MAJOR CLIO PROBLEM - LOOK

[rosssei]

well....small change to car...but major problem found.

me and fester_s off the site decided about 4 weeks ago while washing the cars to try and open each others cars......we were horrified when we realised that actually his key opened my car and vice versa...so on the phone to renault.

renault acknowledged there was a fault, but said there was nothing they could do to help with the situation. So i went to my local Charles Hurst Renault in Bangor to get a quote for a whole set of replacement locks. chagre turned out to be 311 pounds....but i was told by the service manager that even after they were changed that there WAS NO WAY THEY COULD PROMISE another set of keys would not fit the new locks.....

At this point i was then told the case was closed. (NB it took nearly a month for me to speak to the guy who was organising and investigating my case - he didnt even ring me back....i had to hound him)

obviously i thought this was crazy from a manufacturer such as Renault, so contact AutoExpress.
Suddenly i got a call from Mr Peter Tillbury - head of Renault UK. He offered to change the locks free of charge - but at this point i would not accept this as the car was then STILL liable to be broken into with another Renault key.

So i had the doors smoothed locally, by TSD who did a fantastic job. Also AutoExpress have ran the story in this weeks issue. So hopefully i will have unearthed a massive problem, and will damage Renault's reputation severly - as the way i was treated and messed around was completely appauling.

If this turns out to be a massive problem and Renault start to fix the problem i will try and reclaim the money i spent getting the door locks smoothed. If not i am happy because i know now my car cannot be accessed in such an easy way by a thief.

My main problem was that if someone steals your car using a key....your insurance will NOT cover you as there is no sign of break in.....but apparently Renault are happy enough about this...

Ross

 

[thecremeegg]

Thats not good :quiet: does it affect all clios or just you mk2 ph2's?

 

[Marky_]

I thought it was well known that the keys open other cars (or maybe i'm just thinking of the petrol cap thing).

They won't start other cars though..

 

[Da]

It's been known for years.
Most manufacturers only have x number of combinations. Repatition is inevitable.

The immobiliser is the back up for stealing the car but obviously this doesn't protect personal belongings.

Getting them smoothed is way OTT IMHO.

 

[.GAZ.]

good post matey!!!!

 

[LegoHead]

On my old clio grande I pressed the keyfob and an identical car to mine unlocked!

It's not just the keys, it's the keyfobs too!

 

[Jesske]

It's unpleasant, but there are several manufacturers with the same 'problem'.
It's not only Renault. I had to Seat Leons and one could open other also

 

[davebem]

The secret is out! My old mans Renault master key could be used to open my Clio.

 

[Josh@Renparts]

i would have just disconnected the lock rods so they serve no function, but if you were wanting to achieve the smoother look then fair enough.

 

[Fletcher]

Good old Renault lol.

 

[rosssei]

It's been known for years.
Most manufacturers only have x number of combinations. Repatition is inevitable.

The immobiliser is the back up for stealing the car but obviously this doesn't protect personal belongings.

Getting them smoothed is way OTT IMHO.

Why....if you had nearly 5k of audio stuff in the car would you have the same opinion. In this day and age its a disgrace that one key should open another car - and at the end of the day it invalidates people's insurance....

so smoothing them is not OTT at all...just keeping my insurance valid

 

[Da]

It's been known for years.
Most manufacturers only have x number of combinations. Repatition is inevitable.

The immobiliser is the back up for stealing the car but obviously this doesn't protect personal belongings.

Getting them smoothed is way OTT IMHO.

Why....if you had nearly 5k of audio stuff in the car would you have the same opinion. In this day and age its a disgrace that one key should open another car - and at the end of the day it invalidates people's insurance....

so smoothing them is not OTT at all...just keeping my insurance valid

lol, did you mention you had £5K woth of ice in your original post?

I agree it's a shambles to be honest, but as for invalidating your insurance, why?
It's not you fault/problem so why would it? If it was ever an insurance issue it's a manufacturers security fault which is entirely out of our control unfortunately.

 

[Leeshez]

this is not good.

