[dhen]

Hi Guys,

I would just like to ask if there is anyone here who owns a Clio grandtour/Sport tourer year 2010. I have few things I would like to confirm if they too are experiencing the following and what might be the solution:

"Knock or pop sound (like hitting a rubber with a hummer)"


- the single knock sound seems to be comming from under the car and near the pedals while steering left/right almost full lock and while the car is stationary.

- this also occurs when pulling away from stop while the steering wheel is turned full lock either left or right.

- it also occurs when steering wheel is turned while backing up (for example during parking).

- Base on my observation this only happens during the afternoon when the car has already been driven during a hot day (summer).

I brought the car to renault service center and they have replaced the Steering column (under warranty). Although it minimized the sound, it still occurs. The steering doesnt have any play on it and I have not noticed anything weird (apart from hearing and feeling the sound).

If you guys, can give me some opinion which might help the mechanics at the renault which seems to be inclined on just replacing parts without really troubleshooting the problem. But I think it´s really hard to diagnose my problem since it only occurs in the afternoon and my dealer set appointments only in the morning.

I am already upto my nose with this problem and I have searched anywhere and found things like CV joint, Shaft or things like that which doesnt exactly fit the symptoms my car is having.

I have also read an article where they said it could be cause by tread shifting. I Don´t really know and the worse is neither does the mechanics at renault.

Regards,

Dhen

 

[mord]

hi

if it only occurs when turning the wheel or when loading on front wheels changes ie when pulling away, id be looking at the front springs and top mount thrust bearings above the springs.

price to change them is apporx £50 per spring and £50ish for a pair of top mount kits.

you should check the milage and the cars service history, if its 50k or 5 years snce the last spring change then get them replaced.

reno's are known to suffer spring failure due to british roads which are among the worst in the EU for pot holes and those effing speed ramps.

also, if the subframe has been removed (ie. stering rack replacement) you can sometimes get slight movement and odd noises/movement if t hasnt been correctly torqued up when refitting.


oh and to keep service prices down, ask local taxi drivers (non black cabies) where they go to get thier cars serviced, they look for fast turnaround and no notice drop ins for emergency repairs. pick one that is competant with french cars.

 

[dhen]

Hi Mord,

Thanks for the reply. These front spring and top mount bearing, are they dangerous if not replaced or will they cause another problem if not fixed? I am really getting tired of going to renault service center and if this problems just causes only annoyance I would rather just leave it alone. I read somewhere that this problem is very common to renault clio, are these true?

The car is less than a year old and has only 3728 miles on it. I bought it brand new but I think this will be the last renault I will ever buy. Right from the start this car has been giving me problems and most of the problems it had are too intermittent to reproduce and usually happens only after the car has been driven for a while. So it's driving me nuts. Imagine, when I hear something I bring it to renault and the car refuse to do it then they will tell me that they will check anyway so after few days they call me and tell me they replaced something but when I take the car drive it for a few miles the problem is still there...this has been always the case, always the case...

I have never driven a Clio before or any other french car for this reason I would also like to get feedbacks from other Clio owners, better with other clio grand tour/sport tourer owners. So I can know which one is normal or not.

 

[christopherM]

It could well be road spring/top mount car is not old enough to have any top mount probelms wear wise but it doesn't mean the top mount and spring have not been seated correctly at the factory, are the Renault lads sure nothing is catching up those wheel arches, the only thing that throws me a little is the fact it only hapens when warm, perhaps though it is not "warm" but how many turns of the steering it does before it gets fouled that could be another way to look at it. What happens basically is when you turn you steering wheel the front hub turns on the lower ball joint, the strut and spring also turn the top part of the spring turns inside a cup full of small ball bearings, if this cup has not been fitted correctly (you have to make sure the spring end it nestled against the top bearing stop) if not it all works out of sync, just a thought as you can't actually see the top mount until it is removed which is how it could be missed, to see the top mount the strut/spring assembly has to be removed. not a very easy or quick job. As for the problem not being there when you get to the garage, we get that all the time it is very common!
no pinch bolts at the bottom of the steering colum catching, other than that I can't think where else you would get a rubbery type knock on lock.