The Mégane II Owners' Club

Hello

Just joined the club today - my wife and I live on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. I purchased this week a 2001 Megane convertible only 107,000 kms, red in colour, receipts for every cent spent on the vehicle since new by two fastidious owners. It drives very nicely and everything works well except a niggling road noise more noticeable at low speeds which sounds to me like a noisy wheel bearing, however I am probably totally wrong and I have a feeling it will cost to repair. It will in due course drive me crazy so I guess it will need fixing! The car has been recently serviced and not due for another 8,000 kms and according to the invoice everything is working well - also here in Qld if you are selling a vehicle you have to obtain a safety certificate (like an MOT) before you make the sale, the certificate was very good for our Megane.

Any ideas on the road noise please?

It could simply be a wheel bearing?

A simple test would be to jack up the front end and try to move the wheels both laterally and vertically. Any movement is a sign. Check the anti-roll bar, the uneven wear on the tyres, and the ball joints. Next would probably be the brake pads - check that a calliper hasn't seized. Also, remove the wheels and look for a split universal joint seal. Grease on the inside of the wheels is a dead give-away. This is an easy fix - inject grease and replace the clip with a jubilee clip (not sure how that translates!).

If the wheel grates when rotating by hand, you will need a new bearing. Ensure you purchase units that have an ABS ring attached. It is possible to recycle the old ones, but it is a hassle.

Queensland - we don't get many posts from 'down under'. Good luck!

Thanks guys for the information and recommendatons - will jack up the wheels over the weekend and see what transpires. I am also wondering about the tyres - they are called Goodride which I have looked into on line - Chinese, not sure whether they are suitable for my Megane? No doubt you guys have other recommendations on the most suitable tyres for this vehicle - most of the UK brands are available in Oz. The Goodride tyres are at least half worn - they might be the road noise problem!

Went to local Renault dealer and they kindly checked the car on the ramp and a did a road test (no charge).It ended up being those terrible Chinese tyres - there was a high spot on one of the front tyres, lucky it did not blow out! Went straight to my local Good Year Depot and had four new quality tyres fitted - she now runs very quietly and handles like a different car!

blackbird wrote:Went to local Renault dealer and they kindly checked the car on the ramp and a did a road test (no charge).It ended up being those terrible Chinese tyres - there was a high spot on one of the front tyres, lucky it did not blow out! Went straight to my local Good Year Depot and had four new quality tyres fitted - she now runs very quietly and handles like a different car!

Great news

heheh, notice how everyone thought it was the car at fault... when it wasnt.... great news.

I kinda hvae the same on the left hand side of my car mainly when turning right.... could be anything, road surface (got 19in 35 depth rubber bands on the car), its been in for a service today so lets see if then figured what it was.

Fantastic that there is bo ossue with the car!
what brand were the Chinese tyres?

It's amazing the difference in ride and handling that decent tyres will make.

The tyres are called GOODRIDE they certainly did not provide one for my Megane!!!!

The road noise ended up being a rear wheel (left side) wheel bearing which was replaced yesterday and car is now very quiet. So the new tyres did improve the noise level but I was not really satisfied - I guess a bit fussy with noise generally including rattles etc.