Renault Clio Gearbox

osc89er

osc89er

osc89er

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I went with my brother to test drive a Renault Clio tonight and the car drove great except for one thing, which I could do with some comments about from some Clio owners.

The Renault Clio is a 1.2 petrol 3 door Authentique from 2002. When I touched the gearstick to feel for vibrations I felt as if the gearbox might have been giving just a little too much feedback.

When changing gears the gears would engage smoothly, except that I could feel 2 or 3 muted shocks through the gearstick (presumably from the gearbox). Is this normal, something to worry about?

I ask because I have never felt a gearbox like it, not in the Mark I Zafira, Renault Espace (late 90s), Mondeo Mark 2 or 3, brand new Toyota Corolla, or 1996 BMW 523. Nor in the cars I learned to drive in - there was at least one Clio from 2000 (before the facelift) but I wasn't as interested in cars back then and I forget exactly what I drove in.
 
I'd rather a fiesta he likes the clio, the big pansy. We were doing the test drive and the owner couldn't help himself pointing out the self locking doors and how its good for the girls security (his gf is the main driver of the car)

Regardless, I wouldn't mind an answer to the question if anyone has driven a clio.
 
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If the choice was mine again i would not buy my clio, its been a pain from start to end, i'm just please i have another car to drive, fair enough it might have more toys than the fiesta but what use are those when its sat in the dealership being fixed for the 5th time.

Mine does the same gearbox thing btw.
 
I have driven my brothers 2002 clio and when i was learning i drove my instructors 2001 clio both hard quite strong vibrations through the gear leaver same was apparent on my 1989 renault 5 maybe its a french thing as my toyota has no vibration at all through the gear leaver.

edit - second the fiesta recommendation dad just brought and 05 plate excellent car quite roomy for its size, nicer interior too

thedazman
 
bro is reading this (also a forumite, but i'll let him identify himself if he chooses or not) but he informs me that the prefacelift is ugly.
 
i have a 2001 1.2 clio expression, i also have a friend with a 2001 1.2 dynamique clio and both of us have the gear vibrations you mention. ive had my clio approx 18months now and i think its a great little car....i cant recomend it enough :)

you might want to check out www.cliosport.net for a list of common faults on the clio that your brother may want to look out for when buying.

good luck with the car hunting, russ
 
He has no money, and I am not spending my money on a car for him. So car purchasing has to be vetted by the parents who are funding him and they are fanatical about newer cars, smaller engines, cheaper insurance.

Therefore the focus with its larger engine, older age (for same cost) and higher insurance is hard to justify because things like better ride quality or reliability are harder to compare or quantify.
 
The focus is an excellent car there was a reason it won car of the year for so many years in a row. I'd check it out before your write it off too quickly run some insurance quotes not just engine size dictates insurance premiums. i will also suggest this website http://www.honestjohn.co.uk look at the car by car breakdown section it will tell you whats good, whats bad, what to look for and any recalls for any particular car you are looking at.

thedazman
 
I agree. However our parents, who control the purse strings, and our aunt who they also listen to don't want him to have a large engine (never mind if the car is any faster or not), and are the type to buy from dealers so they never have to think about taking care of the car or ever taking it to a mechanic.

Their basic metric for this kind of car is age of the car and little else.
 
When I test drove a 1.2 Clio, the gear lever flapped around a lot, found it a little disconcerting. My friend's old Clio used to do the same, to the point where when his hand wasn't on the stick, you could look down and actually see it shaking around.
 
It's the engine mounts, or specifically the gearbox mount in this case. It's pretty much normal with all Clios.
 
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