Problems when car is cold

Colin-S · Jul 28, 2006

Ok i wonder if anybody can help with any information about this or help fix it.

Basically when the car is cold it starts ok, but the problem is driving it. I know you should never thrash a car when its cold...so i dont. But the car drives like it has kangaroo petrol until the engine heats up to normal operating temperatures then its fine. Ive heard its some safety thing to stop you driving it hard when cold, but im not driving it hard...im driving it normal. The other problem is it doesnt always happen all the time, but recently its happening just about ever other day. Its the only thing thats annoying me about my 2004 clio 172 cup sport and i want to get it fixed.

I just wondered if anybody else had this problem?

Can anybody help ?

Thanks for any information.

jim 172 · Jul 28, 2006

mine does the same when cold i think its normal

canky · Jul 28, 2006

this happens to me not sure u can do anything about it.

i just try to get used to.

i also have a problem in the morning my car only starts on the 2nd key turn never first time!

Munson · Jul 28, 2006

They all do it.

Steve · Jul 28, 2006

It's a Renault, they are alive!!!!!!!!!!!!

sneeks · Jul 28, 2006

My 172 does the same and I agree it is a little annoying. For the 1st time my service light lit up tonight shortly after starting the car today but reset itself when I stopped and restarted the car. It had never done this before but strangely today I'd been reading about someone else having this problem on the forum then it happens to my car

ant · Jul 29, 2006

do a search.

it gets asked on the hour.

Black Gold 182 · Jul 29, 2006

pretty certain this is a standard thing,i thought it was a problem when i first bought my 182 last year but have been assured by my garage it is standard whilst the engine warms through(well thats what they told me) but more convincingly by mike of rentech who thought this was standard to run a bit lumpy for the first couple of minutes.

sneeks · Jul 29, 2006

Yeah I've never really worried about it as a search on here showed it was very common. The car basically comes on and off power even though I hold the accelerator pedal in the same position. All is perfect after 2 or 3 minutes.

Shaunbrass · Jul 29, 2006

Hi, mate being having the exact same problem, also when i reached higher revs it seemed to jerk lots was quite scary and annoying. However i put some redex in when i filled up today and the engine has never been so smooth feels really nice again. Also the car actually seems powerful too.

I have a 03 172 cup

try that and it may help

DH_GTI · Jul 29, 2006

they all do it, just need to drive it correctly and its fine.

Fletcher · Jul 29, 2006

IIRC it's go something to do with closed fuel loop mangament.

Steve2004 · Jul 29, 2006

Mine drives perfectly fine from the moment I turn the engine on. The idle is as rough as f**k for the first few minutes though.

It's normal, wouldn't worry about it.

rory182 · Jul 29, 2006

Steve2004 said:
Mine drives perfectly fine from the moment I turn the engine on. The idle is as rough as f**k for the first few minutes though.

It's normal, wouldn't worry about it.

same, I think its to help with the emissions - but cant remember

Rich · Jul 29, 2006

As Rory says something to do with the only way the car will go through the emmisions tests!

I just let mine idle for a minute or two on the drive.

Colin-S · Jul 29, 2006

Thanks for your comments. I see this is a common problem but surely it can be fixed?

This is the only car i've experienced this in and to be honest its really annoying

especially when giving friends a lift.

I'm gonna try waiting for a few minutes then drive off and see if this helps, just means i cant make a quick getaway from work

Rich · Jul 29, 2006

Its not a problem as such, more to the fact thats just the way they are.

rory182 · Jul 29, 2006

sounds like yours might be worse than the rest if its annoying you that much, cant say it bothers me.

turn the air con off? might make it less of an issue.

MATT BLACK · Jul 29, 2006

Most Renaults have something called an Engine temp sensor - this is situated on the thermostat housing and detects the water temperature in the engine. When the water is cold it sends a message to the ECU which increases air / fuel mixture so it starts and runs better from cold - its basically an electric choke. When the eng temp sensor is faulty it will not do this so it will be like trying to start an old style car with a manual choke, without pulling the choke lever. What can also happen is the opposite - when the engine is warm and you came to start the car it thinks it is cold so increases air / fuel and this can sometimes cause the car to flood.

tameracingdriver · Jul 29, 2006

Mine is also quite bad when cold. I think its even worse since I got the new exhaust put on.

But i just put up with it.

Clio 1.216v Dynamique · Jul 29, 2006

g40steve said:
It's a Renault, they are alive!!!!!!!!!!!!

/\/\/\ LOL

mark.k@GDI · Jul 29, 2006

this is how i solved my problem........

start it and let it idle 5 mins before u go out!! jobs a guddun!!!

