How good are Clio Mk IIs?

[carlo]

Morning shiters.

 

Sorry to start another 'How good are' thread, but does anyone have experience of the 1998-2006 Clios?

 

Apart from the seemingly obvious advice to avoid the autos (which is a shame 'cos Mrs_Carlo quite fancies one), are these as much of an electrical nightmare at the Mk II Lagunas and Meganes?

 

And were the post 2001 ones with the strange grille any worse or better?

 

Much obliged

[Cavcraft]

In truth pretty much everyone (of a fair few) I have had have been crap in some way or another. They seem prone to HGF and aren't very well made imho.

[Bren]

Should have been titled "how bad are clio mk II's?"

[They_all_do_that_sir]

Ive some experience of these as MIL had a couple. Both needed immobilisers bypassed (Google this, there is a cheap fix)

 

Other than that rot killed the first, OMGHGF the other.

 

Easy to work on and easy to live with otherwise

[SiC]

Clio ii phase 2 (2001+) much improved over the original. The last ones (campus, etc) loose stuff but mostly sorted all the minor issues over the lifetime.

 

Best engine IMO is the 1.4. The 1.2 is very lacking and doesn't handle the miles too well. The 1.6 has dephaser issues. The 1.4 is very similar to a 1.6 but without the dephaser and smaller bore.

 

Electrically they're very similar to the Dacia's - in fact the Dacia are based on them. Simple but solid.

 

Easy to work on and plenty of room under the bonnet. Going on that there is so many on the road still, they must not be too bad!

[sierraman]

Don't seem to go rusty, but can be prone to electrical problems, leaking heaters, interiors falling to bits. I'd say best probably 1.2 or the 1.5dci if you can find one without any injector trouble.

[SiC]

I'd say avoid the 1.5dci unless cheap and prepared to write it off. That age 1.5dci has a tendency to munch their injector pump which floods swarf into the injectors killing them. Requiring a replacement of pump, 4x injectors, fuel rails (or very good flush), fuel filters and fuel tank.

 

When working those diesels do 60-70mpg easily though and £30 tax.

[SiC]

Misfiring 1.2 could be coilpacks but also as probable compression loss. So don't assume a misfiring bargain on a 1.2 is coil pack! Not sure what causes the compression loss - they tend to get scrapped instead of investigated.

 

1.4 has usual coil problems, but less suspectable to compression loss unless big miles.

[Aston Martin]

They're all worth about £45. They're on cuntree really cheap.

[scaryoldcortina]

I know someone who has two 1.2 petrols and a 1.5 DCi on his drive, all broken. He can't even give them away, all the scrapyards want money to collect and none of them run.

[Skizzer]

I used to go out with a girl who had a W-plate 1.2 petrol that was then about 4-5 years old.  It was unutterably grim - flimsy, noisy, ugly, made of the nastiest plastics, horrid gearchange.  No fun around town, miserably thrashy on motorways.  

 

Mind you, it didn't help that she used it as a bottomless ashtray, being half French.

[eddyramrod]

The structure is surprisingly strong.  I was rear-ended by a 2002 Clio in 2003, costing me the thick end of 6 months off work from whiplash!  My 1991 Orion was deformed enough to be an instant write-off.

The Clio was slightly bashed at the front, but not enough to stop it going back into immediate use.

Ncap rating:  500/5

[carlo]

I think she's influenced by the fact we had a new one back in 2000.

 

Probably a 16 year old Clio will not be quite so nice..

 

I was more concerned with their electrical complexity, stories about equivalent age Scenics, Lagunas & Meganes are horrific.  Perhaps we'll look at Citroen C3s to enter a whole different scene of French frailty.

[Bren]

An ex work colleague had one than chewed it's head gasket.

 

After HG replacement it smoked because the rings had lost their sealing quality.

[320touring]

less than 1k gets a 172.

 

 

do it!

[fatharris]

MrsH had one as her first car, prior to that, her dad had it and added 80k with no major dramas, save for a few coil packs and wheel bearings. I liked it, it felt more substantial than the Ford and Peugeot offerings, handled well and was relatively rust-free.

[Pillock]

Less than £1k gets a 172 that's been thrashed half to death.

 

Whether that makes it less likely to proceed than a one owner, 25k cared for Clio is anyone's guess.

[Mr Lobster]

I had a 2000 1.4 Si 16v version which was two years old at the time and I'd have to say it was great. Only thing that went wrong in around 50k was coil packs. Other than that it was ace.

 

Whether I'd like a now 16 year old one though is a different matter.

[mat_the_cat]

I'd say avoid the 1.5dci unless cheap and prepared to write it off. That age 1.5dci has a tendency to munch their injector pump which floods swarf into the injectors killing them. Requiring a replacement of pump, 4x injectors, fuel rails (or very good flush), fuel filters and fuel tank.

 

My cunning plan to prevent this is to glue a strong magnet around the inlet of the fuel filter. Assuming it's the in-tank pump which is prone to failure; if not I've been barking up the wrong tree!

[SiC]

I think she's influenced by the fact we had a new one back in 2000.

 

Probably a 16 year old Clio will not be quite so nice..

 

I was more concerned with their electrical complexity, stories about equivalent age Scenics, Lagunas & Meganes are horrific. Perhaps we'll look at Citroen C3s to enter a whole different scene of French frailty.

They're completely different electrically to the Megane+Scenic+Laguna. A lot simpler and much less complex.

 

Electrically there is Engine module, UCH (Body computer) which together does the immobiliser together. Then ABS, Airbag computers. About it really. Apart from the UCH and engine module, its all interchangeable. Engine module+UCH sets are cheap enough on eBay if you get immobiliser trouble.

