1.6 Dynamique

[12noon]

Hi all, I should have come here before buying my car, but anyway here goes.

I had a perfectly good Hyundai 1.1, but wanted a bigger engine car so part exchanged for a 2005 Renault Megane Dynamique 1.6 16V (Manual / Petrol). I looked it over and test drove it, bought it and took it home. Everything was ok for the first few days before i discovered the speedo was about 10 mph out. When i'm driving at almost 40 mph according to my speedo, my sat nav tells me i'm actually only doing 30. That's not my problem though, my big problem is that i noticed the car was telling me the key card battery needed changing, so i changed it. It still needed changing so i changed it again. I then looked on the internet and found out that it was probably the key cards fault and i only got one of them with the car.

I'm going on a 400 mile trip tomorrow and won't be back until next week. I should be clocking up about 900 miles in total. My problem could be that if the key card goes all together, i'm going to be stuck in the middle of nowhere.

Does anyone have any advice for me for when i get back (hopefully not on the back of an AA tow truck).

[morganjake1544]

i discovered the speedo was about 10 mph out

Your picture shows the car with 16 inch Nervastella alloys which presumably have the 205/50/16 tyres on them. However an Authentique would have had, as standard from the factory, 15 inch steel wheels with 195/65/15 (I think) tyres on so maybe a difference in the rolling diameter is affecting the gearing giving a false speedo reading.

Sorry, I can't help with the card issue.

[12noon]

Just got back home. Had a good time and the car performed brilliantly. It did lots of miles and the fuel consumption wasn't that bad.

My keycard is still showing "change battery" but the engine starts first time and all the doors lock and unlock. I'll have to buy a new one when i've got the cash though. Also i've been told a man on the market can fix a broken one. I'll not use him until i'm totally stuck though.

The tyres on the car say 205, 55. 16. I'm still not sure what to do about them or the speedo. Is it either possible to get the speedo reset or put low profile tyres on the wheels to bring the size down and hopefully alter the speedo ?

[12noon]

Doh ! I got my car wrong. It's a Dynamique and not a Authentique.

[morganjake1544]

It's got the correct wheels and tyres if it is a Dynamique.

[almcgrail]

i discovered the speedo was about 10 mph out

Your picture shows the car with 16 inch Nervastella alloys which presumably have the 205/50/16 tyres on them. However an Authentique would have had, as standard from the factory, 15 inch steel wheels with 195/65/15 (I think) tyres on so maybe a difference in the rolling diameter is affecting the gearing giving a false speedo reading.

Sorry, I can't help with the card issue.

If you go on a tyre size calculater there is only 2mm difference in the rolloing radius of these tyre sizes, so i wouldn't worry at all about speedo being out because of this.
I personally question the accuracy of speed reading on sat navs as i've never had a car and sat nav combo that gives the same reading (usually 5mph out), surely there is a time delay or something becase of satalites or something, although 10mph is quite a bit? Maybe a rolling road could be the answer

[12noon]

I've sort of almost got used to the speedo being out now. It's still a bit dodgy going through speed traps with the flow of traffic and my speedo saying i'm well above the limit, but most of the time i try to slow down even though i'm probably only doing 20mph through them. BTW i've come to the conclusion that my speedo needle isn't actually starting on zero. I'll post a photo of the needle at standstill later.

[12noon]

The speedo at standstill is on about 5mph and so i suppose that's why i'm almost 10mph out when doing 30mph real time.

[Strickland418]

It's unfortunate that you encountered these issues with your new Renault Megane. The faulty speedometer and key card problems are both inconvenient. Given your upcoming 400-mile trip, I would recommend contacting a Renault dealership or a reputable mechanic to diagnose and resolve the key card issue before you depart. This Linked In will help ensure a smoother and more enjoyable journey.