Clio 197 ownership VERY disappointing

[Mattb_197]

The flat spot on mine is fairly bad when it's cold but it's got a Milltek cat back exhaust and a K&N panel filter on which I've read can make it worse. First time I drove it from a proper cold start I actually thought something was broken as it was kangaroo'in like mad. I've learnt to drive round it when cold, once the engine is up to temperature it's still there but it's no where near as rough. I've tried most of the 'fixes' and running on different fuels but nothing has seemed to tame it. I just put it down to a character of the car as everything has been checked and it's had all the belts done in January by a Renault Specialist who said the timing was spot on and there were no error codes on the ECU when he checked it.

Build quality wise I don't think it's too bad, the body panels are flimsy and you can tell money has been saved using thin metal compared to something like a VAG group car. I don't think the interior is too bad for a french car or maybe I'm just lucky but I've no signs of wear or annoying rattles yet!

I don't feel it's as well built as some of my previous cars but then when driving it it feels solid chassis wise and the handling is fantastic so I can forgive it for not being perfect in other areas. I get the impression they aren't built for comfort lol.

 

[montana]

For balance, i have a Milltek non-res and ITG panel filter, i have an occassional delay but thats only when planting throttle - much better to be progressive with the throttle, but that applies to any car. Its really not an issue like some people report on here.

 

[Bigstu77]

Hi guys
thanks for all the response!
my car now isn't just having flat spot issue. Still no fault codes but you drive it one day and it seems ok then later that day start it up and it drives awfully. Not just the flat spot but stuttering and hesitation a proper pain in the arse. It's so unpredictable it's unreal! Lambda probes as suggested could be issue but don't really know. When you catch car in a good mood it's pretty rapid.
These things are awful. People seem to accept flat spot is ok but not everyone has the problem. Some say be gentle on throttle but it's a hot hatch. I've had loads over years and all rest of them I've had you plant foot hard into the carpet and off they go but not this one and again people accept this as OK and live with it.
i am approaching 39 and have had bmw m cars, imprezas, rs's, vw's you name it I've tried it and they've all been the performance models and have all been good. I loved my 182 and my r26 megane but the 197 is Wank and it's gonna be very hard for anyone to convince me otherwise. A proper Jekyll and Hyde car
I bought the 197 for a bit of cheap fun whilst I'm unemployed and all it been in a massive knob ache!

 

[Bigstu77]

Hi,
I am new to this forum.
Bought the 200 4 weeks ago. But I have the same feelings as @Bigstu77.
Really disappointing. I have a flat spot between 2500-3000rpm depending on the throttle position.
The pre owner had removed the pre silencer behind the second cat with a straight pipe.
Meanwhile I have installed a RSTuner cal file I received from Henk, after telling him my car configuration. Was good for two or three days. Now it is back.
Driving slowly is really awful.
I cleaned the throttle meanwhile, I used a zip tie for the map sensor. But nothing helped.
At the moment I am thinking about selling the car. Never had such problems with a used car. (And I drove a lot of old minis...)
(And there are no trouble codes for the engine ecu.)
Fuel at the moment is RON102
And in the last 4 weeks I changed cam belt, aux belt, 3 engine mountings, new tires, 4 new brake discs with pads, 4 new spark plugs, etc.

I'm sorry your having issues as I am [MENTION=54095]jupp[/MENTION]. I've had enough to be honest and thinking same as you maybe time to sell and move on. I'm not prepared to keep throwing money at the thing to get nowhere at the end of it. I hope you resolve your issues soon

 

[CallorFold]

you drive it one day and it seems ok then later that day start it up and it drives awfully. Not just the flat spot but stuttering and hesitation a proper pain in the arse. It's so unpredictable it's unreal!

Mine seems to do exactly the same to be fair, I just put it down as a "characteristic". It seems much better once it's warmed up a little.

For example I drive from work to the gym, circa 2 miles, 5-10mins in the car, and it'll be a little jumpy because it's still warming up. Turn it off at the gym, ~1hour later hop back in and start it up, and because the engine is still a bit warm, drives like a dream!

Jekyll and Hyde is about the most accurate description! Some days it'll take off like a rocket and pull cleanly. Other times it sort of feels like it doesn't really want to, and you're forcing the rev's up when it doesn't really want you to - again this maybe a temperature thing.

