Level Ground !

[andyo15]

Ok, i know there has been mention of this probably before ,but to help new owners some heart ache it's worth mentioning again.As most owners know these cars are some what jelly like,i unfortunately forgot this yesterday when i put the roof back up on some very rough terrain,the noise from the roof nearly stopped my heart ! I thought it was the end of my folding roof,for a couple of times after that i tried the roof it worked but not 100% as it had been prior to this moment of stupidity,at the moment its down and it was ok,maybe its levelled itself out again,i don't know if i dare put it up again!! Suddenly the old Z3 i have with its manual hood seems inviting ! Be careful and use the roof on level ground !
Having now plucked up courage to use the folding roof i now find that the boot is not lifting up level,the left hand side is coming up slower,if i stop and start after it has lifted a few inches the left side'catches up' and the roof will work but obviously this is not right,any experts with any ideas? Apart from visiting Renault dealers thank you....

[JasonS]

I've searched high and low but have never been able to find a Renault workshop manual PDF for the roof mechanism..

I'd settle for a french one as it's usually the pictures that help the most..
- I have an excellent manual for the Audi Cabriolet roof, detailing all the microswitches and full operation, including how to adjust it when it goes out of whack.. which is exactly what you need I suspect..

There's a french forum that is pretty good, they have a dedicated section for the roof..
http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&langpair=fr%7Cen&u=http://meganeccforum.free.fr/phpBB2/viewforum.php%3Ff%3D21%26sid%3Dd59a4c885f0d3cd067fb9082674f3798&prev=/translate_s%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3Dmegane%2Bcc%2Bforum%26sl%3Den%26tl%3Dfr&rurl=translate.google.com&usg=ALkJrhjE-nUoOQnIhAAsj6n8-nRSHFb7DA

[andyo15]

Hi,thanks for that, i dug out a cd i bought of ebay which is supposed to be a workshop manual,but its a load of pdf documents which is laborious to say the least and i cant find anything of any real use,will be talking to a local Renault specialist as messing around could make things worse ! As they say time to bite the bullet ! $$$$$£££££.
Joy oh joy,have gone to the car today and the roof is working as it should,i have seen the film (Christine) now i have the self healing car,hope it keeps working,will make sure i am on level ground from now on,thanks for help JasonS.

[ChrisM]

lube all your hidges and locks in the boot with to roof half open; I use a silcone spray you don't want anything with "drag" in it like a spray grease or an oil spray, mine suffers from a passenger boot lock that does not always fully release, so it holds on to the boot lid on the passenger side, so I have to watch it in the door mirror drivers side comes up but occasionally the passenger does not so I have to shut and re-open then it is fine usually happens when roof has been shut for a month or so, as for opening on the flat I open and close mine on my drive quite often which leans to the left quite a lot and slopes donwards, (passenger boot lock did this when I bought it before I tried on my drive to open it so that is not the cause), roof works fine on it, you may find something may be a little dry and in need of lube.
I have a diolagies DVD which is supose to cover the CC, it finds my car ok but does not display any roof guides when a roof qustion is sort I find it takes you too the hatch which is not a lot of good for us is it!

[sputniknick]

Hiya, I saw this post before I bought my Megane CC and have tried to avoid putting up/down the roof whilst on a kerb however I have done it a few times without realizing until it completes then I think "oh cr4p", everything still seems to be operating as normal but could someone clarify what would be expected to go wrong if the roof was operated whilst not on flat land?

Thanks

[willholdsworth]

Ive done mine quite a few times on non level ground and all has been well! I must admit it has been a fantastic car so far.

[continentalgt]

Interestingly the handbook says nothing about being on level ground, having said that I think it makes a lot of sense to be level. Only had my CC for 5 days and am always fascinated by the way the roof operates with everything nicely in sync or am I tempting providence by saying that.

