1.6 Auto weird gear settings and jerky gear change

[Charcoal]

Hello all,
I own an 07 plate 1.6 automatic Megane. It run beautiful when I first had her from new, everything was fantastic, I had a smile on my face everywhere I went. Then I had the car's first service done last summer and everything went wrong!
First of all the car was serviced. As I drove it home things didn't seem quite right. The car was staying in 2nd gear and revving hard never changed smoothly to 3rd like before. Then when it did change I was surprised at the jerkiness of the gear change. This still happens today but only from 2nd to 3rd!
Then 2 days after the car was serviced the brake pedal shot to the floor when slowing down at a roundabout, the car came to an emergency stop without me doing anything more than gently press the pedal. The car was now in a very awkward place causing major disruption to traffic flow while I waited for the RAC to tow me away.
Next, the following week, I was pulled over by traffic police because the indicators were flashing on and off which meant my intentions to make a manouver were not clear and I was escorted to the local Renault garage for it put right or get 3 points on my license and a hefty fine.
So now almost a year on and preferring to drive my 1985 LHD VW Beetle, I have the car due for it's 2nd service. Nobody is accepting that there is a problem with transmission, and just to put the icing on the cake, the fuel consumption is totally pants since that last service

Does this story ring any bells with anyone out there? Have I been fobbed off by the dealer or is this a true fault with this particular model of car. I am pondering whether to sell it now because I'm so unhappy. It's a real shame because the size and comfort of the car is brilliant, just the drive is now very disappointing.

Michelle x

[AlexB]

Do you own two Meganes?

"I've been driving around in a 1.9DCi CC since Jan '08..."
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5159&p=53213#p53213

Anyway, the car might be still on the warranty, so change the garage and have it repaired. I know, it is easier to say than to do...

[Toodeep]

My goddaughter has experienced a similar gearbox problem albeit intermittently. Until recently I had never been able to recreate the problem but the other day there was 1 somewhat abrupt change from1st to 2nd or 2nd to 3rd after which it remained in the one gear for the rest of the journey. This was accompanied by a "Check Gearbox" message. Hers is a pre-facelift (2003) car, also a 1.6 but the components might have changed. Until the problem is more persistent or can be recreated at will, I don't see the point of her taking it in only to be patronised.

I agree with all that has been said so far. Try other Renault dealers and if you get no joy, you might benefit from getting an independent engineer to confirm your findings before trying again or taking it further. In case you're unclear, any Renault dealer can carry out warranty work; not just the supplying dealer.

It is a sad fact of life that garages will be more prone to fob you off when they know there is warranty work involved. Presumably there is less latitude to rip-off their franchiser than there is the private individual paying for their own repairs. Sadder still, many assume that you, as a woman, will accept their word that everything is fine and therefore you don't know what you are talking about. I get a completely different attitude from service departments to my goddaughter who was quoted £400 - £500 to 'fix' two problems that I managed to solve in a total of less than 2 hours and no parts with the help of members of this forum. I'm no engineer but, as a male and armed with an inkling of what needs looking at gained from the forum, I definitely get taken more seriously. When I told them what I'd heard the solutions to the stuck tailgate and airbag warning might be, the £500 quote became "if your suspicions are correct, I don't think we would charge for that."

What I'm saying in as gentle a way as possible is that, even if you don't go the whole engineer route, you'd be better off if you get a man to take it in and if he goes in with the attitude "Something is wrong" rather than "Is something wrong?"

[AlexB]

Problems with gear change in automatics can be caused by the engine problems. If a coil fails or a vacuum pipe (remember the brake failure), then the calculated engine load will change, which will cause the gearbox selecting lower gears. On the other hand, it can be related to the air filter/MAF sensor, if these were disturbed in the servicing. In any case, do the basic checks (oil, coolant, filters, spark plugs and their colour, pipes, connectors), then read the fault codes and record the engine parameters while driving (elm327 from ebay). Looking at the recorded diagrams may help.

Were there any warning lights, BTW?

Just in case... check the hatch cover on the left front wheel arch liner.