Trials of modern day motoring

[Petrolize]

Yesterday mentioned on the News 24 thread about selling a friend of ours sons car as the dealer only offered pennies in part exchange. I had been wondering if it was going to be a hard one to sell on as its a Renault Scenic with a 2.0 petrol engine (tax comes in at just under £300 for the year) and there are tons of scuffs, scrapes and dents all round...oh and its an automatic.

 

 

So today was spent cleaning the inside which had years of abuse from kids / food / parking display tickets everywhere, then polished the bodywork, the first its probably ever had. Since one of the tyres has a slow puncture, and there was a puddle where I wanted to place the inflator which plugs in the cigarette lighter, so dropped the car back and pressed in the parking brake (without really thinking). Big mistake there, as it turns out it brake works on its own, so when trying to move it to a better position in the driveway later on in the day the dash flashes up error messages with regards to the parking brake and won't start, so its now marooned in the middle of the driveway.

 

 

Meanwhile, my fathers Subaru Legacy (2010) is parked up at our nearest Subaru garage...the engine is seized and the cost to fix remains prohibitive. Story goes it was purchased just over a year ago from a Subaru dealer, and now has suspected camshaft failure (a known problem on the diesel models), having covered only 80k. The supplying dealer did give it a warranty (since expired) and service the car at point of sale, but turns out this was not a proper one, just a lubrication service, so even though it was serviced earlier in the year, it was deemed by Subaru UK to have 'missed an oil change, so for the moment they won't talk of an out of warranty replacement. The picture was taken last year alongside our old Legacy (which we should've really kept..) it needed some work done on the suspension as the mileage was around 140k but that was all.

 

Meanwhile a Rover 75 thankfully kept within the family is running well..not got many photographs of it as yet but even the cat likes it..

 

[scaryoldcortina]

Assuming you know the usual procedure (foot on brake pedal or it won't release the HB or start) and that it has indeed shit itself, so....

 

Open the boot, lift the carpet, there is a red flap. Under the flap is a yellow lever, this is the manual HB release. Don't be surprised if it's siezed and snaps instead of releasing because renault.

[twosmoke300]

Put your hand under the cubby hole beneath the passenger seat , is it full of water and rotton wiring loom ?

On the Renault btw

[Keymaster]

You were right to be concerned. The Renault Grand Scenic is history's greatest monster.

 

We had one new in 2005. Returned as not fit for purpose less than 2 years old after a never ending saga of electrical, mechanical and build quality issues. I dread to think how bad they will be 10 years on!

 

Wishing you all of the luck, as you are probably going to need it!

[Petrolize]

Assuming you know the usual procedure (foot on brake pedal or it won't release the HB or start) and that it has indeed shit itself, so....

 

Open the boot, lift the carpet, there is a red flap. Under the flap is a yellow lever, this is the manual HB release. Don't be surprised if it's siezed and snaps instead of releasing because renault.

 

Thank you! I learnt to put my foot on the brake pedal when starting the car earlier on today. I was worried there would be repercussions later on with warning lights all over the dash again or if it would go back to normal.

 

So I did the trick with manually releasing the handbrake and still no luck I'm afraid

[Petrolize]

Put your hand under the cubby hole beneath the passenger seat , is it full of water and rotton wiring loom ?

On the Renault btw

 

Thanks - did have a look, couldn't see the wiring loom, but no don't think so..

[scaryoldcortina]

Thank you! I learnt to put my foot on the brake pedal when starting the car earlier on today. I was worried there would be repercussions later on with warning lights all over the dash again or if it would go back to normal.

 

So I did the trick with manually releasing the handbrake and still no luck I'm afraid

Oh cock. GLWT!

[wuvvum]

The handbrakes on these apply themselves when you switch the engine off, but you should also be able to apply it manually using the pull switch (for hill starts etc) - doing so shouldn't make the car shit itself. 

[Noel Tidybeard]

maybe its gone into panic mode- try the starting procedure without the key see if you get a big klunk the try again with key

 

there is a panic mode where they wont start if the steering is on full lock when parked just in case you decide to hit a wall

[purplebargeken]

What a really, really weird setup.

[cort16]

Renault were really at the top of their game with these eh? Did you say there's also a gearbox issue?

