Copied form this page of items
http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?t=187984
Servicing can be a bit pricy with cambelts etc but depends if the car needs its cambelts aux etc belts doing info is here
http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?t=107873
Common Clio problems
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I'll tidy this up but the PC's at works acting up so I'd best post it before its lost forever.
Noise from the wheels
Check the wheel bolts are on tightly. They can come loose
Seat belt warning light
The SERV and AIRBAG lights come on its a common problem (almost every has it) its due to the wiring of the pretensioners going to an open circuit. Fiddle with the wires under the seat an the problem will go away.
On the early cars the solution is to look under each of the seats. You will see a grey connector.
On the passenger side disconnect it and cut the Blue and Brown wires off both sides. Then solder the Blue wire to blue, and the Brown to the other brown. Make sure you use insulating sleeves over the soldered connections..
Under the driver seat there are two pairs of wires in the grey connector.. Only cut the Blue and Brown wires and solder them together as above.. Reconnect the connector..
On the facelift cars it is ONLY the passenger side connector that is affected.. So again cut and solder the Blue and brown wires.
Uneven idle
This is a problem with the new 16V Clio engines its due to emissions regulations so that when the engine cold emissions are lower there not much you can do really.
However if the idle is very poor then there are fixes. (See particular engine for any known problem areas).
Alarm.
1) The Renault alarms (made by Cobra) have a few common problems but most of the time there found in the first few weeks from new. These include.
2) The bonnet switch can fail or get rusty open the bonnet and you'll see it on the front just check it's working.
3) The interior sensors on the drivers pillar are normally from new extremely sensitive the way to fix this is for Renault (under warranty) swap the feed lines round and the sensitivity is dropped by 40% or so. Until you can get these fixed the only way to fix it is to either alarm the car without the interior sensors being activated or to close the air vents and ensure there not pointed at the sensors on the pillars.
Starting issues
If you have any problems starting the car the best thing to do is to check the light on the center of the dash if the light doesn't go out when your attempting to start then the problem is down to the engine immobiliser not the battery etc.
Petrol Clios can suffer from starter problems this most of the time stems from a poor female connection on the starter motor. You can tell if this is the problem as the plug connection goes black. Simply reconnect the female connector or take it to Renault if you're under warranty as it's a common problem with a technical note to fix it.
Keys
One of the problems with the Clio keys is that there can be very fragile you might have a good set you might have a bad set. The problem is that the wires for the battery can come loose and people then think the battery is at fault replace the battery and are annoyed when a new battery doesn't fix the problem. If you are having problems with the remote check the connection on the battery in the remote first.
Car doesn't feel secure or right at speed.
This can happen to any cars but some dealerships seem quite poor at fixing it. Its due to the suspensions setup. Renault need to do the tracking on the car to set the camber etc up to the proper setups. If this is done correctly you'll notice a significant change in the cars handling. If Renault still fail after many attempts to fix this go to any reasonably decent local garage and ask the tracking to be checked and adjusted if necessary. Its usually about £20~30.
Drum brakes
Drum brakes have been problems it's a known technical issue on Clios and happens at any age. Its not that bad to fix you need a new set of drums.
Brake warning lights
New Clios don't have brake wear indicators but they do have a light which works off the reservoir level however its not that reliable since during services Renault top it up also during hard cornering the sensor can thing the tank is empty and set the light off. Just make sure the tanks topped up and keep and eye on how the pads are.
Bonnet
If the bonnet isn't dropped when lowered then you end up pushing it down this can damage the bonnet. It would in my view be seen as a sign of a good owner as they were gentle with the car so this might well follow thought with there treatment of the car. Its also show they have looked under the bonnet at least once.
Radiator/aircon condensor damage
The low front of the Clio can lead to stone chip damage. My cars been thought two radiators in 34k. I seem to be the only one suffering but when new radiators are £90 from Renault and its a 1.9hr job for the phase 1 and a 2.4hr job for the phase 2 just be warned. You can buy cheaper radiators from Renault if you say your trade or go to Euro parts/GSF for cheap OE radiators.
