My mates 1.3 clio has a misfire problem. It is most noticable when the car is idling but there is also a noticable power loss. There is also a clunking sound coming from the steering when going from lock to lock. As the car is less than a year old and still warrantied, he took it to the local Renault franchise who claimed it was tip-top, thought this obviously isn't the case. This is his first car and he doesn't have much of a clue about car repair so he called out the AA when the simptoms first appeared. The AA mechanic said there is a faulty coil pack and the steering rack is goosed to such a degree that the car shouldn't be driven - but Renault say different.
I would like to know if anyone has had similar trouble and what action they recommend.
I'd never believe you've found a useless renault dealer, who can't seem to find faults that are blatantly obvious.
This is very typical off any renault car dealers I've had the mis-pleasure off dealing with. You think it's bad that they don't seem to find the faults? Just wait till you eventually get them to fix it (or attempt to).
Take the car back again, and if they try pawning you off with bulls**t, rant and rave until you get the service manager to look at the car with you present aswell. If they still don't do anything, you've got a couple options. First is to contact Renualt UK customer service, and lodge an official complaint with them. But from experience, they'll try and fob you off since the dealer couldn't find anything wrong.
The next option is to find an independant garage who would be willing to inspect the car, and make a report for you. Make some copies off this report, and take the car back to the dealer, give a copy to the service department, and see what they do. If they still refuse to sort the car then write to Renault UK, making an official complaint (list all contact with dealer aswell ie.dates, responses...) and including a copy off the independant report (send this letter recorded post, so they can't deny they never got it). Then you can stand back as the proverbial really does hit the fan.
And for good measure, it's always worth while contacting your local trading standards.
It's always nice when dealers get investigated by the manufacturer :-) And afterwards dealers tend not to mess you about. (I could tell you many stories about dealers)
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