TDC/Dephaser/Cutting Out - 1.6VVT

[simbiantbeing]

Yet another Cutting out problem with my.....

You guessed it!

Megane 1.6 16v VVT 28,000 miles.

Had the TDC Sensor replaced yesterday after a confident Renault said that all was well. The computer says the TDC sensor is knackered, and the Dephaser is fine. They also said the throttle body was fine and the computer doesnt need reprogrammed.

Guess what. Still cuts out.

What do I do now! I cant afford to replace a dephaser and timing belt. (How much would that cost)

Help!

[WebCode]

Around £500 to replace the Dephaser pulley..

[andrew jackson]

I have had the exact same problems. My new Dephaser is being fitted as we type. My dealer quoted £684-46. incl. parts, labour and vat. I rang Renault Customer service explaining it was my 3rd Scenic and only had 28k on the clock. I also told them I knew it was a common problem with this engine thanks to this site and how I was disappointed that Renault hadn't bothered to carry out an "Outstanding Technical Solution" they have for this very problem. They asked me what I expected from them. I told them I didn't expect the job to be FOC as the car was 1yr 1mth past warranty but I DID expect a discount as they should have helped me earlier. I think you need to use a little savvy and not demand huge discounts. They rang back this morning and offered a 70% discount making the price £205.34p. Needless to say I snapped their hands off. Hope this helps.

[simbiantbeing]

Thanks so much for that. Very interesting.

I have sent an email to Renault and thanks to you have included all the info required. Fingers crossed for a quick response.

In the event that they say no, I am going to phone them and try harder. Can I quote you and your car as a bargaining chip that they gave you a 70% discount?

If so could you contact me?

Thanks so much. You are a possible life (money) saver!

[simbiantbeing]

THIS IS FROM RENAULT ABOUT MY DEPHASER. Not happy!

Thank you for contacting our Customer Service problems regarding the performance issues on your Renault Mégane Sports Hatch.

I am sorry to hear of the issues you have experienced with your Renault vehicle and would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused. We take all reports of customer dissatisfaction with our brand very seriously and I appreciate that you have gone to the trouble of informing us in the hope that we may better understand your experience. Your e-mail has been documented on our complaints system and may be used in conjunction with our auditing process, to raise service levels in the future.

I have taken the opportunity to examine your vehicle on our central database and can confirm that there are no outstanding quality assurance programmes available for your vehicle; this means we are not aware of any inherent issues across the range.

As you are already aware, when your Mégane was manufactured, it was supplied with a comprehensive three-year or 60,000 miles warranty, dependant on which interval is reached soonest. After this warranty period as the owner of the vehicle you would be responsible for any repairs or maintenance that may be required.

However, as a responsible manufacturer we will always consider claims for financial support from a goodwill point of view taking various factors into consideration. The age of your vehicle and mileage done are important factors in this decision. On this occasion as your vehicle is now over two years outside of the manufacturer’s warranty we are unable to offer you any financial support towards the cost of repairs.

Whilst I can appreciate that this is not the response you where hoping for, however should you wish to discuss this matter any further with Renault UK, then please do not hesitate to contact me at our customer services department on: 0800 072 33 72 during 08:30 - 18:00, Monday to Friday.


MY RESPONSE::


Thank you for responding to me.

That is indeed very disappointing.

Having been on the Megane Owners Club Website today, There is currently 176 Threads/ 12 pages of postings regarding the fragility of the Dephaser Pulley on the 1.6VVT Megane. This would indicate that it is indeed an inherent fault with the 1.6VVT Megane. Many people have indeed posted about having 3 or even 4 dephaser pulleys replaced with each failing shortly after. As I do limited mileage in my Megane and had hoped to keep it for a number of years, it is unlikely that I could have ever experienced this failure within the warranty period, and especially as I purchased the car at 2 years old with only 4000 miles on the odometer. I think a £700 repair for a Megane with only 28000 miles is very poor - regardless of age, and the fact my car is renault serviced every 6000 miles, is in mint condition and especially as it seems to be very common on this engine. If this is the interval for having a dephaser pulley repaired, I cannot see how anyone can afford to run a 1.6VVT Megane, with a £700 bill every 28,000 miles. I therefore think that this an inherent fault with this model.

I have been in contact with a Renault customer with a 1.6VVT Scenic, and despite the fact that his vehicle was 1 year and 1 month out of warranty with 28,000 miles, he was offered a 70% discount on the repair, by Renault Customer Service as a Good-will gesture bringing the cost down to £205, as opposed to £700. That would be a fair result. The other disappointing aspect is that if I had had the timing belt replaced which it is due for, I would have lost another £200 as it has to be done with the dephaser pulley anyway.

It seems that, how well you look after you vehicle, then Renaults invariably go wrong often, usually at great expense. I currently own a megane and a clio, and have owned 5 Renaults in total, but unfortunately, the fragility of them is turning me away from purchasing any more. Especially down to the fact that my low mileages mean that these things surface after 3 years, but still at low mileage, so removing the plan to keep the car for many years.

If Renault could find the will to discount this expensive repair it would be appreciated. I still enjoy my Megane, but cannot afford this expense. Particularly as living in a Rural area, I need the car to be functioning.

If this is not possible, I will be forced to offload the Megane. I prefer Renault's, but regretfully may in future have to move towards Brands offering 5 or 7 year warranties on their products due to my lower mileage as I can no longer afford the high repair costs associated with Renaults.

I look forward to hearing from you.

RESPONSE FROM RENAULT::

Thank you for your latest email.

I am sorry to hear you remain dissatisfied with our response however our decision remains unchanged. Whilst I appreciate you have gone to the lengths of investigating the issues with your vehicle online, at Customer Services we treat each case individually and on its own merits. On this occasion due to the age of the vehicle and not the mileage, we are unable to contribute towards the costs of repairs.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact us.

