open. Making a knocking/tapping noise.

Accessory belt should be changed at 36k, although your car is out of warranty, you should have some weight with saying it's not fit for purpose.

 

[martandem]

That is crazy..... definitely lean on, infact put a sh*t load of pressure on Renault, as already said, regardless of warranty being expired you should never have this going on at 25k, assuming its not been thrashed the cr*p out of every time the engine is switched on, but even then surely not?!
Good luck, fingers are crossed for you mate...

 

[mikey_172]

ive gota 52 reg 172 and the cambelt snappend on mine at 25k and it was in 2005 and it went back to renualt who replaced the whole engine because the belt had snapped early if they say they wont fix it get on the phone to renault uk!

 

[partyboy23]

yep thats 182 to engine for ya,renault took 4 and hal months to fix mine and i got it back leaking every where,then i took it back again and now i have it back it burns oil like no ones business,mite sell up from my 182 nothing but typical french sh*t

 

[JEEV2002]

serviced religiously never ragged from cold it happened while i was doing a measely 40mph.... heres the latest update....

Renault Customer Services want Renault to diagnose the problem prior to progressing the claim. They say when this is done there is no guarantee and compensation towards the cost of repair will be paid . Heres the punch line Renault dealers want £450 to remove the cylinder head and diagnose the problem how shocking is that

So im still sitting at the dealer now decided to recover the car to a good private garage local to home but 120 miles from where i am.

Because i cant go about spending £450 for someone to take a look and do nothing so and preferably i'd rather spend whatever it costs at a private garage where they will diagnose and begin the repair as part of the cost... as renault reckon if the repair is just a top end rebuild it'd cost £1600 - £2000 i cant spend £2.5k with renault im better of a new car! They mentioned a complete engine if worst comes to worst! and i dont even want to mention the costs involved in that.

 

[JEEV2002]

ive gota 52 reg 172 and the cambelt snappend on mine at 25k and it was in 2005 and it went back to renualt who replaced the whole engine because the belt had snapped early if they say they wont fix it get on the phone to renault uk!

i need to know who you spoke to what number you called because at the moment they want to diagnose the fault prior to assisting in repairing the vehicle or even considering paying any small amount towards the cost of repair!

ridiculous!

 

[mikey_172]

serviced religiously never ragged from cold it happened while i was doing a measely 40mph.... heres the latest update....

Renault Customer Services want Renault to diagnose the problem prior to progressing the claim. They say when this is done there is no guarantee and compensation towards the cost of repair will be paid . Heres the punch line Renault dealers want £450 to remove the cylinder head and diagnose the problem how shocking is that

So im still sitting at the dealer now decided to recover the car to a good private garage local to home but 120 miles from where i am.

Because i cant go about spending £450 for someone to take a look and do nothing so and preferably i'd rather spend whatever it costs at a private garage where they will diagnose and begin the repair as part of the cost... as renault reckon if the repair is just a top end rebuild it'd cost £1600 - £2000 i cant spend £2.5k with renault im better of a new car! They mentioned a complete engine if worst comes to worst! and i dont even want to mention the costs involved in that.

tbh mate its a along process mine took 6 weeks to sort out i had to pay 300 pound for them to look at it and they paid out. but they engine they put also failed and they would not pay out unless i took them to court so i bought a second hand engine and dropped it in there cost me a grand to get that done ur get a decent 182 lump off ebay for 500ish worth a look tbh and get it put in

 

[JEEV2002]

yeah we'll see what the private repairer says hes is really good hopefully its not as bad as i mentioned in the first post... and it can be repaired..... and then sold... just so much hassle ! renault are a bunch of rip off merchants.

 

[Turkish]

£450 to pull a head off? WTF! If they agree to honour the claim if someone else pulls the head off I'd be inclined to get an independant to do it or even get it pushed out into their carpark and pull the b*****d off yourself. If it needs an engine and they leave you high and dry on covering the cost you'd be better off speaking to Matt Black he was doing new RS engines for very reasonable money a while back.

