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Renault Clio 2003> 172/182
chris taylor - 29/11/08 at 05:52 PM

Guys, are there any major faults on these cars? can't seem to find any (Googled etc), or are they just that good?
And are all the clutch pedals heavy?
Drove one today, god it was heavy,

cheers,

CT


prawnabie - 29/11/08 at 06:26 PM

Clutch pedal should be normal - cable operated to a non - dual mass flywheel.

They all suffer from steering wheel leather cracking in the sunlight. Cambelts can be expensive as the crank/cam pulleys are freewheeling.

Check service history/timing belt history

All with all cars, check gears select easily and do no jump out

BTW service intervals are 12k/12months and cambelt is 72k/5 years.

I have owned a few of these so any questions just u2u me

thanks

Shaun


Mark Allanson - 29/11/08 at 07:06 PM

Heater matrix and/or motor failing is a common one, dash out job and loads of money


Kev99 - 29/11/08 at 07:37 PM

A common fault is that the sun roof rattles Renault build quality for you


prawnabie - 29/11/08 at 09:56 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Mark Allanson
Heater matrix and/or motor failing is a common one, dash out job and loads of money


Never have I seen a failed matrix or heater motor on a 2001 onwards clio! Lagunas had that trouble!

Sunroof rattles easily cured, but only a handful of RS models left the factory with them fitted.


PAUL FISHER - 29/11/08 at 10:45 PM

Very pleased with mine,Ive only owned it for couple of months,using it as a track only car,I was suprised how heavy the clutch was,and it springs back with some force as well,so it might be due to having some sort of sports clutch in it,quick little cars though,no problems as yet to report,cheap on parts,easy to work on,as said above cambelts are expensive to have done at the renault dealers,but alot cheaper by the independants,just take this into account when you buy one,they are very heavy on front tyres,and don't have a LSD as standard,you get quite a bit of understeer when pushed hard,and wheel spin as a result of no LSD,some good value cars around at the moment,so don't pay over the odds,the 172 cup is the one to go for in my opinion.


JEPY - 29/11/08 at 11:35 PM

Had a 182 with the cup kits for 2.5 years from new.

Clutch was always felt heavy compared to most other cars.

Problems:
Steering creaked like mad when the air con had cooled the cabin down or when it was cold in winter.

Central locking and alarm sometimes played up (usually tell this if the alarm beeps when you activate the central locking on the key fob)

CD player just wouldn't play some cd's (even though they were clean,scratch free etc)

Dealers were sh*t

HOWEVER.... these were all minor irritations and I loved the car's grip, handling and performance. Still miss it's playfulness compare to the mk5 golf gti we've got now (but not the tinniness and build quality).