I'm still considering going to RSTuning to get their map put on (despite still having stock exhaust) to see if it makes a difference. Only seem to hear words of praise about their map

 

[Mattb_197]

Hi guys
I loved my 182 and my r26 megane but the 197 is Wank and it's gonna be very hard for anyone to convince me otherwise. A proper Jekyll and Hyde car
I bought the 197 for a bit of cheap fun whilst I'm unemployed and all it been in a massive knob ache!

In fairness if that's how you feel about the car already then my advice would be to sell it now, if you end up having to put money into it to fix issues you'll only end up hating it more! Would you not have another 182? You can pick them up for peanuts now and while there are quite a lot of abused examples out there, same with any used hot hatch, there are some good buys to be had.

 

[Bigstu77]

In fairness if that's how you feel about the car already then my advice would be to sell it now, if you end up having to put money into it to fix issues you'll only end up hating it more! Would you not have another 182? You can pick them up for peanuts now and while there are quite a lot of abused examples out there, same with any used hot hatch, there are some good buys to be had.

Wouldnt have another 182 but will definitely have another megane! My 197 is a really nice low mileage / low owner example and although frustrated with it would love to get to bottom of issue and give it a fair chance. A good friend of mine has a 200 silverstone gp which I have driven and really quite liked hence the 197 purchase, obviously not the same but not too far off.
I have to get to bottom of issue with car regardless as I wouldn't want to sell on and give someone else the hassle I'm having. If I do sell issue will be rectified first.

 

[Bigstu77]

The thing that seems to be over looked here is the lambda sensors this flat spot I find at first start-up in the morning, if I start the car and drive straight away within the first 1/4 mile this flat spot starts especially at constant throttle but not all the time it is tempting to put the foot down and hope the engine picks up but I find lifting off the throttle and bringing it back in gently has a better result getting out of it. I will have no more problems the rest of the day but my thought is that on my old 172 Clio I had a lambda problem where the pre heater in the lambda can fail which throws the fuelling out if both lambdas fail in this way unless they are getting enough heat from the exhaust gases to read true the fuelling will be wrong. Now I did have a engine light warring and limp mode on wet days and if I was driving very easy on dry days but not all the time, it took the Renault clip to state pre heat fault and on which lambda, std diag reader gave a general emission code no help. Now I understand you are getting no codes or warning lights but if the engine can rev free parked then it's not timing, if it goes above 3000rpm to the limiter driving then the fuel supply is good (pump and pressure, injectors not blocked). The only thing left is the fuelling controlled by fuel map, lambda, temp, map and bap sensors when we dyno race bikes we use a lambda sensor that stays with the dyno fitted and one dyno spare that's only used as a check if something is not right. So if the flat spot comes up again instead of flooring it back right off the throttle and reapply slowly and gently see how that goes to get you out of it, if you change anything in one of these Clio's use genuine if possible do not asked an aftermarket parts place for something on a parts lookup database, Always check the part number of what you have hopefully it's a genuine part and cross check the part numbers and ask or look for it you will find you can save money example I had a rear abs sensor go down (Clio 172) Renault where looking over £200 the parts places kept giving me the wrong type of sensor so I looked at the part and found ATE and a part number and tracked that part down for about £100 and knew it was the right one.

The guy that flashed the RS Tuning map contact the support and say after a couple of days it went bad again they might have some answers, my thought is the car has recalibrated it's sensors which must be wrong in some way re-flash it again if it goes good then you might need a map for the higher than normal fuel you both use I found that a busy forecourt basic fuel can run the car just as good, filling an empty tank with that and give it a go would be a step in the right direction to prove this out.

my car revs freely in neutral from tick over to rev limiter but now when under load in gear it doesn't pull smoothly from 3k to shift light it is hesitant and seems to cough and splutter and is reluctant to do anything. It does pull up rev counter but not cleanly as you'd expect it to. Sometimes it's ok the other times drives horrendously. Could this be fuel related ie injector fault?

 

[turkie172]

Yes if its that bad sell it I cant take any more negative stuff about a car I like on a forum that likes the cars for good or bad, the car cant fix itself and all the advice here on the internet cant fix it. Only a mechanic who is up for the challenge or a person who's heart is in the car will see the job through and that I think will be the person who buys it next as you don't know or are willing to take it to a good mechanic. I'm sure you are a decent spud better luck with the next car give it a good test drive and buy from a dealer with warranty on it make sure it's not a Renault.

 

[sevenfourate]

I have to get to bottom of issue with car regardless as I wouldn't want to sell on and give someone else the hassle I'm having. If I do sell issue will be rectified first.

