2001 Renault Scenic 1.6 from UK and Ireland - Comments

The Renault Scenic has in my case 2 major problems. The electric wiring and the ignition coils.

My two and a half year old car has had 2 repairs to fix the wiring to the brake lights.

First about the problems I encountered with the wiring. The first time I was told the wiring to the fuse box has come lose. The second time the wiring to the sensor on the brake pedal was the cause.

The other major problem I had was with the ignition coils.

After about 9 months I noticed the car all of the sudden started to sound like a tractor. It not only sounded like a tractor it also drove like one. The car had lost 50% of it's power.

After a few days the dealer had fixed it, it was an ignition coil.

The second coil went defective half a year later.

And now, two and a half year after I bought the car, the third and for last ignition coil went.

One comfort, there is only one coil left to go wrong.

For the rest no problems.

Despite these problems, the car is great. It has lots of space. The seating in front is comfortable. And by removing the back seats it is easily converted to carry remarkable large loads. Heating is fine when you get used to it. And it overs a lot of features for the price.

On the negative side, the window wipers are noisy and do not always leave the window clean.

I had a similar problem in that all 3 coils needed to be replaced within 24 months of the car being new on the Road.

I have also had the same problem with the car.. the gear stick shudders dramatically the car chugs like a train is very noisy and goes through fuel like a train.

I feel I have been unlucky in the fact my scenic has this problem. It has been into the garage 5 times with the same problem. the first time it happened it was back in the garage 2 days later because another coil went. It then happened the day after a service and I was told it was not a service point so it would not be picked up. I then decided after a saga of having a problem with a noise from my brakes & having them checked and to be told there was no problem with the brakes it then became worse and I found out I had been driving about with one of my brakes seized on and it cost me new brake disks and drums and the car was less than a year old...

I then decided to change to another Renault dealership. The difference is like night and day.. they have tried to find out what is causing the problem have changed all the coils in the one visit to try and solve the problem. it didn't solve it totally, but I now have a dealer who will bend over backwards to sort my car out even though they didn't sell me the car... I was in the garage yesterday to view the new models and will be placing my order for another scenic within the next week plan to test drive the 1.5 diesel model first. I would still recommend the car to other and my parents picked up a new scenic 3 weeks ago.

A problem with your car is made 10 times worse with a bad or unsympathetic dealer.

I bought a Privilage Monacco RX4 brand new in Sept 2002.

It needed a new steering rack within the first year and the radio decided not to work. The radio was eventually repaired having all the wiring and aerial replaced.

In November 2003 the plastic fixing to the spare wheel cover broke off. The dealer said they would replace this under warranty, but the fitting had been changed (or the dealer ordered the wrong part) and it would cost £300:00 to replace the entire spare wheel cover. They were not prepared to pay this money for the repair.

The vehicle is a petrol machine and returnes about 30-32 miles to the gallon.

A nice car which does everything I want it to do apart from the niggles above.

Renault obviously has a major problem with ignition coils. What's unfortunate is they haven't the guts to admit it (or have they?). My 2000 Scenic has had all 4 coils replaced - Renault refunded 50% of my costs after I complained. Yesterday I collected my car after a service and heard no less than 3 customers asking why the ignition coils on their cars were failing so often. They were told that it was because of moisture and that they should make sure their engines never get wet and never to attempt to wash their engine. What absolute nonsense!

My brother has a Renault scenic 1.4, through motability. The vehicle is two and a half years old and has 14,100 miles on the clock. Last week an ignition coil (what used to be a spark-plug) went for the second time.

I called the Rac out which is used as part of the motability contract. The Rac man said yes it's number 1 coil that has gone, but Renault don't allow the Rac to fit new ones anymore, they have to fitted by the dealer. That was odd, as the previous time one had gone, the Rac fitted a new one, it was a five minute job just like changing a spark-plug.

It was too late in the evening to take it to the garage, so he told me I would have to take it to the dealer the next morning. I told him the last time it had happened the box on the exhaust under the driver seat was glowing as red a barbeque and I was concerned about driving it 14 miles to the dealer. he told me it was because of the fuel injection system and he had disconnected that lead so it wouldn't happen.

I have worked on cars, tractors and wagons for over 15 years, although not on cars with a fuel injection system. He explained it to me how it worked, so I understood what he was taking about and that by disconnecting the fuel injection lead, it would be just like a normal 1.4 engine, the only difference being, it would be running on 3 cylinders instead of 4, and the engine would only have a maximum 75% power. That sounded fine to me, it's exactly the same as a car with spark-plugs and one not working, I've had that happen plenty of times before.

The following day I took the vehicle to the Renault dealer, I told the young lad at the desk what the problem was and I was told that I would have to book an appointment for it to be fixed.

This annoyed me as it was a motabillity car and is is needed because my brother is a kidney transplant patient, he also has a bone condition and hip problems, over the past year has been in and out of hospital quite often.

I told him that this was no good and I want to see the manager. He went into the managers office and returned a few minutes later, sat down at his desk and asked for some details for the computer.

He took the keys and I explained that the Rac man had said that it was the number 1 injection coil that had gone and that he had disconnected the fuel injection lead. At which point the young lad, in a raised voice and what I would describe as an arrogant fashion, said "he shouldn't have done that, no way should he have done a thing like that" (obviously he thought he knew more than a trained mechanic).

He then told me that I shouldn't have got the Rac out at all, I should have got the AA out, which Renault use, because it would covered by the warranty and they could have fixed it.

