Atrocious build quality - rattles from sunroof, glovebox, footwell trim and parcel shelf, frayed seat trim and baggy carpets by the time it was 9 months old.
Mayonnaise around filler cap caused by head gasket failure. Renault tried to get out of paying for it saying the engine was abused. Threat of court action was needed to get them to honour the warranty, which they did.
Strong smell of petrol which was denied three times by dealer. Eventually the fuel tank was found to be pressurising - a known fault apparently. Sorted under warranty, but if it's a known fault, why was the car constantly returned to me as OK?
Horrendous misfire caused by a coil failing. Car was towed in and fixed, but then happened again 2 weeks later. Again, a known issue, but instead of replacing all four coils last time as Renault recommend when this happens, the idiotic dealer had changed only one.
Passenger window wound up outside the door frame the first time it was used! Duff regulator replaced under warranty.
Boot leaked, allowing water into the tail light cluster which promptly shorted out. The fuse blew, but not before the circuit board and a few centimetres of wiring melted.
How Renault have the nerve to sell this piece of junk is beyond me.
Yes it performs amazingly and yes it handles well. But there is no excuse for such shoddy engineering and quality. Dealers are useless too which really doesn't help.
Got rid of it at nine months old and I'm now happy with a Civic Type-R. I will never touch another Renault with a barge pole.
Just a quick comment to the people who are a bit dissapointed with their clios, I've owned hondas, toyota, peugeot and the last car I've purchased was a clio 172 and without any doubt its the most realible car I've had to date, the quickest and the most economical maybe youve just had bad luck!! To the civic driver who did own a clio (supposedly) and is now driving the type R I have a buddy who purchased one and he tells me never again!So I guess its the luck of the draw I don't know. I now have the clio for 3 years and I'm pretty reluctant to sell it!!
Well I did own a Renault... that was two months ago, it was catagorically the biggest pile of junk I have ever driven.
It did start out great, but in no time it got very sour, for a car that was 10 months old we bought it, it was litteraly falling to bits.
Just rubbish.
In the year I've had my 03 Clio 172 I've had no end of problems:- Alarm/ immobilizer, not set right. Brakes, rust and stick together when left out in rain over night. Oil leak, Exhaust, sounds like its blowing and can be smelt while driving. Engine, unhealthy noise, low revs and accelerator feels spongy making vehicle jerk.
That's just the problems with the Car. Renault are very unhelpful and unwilling to do the work that's needed to put it right. Renault have told me after spending over £1000 under the warranty "that this is a characteristic for this design". Also my Brake pads were LESS WORN after my 2200 mile service compared to my 12000mile service. " work that 1 out" From Paul in Cambridge mitch08king@yarhoo.co.uk.
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