Renault Clio III 1.2 Tce - Strange engine (or maybe clutch?) problem - lucklesspedestrian

Hi

My daughter has a 2008 Clio III with the 100 bhp 1.2 petrol engine,

It's developed an intermittent fault which has got me stumped.

Basically when you floor the accelerator (It will do this more often in higher gears esp 5th at 45/50mph) the revs rise unusually quickly i.e. maybe jump up by 500 rpm in an instant then fall back to where they started or even a bit below. It will do this say, 8 times out of 10.

The car obviously doesn't accelerate when this happens which worries me for her overtaking.

Otherwise the engine is fine and smooth at steady speeds (problem only happens when you floor accelerator) and it's also fine say in 1st/2nd or even 3rd when you're zipping about in high revs/low gear. There's no loss of power under these circumstances.

I'm wondering if it's maybe the turbo? Doesn't seem like the clutch but I could be wrong

....any ideas??

Renault Clio III 1.2 Tce - Strange engine (or maybe clutch?) problem - SLO76
Sounds like the clutch is starting to slip to me. If the revs rise without a corresponding increase in road speed it’s pretty much certainly clutch slip. Not horrendously expensive on a petrol Clio to change the clutch and it’s really just wear and tear. Tell her not to ride the clutch from now on!
Renault Clio III 1.2 Tce - Strange engine (or maybe clutch?) problem - lucklesspedestrian

Yeah, she used to have a non turbo 1.2 petrol Clio and the clutch went at roughly the same time. As you say wear and tear and it looks like a clutch kit can be had for under £100.

Renault Clio III 1.2 Tce - Strange engine (or maybe clutch?) problem - elekie&a/c doctor
I would go for a known brand clutch. Valeo or Luk seem to be the best quality.
Renault Clio III 1.2 Tce - Strange engine (or maybe clutch?) problem - Peter.N.

If you want to get a bit more life out of it don't let it slip, back off a bit and it could last a lot longer.

Renault Clio III 1.2 Tce - Strange engine (or maybe clutch?) problem - SLO76
I would go for a known brand clutch. Valeo or Luk seem to be the best quality.

Agree. Pay a bit extra for quality, it’ll pay off in the end.
Renault Clio III 1.2 Tce - Strange engine (or maybe clutch?) problem - focussed

Classic symptom of a slipping clutch - especially as it's in 5 th gear.

Renault Clio III 1.2 Tce - Strange engine (or maybe clutch?) problem - edlithgow

Have those a cable or a hydraulically operated clutch?

On my current car (cable operated) which I think was starting to slip, the cable needed adjusted to give more slack/free play.

Doing so stopped it slipping, though I probably wasted some clutch material by not doing it sooner.

I suppose this is unlikely to be the case with a modern car, but I don't know much about modern cars.

My Renault 5 was cable, but I THINK it had some kind of automatic adjuster, which may have worked but (IIRC) it made fitting a new clutch cable quite fiddly, especially doing it on the road without any tools.

Edited by edlithgow on 28/12/2018 at 14:13