Laguna 02 1.6- Heartbreak

romc

How's it going? I just bought a 02 Laguna 1.6 16V Dynamique, 59K Miles. The dealer replaced the timing belt, the water pump and gave it a full service. I got it on Friday and it was driving grand.

I got up Sat morning, nothing had been left on overnight and it still worked fine. Sat afternoon, took it for a spin and noticed the engine shuddering when the car was stationary with the engine on. I parked up, turned it off and it wouldn't start when I got back in. I had to get it jumped and then when I was driving home the windows wouldn't go down in one go and I'd to press the button a few times for it to open/close, I presumed this was because the battery was on its last legs. I jumped it got it home and got my friend a mechanic to look at it. He thought the battery was a problem and didn't want to make a better judgement until it was replaced. We noticed the engine moving (almost hopping) a bit more than normal and thought/hoped this was because the battery was on its last legs.

The dealer replaced it today and when I started it up it seemed fine. I went out the M50 southbound from the M1. When I reached Finglas (after maybe 15/20 mins) the service icon flashed on the dash. It flashed intermittently along with the airbag icon, the ABS icon and the one for the battery. At one point the speedometer completely dropped despite the car not slowing. I got to my destination and it wouldn't start again.

I've been on various forums and I have seen similar case attributed to the TDC (I've no idea what this is), the immobiliser (I don't think this is the case), the alternator and so on.

I got it jumped again and on my way home I tried to see what it was, I revved it but the various warning lights only occasionally turned on due to this. I also noticed that the rev counter wasn't going below 1000 rpm when stationary and that the car was still shuddering when stationary and I noticed a whine/whistle out of the engine. I got back and it took the engine or maybe the fan a good while to stop whirring after I'd turned it off.

I have a three month warranty and really like the car but it’s already a nightmare. Has anyone seen anything like this before? It would be a great help to steer (excuse the pun) the dealer in the right direction as it would it make it easier for all concerned.

Dartz

Could be that ECU is getting a bit dicky. Faulty alternator could've damaged it. They're pretty sensitive. The thing with these is, when one thing fails, it somehow managed to cause a whole lot of other things to let go. If it's the ECU, it'll **** the mixture up, which might explain the odd behaviour of the engine, aswell as instrument failures and spurious warning signals.

It's pretty much the only common element aside from the Battery/Alternator I can think of.

Well, it's either that or a ****ty Earth somehwere.

x in the city

shakes head.....:rolleyes:

If I was the OP I would get a refund and/or a different motor, all them problems could mean a Lemon.

and being a Reno its highly likely tbh

why not get a rock solid accord..

homer90

x in the city wrote: »

If I was the OP I would get a refund and/or a different motor

Have to agree im afraid......

tommmy1979

Get your money back quick...

Then change the title of this thread to "Why you should never but a french car"

I'll try to be a bit more helpfull: If i were in you're situation and i wanted to get the car running I'd replace any of the sensors that the dealer may have been at while doing the timing belt such as crank position sensors, knock sensors etc.. if this doesn't work then i'd get a scrap ECU but before fitting it i'd change any components that might be frying the ECU such as dodgy alternator as someone has already suggeste or voltage regulators..

T

eamon234

There's a good reason why Lagunas are for sale all over the place for half nothing! Get rid of it.

Green Hornet

Bad luck OP. The Laguna is one of the most unreliable cars on the road and are dogged with electrical issues. This is not just hearsay either. My brother had a 01 model and gave him no end of trouble.

From what I hear the 01 - 05 models are the worst of the worst and apparently they improved post facelift (05 or so I believe).

Darragh29

When the dealer replaced the battery, did he or your friend check the alternator for charging output???

This is where I'd start. Get a multimeter and put it across the battery terminals and you should have 14.5VDC all things being in order. If you have 13.X or 14.1/2 VDC, you probably have a probem with your alternator.

Also, check your alternator pulley belt, if it is loose, it might not be driving the alternator properly and causing the above.

Also, check the ignition coils by removing them one at a time, (get your friend to do this as you need to know what you are doing from a health & safety perspective).

Dartz

The one I have is fine... a little less mileage... but it's been well looked after. The only problem it's ever given in seven years is a wheel coming out of balance, and a slight tendancy to start on only the three cylinders when it's cold out. Everything else works fine.

There's hundreds of the things around Blanchardstown.... still running

skyhighflyer

I generally like French cars, but on the basis of our experience with a Laguna II, the only good advice is to go back to the dealer and get your money back or swap it for something, anything else.

pburns

You can go chasing your tail checking alternators and ignition coils but the best thing to do is just get rid if at all possible.

Even a Renault big-wig admitted at the launch of the Laguna III that the II had dire reliability issues. The pre-facelift II model you're talking about was the worst of the lot, possibly the most unreliable car of the last decade.

See: http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?md=331

jor el

Since it didn't work properly, from the minute you bought it, you should bring it back and ask for your money back, or a different car. Have a look at this guide for some more information.

tommmy1979

pburns wrote: »

See: http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?md=331

:eek::eek:

Green Hornet

pburns wrote: »

See: http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?md=331

Thats some list. Basically, anything that could go wrong with them did!

It's a wonder that they still sell so many cars over here?

Guy:Incognito

Green Hornet wrote: »

Thats some list. Basically, anything that could go wrong with them did!

Not all with the same ones though. Thats the problem with HonestJohn, they list everythign that happened and was reported to them.Doesnt nessecarily mean lots of cars suffer a particular fault.

Alot of issues are easy enough DIY fixes (window regulaters especially) . I know afew people who have had them more or less trouble free. Currently looking around for a nice one for my mother to change to from her Clio. Admittedly it will be a facelifted one (much better reliability wise but still suffers the nice depreciation that makes them a great 2nd hand buy), but thats more to do her looking for a 3 year old car.

mike65

This maybe a long shot but the ECU may have error codes that need checking and clearing, if a check is done and codes are found then once clear you will know whats wrong and will at least starting with a clean sheet so to speak,its esy to spend a lot of time chasing your tail.

Sometimes an error gets created, induced by dying battery but there is nothing actually wrong, mechaniclly speaking.

romc

The dealer's bringing it to some renault garage tomorrow so I'll see what happens then, he's not shirking anything in fairness to him, although who would when there's a few squids at stake!

This leads to a question; when servicing a car is it normal to wipe the ECU? Correct me if that makes no sense/is impossible/is ridiculous!

Darragh29; I don't know what the dealer did when replacing the bettery because I was in work. I'll bring that up with him anyway, thanks.

Folks; I'll also mention the ECU, alternator, alternator pulley etc.

Tommy 1979; I'll change the title to, 'Renault Laguna II 01-05 - the solution to Irish Economc Woes but the cause of irish Alcoholism' They'd keep the country in jobs with the ammount of problems that need fixing!

Thanks for all the advice folks.

RoundyMooney

That generation of Laguna are a bucket of shit, in contrast to the earlier (arguably more elegant) models, which actually seem to be okay by Renault standards.

I used to use a local mechanic here who sold a bucket load of them on behalf of a (Cork) city dealership, but I gave up on using him after listening to him blame the customer yet again following a turbo meltdown, ECU failure, or a knackered gearbox, which calls his honesty into question. Renault should hang their corporate heads in shame for inflicting such a model on the public.

Early Meganes too are the same. Seemingly 05 on are OK (on both meganes and lagunas), and after four years, one would imagine issues breaking through by now.

It's by no means the norm to wipe the ECU post service AFAIK, merely reset the service indicators, but you'll get all manner of tall tales following this model around