[chaseracer]

 

[Biggy Shackleton]

Good luck sorting that, they're a funny one alright. Got a 2005 Grand Scenic and it's been spot on (don't ask me how) for the 18 months I've had it, although the other day, the rear left passenger window made a pinging noise from the door card and the window wound half way down on it's own. It's now held up by shoving rawl plugs between window and the window rubbers  til I can fix the regulator.

[Keymaster]

Good luck sorting that, they're a funny one alright. Got a 2005 Grand Scenic and it's been spot on (don't ask me how) for the 18 months I've had it, although the other day, the rear left passenger window made a pinging noise from the door card and the window wound half way down on it's own. It's now held up by shoving rawl plugs between window and the window rubbers  til I can fix the regulator.

 

Ha, they are legendary for this. Both our rear windows dropped out at 8pm on Christmas eve. Convenient.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Renault were really at the top of their game with these eh? Did you say there's also a gearbox issue?

 

All it needs is a 1.9DCi mill for utter carmageddon.

[Lacquer Peel]

I think I've mentioned it before, my taxi driver neighbour owns a mk2 Scenic 1.6 petrol manual. He doesn't have any problems with it. Automatic and/or diesel though? AVOID.

 

Are Subaru's boxer diesels crap? I like the idea of them.

[cort16]

I think they suffer from the modern diesel shite woe's of clogged dpf's and exploding DMF's but I've also read the boxer nature of the engine makes it a bit weird. Short on torque and sounds like a cement mixer.

I've not driven one so can't comment for sure.

[gordonbennet]

Being a bit of a Subaru fan i've seen too many adverts trying to sell Diesel Scoobs with engines that are either knocking or completely bollocksed, barge pole job, how Subaru made such a complete pigs ear of that engine i dunno, maybe a knee jerk reaction in Japan, quick we need a low CO2 engine for tax and fuel headline figures, effing big mistake that was.

 

Electric parking brakes and dodgy automated manual or twin clutch type gearboxes (or any French car with an auto) are my lines in the sand, no way, not even if some bugger paid me to take the sodding thing away.

[Albert Ross]

Well.... I have a Belgian built Volvo with a French engine, (PSA DW10) and a German built (for a Japanese soft roader) twin wet clutch 6 speed "auto". 2 years in and it's been absolutely faultless. Cue expensive repair bill.

[gordonbennet]

Sod me Albert you like living dangerously...EPB as well for the full wallet raping package?...can you keep and use it daily it 15 years please and prove my prejudices wrong.

[Petrolize]

Sadly no progress on the Scenic, did try to the suggestion of getting it out of panic mode earlier on today but to no avail. If I had my way I'd set fire to the damn thing, but its not mine, so can't.  The automatic gearbox did cause some issues with the owner, but hasn't played up recently.

As for the Subaru, its a lovely drive, has never dropped below 50mpg, fairly quiet once on the move, plenty torque, comfortable and so on...yet the only problem is it doesn't work either. Would have probably recommended it this time last month, but not the way things are looking now.

[omegod]

Window dropping will be a little plastic clip on the regulator , same as the laguna , Renault claim not to sell the part seperately but do , don't bother as you can get them for pennies on fleabay. Save yourself the hassle though just give the thing a mercy killing and squash it

[J-Rod]

Being a bit of a Subaru fan i've seen too many adverts trying to sell Diesel Scoobs with engines that are either knocking or completely bollocksed, barge pole job, how Subaru made such a complete pigs ear of that engine i dunno, maybe a knee jerk reaction in Japan, quick we need a low CO2 engine for tax and fuel headline figures, effing big mistake that was.

 

Agreed. Having owned the petrol (non-turbo) version of the same model Legacy, they're always better in their petrol form, as they never sold Diesel JDM versions. 

 

One other strange point about them - the Euro spec Legacies weren't/aren't as well finished as the JDM spec ones. When I got rid of mine, they had a pile of JDM spec ones in the garage I sold it to, so could literally compare them side by side. The difference was like chalk and cheese. If I ever had another one (I wouldn't), I wouldn't bother with a Euro spec one at all - the finish on them just seems nasty compared. 

[Albert Ross]

It has a perfectly traditional parking brake lever. It' s a Focus platform, therefore all the bits that break will be cheap. (Late 2008 V50)