Clio Sport Estate
G'day
I am writing from Perth in Western Australia.
Last year we leased a Clio Estate ex Paris for 4 months. In the past we have leased Peugeots. We will be leasing another Clio Estate for 4 months from March this year. We are going to drive from Paris to Turkey via Italy and Greece and back via Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Germany.
When we travel to Europe we car camp. This means I remove the back seat completely to maximise the storage space. We leave the seats at a friend's place on the outskirts of Paris. We use their garage to carry out the work described below.
I visited a brico (hardware store) and bought a couple of sheets of 18mm pine and some pine boards and built a bed in the back. Then it was off to IKEA to buy a mattress, a doona, a doona cover, pillows, pillowcases and sheets. I cut sheets of cardboard to fit the windows so that when we stay in campgrounds we have privacy. All of this cost less than two nights in an F1 hotel.
All of the stuff is in their attic awaiting our return.
After that long intro, here's the problem. When we had the Peugeot 207 for 6 months in 2008 the rear seat bases and backs just clipped out. With the Clio Estate the rear seat bases clip out but the seat back is bolted in.
As I recall, the bolts are below the seat back when the seat back is vertical and inaccessible when the seat is flat or maybe it's vice versa. Either way I couldn't get a clear look at the bolts and I couldn't remove them with the tools that my friend had. I think the bolts are star headed or TORX bolts.
Time was short because we had a hotel booking a couple of hundred kms away so I had to leave the seat back in place horizontally and modify the bed legs to take account of the seat back being there.
When we go back this year I want to remove the seat back so that I can use the extra storage space. I want to find out what sort of bolts they are so I can take the necessary tools with me.
On Thursday I visited the only Renault dealership in Perth. They don't import the Clio sedan or estate into Oz. The only Renault they had on display was a Koleos which I understand is actually a Nissan that is manufactured in Korea so they don't use the same sort of bolts. The salesman was not very helpful.
I visited a car parts place. The guy behind the counter was an ex-BMW mechanic. He told me that BMW uses special security bolts to prevent owners removing the seats. If they do, all the sensors in the car for the airbags and other equipment are deactivated and the computer has to be reprogrammed to reactivate them. He told me that he thought that Renault used the same security bolts. He tried to sell me a socket that could remove them for A$70! I declined his offer.
First question: If I do manage to remove the rear seat back are there any sensors/cables that need to be disconnected and if so will the computer system die?
Second question: What exactly are the bolts that hold the back seat back in place? I suspect they are TORX but TORX come in a variety of sizes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torx
For weight reasons I only want to take the exact TORX socket (or other type of socket) and right angle socket driver.
The car will be brand new so if I get the right tool, hopefully, the bolts will come out easily and not require oil or lots of torque as I have read in another post on this subject.
Thank you in advance for any replies that I receive.
Andrew Watson
I am writing from Perth in Western Australia.
Last year we leased a Clio Estate ex Paris for 4 months. In the past we have leased Peugeots. We will be leasing another Clio Estate for 4 months from March this year. We are going to drive from Paris to Turkey via Italy and Greece and back via Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Germany.
When we travel to Europe we car camp. This means I remove the back seat completely to maximise the storage space. We leave the seats at a friend's place on the outskirts of Paris. We use their garage to carry out the work described below.
I visited a brico (hardware store) and bought a couple of sheets of 18mm pine and some pine boards and built a bed in the back. Then it was off to IKEA to buy a mattress, a doona, a doona cover, pillows, pillowcases and sheets. I cut sheets of cardboard to fit the windows so that when we stay in campgrounds we have privacy. All of this cost less than two nights in an F1 hotel.
All of the stuff is in their attic awaiting our return.
After that long intro, here's the problem. When we had the Peugeot 207 for 6 months in 2008 the rear seat bases and backs just clipped out. With the Clio Estate the rear seat bases clip out but the seat back is bolted in.
As I recall, the bolts are below the seat back when the seat back is vertical and inaccessible when the seat is flat or maybe it's vice versa. Either way I couldn't get a clear look at the bolts and I couldn't remove them with the tools that my friend had. I think the bolts are star headed or TORX bolts.
Time was short because we had a hotel booking a couple of hundred kms away so I had to leave the seat back in place horizontally and modify the bed legs to take account of the seat back being there.
When we go back this year I want to remove the seat back so that I can use the extra storage space. I want to find out what sort of bolts they are so I can take the necessary tools with me.
On Thursday I visited the only Renault dealership in Perth. They don't import the Clio sedan or estate into Oz. The only Renault they had on display was a Koleos which I understand is actually a Nissan that is manufactured in Korea so they don't use the same sort of bolts. The salesman was not very helpful.
I visited a car parts place. The guy behind the counter was an ex-BMW mechanic. He told me that BMW uses special security bolts to prevent owners removing the seats. If they do, all the sensors in the car for the airbags and other equipment are deactivated and the computer has to be reprogrammed to reactivate them. He told me that he thought that Renault used the same security bolts. He tried to sell me a socket that could remove them for A$70! I declined his offer.
First question: If I do manage to remove the rear seat back are there any sensors/cables that need to be disconnected and if so will the computer system die?
Second question: What exactly are the bolts that hold the back seat back in place? I suspect they are TORX but TORX come in a variety of sizes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torx
For weight reasons I only want to take the exact TORX socket (or other type of socket) and right angle socket driver.
The car will be brand new so if I get the right tool, hopefully, the bolts will come out easily and not require oil or lots of torque as I have read in another post on this subject.
Thank you in advance for any replies that I receive.
Andrew Watson