Emmissions light
The emissions light can come on because
1- faulty cat (second lambeda sensor will
2,faulty downstream oxygen sensor
3,engine misfire or running fault affecting emissions
4,upstream oxygen sensor giving ecu false readings
first sensor reference voltage-sensors are operated using a 5 volt feed direct from the injection computer or via a relay switched by the computer. the feed goes to all the sensors on the first sensor circuit and back to the computer. it goes back to the computer so the computer knows the 5 volt feed it has switched/requested is present. this fault indicates the feed was not present or has shorted out.
Oil burn
The specification for Clios engine running oil is 1 liter per 1000km (or 600 miles) is deemed as acceptable. That's a lot of oil but so long as it's a burning less than that Renault can refuse to help as it's in tolerance. Its unlikely Renault wouldn't help if you were burning that much oil as that's a significant amount, but there no reason they have to. So remember to check the oil ever week.
2.0 Problem (i.e. Cup, 172, 182)
Note
The 172 and 182 engines have VVT this is only activated between 1.8k and 6.5k when the coolant temp is over 80 degrees and the intake air pressure is over 650mbar. The 4k kick is due only to the cam profile the cams became much greater breathers at about 4k which leads to the kick you feel. The VVT only works on the intake cam and advances its timings by 16 degrees.
Running problems
1) One common problems happening is the coolant temp sensor failing. The tell tail signs are very poor running smoky exhausts and easiest to spot the temperature gauge will go up and down when your driving along. It's a simple problem to fix and Renault know about it
2) The throttle body (electric in the Mk2's and manual in the Mk1's can get blocked particularly if you have an aftermarket air filter etc. To clean it you have to remove the engine cover. Then remove the air filter and carefully clean the throttle body.
3) Poor running up to 4k. This can be put down to a failed lambda sensor in the exhaust, below 4k the engine runs an open loop the readings from this sensor being used to adjust the fueling above 4k these sensor reads are ignored as to inaccurate. Replacing the lambda sensor is an easy fix option
Noise
1) The timing belt idler can be a problem requiring a new one to be fitted. Some lubricant can help but there not much else you can do. Its particularly bad in the cold weathers this problem. You an tell this problem when the cars idling and its like a squeak. Its recommended that its changed at 36k along with the aux belt and the tensioner itself at 72k. However officially the aux belt doesn't need to be changed till 72k since April 2002. Its only a visible inspection at 36k.
2) Another problem area is the 4k rattle you'll know what that means if you have it. It's suffered by both the 172's and 182s since they both use the same problematic center section. Renault have a few attempted fixes. However replacing the center section with an aftermarket one fitted which is better built is a common fix on the forum.
3) 1st and 2nd gear knocking. This is a common problem on Clios particularly the 2.0's its called axle tramp and down to the fact the engine mounts aren't strong enough to stop the engine moving under hard acceleration. There are some fixes though which can remedy the issue firstly the mounts need to be checked there tighter then check the mounts are centered remove the battery and check the engine is right in the center of the mounts if no loosen bolts and adjust engine. Stronger mounts are used in the Cup racing series however although the parts have Renault part codes that can only be purchased thought Renault sport in France.
4) One common noise is caused by the shocker top nut/washer catching on the turret top. All 172's and 182 can be modified which should help aliviate the problem but none come with the modifiication to the strut tops as standard.
5) Another area of problem is the noise caused by a pressure build up in the PAS (power assisted stearing) system this is caused by a restrictive PAS return pipe. The modified pipe is a lot bigger and the one which can be replaced as part of the warently work (as of 6/3/05 this part is not on the Renault tech system) . All 182 come with the new pipe.
Lights on the dash
Emmisions light.
This problem of the emissions light coming on is a much greater problem on car with decats etc. It has no issues on engine running etc all that is happening is the second lambda sensor is detecting that the emissions after the cat are to high than they should be (either due to the dacat or a faulty sensor) and so set the warning light off. The simple fix is to disconnect the second sensor and tape up the connections to prevent them from shorting etc. Then either put some tape over the light, unplug the light wire from the dash or best of all get Renault etc to clear the fault log from the computer and it will never come on again. There is an issue that 182's seem to have a problem with this disconnecting and clearing the fault still results in the light coming back but no fix is known at the moment
Lower on one side/rattles whilst driving.