KUDOS to you for that !!!

 

[jupp]

Next week I will change to the genuine pre silencer but I also placed an advertisment on a popular german car website yesterday.
A few hours later the first two blokes came to look for the car...

But what should I look for instead? Is a megane rs bulletproof?

 

[montana]

Are you changing the whole centre section ?

 

[jupp]

Behind the second cat to the end pipe is a straight pipe installed at the moment.
I will replace it with a genuine silencer.

 

[Bigstu77]

Next week I will change to the genuine pre silencer but I also placed an advertisment on a popular german car website yesterday.
A few hours later the first two blokes came to look for the car...

But what should I look for instead? Is a megane rs bulletproof?

I wouldn't say the megane rs is bulletproof but I had mine over 12 months without a single issue. In comparison I've had Clio 4 weeks and it's just been hassle. I would say the Meg is just all round a better motor. My r26 f1 was awesome. Faster, smoother, worlds apart from Clio. Can't wait to buy another. I wouldn't recommend the 197 to anyone but would whole heartedly recommend the r26.

 

[Bigstu77]

Yes if its that bad sell it I cant take any more negative stuff about a car I like on a forum that likes the cars for good or bad, the car cant fix itself and all the advice here on the internet cant fix it. Only a mechanic who is up for the challenge or a person who's heart is in the car will see the job through and that I think will be the person who buys it next as you don't know or are willing to take it to a good mechanic. I'm sure you are a decent spud better luck with the next car give it a good test drive and buy from a dealer with warranty on it make sure it's not a Renault.

As I've already said I like renaults. I have had numerous renaults over the years and have always accepted their little qwerks. I have a very good mechanic and I am willing to take car in but as I've already said I am unemployed so am trying to sort problem on a budget.
I have also stated I will get to bottom of problem and will NOT sell it on as it is to anyone I don't think it's the right thing to do.
I am a car enthusiast just finding it hard to be enthused at the moment by the Clio. Once sorted I will give the car a chance. Just very frustrating situation at the moment! I do apologise if I have been overly critical.

 

[jupp]

Henk from fastchip wrote me to look after the throttle body if one of the pre owners had enlarged it.
This could ruin the drivability also.

 

[Jimmy]

As I've already said I like renaults. I have had numerous renaults over the years and have always accepted their little qwerks. I have a very good mechanic and I am willing to take car in but as I've already said I am unemployed so am trying to sort problem on a budget.
I have also stated I will get to bottom of problem and will NOT sell it on as it is to anyone I don't think it's the right thing to do.
I am a car enthusiast just finding it hard to be enthused at the moment by the Clio. Once sorted I will give the car a chance. Just very frustrating situation at the moment! I do apologise if I have been overly critical.

You have every right to be as critical as you want! It's an open forum and it's interesting to hear about your situation. You're bound to get people who don't like to hear criticism of our cars, because we all love them so much! Especially when you say you wouldn't recommend one to anyone But it is realistic to expect that sometimes things go wrong and people may be unimpressed with these cars for whatever reason.

I do think though, that had you not had these gremlins you would have loved the 197. They are terrific cars, but not without their quirks

 

[Kazumz]

Mine doesn't splutter at all, it just sounds like it's throttling back between 2K and 3K then it pulls hard to the limiter. It throws you about in between 500rpm as you don't expect the loss of power lol!

If it helps, my rear seat bar that I've left in vibrates constantly and is very loud. It vibrates from the left side facing forward lol. I've yet to find out what's causing it.

 

[Bigstu77]

You have every right to be as critical as you want! It's an open forum and it's interesting to hear about your situation. You're bound to get people who don't like to hear criticism of our cars, because we all love them so much! Especially when you say you wouldn't recommend one to anyone But it is realistic to expect that sometimes things go wrong and people may be unimpressed with these cars for whatever reason.

I do think though, that had you not had these gremlins you would have loved the 197. They are terrific cars, but not without their quirks

Because my issue is a strange one the car has times when it performs without issue, the good days are intermittent ha ha. Today has been a good day. I can get a rough idea of what car will be like when sorted and as I said I will give it a chance to prove itself. I will post when I cure the issue to help others with similar issues. Thanks for your understanding as I have been pretty hard on the 197 and I know you all love them but as you said it is an open forum and the post won't always be positive. There is still time to fall in love with her ha ha

 

[Nejjam]

Sell it and get another, only just bought my 200 with 33k on the clock all standard and no flat spot and no issues, it's great.