Colin-S · Jul 31, 2006

From the replies it looks like everybody just puts up with it. Looks like i will have to do the same

.

I started the car today then waited a minute or so until the idle had come down to just above 1000 rpm and drove off and it was ok.

cheers

ClarkyClio · Jul 31, 2006

I had this problem on/off for quite a while, and then some sensor linked to my carboretor broke, had that fixed and it hasn't happened since..............

Thomss · Jul 31, 2006

Just like mine

Ruff as f00k when cold

Rob Rymond · Jul 31, 2006

Hmm, I have a similar issue with mine. I thought perhaps the accelerator lever was a bit loose or dodgy, however when in the low gears, 1, 2 and sometimes 3, if I rev it high, or change fast, I tend to bounce fowards quite a bit.

Now, if I do a slow gentle change and accelerate nice and gently, it doesn't happen. I presume this is the feature everyones mentioned on here. Jerky gear changes can be annoying though, especially if I acclerate quickly when pulling off

syski · Jul 31, 2006

join the club mate maybe renault will get the hang of making cars soon!!

Rcbuk · Sep 28, 2006

Clutch control?

Neil G · Sep 28, 2006

Shouldn't be booting it from cold anyway

vomboy 172 · Sep 28, 2006

Rich said:
I just let mine idle for a minute or two on the drive.

Thats the best thing to do if it is annoying you!!!

Let it warm up on the drive, if that solves the problem....do it every day!!

Easy fix!!!:rasp:

Ally · Sep 28, 2006

Don't know how much to read into this, but a Renault mechanic told me it was because all Renaults are set up to run lean at idle because of emmissions issues.

My 172 is a bit hesitant when driving from cold - only noticed it since I moved house (previously I had 8 low-speed speed humps to negiotate and after the 3 mins it took me to just past that my car was fine). Have found that running it on 99RON had helped make it smoother from cold, might be worth trying if you're currently on 95.

Jim NM · Sep 29, 2006

It's deffo normal for 172's to do this. Once warm they are sound. When I first got mine I thought it was me being a crap driver ( prolly partly anways) LOL

Once hot they are great fun to drive. So smoooooth!!!! (compared to my old R5 GT Turbo the growler) the 172 is a far superior motor especially on the top end (listen at me after owing 2 Turbos for over 13 years. I now have clean hands too LOL.

Rufstuf · Sep 29, 2006

I just wait till my road angel aquires a signal. By that time the engine is good to go.

KDF · Oct 12, 2006

Its because of tough Euro emmission laws, its not a fault.. its the only way they could get it through the emmissions tests to make it run lean..

Rcbuk · Oct 23, 2006

Like someone said above, let the car warm up before taking it above 3k revs if you care for it

cliovicky · Oct 24, 2006

My 172 is rough on idle, it doesnt like starting when it is cold !! when sat in traffic i can feel it all the time! and it also doesnt like it if you turn the engine off once its warm, then start it up shortly after. I am pretty sure its a Renault thing and its just the way the car is set up. The idle bothers me sometimes as i can feel my car jittering and it can be annoying.

Terry172 · Oct 24, 2006

cliovicky said:
My 172 is rough on idle, it doesnt like starting when it is cold !! when sat in traffic i can feel it all the time! and it also doesnt like it if you turn the engine off once its warm, then start it up shortly after. I am pretty sure its a Renault thing and its just the way the car is set up. The idle bothers me sometimes as i can feel my car jittering and it can be annoying.

Get the same thing but I have got used to it and the jittering on idle just makes me think about the 2.0l engine in a such a tiny car going to unleash when you get open road. Sometimes takes 2 turns of the key to start idles at 750-900rpm and then drive about carefully while it warms up and the temp needle has risen a fair amount but I notice the idle jittering is a little but better and still sits at 750-850rpm.

Colin-S · Dec 20, 2006

Colin-S said:
Ok i wonder if anybody can help with any information about this or help fix it.

Basically when the car is cold it starts ok, but the problem is driving it. I know you should never thrash a car when its cold...so i dont. But the car drives like it has kangaroo petrol until the engine heats up to normal operating temperatures then its fine. Ive heard its some safety thing to stop you driving it hard when cold, but im not driving it hard...im driving it normal. The other problem is it doesnt always happen all the time, but recently its happening just about ever other day. Its the only thing thats annoying me about my 2004 clio 172 cup sport and i want to get it fixed.

I just wondered if anybody else had this problem?

Can anybody help ?

Thanks for any information.

My car recently had the centre section of the exhaust replaced due to a rattling baffle. This seems to have cured the problem with cold starts.

Problems when car is cold

Jim NM

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