A few 172 particularly older ones have suffered with snapped springs there is no obvious reason why. It would look like they just get rusted up and they break but it has suffered from even the newer phase 2 172s as well
Starting problems
The 172's can suffer from the TDC sensors failing its a simple fix just swap for a new one.
Clutch issues
The 172 has a week clutch its a difficult one to fix. Either have an up rated/new one fitted. Or try and burn off the clutch material by getting to the car to point of max torque (~5k) when driving along and lower the clutch slight so its slipping slightly then floor the accelerator and let off the clutch quickly. This isn't the best idea but a comply used one by high torque diesel owners and it seems to help. If you intend to do significant modifications and use them fully you should (in my view) look into an up rated clutch as is a clutch breaks it can take other gearbox/flywheel bits with it.
Clutches can wear quite quick depending on the driver if you learn to blip the throttle on the way down the box is will help considerably increase its life.
Gearbox issues
Another week spot for the Clio really the box isn't the cleanest shifter and isn't geared for a high speed motorway run. A few gearboxes gave been swapped under warranty the best idea is to be easy with the shifts i.e. no short shifters
The 5th gear on the Clio is on another shaft as such so any 5th gear issues usually revolve round this.
One option to fix the high revs at speed is to swap to a Mk1 box which has slightly longer ratios (the Mk2 172 has shorter ratios to help with the extra weight disadvantage it has it has). However it's expensive and the increase isn't huge
Brakes
The brakes on a 172/Cup/182/182 Cup are all the same there very powerful. The rear brakes have a problem in that they can stick when starting the car up in the morning as the pad material stick to the disk and they can need a bit of a shove to loosen them in the morning there is no fix though. Also ensure the brakes are used now and again to stop the buildup of rust and pitting on the pads since this is an MOT failure point if you don't use hard now and again you'll never stop the rusting and pitting appearing. A good idea is that after washing the car take it for a run and use the brakes hard to dry the water from the disks.
The rear pads are very small as new and wear very little so just because you only have 4mm doesn't mean you need to change them as they only have 6mm on them new.
Power stearing
Some people have experience the power steering going the most likely thing is the aux belt has snapped its happened quite a few time and one of the reasons garages often stick a new one in at 36k. If the belt snapps then you looses the power steering, alternator, air con and coolant pump. It's easy to see the belt open the bonnet remove the cover and see if the belts down on the driver's side of the car near the front of the engine are OK.
Temperatur gauge /poor running
This seems to be happening more and more particularly on the 182's. The temperature gauge failsSome people have experience the power steering going the most likely thing is the aux belt has snapped its happened quite a few time and one of the reasons garages often stick a new one in at 36k. If the belt snapps then you looses the power steering, alternator, air con and coolant pump. It's easy to see the belt open the bonnet remove the cover and see if the belts down on the driver's side of the car near the front of the engine are OK.
182 problems
A common problem is the ABS, serv and Stop lights to come on its a problem relating to the brake pressure sensors on the pedals they seem to be set too low and set the lights off and logs a fault on the ECU. There is a technical note at Renault for fixing of this under warranty.
Diesels
Note
The dci 65 and 80 are the same engines the difference in the 80 are the presence of the intercooler and bigger flow injectors along with re written ECU maps, the turbo although a different part number is the same turbo the changes look like they only relate to the value for which the waste gate works at (1.3 bar and 1.95mm on the 65dci Vs 1.4 bar and 3.3mm on the 80). The 100dci is a very similar engine but has a list of up rated parts. The 105 engine is even more uprated with stronger parts a a new 6 speed gearbox.
There not really that much goes wrong with them. Any problem to properly diagnose need a Renault computer so you have to go to Renault and
Injectors
Injectors have been trouble for a few owners at ~50k why this is still unknown but it might be down to cheap fuel used. Its not defiantly going to happen if you have a 50k+ dci there are cars with over 140k on the original injectors. Might be worth to keep using expensive diesel and make sure you get the revs up 4l+ ever now and again to stop anything sticking in the injectors. Also change the filters more regularly but make sure its totally clean before you do this, dirty is the dci's systems biggest killer.
