7th Nov 2006, 13:42
I bought mine Dynamique 1.6 only 4 weeks ago. It's a 21000 3 year old car.
The brakes squeak loudly and today it would not start (3 times) when the 1st gear was in. Odd. It is a bit loud on the morway at 90Mph or even 100 (hehe) but it feels robust and good to handle.
17th Dec 2006, 08:31
Changing the headlight on a megane -
It's not entirely easy, but worth a go rather than paying Renault £30 to 40...
Turn your wheel almost full lock to the other side to get access. Undo the outer cap in the wheel arch by turning it anti-clockwise. It pulls out.
For better access, open the bonnet and take off the plastic cover just above the headlight assembly - there are 2 plastic screws on it which need to be turned 90degrees to release them. You can actually get a bit more access by removing the battery cover if it's the nearside. There are 2 bolts to undo and another 90degree turn screw.
You need to be reasonably dextrous for the next bit. Put your arm up through the wheel arch access hole and undo the cap over the headlight by turning it anti-clockwise. Remove it through the hole. The wires connect to the bulb via a simple push-on assembly - remove this now by "wiggling it" loose, pulling until it comes off. It can hang free for now. There is now a metal clasp holding the bulb in place. It has a little u-shaped part sticking out above the bulb and is hinged below the bulb. Pull / push the upper u-shape piece down to allow it to unclip from the socket and swing down on the hinge releasing the bulb. Remove the bulb (there's nothing else holding it).
Insert the new bulb (don't touch the glass). To fit, the bulb needs to be orientated with the notched area on its base pointing upwards - if you can't see, just rotate it while trying to push it in - it'll slot into place when it's right. Now pull up the retaining clip in the reverse of removing it, clipping the bulb into place. Then attach the wires - the wire attachment has 2 slots corresponding to the two flat connectors on the base of the bulb. These need to be slotted into the fitting and the wire connector pushed on firmly. Check the headlight is now working.
If, so, re-attach the various covers in the reverse process of removing them. It's fiddly, but only takes about 10min.
Steve H of London.
1st Feb 2007, 13:19
I have just replaced both headlamp dip bulbs. I took the roadwheels off, the driver's side was the trickiest, but both can be done within 1 hour, and that was using the OE jack on each side at a time, no cheating using a trolley jack.
My right forearm has several welts where I had to reach through the opening on the driver's side, but no broken skin!
25th Feb 2007, 17:38
Oh dear - it seems that Renault have still not learned how to build a decent automatic after 30 years of trying. I've owned 4 Renaults, but I wouldn't touch an auto with a 40 foot pole.
I've just bought a 2005 2.0L Megane sedan (manual!). I've only had it for a few days so I'm waiting a bit before I do a review, but I'm very impressed with it so far. It has 21000 km on it and has not any of the niggles (or bigger problems) that unfortunately seem to be too common with new Renaults. I think this is what is holding them back (at least here in Australia), even though I like Renaults, there's always that thought in the back of your mind "Will this car's transmission/motor/other big bit blow up at 40000 kms?" All the more bizarre as Renaults are priced at a premium in Australia - the Megane is in the same price bracket as the Honda Accord Euro and the Mazda 6.
12th May 2007, 07:02
I have just purchased a used 2003 Megane Dymanique 2.0l auto/tip tronic a week ago. It only has 17,000 on the clock. Up until today I have been impressed with the overall handling and comfort, even the gearbox was smooth in auto and the tip tronic mode. But this morning as I put the car into reverse there was a clonk, nothing to worry about so I thought. Drove less than 1 mile and the car lost all power with the service light illuminated with an accompanying 'check gearbox' message. I drove straight to the Renault dealer who ran a diagnostics check and it would appear an electronic component has failed in the box. They will have the car for 3-4 days to rectify the fault, thankfully it has a 6 month used car warranty on it so no expense to me. The only concern now is will it fail after the warranty has expired? Then I'm sure it will be an expensive fix.
11th Jul 2007, 15:19
Hi, I'm the original author of the post. It looks like my car wasn't just a 'one-off' then. I guessed that when the Renault mechanic said to the other renault mechanic "well it's a Megane gearbox, it's bleeped, can't do anything can I?". Lol, I was thinking, lazy mechanic, or BAD gearbox by Renault! Obviously the latter!
To the last post, I'm sorry to say, but I have had several diagnostic checks by both Renault and the RAC, and not ONCE had it come on up on the diagnostics. Like you said, the only way to prove to Renault that the car had a problem (because for some magical reason when taken for a test run, Renault couldn't see a problem at all and said it drove perfectly!) is to drive the car, don't turn off the ignition, stick it in neutral with the error lights on and dump it at their showroom. I went to the length of taking various pics of the error message as Renault would not accept any faults.
I did my research, and found that there is a common fault with the dephaser pulley - if you can get this 'fixed' under warranty, rush down to your dealer now, because that will defo be an expensive problem. Even better, get it sorted as best as possible, and get shot of the car before the warranty runs out, because it only gets worse!
I thoroughly believe that an 8 month old car's gearbox should not feel like I've hit a human when moving off from the traffic lights, making pedestrians heads turn for the same reason (again, this is not a sports car, and I could not get it to accelerate like one even if my life depended on it!)
If you have any sense, don't EVER buy a Megane auto, and if you have one, sell it fast, because the strain on the engine alone will end up expensive, even if you manage to find an auto gearbox that works!!!
27th Sep 2006, 00:59
Why were you doing 90mph on a motorway?
Or does the speedometer not work either on this car?