In the early days of computerised fault codes being used to identify motor vehicle malfunctions they were generic - in other words the codes were common to virtually all makes and you could hook up a basic OBD2 code reader and find the fault codes and their descriptors. Increasingly manufacturers have generated their own make specific fault codes which cannot be read by a non- manufacturer OBD2 code reader. This forces you to go to a full dealership for your vehicle make and have them read the fault codes - often at huge $ cost. As automobiles become more technical and their computerised systems become more complex, a new generation of mechanics (sorry technicians) often canât solve a vehicle problem if the fault code does not correctly appear. In some cases the manufacturerâs Australian Head Office does not offer adequate technical support to their dealers.
My 2014 (4WD turbo diesel) Renault displayed a message âEFI problemâ - After my highly competent local mechanic advised he did not have the software to access all Renault fault codes I dropped the vehicle off to a full Renault dealership with an instruction to use their Renault software and identify the fault codes. They advised that they could not pull all codes because Renault Australia when distributing the latest diagnostic software upgrade only issued a partial upgrade, They advised I would have to return at a later date to the local dealership so that Renault Australia Head Office could remotely access my vehicle and do a fault code diagnosis.
Enough is enough! Previously I had a driveline problem which a different full dealership with a Master Technician couldnât diagnose using factory software and âexpertâ knowledge. Today I had the vehicle towed to a motor wrecker. The failure of the Australian importer to effectively support their marque and the poor support from their dealership team sees my abandon this maker. I will not return to this make. I know some other makes have poor manufacturer and dealer support.
You should CC your local MP. Frankly, this experience isnât good enough but unless manufacturers are forced to lift their game, they wonât. In my opinion, also, 10 years from a vehicle is not up to scratch. And this problem is only going to get worse with Electric Vehicles unless the government sets minimum standards of service and support.
The basic problem is Renault turned over their Australian business to ATECO. I will not bore with how ATECO has handled many brands over the years, but they are primarily a trading company not an auto company.
âGoogleâ does not return a comprehensive hit on their history but there are many specifics across most of their imports, all similar and none impressive.
When one buys an otherwise nice vehicle (we have 2 Renaults) and then the brand gets taken over by ATECO after the fact, the service and support generally takes an obvious turn âsouthâ. I for one would never buy a vehicle where they were known as the importer/support, having had personal experience a decade back with their Citroen (so-called) service and support. Knock wood, the Renaults have been going well but the once brilliant dealer has since morphed into âsomething elseâ where managing customers has seemed more important than addressing honest issues.
Being a Renault Turbo Diesel FWD visiting a Nissan dealer would probably given you a better outcome . Renault Turbo Diesel FWDâs and Nissan Turbo Diesel FWDâs are built on the same platform and share much of the same running gear .
There are many cars that have a twin model in another make e.g Suzuki Baleno / Toyota Starlet or Glanza . Toyota Rav 4 / Suzuki Akross . Toyota GT 86 / Subaru BRX .
Toyota Supra GT / BMW Z4 . The list goes on and on .
I feel your pain, we have a Peugeot 4007 which suddenly decided to start leaking DPF fuel additive all over the driveway. The fact that it had a reservoir of fluid was news to me and always wondered what that plastic box under the rear axle was for. It was now dripping some strange orange fluid. A quick google search told me what it was. I called my local Peugeot repairer for a quote, $1500 to replace for a bit more than a litre of fluid in a bladder. Seemed pretty pricey as most of it was the cost of the fluid, but everything Peugeot is expensive. Found it was not difficult job to remove said bladder and have a look, at first look it didnât look that hard to patch the bladder as was still mostly full, did this and refitted. This was only a temporary fix so started looking for a replacement. Turns out I could get one shipped from the UK for about $300, which I did ( i was a bit nervous about how you would ship a bag of volatile fluid by air to Australia, but they did). Fitted the new bladder no problem. Next was how do you reset the computer to tell the car its been replaced. Turns out that Peugeots and Citreons use their own diagnistic equipment (Diagbox), good news you can buy the hardware to do this from Aliexpress and the there is whole community out there who can help with installing the cracked software for it. After probably a lot of time getting this all working I managed to reset the counter.Another story is how this additive system works, only the French could have come up with this! The good news is that there is help out there which can save you heaps.