Final note
Don't take this list as showing poor Renault build quality. A recently survey showed 80+% of Clios would buy another one and many owners have no problems with there cars.
Renault have a history of building good small cars the competition are no better in my view even ones costing much more
172/182 buyers guide
First thing is have a read of the frequent/changes in production etc as listed on this thread
http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?t=187984
If you want more info on anything written here best do a search as I’ve tried not go into to much depth for fear of it becoming to large.
Ok things to look out for or check.
Exterior
Check for the normal scratches dents etc also check the sills of the car for bending whilst not a huge issue it doesn’t look good and shows poor signs of the car being jacked/possible accident damage.
One thing to check if the presence of a sticker on the drivers door which tell you the oval plate details of the car If this is missing then it can show the cars been re sprayed and the sticker not replaced etc. The vin though are also available from the passenger side of the car down the bottom of the windscreen viewable form the outside and also under the bonnet. (see this link for more info)Clio codes (for the dialogues) and what the oval plate says about your car
http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?t=112411
If the car isn't a 182 Cup or 172 Cup check the front xenon washer jet balls are there and work they are a common failure point and whilst there are a few fixes no one is perfect.
You have the choice of either
New washer jet i.e. bumper off and replace - may well fail again
Just swap the washer jet ball its less effort than taking the bumper off- may fail again in fact its more likely.
Superglue the ball back in place- Make sure you get it in the right spot else you'll need to buy a new one this if done right is a good method though.
Unplug the jets - its easy to do just unplug the lines from behind the jets and no leaks just remember to bung up the pipes- There supposed to be connected all the time legally.
Check for accident damage its a hot hatch and more so in the case of the 172 Cup they do get crashed and sometimes bodged repairs so check for any areas of rust
They shouldn't rust at all really as the protects is very good only possible place is the chassis frame under the car if you jack on them it can peal the under seal off over time.
Check in the boot under the carpet for any deformation
Check If you are looking at a 172 Cup or a 182 Cup or a 182 with the cup spoiler pack then check at the front of the car under the bumper for a small black plastic spoiler there no cheap new (£130ish) and break a lot. They should be fitted though but often there damaged or not fitted new and owners don't care or don't know there missing them.
Check under the front of the car for the under bonnet cover its a big plastic cover under the engine its only thin plastic it helps keeps the underside of the engine clean and catches any oil drips.
One thing if the car your looking at has sat nav then the DVD disks aren’t cheap also in the case of the 182 the spoiler pack couldn't (shouldn't have) been fitted since the bigger rear spoiler caught to much on the sat nav aerial to much however some have been added later on but this may explain why it has sat nav and only the rear spoiler not splitter as it was added after build
Check the rear lights faulty rear light of any type isusually down to a poor earthing connected/water getting in them so dry the unit and fix and check the earthing point on the left hand side of the car in the boot down below the upper seat belt point for a good connection its under the side covr.
Mechanics
Check the engine doesn’t move much (only way to explain how much they should move is to compare with other 172/182's) however loads of engine movement should show up on a test drive.
If your looking at a 182 normal car then check for a engine cover it doesn’t make much different the 172 Cup didn't have them etc to save cost and weight its there to help make the engine bay look tidier and reduce noise a bit but it does very little owners often remove it to see the engine more, easier access to parts and under the excuse of weight saving.
The exhaust on the 172 and 182 aren’t great the 172 biggest issue is the fact the back box is to heavy and so within about 3 years it breaks the weld to the front pipe most p[people then change for an aftermarket exhaust as stock is about the same price. It can be fixed if you take it to a garage etc they’ll see what the issue is and could weld up the exhaust with a stiffener or weld and extra bracket to hold the back box in place better. The 182 isn't the same system (since it take the place where the spare wheel well is but it can suffer from the same rattles from the mid section etc.
If your looking at a 182 one thing to remember is there two type (Trophy excepted)
There the 182 (with the cup spoiler and suspension packs) this has climate leather seats (well part) and xenon’s etc. This is sometimes called the full fat on here its not anything official just the name the forum often uses.
