2001 Renault Megane RX4 review from Spain
"Unreliable car based on an inadequate design"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Trouble with Renault RX4? Me too!!
The car was registered on the 29th January 2001 and faults started to occur during January 2004, i.e. within the guarantee period. The first fault was a fuel leak, which caused contamination of the engine and meant that the cam belt had to be replaced. This work was completed on 27th January 2004 and cost 788 Euros.
The next fault was a knocking noise when turning corners. The garage said this was due to a transmission fault, which cost 975 Euros to repair.
This did not cure the knocking noise, so we took the car back for the garage to check again. This time the engineer identified a broken bracket and said that this was the cause of the problem. We were charged 63 Euros for a test drive and the fitting of the new part.
This did not cure the problem, so the car went back to the garage again. This time the engineer decided that a broken engine cradle caused the noise. This cost 1028 euros to repair.
When we asked about these problems the garage said that they thought that all these problems were linked to the one cause (the broken engine cradle). In this case the fault that lead to all this trouble must have happened during the guarantee period, as the first symptom (the fuel leak) occurred during the guarantee period. They then said that as we had exceeded 50000Kms when the faults started the car was out of guarantee!
Other repairs and servicing during this 6-month period meant that we had paid the garage approximately 4600 Euros. (Including a new clutch and a new electric window and the repair of the gear stick, which just became disconnected from the gearbox while we were driving)
We wrote to Renault, Spain and claimed compensation. They sent us 450 euros - not much out of a cost of 4600!!
We have now had 3 months trouble free motoring and another electric widow has broken!!! So it's back to the garage again!!!
As many others have said this is the last time we buy a Renault!
Dave Costa del Sol
Spain.
General comments?
We are very disappointed with our RX4. It started off very well, excellent for driving from Spain to UK. But when the trouble started it just went on on and now we will never get a Renault again.
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| Lovely, comfortable and stylish, but unreliable |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Model Year | 2001 |
| First year of ownership | 2002 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2004 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.9turbo diesel Manual |
| Performance marks | 5/10 |
| Reliability marks | 2/10 |
| Comfort marks | 8/10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 6/10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 5/10 |
| Distance when acquired | 23000 kilometres |
| Most recent distance | 65000 kilometres |
| Previous car | Suzuki Vitara |
| Date of Entry | 3rd November, 2004 |