[willholdsworth]

Interestingly the handbook says nothing about being on level ground, having said that I think it makes a lot of sense to be level. Only had my CC for 5 days and am always fascinated by the way the roof operates with everything nicely in sync or am I tempting providence by saying that.

lol maybe you are, but if its gonna happen, its gonna happen

Like I have said, I have put my roof both up and down and uneaven ground with no issues, quite amazing really how it works so well. My Neighbours 57 plate Astra cc has so much going on with the roof it makes the cc look so simple, but very effective as it is allot quicker than the astra

[ChrisM]

A good indication of how robust a car is try hiring one when you holiday, when they advertise a Meg then 9 out of 10 times you get it, when you hire the opal Astra TT then possibly 5 out of 10 if you are lucky as they are always in the workshops having roof issues, way to much goes on, had a look at the 307 CC at the weekend and that does even less with its roof and seems much more robust but then I supose you pay for the pug badge.
Mine has a passenger catch problem which occures sometimes, usually when roof has not been used for a month or so, it sticks, but as will said if its gonna happen then it will, i open and close roof on alsorts of surface, hills, curbs, grass banks, the only time I worry is when it is windy, even works on my drive which faces downward and to the left roof still works ok.
I think it would be really sad if Renault designed this car to only open on a flat surface, lets face it in real life how often do you find a flat surface, so you would have to find a supermarket car park or pertrol station forecourt just to remove roof, no mate its just thrown a roof hissy, lube it and see where it goes from there. mine even moans some times with a service light and a roof warning if the gradiant is to much, works fine the next time, give it a kick and show it whos boss....

[continentalgt]

had a look at the 307 CC at the weekend and that does even less with its roof and seems much more robust but then I supose you pay for the pug badge.

I'm not sure I would pay anymore for the Peugeot badge, btw I also own a 206 diesel.
Before deciding on a convertible I looked at the Astra rag top, Megane and 307cc, after much research I dropped the astra because it looks dated and the rag top would be a pain as I live by the sea with lots of seagulls using my roof as a runway.
The 307cc and the Megane both have sophisticated electrical systems but the types of problem experienced on the 307cc IMHO appeared to require a fair bit more dealer involvement through necessity particularly with it's mutiplexed system and BSI unit. The ECU components also appear to be much more expensive than the Megane.
The Megane also has its fair share of electrical problems but they generally seem to be in the main fairly straight forward by comparison.

[ChrisM]

Still hold there price better than the Renault, the diesel we where looking at had 85k on it at a price of £5980 spondoolies which I thought was a bit over the top for that millage it drove really nice mind you, roof was off in a jiffy without a single sound, seat where comfy ride was taut but no over hard, seem to handle quite nice, more room in the rear only slightly but never the less it was there, and nice little touches that Renault havn't botherd with like the passenger grab handles on the rear seat cards to help you out of that rear seat, Renault didn't bother so your rear seat passenger has nothing to pull on, usually grabbing that rear quater light glass for some pull, after driving it I do think the Pug pips the Renault at the 04/05 level as the pug was 05 mine is 04, front doors also had a better opening and closing handle to control them, I find the Renaults to close to the hindges really you don't have a lot of control over that hefty door, we had an ex Peugeot service adviser here for a while and he said the best pug CC to go for is the 20x range as the 30x range leak and do have roof issues yet the 20x range seem to be problem free and leak free, he said there is quite a differance between them but I think the 20x range is a bit small for me, I find pug pedals to small and close together to be honest, with my big plates of meat i keep pressing either brake and clutch together or brake and throttle either way not a good driving experiance for the passenger.
Just think that £6k on 85k is a lot of cash for the pug, I paid for an 04 car with 41k on it £5.5k, mine is just at the end of its 2nd year and has 80k on it now so obviously it is not for me er in doors fancied it until the miles blew it away, keep trying to get her into a Beetle 1.9TDi but the problem is finding one with a decent millage and not gallactic, did spot a superb 04 orange 2.0ltr Renault Sport with 40k on her for £5k, road tax hurt a bit, insurance wasn't to bad topping just over the £300 mark fully comp but mpg!!!!! on a good day they reckon around 33 which you wont get for the first year anyway as you will be hoofing this toy every where you go possibly more like 22mpg, shame really it was a lot of car for £5k and purrrfect condition. So it seems she is staying with her 99 V reg Coup after all for now, which has never actually casued that much trouble over its 7 years with us and stands at only 76k on the clock.....