Then there’s the 182 Cup this has both suspension and spoiler/splitter packs as standard but doesn't have the leather seats xenon’s or climate (air con instead).
The presence of Cup was symbolised by the darker coloured wheels but since some cars had the wheels swapped at dealers and aftermarket swaps and since the wheels bar the colour where the same then its impossible to be certain by looking at the wheels if it has the pack then only way to be sure is to turn the front wheels and measure the hub bolt spacing from the centre of one bolt to the other.
60mm means you have the cup suspension pack
54mm means you don't have the cup suspension pack
Drive shaft gaiters can fail like any car and since there such a pain to properly chnage for proper Renaul ones often best getting a whole new shaft which ins't cheap Abs rings can come loose (east to chnage realy) and cause ABS warning lights a new ring can be bought but many dealers cannot find the part number/price but they are there.
Check the washer jets work they do get blocked.
Due to certain magazines write ups many people refuse to by non cupped cars and IMO regardless of what I was doing even if I were changing the suspension I'd get a car with the cup pack for the resale. Most cars have the suspension pack though.
Check the oil level though also if you have the engine cover removed check the head area for oil the seal isn't great often and since the repair is 7.1 hour and necessitates a new cam belt its not worth fixing just to stop a little oil leak however since the oil level sensor isn't that good and since the sensor tell you when your low with oil without having to open the bonnet many owners actually check the level and it can run low.
If your after a car with more HP remember that whilst there tuning bits out there they are not cheap £1.5k will see you about 190~195hp. So claims of a remap and induction kit for 200hp are false.
Check the stearing to full lock often the strut tops under the bonnet for the strut catch on the body the Renault offical fix it to grind some of the material form the bodty the other fix is to leave it or to stick some washer under the strut tops as per the Clio V6 has to lift the top as such.
Interior
The biggest thing can be rattles/squeaks etc some cars are worse than others you can try and fix the noises stripping the dash top off and taping it all down etc but really depends how bad it is.
The seats should be in god condition wear on the side bolsters can be down to how the owners gets in the car etc.
Check the steering wheel for damage/wear depending on use etc they do wear and the finger grips bits can come away /fray etc they can be stuck down etc but cannot be bought separate a proper new wheel is £350 or so no one bothers getting a new one. One thing that can damage them is the wearing of hand cream and wedding rings.
Anther thing which can be damaged by the wearing of a ring etc is the gear knob they are quite cheap and easy to replace really if you are bothered.
Check the condition of the gearbox gaiter there only cheap but when the dog bone mount wears etc they can break the clips if stretched to far needing a new one.
Check the seat belt handles all work fixes arn't to diffuclt or expensive but somehting to check.
Under the cigarette ash tray (pull it out) you'll see a little cover over a diagnostic port if you have access to a proper code reader then you could plug in here and check for any fault codes into showing up on the dashboard warning lights but those that do are usually insignificant anyway.
Check the foot wells for the front and rear seats for water the front seats are down to a blocked valve/air con filter etc the rears are foten down the rear seat bar the holes let water although faulty rear window seals are common.
Check all the electrics work windows particularly and the climate control works it there a buzzing sound when its on it could well just be the little fan in the console on the roof which blows air over the interior temp sensor for the climate easy/cheap to change though. The system isn't great making cold air but if it is poor often re-gas fixes it.
When starting the car ideally turn the key so all the light come on then wait for them to go off before starting the car check the warning light etc go out the SERV light doesn't indicate servicing just that the car has a fault which needs sorting.
Check under the passenger seat for presence of a CD changer if the CD changer cable is there then there was one fitted and someone removed it at some time. Some cars didn't have them as standard though.
172 phase 1 had them as standard
172 phase 2 early models wee standard later models you had to pay for it approx when the cars came with stability/cruise control it came as as option instead.
182 had then as an option only.
The cable isn't cheap at near £90 but the changers since there easy to remove are much cheaper you can often get a changer for £60.
The airbag warning light can come on the most common issue is the wiring under the seats going wrong the fix is detailed here
http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?t=108607
Driving
The handling should be very good it one of the things that got it a good reputation so anything unto wards should raise suspicion one thing maybe the cars rear end twitchiness the rear dampers can leak/fail quite quickly there only £100 or so for two new ones and a few minutes to fit.
