Interesting Facts About Renault You Probably Don’t Know – Common Problems – and PDF Manuals for Download…
In early 1899 three French brothers, Marcel, Louis and Fernand founded the ‘Société Renault Frères’ company that is famously known for manufacturing lorries, buses, vans, cars and tractors.
The youngest brother, Louis, is actually credited to have built the ‘Renault Voiturette 1CV’, the first Renault car in the company’s portfolio, in 1898.
Upon selling the unique little car to his father’s friend, Louis was motivated to start his own car manufacturing company and thus ‘Société Renault Frères’ was born with the help of his two elder brothers.
The brothers built another successful model, the ‘Voiturette Renault Type D Series B’ before embarking on engine manufacture in 1901.
The customized engines performed so well that the brothers dedicated their efforts towards building race cars which went on to win the Grand Prix in 1906.
In an unfortunate turn of events, Marcel Renault died in a motor race accident in 1903 leading his brothers to retire from the sport although the company still continued to manufacture race cars.
The company made a major milestone in 1905 when it began manufacturing Renault AG1 taxis which, by the end of 1907, were the leading brand used all across France and New York.
By 1908, Renault was France’s largest manufacturer of taxis selling more than 3,000 units annually.
In the same year, Fernand fell ill forcing him to leave the business to Louis, he later died in 1909.
With the rise of the First World War, ‘Société Renault Frères’ ventured into production of military equipment including ammunition, airplanes, lorries and F-17 tanks.
Post-war business was booming for Louis that by 1929 the brand was hugely popular across more than 45 countries and diesel engines were a major part of the company’s portfolio by 1930.
However, the 1940s was a dark period for Louis Renault and the ‘Société Renault Frères’. After being falsely accused of manufacturing vehicles for the German army, Louis was arrested and sentenced to a psychiatric hospital in 1944.
He died a prisoner in the same facility a few months later. The fate of ‘Société Renault Frères’ now lay in the hands of the government and it was nationalized in the same year of Louis’ death.
The years after the death of the Louis Renault, the company performed better than expected especially between 1950 and 1960.
Its flagship model, the ‘Renault Fregate’ was manufactured and sold to several parts of the world including North America and Africa where it proudly stood amongst the best selling cars in the world.
Its success continued to rise and profits were booming for the national government throughout the 60s, 70s, 80s and early 90s.
Towards the end of 1996, the company was finally privatized following failed merger talks between them and Volvo.
Today the company stands at the top ten list of the best automobile manufacturers in the world with manufacturing, sales and maintenance centres spread across 118 countries.
Common Renault Problems
Besides the fact that Renault cars rank very highly in the automobile market, they are elegant, efficient and provide a long service.
Nevertheless, every great car has its downfalls and as such it is important for users to be aware of the common problems they may experience by owning a Renault and how these problems can be efficiently addressed with the help of a repair and service manual.
- Convertible Roof Problems
Some of the modern Renault car models sport a convertible roof. Although a classy and stylish design, these convertible roofs may be faulty and fail to open or close fully when engaged.
This may be hazardous for the car especially if it rains or if in a high risk area. Ensure to check if the battery is fully charged since this operation utilizes power from the battery.
Also try pulling the roof up or down manually and this should reset the roof opening mechanism automatically, if the above fail, seek the services of a repair and maintenance professional to run a complete diagnostics of the roof feature and correct whatever may be at fault.
- Automatic Gearbox Problem
Renault car models installed with AL4 gearbox units have once in their lifetime suffered a failure of these units. Such a failure may cause worse problems for the car including total engine failure.
If detected, the user should visit a repair and maintenance professional immediately and have a modified electro valve installed and reprogrammed.
- Diesel Injection Light
During operation, dashboard may light up showing a fault with the diesel injection system. The high pressure regulators or injectors may be blocked or damaged causing inaccurate fuel injection to the engine or a total engine failure.
A normal car service should usually clear this up by replacing the fuel filter, but if the situation is not remedied, then a full vehicle diagnostics should be performed to determine what the cause may be.
- Electric Power Steering Problem
The Renault Megane model has faced steering failures caused by unstable power supply to the system or simply a computer error.
Such a failure may cause the steering not to function normally thus hampering the manoeuvrability of the vehicle and even causing an accident.
If the problem is noted then the first thing to be checked is the battery condition, it should be at full charge for the steering to work.
If this fails then a complete diagnostic, memory clearing and reboot of the system should be performed to reset the electric steering back to normal functionality.
- Airbag Indicator Light Fault
In rare occasions, the airbag indicator light will go on unexpectedly showing that the airbag has a malfunction.
This may simply be caused by a faulty sensor or a deeper issue with the car memory.
Check if seats have been repositioned or if the seatbelts are damaged. If nothing is found then perform a full diagnostic to determine the problem.
Conclusion
Renault still remains at the top of the list for reliability, comfort and convenience amidst the minor problems that certain models may face.
Ensure to have a car repair service manual on hand to know what to check for when you experience a fault.
Purpose of this is to catalog and include one of most comprehensive, useful and accessible “automotive repair manual” database on the web for all Renault models.
It’s your go-to source for learning all about Renault – when you can’t find it elsewhere.
To get started, select the intended car model below…
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11
7 manuals -
12
4 manuals -
14
3 manuals -
18
60 manuals -
19
86 manuals -
20
5 manuals -
21
14 manuals -
25
12 manuals -
4
633 manuals -
5
57 manuals -
9
6 manuals -
Alpine
8 manuals -
Avantime
21 manuals -
Clio
551 manuals -
Duster
31 manuals -
Espace
527 manuals -
Fluence
7 manuals -
Fuego
25 manuals -
Kangoo
78 manuals -
Koleos
23 manuals -
Laguna
387 manuals -
Latitude
4 manuals -
Logan
53 manuals -
Megane
782 manuals -
Modus
60 manuals -
R5
2 manuals -
Safrane
54 manuals -
Sandero
12 manuals -
Scenic
177 manuals -
Scenic II
33 manuals -
Spider
28 manuals -
Super 5
19 manuals -
Symbol
20 manuals -
Thalia
20 manuals -
Trafic
32 manuals -
Twingo
241 manuals -
Twizy
2 manuals -
Vel Satis
37 manuals -
Wind
4 manuals -
Zoom
42 manuals