Adey.
ClioSport Club Member
So.... I've driven the car to London this morning 🤦🏻♂️ 3 times it had the gearbox issue, i think I've figured if you ask it to shift quickly it does it and faults. But light throttle and slow changes it's seemingly OK....
It did also, on 5 occasions hit me with a quick flash of the stop for a charging issue.
So currently my thought is, the smart charging module thing is failing or the alternator...
Got a 130mile drive back yet to ponder on it.
Wish me luck
Could you send link please?If anyone is interested I've found a seller that can supply a programmed TCU for 410 USD shipped, I'll be going with this option if I have no joy
Gday aussie here having the same issue. The unit I bought from China unit came with the incorrect firmware. Have you gotten yours working? I was thinking of just swapping the boards with the firmware and seeing if that fixes it. I also would like to know how you separated the boards?Just the varnish on them, up close they looked fine to me 🤷
That'll be great if you get it working maybe throw a link to the hardware and software you used?Decided to do some more tinkering and digging around. Opted to buy myself some kit that allows me to bench flash and obd flash many ecus, but also the dc4 getrag TCU!
If you remember I had my original TCU fail, bought a Chinese supplied item but it didn't work correctly and i was told it had the incorrect software on. I then purchased a complete 2017 box and TCU, fitted that and had it mapped by scoff at EFI with a few more changes.
I think I've now been able to pull the TCU file off both my current TCU (through obd) and my original TCU (on the bench) and flashed the Chinese TCU with my original file. I may try the later one from the trophy if the hardware codes match up. So hopefully, all being well I now have a new TCU with the correct software on, just need to fit it and try it I guess.....
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Try and get a second hand one first lol it's an easy installSmall update on my cars journey...
About 3 weeks ago, i suffered the full 'check auto gearbox' error being thrown for the first time, with the car unable to use 1st/3rd/5th gears at all. Issue was solved after turning car off and on (mid traffic light😬)
Took the car to Vintage Affaire, with my main cited issues being random transmission disengagement in 5th/3rd, and also a noticeable lack of power in 1st, 3rd and 5th (only sometimes - seems to happen in Race mode the most? Maybe when jts still a bit cold?) They cleared the single code that was appearing (DTC186262 - Clutch 1 torque error, couldnt find a SINGLE relevant post online), but they didnt really know what it meant (they expected both clutches to have errors, + possible gearbox specific errror, jf it was the TCU) and referred me to Barry Bourke Renault dealership. After clearing the code, the car was fine for 2 days til the slipping occurred again.... although, actually, the car has been WAY better the past 2 weeks - only disengaged maybe 3 times? And only lost power a couple tjmes too, otherwise driving wonderfully.
Took it to Steve at Barry Bourke Renault today, lovely guy. Hes just said yep, jt needs full TCU replacement, thatll be 4k, possible clutch issue afterward, you never know. I said no thanks, no money atm (actually true☹️). That'll be my last resort. So, finally having confirmed the issue with renault, ill get around to trying the fixes you guys have posted soon. Will update accordingly
Hi Jacques. I don't know what to say, partly because I'm not an expert. Perhaps you need to consider the clutches. Replacing those is pretty expensive but maybe labour is cheaper in SA. If you have a clutch worn out then no amount of TCM fiddling will fix it. Is it possible that a high gearbox temp might result from a clutch slipping? Sadly the clutches are also awfully expensive. I think that it would be clutch 2, furthest from the engine, for those gears.
I THINK that we are generally agreed that the shift actuators are pretty robust and that shifting is pretty easy, so it is unlikely to be one of those failing.
I replaced the capacitor and it gave me more than another year, but not everybody has the same experience. I think that the problem is most likely to come from the TCM but I haven't seen anybody point at a particular component in the TCM. It was suggested in an earlier post that it was due to multilayer PCBs being heat intolerant. That would be very hard to fix. It could be a bad connection somewhere. I recently tried to get the top PCB out of the TCM but was left with the distinct feeling that it was unlikely to survive the process.
You could try to get a TCM from China but it is all our experience that they are not for the more rare RS. So you would have to embrace reprogramming one (see above).
I wonder if you could find a tuner shop that would copy your code from your old box to a new one? If it's not a clutch worn out, that might be your best option using a Chinese TCM.
Sorry not to be more helpful.
Ok wait help me out here you paid what ???????? $4500 ..... that is just over R90000-00 or am i missing something ?OK - here is where I am now.
I took it to a local garage. They got back to me and said about $11,000 for a new TCM and clutches. We had a bit of a row. I said that there was no evidence that it needed a clutch. In fact, after drilling holes in the bell-housing and inspecting the clutches, they didn't look too bad. Though I never did find specs for how thick the friction plates should be. The mechanic said that the TCM was reporting clutch errors. I said that I had performed the factory (Luk) recommended test of locking it in high gear and booting it up hill and seen no evidence of clutch slip. They said that they had told the previous owner to replace the clutch and that they had told me the same more than a year before. I said that their diagnosis was rubbish because they said that it was slipping in bottom and reverse. Cars always slip first in the HIGH gears. And the clutch had reset itself and I'd been driving it for a year since. No juddering. No burning. They said that the diagnosis reported clutch errors. I said that since the diagnosis came through a TCM that was known to be knackered, how could they believe it?
However I agreed that at 130K on what we believed to be the original clutches, excessive wear was certainly a possibility. And the big plug onto the TCM had been broken by a previous owner so that needed replacing with its loom. They wouldn't warranty the TCM with a broken plug. I thought that I was on thin ice here, so I agreed to get a new loom and TCM. 8 weeks for a loom from France. When that was done, I'd pay the extra labour for redoing the TCM if we then had to put new clutches in. By this point I was chatting with a mechanic, not "service". So my car sat there.
A few days ago I paid the rest of the $5,700 bill (I had to pay about $4,500 in advance when they ordered the parts) and got my car back. At the moment it drives fine. With the original clutches. We'll see how it goes. They charged me $48 for the two 'O' rings for the TCM install!
I shouldn't have got stroppy with them. But it was the way that they calmly told me to spend about $11,000 and wouldn't listen to a word that I said. I first helped to rebuild an engine in 1967 and have rebuilt many since. The basic physics remain the same. And 4 hours labour to put in a TCM! Wow! So they said that I could buy the TCM and do it myself. I said that No I couldn't, because of their proprietary software ...
In the end they seem to have done a good job and I'll sacrifice a hamster for the clutches. Actually I was fully prepared to put in new clutches. It will need them soon and parts are not going to get cheaper or more avalable. Oh, I'd asked for the parts back. Though I really only wanted the clutches back if they took them out. But they couldn't find the parts because the mechanic had quit. I just laughed. My son did a full mechanic's training and then quit!
Yup, a new TCM and clutch together would cost more than the car is worth in good condition. The TCM was right around $4,000. Years ago when these complex transmissions came out, I said to my wife "Very soon repairing those will cost more than the car is worth". And here I am. But the car is 12 years old. I hope for another 12! Looked at that way, $1,000 per year is tolerable. Problem is that I wanted a nice hot hatch and the Clio RS is certainly that. I didn't want to fork out for a Golf GTi and my wife won't drive a manual. I sold a manual Toyota Caldina and a Getz to buy it. I kind of regret the Caldina. Porsche-style power. But there you go, we had seven vehicles and that's too many!Ok wait help me out here you paid what ???????? $4500 ..... that is just over R90000-00 or am i missing something ?
I would not pay that kind of money ever for a TCM unit ... if that's the case then i will just start breaking the car and selling it as parts or just sell the complete car to these companies that buy non runners. Renault will never see me again .