[continentalgt]

Still hold there price better than the Renault, the diesel we where looking at had 85k on it at a price of £5980 spondoolies which I thought was a bit over the top for that millage it drove really nice mind you, roof was off in a jiffy without a single sound, seat where comfy ride was taut but no over hard, seem to handle quite nice, more room in the rear only slightly but never the less it was there, and nice little touches that Renault havn't botherd with like the passenger grab handles on the rear seat cards to help you out of that rear seat, Renault didn't bother so your rear seat passenger has nothing to pull on, usually grabbing that rear quater light glass for some pull, after driving it I do think the Pug pips the Renault at the 04/05 level as the pug was 05 mine is 04, front doors also had a better opening and closing handle to control them, I find the Renaults to close to the hindges really you don't have a lot of control over that hefty door, we had an ex Peugeot service adviser here for a while and he said the best pug CC to go for is the 20x range as the 30x range leak and do have roof issues yet the 20x range seem to be problem free and leak free, he said there is quite a differance between them but I think the 20x range is a bit small for me, I find pug pedals to small and close together to be honest, with my big plates of meat i keep pressing either brake and clutch together or brake and throttle either way not a good driving experiance for the passenger.
Just think that £6k on 85k is a lot of cash for the pug, I paid for an 04 car with 41k on it £5.5k, mine is just at the end of its 2nd year and has 80k on it now so obviously it is not for me er in doors fancied it until the miles blew it away, keep trying to get her into a Beetle 1.9TDi but the problem is finding one with a decent millage and not gallactic, did spot a superb 04 orange 2.0ltr Renault Sport with 40k on her for £5k, road tax hurt a bit, insurance wasn't to bad topping just over the £300 mark fully comp but mpg!!!!! on a good day they reckon around 33 which you wont get for the first year anyway as you will be hoofing this toy every where you go possibly more like 22mpg, shame really it was a lot of car for £5k and purrrfect condition. So it seems she is staying with her 99 V reg Coup after all for now, which has never actually casued that much trouble over its 7 years with us and stands at only 76k on the clock.....

I'd say that I would agree with just about everything you said regarding your comparisons between the pug and Megane, you've obviously done your homework.
I still think the Megane would be the safer bet though assuming you are competent and able to do your own maintenance, some of the 307cc electrical problems I've read about on Peugeot forums make pretty scary reading.
I guess my situation is different than most others in that I am an engineer and own 2 cars giving me the best of both worlds having been unable to find a satisfactory single car compromise.
I run a 1.4 206 HDI as daily hack for driving to work, doing the shopping, taking rubbish to the dump and driving around town, it averages a true 50+mpg, has an annual road tax of £30 and is cheap to insure.
My 2.0 litre Megane is much more sophisticated, comfortable and of course is a convertible that I will use for other more pleasurable journeys.
Gotta say the Megane with it's leather comfort pack is really comfortable on long journeys, the engine is a gem in the power delivery smoothness department, there is very little wind noise and not much rattles although the rear view mirror does blur slightly over bumps.
I've heard some people say that body roll is an issue but I haven't found that at all, OK so I don't tend to fling it around corners too aggressively but I have my moments and I gotta say I'm pretty pleased with the way it drives.
BTW apologies for going off topic.

[ChrisM]

I run a 1.4 206 HDI as daily hack for driving to work, doing the shopping, taking rubbish to the dump and driving around town

guilty of doing all these things in my CC, + carrying 5 concrete blocks in the boot the odd bag of plaster and cemet has also been know to have been in there, and also 4 lengths of 2.4mtr timber with the roof off (not at the same time as the boot full, don't think roof would appreciate a fight with some blocks) with some towels over my leather for protection.
I am afraid in our house the cars have to multi task, niether of them get special treament, which ever is home does the task...
my 1.9Dci CC is quite "boaty" drives much better with the roof off, HORRIBLE in gusty side winds, a real handfull, granted most cars are but working in the motor trade I have driven a lot of cars, many differant makes but my CC is about the worst Not only do you get pushed from side to side as normal in wind but it rocks as well, yet suspension bounce test it passes with flying colours, strange really, I think I might change all shocks as the car is 7 years old and now ran for 80k, it is a bit of a hefty lump as well so I supose it can only do some good.
It is always electrical these days, don't you think, Fiat suffer, Renault suffer, Pug and VW suffer you would have though these days with technology as it is, (good enough to put a man on the moon but not good enough to keep your wipers working) that your car wouldn't be failing on electrics - constantly!