 

[rosssei]

because if the car is stolen and there is no sign of break in....which there wouldnt be if a key was used....then the insurance will not cover you. they wont even look into who's fault it was....they will simply say that the key was used so its your own fault.

thats why it invalidates insurance.

i urge anyone who is worried about this to contact Renault and complain asap - if they receive enough complaints they will have no choice but to do something

 

[rctempire]

because if the car is stolen and there is no sign of break in....which there wouldnt be if a key was used....then the insurance will not cover you. they wont even look into who's fault it was....they will simply say that the key was used so its your own fault.

thats why it invalidates insurance.

i urge anyone who is worried about this to contact Renault and complain asap - if they receive enough complaints they will have no choice but to do something

If the car is stolen and you ALL cars come with two keys, three keys (if merc, bmw, this is generally a credit card key popout) and you MUST have the spare key to show it was stolen, not "fakely" stolen. Thus meaning payout on insurance. Happens all the time. Anyone with one key for a car, and it is stolen has a real problem as insurances rarely pay out on these cases.

As for the key, Fords are the same, so are Merc, so are BMW, so are AUDI, after some wear on most key barrels allow access to the car if you have a key by that brand.
Common knowledge thoughout the trade too.

 

[Da]

because if the car is stolen and there is no sign of break in....which there wouldnt be if a key was used....then the insurance will not cover you. they wont even look into who's fault it was....they will simply say that the key was used so its your own fault.

thats why it invalidates insurance.

Fair enough, but I very much doubt that would wash with me.
Plus opening the car is one thing, but stealing it without the keys...near impossible!

Either way a CAT 1 alarm should help me rest easy!

 

[172blue]

A slight overkill here I feel. This is well known already, and either way the keys do not start the car, so regardless of access to the car, the insurance will pay out, as it will be damaged to be started.

If it is just the stereo you are worried about, may I remind you that you have several windows surrounding your car, all of which are pretty easy to break if all they want is your stereo. The key opening a door is probably the last thing on their minds...

 

[myleS16]

Its better that they break in with a "similiar" key and cause no damage.
Instead of screwdriving the lock, bending the top of the door, breaking the window etc. I think that you are totaly over reacting , that is in no way a personal atack on you just my opinion.

 

[edde]

Suddenly i got a call from Mr Peter Tillbury - head of Renault UK. He offered to change the locks free of charge - but at this point i would not accept this as the car was then STILL liable to be broken into with another Renault key.

So i had the doors smoothed locally, by TSD who did a fantastic job. Also AutoExpress have ran the story in this weeks issue. So hopefully i will have unearthed a massive problem, and will damage Renault's reputation severly - as the way i was treated and messed around was completely appauling.

If this turns out to be a massive problem and Renault start to fix the problem i will try and reclaim the money i spent getting the door locks smoothed. If not i am happy because i know now my car cannot be accessed in such an easy way by a thief.

My main problem was that if someone steals your car using a key....your insurance will NOT cover you as there is no sign of break in.....but apparently Renault are happy enough about this...

So they offered to chnage the keys and you refused but still complained?

You seem to be out to damage there reputation not much RUK can do realy its a big problem.

Renault won't "fix" the probelm because they havn't got one if they did they wouldn't pay for your smootjing you want it you pay for it.

Renault and the government and the road autotorities are OK along with insurers as they all know about it. They have sort of fixed it now and it happens a lot with keys being found to work a few cars you see it in the papers all the time someone openeing the wrong car or locker etc with the wrong key.

On my old clio grande I pressed the keyfob and an identical car to mine unlocked!

It's not just the keys, it's the keyfobs too!

Only on realy older cars the imobiliser remote control has to many combinations that you'd never find another like it.

Why....if you had nearly 5k of audio stuff in the car would you have the same opinion. In this day and age its a disgrace that one key should open another car - and at the end of the day it invalidates people's insurance....

so smoothing them is not OTT at all...just keeping my insurance valid

Insurance is valid don't worry insurers know the issue exists there recnetly a case of a R32 loosing its interier the thieves locked the car aftrwards insurers paid up fine.