Do Not buy a Renault Clio
This is a public service announcement. Do not
buy a Renault Clio car. Not if you value your life.
Last week, my sister was driving up the M62 in the UK. It was pouring with rain, and she was overtaking some lorries (which were on the slow inside lane) when it happened - the bonnet released at the front, flew up, smashed the windscreen, and wrecked the top of the car. Somehow my sister managed to get the car over to the hard-shoulder without further incident.
My sister is incredibly lucky to be alive. If you own a Clio, make sure you regularly (and I mean every week) check the bonnet catch - there is a design flaw, whereby it corrodes and sticks with disastrous consequences, usually when you're driving at high speed.
This isn't a one-off, in case you're wondering - there is plenty of evidence that it is endemic to the design, see
There have even been Questions in parliament (at the bottom of the page under 'Renault cars'), because Renault are denying that there is a problem, saying that this is a servicing issue, not a manufacturing one.
So, here's some more details about my sister's car:
If a car can go from official-dealer-sanctioned sale to a death-trap in four months, and that's "just fine" by Renault, something is wrong with their definition of "just fine".
What makes it worse is that they are saying it's down to a lack of maintenance on the part of the owner. Now all of you good people who regularly (say once/month) maintain the catch on your bonnet, please stand up. What ? Really ? No-one ? Yeah, thought so. No other car on the market needs this, which makes it a design flaw, not a maintenance issue.
EVEN IF they had a point about the maintenance (which they don't), when something is so crucial to the safety of the vehicle, should that information not be in the user-manual ? Because there's no mention of this anywhere in the user-manual.
The Renault Clio (the mark II model, and the 'clio campus' which is still on-sale new) is a death-trap. Don't buy one. And don't buy anything else from a car manufacturer that treats its customers like this. There's a lot of competition in the car-market... Vote with your wallets and purses for the car that doesn't try to kill you when you're driving at speed, and most at risk.
When a company finds a serious flaw in one of their products, they'll do a cost-assessment... What is the likely cost of replacing/repairing all the affected products versus the likely cost of being sued in court. It looks as though Renault have decided they can take the legal route. Perhaps when someone (or more than one person) dies, they'll regret that stance.
I'm just glad my sister isn't dead right now. Please don't let it be you, either.
Last week, my sister was driving up the M62 in the UK. It was pouring with rain, and she was overtaking some lorries (which were on the slow inside lane) when it happened - the bonnet released at the front, flew up, smashed the windscreen, and wrecked the top of the car. Somehow my sister managed to get the car over to the hard-shoulder without further incident.
My sister is incredibly lucky to be alive. If you own a Clio, make sure you regularly (and I mean every week) check the bonnet catch - there is a design flaw, whereby it corrodes and sticks with disastrous consequences, usually when you're driving at high speed.
This isn't a one-off, in case you're wondering - there is plenty of evidence that it is endemic to the design, see
- MSN car report, 30 March 2007
- BBC consumer watchdog -
who've had over 1000 complaints about this
- Whistleblower reports - saying
Renault know about the problem, but are
downplaying it
There have even been Questions in parliament (at the bottom of the page under 'Renault cars'), because Renault are denying that there is a problem, saying that this is a servicing issue, not a manufacturing one.
So, here's some more details about my sister's car:
- It was bought from a Renault dealer in November
of last year.
- The fit-and-finish wasn't deemed good-enough by
the manager, so he had the service team do
a full service on it before delivery.
- not four months later, the bonnet flies up and
nearly kills her
If a car can go from official-dealer-sanctioned sale to a death-trap in four months, and that's "just fine" by Renault, something is wrong with their definition of "just fine".
What makes it worse is that they are saying it's down to a lack of maintenance on the part of the owner. Now all of you good people who regularly (say once/month) maintain the catch on your bonnet, please stand up. What ? Really ? No-one ? Yeah, thought so. No other car on the market needs this, which makes it a design flaw, not a maintenance issue.
EVEN IF they had a point about the maintenance (which they don't), when something is so crucial to the safety of the vehicle, should that information not be in the user-manual ? Because there's no mention of this anywhere in the user-manual.
The Renault Clio (the mark II model, and the 'clio campus' which is still on-sale new) is a death-trap. Don't buy one. And don't buy anything else from a car manufacturer that treats its customers like this. There's a lot of competition in the car-market... Vote with your wallets and purses for the car that doesn't try to kill you when you're driving at speed, and most at risk.
When a company finds a serious flaw in one of their products, they'll do a cost-assessment... What is the likely cost of replacing/repairing all the affected products versus the likely cost of being sued in court. It looks as though Renault have decided they can take the legal route. Perhaps when someone (or more than one person) dies, they'll regret that stance.
I'm just glad my sister isn't dead right now. Please don't let it be you, either.