 

[Green_Speed_Machine]

yep thats 182 to engine for ya,renault took 4 and hal months to fix mine and i got it back leaking every where,then i took it back again and now i have it back it burns oil like no ones business,mite sell up from my 182 nothing but typical french sh*t

My cup was identical mate I ended up putting a litre of oil in it every 500 miles or so. Renault said that was normal! Not on a car with 30,000 miles on it!

 

[Timmay]

gutted for you mate - really hope you get it all sorted soon and with little cost.

 

[partyboy23]

yep i put a few into it last night,has only been about 400 miles if that since the oil was filled

 

[Turkish]

yep thats 182 to engine for ya,renault took 4 and hal months to fix mine and i got it back leaking every where,then i took it back again and now i have it back it burns oil like no ones business,mite sell up from my 182 nothing but typical french sh*t

My cup was identical mate I ended up putting a litre of oil in it every 500 miles or so. Renault said that was normal! Not on a car with 30,000 miles on it!

Renaults limits on oil consumption are a joke. I asked in the past and they told me the upper limit they see as being "normal" and TBH it was in 2 stroke territory IMO.

 

[mikey_172]

i was losing 2ltrs of oil a week and renault said it should use 1ltr every 1000 miles if any at all i ended up having and engine rebuild and the oil rings were fucked by 40thou of a mil of play it was ment to have 5 thou

 

[Turkish]

i was losing 2ltrs of oil a week and renault said it should use 1ltr every 1000 miles if any at all i ended up having and engine rebuild and the oil rings were f**ked by 40thou of a mil of play it was ment to have 5 thou

They probably meant they expected it to use a litre per 1000 but the actual limit they see as acceptable is far higher, I can't remember the exact amount offhand though. 2litres of semi synthetic a week is a serious drink habit. Bet your exhaust didnt rust, lol.

 

[Green_Speed_Machine]

yep i put a few into it last night,has only been about 400 miles if that since the oil was filled

Get it back to the garage. And dont take any excuses.. It sounds like your piston rings are fried, thats what happened to mine when it was burning loads of oil. About 4 months after that the bottom end failed. If they wont do anything to help then get rid before the engine goes.

 

[Green_Speed_Machine]

My cup was identical mate I ended up putting a litre of oil in it every 500 miles or so. Renault said that was normal! Not on a car with 30,000 miles on it!

Renaults limits on oil consumption are a joke. I asked in the past and they told me the upper limit they see as being "normal" and TBH it was in 2 stroke territory IMO.

They would swear white was black to get out of paying for things. thats why I wont be buying renault again.

 

[wallop]

They use the threat of heavy charges to check engines out because they know there are issues relating to belt lifespan and the possible heavy charge will scare some, if not most people, into going elsewhere....hence saving themselves money.....

Get on the net and do some research into the particular fault you've got....
Don't deal with anyone other than customer services or the warranty repair section....
Find out if your car is still covered, (warranty periods vary for each component part, Vaux engines are fully covered for 60k miles, but they won't tell you this unless you actually ask).....

Most importantly Remain Calm & Polite, its not the person your dealing with who is at fault, but ultimately, it is the person who can authorise a full no cost engine replacement.....

 

[martandem]

Renaults limits on oil consumption are a joke. I asked in the past and they told me the upper limit they see as being "normal" and TBH it was in 2 stroke territory IMO.

They would swear white was black to get out of paying for things. thats why I wont be buying renault again.

Its not just Renault that are like it though to be fair, main dealers all like to try it on...

 

[JEEV2002]

Well at the moment im at the services waiting for the 3rd recovery truck to recover me to the garage. (They can only travel so far within the given range / law etc.)

The initial diagnosis of £450 is a scare to me like you said but i can see how easily you are convinced to go elsewhere.... i may just have to stick out £450and then go from there its really beginning to get to me that i have no working transport.

Im tewmpted to see if Renault in Aldershot will be any cheaper than Renault in Leicester who originally quoted me £450.

 

[JEEV2002]

Just rang mill lane in Aldershot...