I told him that when the previous one had gone, I had phoned them (the Renault dealer) and was told to use the Rac as that's who motabillity have the contract with, and if i'd called the AA out I might have been responsible for any charges.

About 40 minutes later the mechanic came out and handed the key to the girl at the desk and started talking to her, I noticed the young lad making an exit through the door at that time, out of the room. The girl gave me the key and told me it was all fixed. I said thank you very much with a smile on my face, being happy that it was all over and went to get the vehicle. It seems to be running all right now, but for how long?.

I have heard since that this is a common fault / problem on various Renaults, which is why I started searching on the net and how I found your website.

This leaves me several questions in my head.

If it is such a known common problem, as it seems to be and has been for some time. If as the young lad at the dealers had said to me earlier, that it is covered by the Renault warranty. Then they must recognize it as a problem.

Why didn't they replace them, when it had a service a few weeks before the first one went?.

Why hasn't there been a recall?.

Are the replacements any better than the ones been replaced?.

Why are the AA allowed to replace them and the Rac not?

What should have been a 5 minute job fixed at the roadside, turned out to be a 14 mile drive to the dealer, an hour at the dealers and 14 mile drive back. Incurring wasted time, petrol and time when the vehicle couldn't be used as it should be.

Other than this, we have found the vehicle very comfortable, has lots of room, easy to get in and out of and drive for disabled people. (I also suffer from back and hip problems). The only other bad point that I have found, is the pillar on the drivers side of the windscreen, which can be a blind spot when approaching roundabouts and you can't see the front of the bonnet.

Within a month of me buying the 1.6 Scenic the brake servo unit packed up.

Last month my first ignition coil failed and was replaced at the roadside by the AA who suggested that I had things checked by a Renault dealer as the others would not be long in following.

I took the car in to my local Renault dealer who told me they could not do anything, but the AA man should have changed all four.

They then serviced the car.

Less than a month later another coil has now failed again replaced by the AA who showed me the other three he had changed in the last couple off days another AA van pulled up and he said he had only one left after this week.

Don't Renault have any concerns about the way they are treating their customers.

I bought a Renault Scenic in April 2000 - it had 3 months left on the manufacturer's warranty. Unlucky for me, the ignition coils were causing the car to shudder in September of that year and it had to have 'seals fitted to prevent the water getting into them'.

Less than two years later, while driving through France I had to take it into a Renault garage - same problem - the garage replaced one coil. The following day I had to phone the AA - same problem - the garage I was towed to replaced two other coils.

May 2004 The car was taken into the garage - same problem -two coils needed replacing at the cost of £159.

The mechanic advised me to get in touch with Renault to complain because he said that Renault knows there is a problem and with such low mileage I shouldn't have had this bother (28,000 miles by the way). He assumed that the cars must have been recalled.

I see by your survey that this isn't the case.

My scenic is 3 years old. it has just cost me £240 to get it through the first mot as the rear brakes had seized. I have also had all 4 coils replaced, costing me time away from work.

Currently, I have a problem with the electrics. when I put the handbrake on, all the dashboard information disapears and the fuel light comes on! I have booked it in to an auto electrician as my local Renault dealer has no idea what the problem is.

Scenic 2000 1.6 running with three cylinders, replaced a coil. Driven 66.000 kilometers. The garage said that it is NOT a typical problem. I wonder? p.s. The car is in Finland.

I bought my Renault scenic in 2001. The first coil went in 2003 and was replaced free of charge, but I had to pay for labour. Subsequently three more coils have gone, but I have had to pay both cost and labour for each one. I cannot understand why Renault did not recall all vehicles or replace all coils during service.

I have a 2003 Renault Scenic 1.4 Authentique, which has now covered 18,000 miles. I am sorry to report the car has popped 3 coils already. As they are so simple to fit I now carry one as a spare, a pair of gloves and the right size spanner. A new ignition fault has now developed however which has similar symptoms to the coil failure, but is intermittent which says to me that a coil has not failed. If anyone else has seen such behaviour I’d be grateful if the cause of the fault is known. You may wonder why I haven’t asked for dealer help. This is because I have developed such a deep distrust in Renault dealers, supported by the many alarming comments reported here.

I've just started to experience problems with the 'spark plugs' at the moment it won't get above 40 mph, I've booked it into a garage for the coils to be checked and replaced.

Apart from that it's a sturdy medium sized car.

I have a 3 year 3 month old Scenic 1.8 Monaco. All four coils were replaced at the roadside after about 18 months. One of the replacements failed on the 100 mile drive home and was replaced by the AA the same evening. Another coil has failed tonight. That's a total of 10 since new! Also had problems with brakes seizing which meant the 72k service including head gasket was just over £1,000.

2001 (y) scenic 1.6 16v expression,44000 miles, my third coil has just gone tonight!1st one went about a year ago,2nd 3 months ago,3rd today and the 4th will go around xmas time I suppose!!have been told by my local garage don't use or go to renault for the part!!use GERMAN OR SWEDISH PARTS as they are better made and last longer, part no's/model no's are the same, but better manufacture. Needed new brake discs and callipers on the front at 20000 as the old ones siezed!,also anyone had problems with leaking windscreens, as awoke one morning to find the front passenger footwell in 3" of water, took a week to dry out.

I work in a dealership, not a renault dealership and we fix everything from peugeots to porches, we constantly have renaults coming in for ignition coils. if it has a misfire it is a dead cert. Rather shocking as coils on other cars usually last about 60-70,000 miles. Some dealerships make a big thing out nothing and charge you the earth for it. buy a haynes manual and change it youself, it takes 5 minutes.