I am not very pleased as you can imagine.

[andywills]

you got the standard "rubber stamp" response then

[keeforelli]

hi guys

i have been mulling this issue- is there any way that the forum could create a collective response to the reliability issues experienced- for this dephaser pully issue-

ie creating poor press for renault/ approaching them as a group?

they surely cannot argue with the facts, and with the expert knowledge on hand here their standard response just wouldn't wash.

There is power in numbers too....maybe force a recall?....

[simbiantbeing]

Sounds like a good idea. Renault Customer Service have a policy of answering 'NO' to every request or question I have ever asked them.

If Hyundai can offer 5 year warranties and Kia 7, then why can't Renault?........Oh hang on, because they know they build their cars using blind chimps and they will break down 36 months and 1 day after first registration. I am amazed that on the dash display, at 3 years and 1 day a symbol comes up of a Renault Service Manager rubbing his hands with glee with pound signs as eyes........and him swinging a dephaser pulley round his head.

[keeforelli]

he he!!!

i think it was the blind chimps that designed them!!..its their less able blind deaf and dumb chimps that build them!!!!..

now..how to start that lobbying group!!!!

[simbiantbeing]

OK, I need a show of hands.

The Megane has beensitting on the drive for two weeks after deciding to sell it, cos I cant take any more.

However.........

As you all know, I may have a dephaser issue. However, I have had the TDC Sensor replaced, the computer reprogrammed and some filter thing cleaned as people have advised on here......It starts fine, runs fine, and doesnt cut out anymore. It never kangarooed either and has always been really economical compared to everyone elses - 36mpg round town, 45-48mpg on motorways.

It never made a grinding noise to begin with like people describe with a dephaser failure. Does any one think my Dephaser may be ok?? How do you know....I cant trust Renault. They say the computer says its fine, although they said the computer reprogamming may only last a few weeks or it may last for ever.

Anyone experienced a happy dephaser investigation? Is it always the dephaser or can it just be the TDC Sensor???

I wait on the edge of my seat for responses.......

Cheers All.

[silencer51]

Actually TDC sensor failure is a much more common problem than dephaser pulley failure... So yes, if you have one or more of the symptoms its worth checking the TDC sensor or camshaft position sensor. Of course, if you hear the dreaded grinding noise at cold startups, then the pulley is on its way out...

[simbiantbeing]

A grinding noise you say?

Well, I never had that. The car started, then 10 secs later conked out. Then restarted it and the same again. Then if you rev it and hold it to 3000 rpm its settles and is fine.

After having the TDC Sensor replaced it still did it. Then after asking the idiots at Renault why they didn't check that they had solved the issue, made them reprogram the computer and clean some filter thingy, now it 'seems' fine.

Will it be fine? Will it last. Find out on next weeks tedious episode of 'Renault your cars are hopeless'.

[markren2004]

made them reprogram the computer and clean some filter thingy, now it 'seems' fine.

was this cleaning the throttle body and reprogramming it (and ignition system).
seen other posts in the past that have said it can lose some of it's programs in the engine management and they need to re programmed - how bizarre

[simbiantbeing]

Erm....think it was that. I am going to check my bill again, so I can pass on info to other owners of 1.6vvt's.

Does anyone on this forum trust their Megane 100%?

I certainly don't. Russian Roulette - especially on long journeys.

[NorthamptonNN5]

I have the cabriolet version on an '05 plate. 45k FSH (main dealer)

A few weeks ago it began causing me issues. I'd hit the button to start, it fired up then shortly afterwards would die. This would continue to happen until I was quick enough to slam it in drive and pull away. Once going it didn't cut out again but was a little rough driving sort of like it had the wrong fuel or was running really low. At least once a day now I get a grinding nose from in front of the steering wheel under the dash, sounds like a bucket of spanners being slung around.

Read some forum and it seemed to be the dephaser pulley issue. My friendly mechanic wasn't confident enough to diagnose it but agreed that it certainly edged toward that problem. He advised getting an £88 diagnostic from Renault before we did anything.

Took it to Camden Renault in Northampton yesterday and was amazed when they informed there were no current problems with the car. There was a stored fault of a dephaser pulley issue but nothing current and, on a test drive they couldn't observe anything. I asked them to check again this morning and again they told me the same thing.

I only bought the car on June 9th from a small private garage so have not had it long. I really don't think this problem was there when I bought it if I am honest.

Renault UK are not interested without a diagnostic report clearly stating what the fault is, a second opinion would cost me another £88. The dealership are quoting £680 for repair and won't guarantee this will resolve the issue ... they are not getting it back.

Have to say I am extremely angry. I have checked over the previous repairs to the car (thanks to a nice man at Renault UK who divulged with appropriate grunts what may have occurred) No record shows of a previous dephaser problem or repair. That says to me that if it showed on this diagnostic and I described all the symptoms that this is, indeed, the problem. Renault allegedly not being able to replicate it is by the by unless they are now claiming a dephaser fault can rectify itself?

They said they'd do another free diagnostic if I paid them £45 for a software upgrade, what is that all about?

I am stumped really. I;d never go back to that dealer as they are rude and arrogant and I totally don't trust them with my car. This is not even the first fault since purchase either, a hole (pin hole) has appeared in the air conditioning aluminium downpipe. This means the AC just won't hold onto the gas so doesn't work. Renault wanted another £88 to diagnose that. I got my man locally to do it and he charge £66. Annoyingly I'd already regassed it elsewhere for £45. At this time I was totally unaware that Renault refuse to trust any diagnosis from a non Renault dealer else I may have struck an after warranty deal. Since purchase this car will have cost me at least £1000 to repair for less than 2 months motoring, I think I could have rented cheaper!