common coil issue

[markren2004]

As a new owner of a 53 megane ive been reading the forum with horror at the number of common issues (dephaser pully, ignition coils, sqeaks and leaks).
When i spoke to a friend who previously owned one he recommended getting a spare set of coils as his and other owners had failed on numerous occasions.

I read that the coil had a manufacturing issue up until mid 2003, and has the date stamped somehere on it, is this true ? and if the coil is indeed late 2003 am i less likely to need to carry some spares ?
thanks in advance.

[silencer51]

I'm afraid the only permanent solution is to buy 4 Denso or Beru coils, which you can get cheaply off eBay.

They are 1000 times more reliable than the Sagem ones that Renault sells...

Also, a warning:

Be very, very careful when removing the original coils when the engine is warm.

There is one screw holding each coil in position, well these are steel screws bolted to the aluminum valve cover (idiotic design).

The threads on the bolt holes are very, very easy to strip and if you do strip them you will need to install new threads (a Helicoil kit for example)...

I learned it the hard way