£291. Cant remember if they said + VAT

But thats still £341.

£100 saving over Renault Leicester.

 

[Green_Speed_Machine]

I wouldnt be paying a penny...

 

[JEEV2002]

Thats my intention to pay nothing whatsoever!
its at renault this morning and it'll be entering the workshop for their diagnosis of the problem then its onto Renault UK who will progress the claim through and see what they can do.

 

[JEEV2002]

They use the threat of heavy charges to check engines out because they know there are issues relating to belt lifespan and the possible heavy charge will scare some, if not most people, into going elsewhere....hence saving themselves money.....

Get on the net and do some research into the particular fault you've got....
Don't deal with anyone other than customer services or the warranty repair section....
Find out if your car is still covered, (warranty periods vary for each component part, Vaux engines are fully covered for 60k miles, but they won't tell you this unless you actually ask).....

Most importantly Remain Calm & Polite, its not the person your dealing with who is at fault, but ultimately, it is the person who can authorise a full no cost engine replacement.....

Thanks for the advice will keep all posted

 

[mikey_172]

i was losing 2ltrs of oil a week and renault said it should use 1ltr every 1000 miles if any at all i ended up having and engine rebuild and the oil rings were f**ked by 40thou of a mil of play it was ment to have 5 thou

They probably meant they expected it to use a litre per 1000 but the actual limit they see as acceptable is far higher, I can't remember the exact amount offhand though. 2litres of semi synthetic a week is a serious drink habit. Bet your exhaust didnt rust, lol.

it was fully synthetic and burnt a massive whole in my wallet lol

 

[mini-valver]

Good luck with it fella. If not, like has been said I'd just get another lump off the bay for £4-500 and put it in yourself at a weekend.

 

[JEEV2002]

hows £4600 as a repair bill from Renault... thats an estimated cost based on todays diagnosis.

Even the Renault Dealership are not impressed with the total failure of the engine at 25k and are now persuing the claim with Renault UK warranties.

 

[BRUN]

can i ask a question, the service history on the vehicle, is it main dealer service history or has it always been done at independents ?

 

[JEEV2002]

Always at Renault not necessarily the same dealer each time but any repairs minor such as the TDC sensor was carried out at renault too.

 

[BRUN]

then you should be ok mate

 

[JEEV2002]

this has also been posted on pistonheads - just to get a wider angle of responses from different people

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=579243&i=20

and on the official Renault - Renaultsport Forum

http://www.renaultsport.co.uk/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=31778&whichpage=1

 

[Neil G]

Unlucky

I hope you have a result sorting this out, not realluy acceptable, especially at that mileage

 

[wallop]

I assume you've requested a courtesy car???

I know I would......

 

[mikey_172]

i just looked on your piston heads thread mate about you getting another engine the only one id buy one off would be matt black off here hes cheaper than any other breakers and i think he gives you warrntey with the engine its worth pm'ing him

 

[JEEV2002]

i just looked on your piston heads thread mate about you getting another engine the only one id buy one off would be matt black off here hes cheaper than any other breakers and i think he gives you warrntey with the engine its worth pm'ing him

im not looking to buy one infact i dont intend to buy one at all but cheers for the referral . I just want to quantify how much it'll be *IF* Renault never do pay up.

 

[JEEV2002]

I assume you've requested a courtesy car???

I know I would......

I have but nothings available until Friday next week at earliest!! im getting pretty annoyed now. Im about to phone as they havent called me - to see what the score is...

 

[JEEV2002]

Just spoken to Renault who are emailing a copy of the quotation across to me so everyone on here analyse the full extent of what is needed to get the car back on the road. The dealership are also chasing Renault UK warranties for further info.

I have also had a quotation from an engine company who have put a price of £1915.25 for the car to be recovered from the dealer and a 0 mile reconditioned engine to be fitted with a 5 year / 60,000 mile guarantee and dropping the car back to me ready to use - Still unaffordable for me but shows the cost differentiation between Renault and private engine specialist.