 

As earlier, the phase 1 are not as good as the newer phase 2 imo.

 

Not sure if a C3 is much better, its around the time that PSA group started Multiplexing their electronics with varying levels of success.

 

What about a Jazz?

[SiC]

My cunning plan to prevent this is to glue a strong magnet around the inlet of the fuel filter. Assuming it's the in-tank pump which is prone to failure; if not I've been barking up the wrong tree!

No intank pump at all iirc. Even so, that'd be filtered by the filter. Its the high pressure pump that's driven by the cambelt that pressurises the fuel rail directly up to around 30'000PSI. As you can imagine at those pressures, tolerances and cleanses are critical.

[FakeConcern]

We bought both our kids one of these when they were 17 to learn to drive in. Daughter number 1 had a MK2 Phase1 T reg 1.2 8V . Seven years later she's just traded it in on 150000 miles and starting to go frilly around the rear arches. She really liked it & fun to drive. Nothing major went wrong, had to take the sunroof off & re seal it. Daughter number 2 had a MK2 Phase 2 02 reg 1.2 16v. Five year later she still has it and it's going strong. It had the same sunroof fix and various other problems such as a leaking water pump & needed a new clutch. Also fun to drive & she really likes it. No rust on this one and well equipped and still looks smart. 

[carlo]

They're completely different electrically to the Megane+Scenic+Laguna. A lot simpler and much less complex.

 

Electrically there is Engine module, UCH (Body computer) which together does the immobiliser together. Then ABS, Airbag computers. About it really. Apart from the UCH and engine module, its all interchangeable. Engine module+UCH sets are cheap enough on eBay if you get immobiliser trouble.

 

As earlier, the phase 1 are not as good as the newer phase 2 imo.

 

Not sure if a C3 is much better, its around the time that PSA group started Multiplexing their electronics with varying levels of success.

 

What about a Jazz?

 

Thanks for that.

 

Yes a Jazz has been considered but I have a bit of a thing against Honda, I prefer cars with torque and a working suspension..

[Dick Cheeseburger]

A few years back my old housemate was jealous of my rusty 14 year old Cavalier GSi, even though he owned a four year old V plate Clio. Neighbour had a 51 plate one and the sunroof needed the best duck tape available, as rainwater pissed in through it. A work colleague had exactly the same problem, and always cost her a bloody fortune at MOT time. Beyond shite. 

[tooSavvy]

The Clio 1.2 16V is in my Savv (A complex parts/model 'one night stand' with a drunken surrender monkey and a shy oriental!).

 

Mine is fine and runs well. I moved my Coil pack from over the Exhaust manifold + fitted the Mk3 Coilpack with loose/aftermarket leads.

 

 

 

They [Clio] can slice through the cable bundle at the ECU due to going through a sort of tin box/mouse trap thinggie.... google it...

 

Savvy has NO mousetrap.. weyheyy..

 

1.4 is DOHC 1.2 is SOHC with finger/roller followers operating a pair of valves >> due to the Inlet mani coming off to get the cambox off, the valve settings [old skool Screwwie + locknut] are not done and closed up valves burnout/lose comp & FTP en route to fragg....

 

 

 

TS

[twosmoke300]

Sunroofs leak between cassette and roof - water takes out airbag side impact sensors

Clutch is a subframe drop/ remove so more expensive to do than most cheap small cars

I've seen a few with corroded wiring into the under bonnet fuse box

The 1.2 16v has issues with the ecu harness cover running through the wires it's supposed to protect .

On the plus side parts are cheap and they aren't a bad ( if rattly ) drive

[Pete-M]

Coil packs, immobiliser, HGF.

[Hendry]

I had a 3 year old 1.2 Dynamique 3 door on an 04 plate, it was a nice car IMO, didn't have any bother with it other than the NSF anti roll bar bush falling out once! It was good spec, plenty toys, cheap to run, nice to drive, a bit slow but good on fuel, the Interiors were much nicer than the pre 2001 versions, better quality, although I had mine in at Renault once and the dealers service manager printed me off a list of the stuff it'd had on warranty since new which was only 5 minor things like electric window switches, he did say though I must've bought one of the few good ones as usually there's about 5 pages worth of stuff been done to them on warranty usually, so that gives some idea how poor most of them must be!

[SiC]

Ecu connector cover probably has chaffed through the wiring on most now, so the wiring replaced and the cover chucked away. If not, then remove it! I think it's only the 1.2 that had the stupid thing.

 

Had 3 in the family - all 1.2s. I had one brand spanking new as a first car, soon-to-be wife had one too. Apart from being utterly gutless, pretty reliable. I specced climate control in mine (£600 for air con, £750 for climate...) but zapped too many horses when engaged.

 

If I needed a cheap car to run around town, I'd get another. Now older it'd probably be in 172/182 flavour as insurance is less a problem...

[tommotech]

In my experience diesels are pretty good. Base models lack temperature gauges so may overheat before the driver notices, hence so many with OMGHGF. 1.9D naturally aspirated diesels are electronically controlled mechanical pumps, either Lucas DPCN or Lucas EPIC. Issues with EPIC equipped engines can be enough to scrap a car but it is possible to retrofit Bosch from Clio 1. DPCN is more reliable and neither drive too badly in truth, just try and get one with PAS.

 

I have a 2000X 1.9D that I got as a non runner, cost me a crank sensor and it was away. A new crank sensor from ECP had already been fitted but went open circuit above 2500 rpm, a genuine Renault one did the job.

 

I know diesels are not everyone's thing, the 1.9D is relatively noisy, but they're cheap just now. The 1.5 dci would be my choice but use decent fuel and look after the filters and it won't let you down*

 

Good luck!