Is this a common problem?

[Chrisio]

I have been out to see a Clio 172 FF & I'm pretty interested in buying it.

Couple of things first though...

The Serv light and ABS sensor light are lit up on the dashboard... the owner says this has been like this a while & they think it is due to the wires under the seat...the car has just had a full service (maindealer, but at Vauxhall - genuine reason for this) and a health check so thats good & the car has only done 21k miles! Its just that these lights are on and it worrys me a little bit as the car is due an MOT in August, and if I do buy it I don't know if it will pass with these lights on....Is there a way to sort this or will I have to get the ABS sensors fixed/replaced....if so does this need to be done at Renault and how much will this set me back!?

Anyone had these problems before?....I did search through many threads but couldn't find anything, so sorry if this is a repost!

Thanks!

 

[AlexS]

The wires under the seat are only relevant if its the Service light on in conjunction with the air bag light.
Not sure about the abs sensor, someone else will be along in a minute.

 

[Whiteley]

The service and airbag light would be on because of the wires under the seats, not sure how that relates to the ABS service light?

doh, Alex beat me

 

[A13EX F Trophy No70]

service light is on because renault have not serviced it and vauxhall dont knwo how to reset the service reminder maybe?

abs is a concern though as the wire under the seat is only for the side airbags and if it was loose would only bring up an airbag light, it has not connection to the abs whatsoever.

with the abs light on the car would fail an mot, does the light go out after the engine is started if not then there is a fault which would mean a trip to the dealers to get it plugged in and checked.

 

[Chrisio]

service light is on because renault have not serviced it and vauxhall dont knwo how to reset the service reminder maybe?

abs is a concern though as the wire under the seat is only for the side airbags and if it was loose would only bring up an airbag light, it has not connection to the abs whatsoever.

with the abs light on the car would fail an mot, does the light go out after the engine is started if not then there is a fault which would mean a trip to the dealers to get it plugged in and checked.

Yeah I thought the service light being on may be down the Vauxhall doing the service....as for the ABS light, yeah this stays on when the car engine is on, the owner said they had spoken to Renault and they said it may be the sensors, but they have not fixed this as they are selling it...just wondering if it would be expensive to sort if i bought it, (obviously I would be asking to knock money off the sale).... so just was trying to kinda find out how much i would be looking at paying.

 

[Gumby]

Serv and ABS lights on together means there is a fault within the ABS system... I don't think renault were/are advanced enough to create a system whereby it links milage to service intervals. It would have involved far too much lateral thinking for the poor Frenchies

My local garage plugged mine in and found that a sensor on the driveshaft was batting for the other team. Could be the same as me, could be something else. Garage should be able to fix it either way...

The Vauxhall garage is adjoined to the Renault one isn't it?

 

[A13EX F Trophy No70]

could be very expensive..

i had a lupo gti on porsche wheels a few years ago and when fitting the wheel adaptors (4 to 5 stud) i managed to damage the abs rings and the sensors because the bolts were too long i think the total bill was nearly £200 (with discount as my ex used to work there) I fitted the parts myself too.

 

[AlexS]

I don't think the service light has anything to do with the car requiring a service and vauxhall being unable to turn it off. I was under the impression it was a fault light that only came on inconjunction with another light (the problem area) be it brakes, air bag system etc.
As far as im aware Clio's don't have variable service intervals like high end German cars that signal when the computer thinks its time for a service, I thought it was just set intervals.

EDIT Gumby has beat me too it.

 

[A13EX F Trophy No70]

sorry i may be wrong on that one then i'm used to heavy german cars i.e. bmw mini's

 

[Gumby]

New driveshaft and fitting for me came to about £120 if that's what the problem is

 

[Chrisio]

Serv and ABS lights on together means there is a fault within the ABS system... I don't think renault were/are advanced enough to create a system whereby it links milage to service intervals. It would have involved far too much lateral thinking for the poor Frenchies

My local garage plugged mine in and found that a sensor on the driveshaft was batting for the other team. Could be the same as me, could be something else. Garage should be able to fix it either way...

The Vauxhall garage is adjoined to the Renault one isn't it?

I don't think the service light has anything to do with the car requiring a service and vauxhall being unable to turn it off. I was under the impression it was a fault light that only came on inconjunction with another light (the problem area) be it brakes, air bag system etc.
As far as im aware Clio's don't have variable service intervals like high end German cars that signal when the computer thinks its time for a service, I thought it was just set intervals.

EDIT Gumby has beat me too it.

Yeah I see what you mean here, so the service light may be on because there is another problem/light on - The ABS one... I may have a word with the owners and see if they want to find out this fault..or I take a gamble and buy if off them (at a discounted price) and then take it to the lovely people at renault myself, and will get it sorted, although this will no doubt involve being overcharged lol

 

[Chrisio]

New driveshaft and fitting for me came to about £120 if that's what the problem is

Thats not too bad, was that through renault?
Did you have the ABS light on also?

 

[Gumby]

Get them to take it to the garage to diagnose the fault, then to get a quote from said garage to fix this. Take this amount off the purchase price and go find a cheaper garage

Just remember to note down what the fault is...

 

[Gumby]

New driveshaft and fitting for me came to about £120 if that's what the problem is

Thats not too bad, was that through renault?
Did you have the ABS light on also?

No not at Renault Only one I trust is in Strasbourg lol

Yes the "SERV" and "ABS" lights were on too

 

[edde]

Buy at a real discount the problems most likly a faily teethed ring maybe corroded or just loose you need to finf out its not that expensive to if though.

However it might be a faulty ABS unit which arn't cheap or easy to change.

 

[mini-valver]

The ABS sensor in the hub may be fooked, check the cable has'nt come out of it's guide and rubbed the tyre.
As Edde said though, the ABS ring's crack so that will more than likely be it