Check the car stops and steers straight as the brakes are superb on the car tracking can be an issue it just might need adjusting. In the case of a 182 the wheels used can cause the brake fluid to boil off as the wheels don't let the brakes cool off so in the case of a 182 if the brakes feel like they need bleeding they probably do.
Check for any clicking etc noises its difficult to say what exactly but comparing cars is the best idea.
When driving the car at a fair few rpm lift off the throttle and check for engine shake it its really bad then the engine will knock itself out of gear. Its caused by the engine mounts wearing/moving the usually one is the dog bone one which is quite cheap and quick to replace. IMO stick with the stock one do not up rate it. Other mount can wear though including the top mount (driver side) and the battery mount and the 4th gearbox to sub frame one. There not that badly priced for new ones and fitment is not to difficult either.
Also as a note the gearbox isn't the best ever to use it shouldn't crunch or grind etc just the feel is nothing like say a VAG etc.
The clutch is very heavy and has a high bite point its normal though again best compare with other 172/182 cars but yes they are heavy and high with a small bite point. Also the clutch release bearing can wear a lot stick the car into neutral and with your foot down you'll hear it wine it will last though many have wines for ages before they are sold on etc so life span is unclear and sicne a chnage of them is a 7 hour job (and you should change the clutch at the same time as the cars stripped down loads to get to it).
PAs can be a bit noisy the 182 is better due to pipes being chnaged. Pipes cna leak etc so check level etc plus the fuild does need to be changed oftne a chnage of fluid helps wonder.s
When you start the car from cold you'll notice the idle isn't great this is due to the mapping its not to bad but as I've said earlier best compare to other cars. They can have trouble idling with dirty throttle bodies faulty sensors etc best way to describe what’s normal is it doesn’t sound perfect but on the rev counter its stable. If it sounds like a tractor or doesn't start well then that’s not right it should start straight off as such.
Things to check when driving
Temp gauge goes up to the middle and doesn’t move if ,it goes up and down then shows a faulty temp sensor its a common issue only cheap to change need to check the loom isn't frade as well though.
When cold the car has a lower red line about 6k leave it to warm up and it goes to 7.2k.
Service history
See this link for what details Renault UK required at a minimum for normal cars under normal driving condition cars used on short trips and different circumstances were given shorter service rules but few people ever take note of this (sometimes at there cost)
HOWEVER do remember this is the minimum rule IMO the servicing should be done more regularly ever 6k change the oil at minimum.
Some dealers did incorrectly advice owners that the 18k/2 year was how often the car needed servicing so if the service history shows this remember that it wasn't what was recommended by Renault Uk warranty rules and if you are looking at a car with warranty that Renault Uk might not look favourably and ask for a percentage contribution if correct servicing had been done on time. Also remember the stamp means nothing really fakes stamps have been used before now and will be in future maybe try contact the dealership ask if they really did service the car.
Check the AUX belt has been changed ever 36k though or else change it its not cheap as its 2.7 hour labour if you have a car with air con or 5 minutes if your lucky and have a normal 172 Cup. The servicing used to allow the belt to stay as with the cam belt to 72k hence why many dealers think its Ok to leave ti that long however there were so many failures that the service rules were changed down to 36k at a maximum. When they do fail they make a right mess they 99.9% of the time take out the cam belt so your looking at £1k at best to fix it since it will have wrecked valves new cam belt is needed etc.
Price
Best check against other prices on auto trader (remember this is only what people are asking not getting so maybe try ring them see how well there selling but remember not everyone will be totally honest) and Parkers etc
Extra things to check
Two keys are present and both work (at £120 or so minimum for a replacement its worth checking)
Check the locking wheel nut keys (there should be two) are present and correct and ideally check they work.
In the case of 182's and 172 Cups that the bottles of tyre foam inflator are present (only cheap but worth a few quid discount)
Import 172 don't have (as stanard) locking wheel nuts (one per wheel), Window etching, alarm fitted as standard/embbed into the reciever.
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