Dear Honest John,
I bought a used Renault Megane 1.6e RT Sport with 30,000 miles on the clock, and I am about to put it though it's first service. I currently have trouble changing into first and second gear and on a number of ocassions have been stuck on roundabouts or at traffic lights desperately trying to change gear. The problem is intermittent and it's severity varied.
Do you have any advice as to what the problem is likely to be and if so how much do you think it'll set me back?.
Also, do you have any tips as to what other problems I should expect to see after 40,000 miles so I don't get any nasty surprises!
Many thanks
Kris
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Sounds like the gear change mechanism needs adjusting. Is your car still under warranty?
Andrew
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I have a three year extended warranty although I don't think it covers adjustments - only manufacturing defects etc. the usual kind of thing.
Do you know how easy is it to carry out this adjustment and can I do anything to confirm that this is indeed the problem? - don't really fancy Renault trying to sell me a new gearbox!
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Kris,
You sound as if you may be a new visitor, if you're not then I apologise in advance for stating the bbo.
If you go back up the main page of this site you will see a number of options on your left, in a dark red colour.
One of these is "Car by Car breakdown". If you select that it will ask you for a make and model.
Whilst I didn't see your gearbox problem mentioned, there is a lot of other information which you will probably find useful.
Mark.
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I think you will find your extended warranty does cover this gearbox defect because thats what it is.
It sounds like the selectors jamming and does not require adjusting but replacing pronto
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Seems the obvious thing is to go to the dealer with the problem and wait to see if it is under warrantly. Making sure they understand if it isn't covered under warranty not to do any work until they OK it with you.
Once you know you can make the decision whether they do it, take it somewhere else or leave it for a while.
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Sounds to me as if it could be clutch drag - clutch not disengaging fully, probably due to the clutch plate sticking on the gearbox shaft splines. This could well give an intermittent gear engagement problem, especially when stationary and when the gearbox has warmed up. I have had the same problem in a couple of cars - the cure is to remove the gearbox, clean up and grease the splines, but this will be an expensive operation (50 pence for grease, £150-£200 for labour...) and you can be sure that the warranty won't cover it ('normal wear and tear', the dealer will say).
If you have to have the gearbox removed, get the clutch replaced while it is out. The clutch is probably about 75% through its life anyway, and nearly all the labour in a clutch change is in removing / refitting the gearbox.
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I'm with Richard here. This is more likely to be a clutch fault, it's always the lower gears that suffer first.
You haven'y got very thick floor mats have you?
Have you a cable clutch on this model or is it hydraulic. Failing cables will do this as will air in a hydraulic system or a faulty slave cylinder.
Having said that there are some problems with Laguna gearbox failure at lowish mileages.
Another small problem on this engine can be a weep from the valve cover, this causes oil and then dirt to collect in the spark plug wells giving rise to firing problems. There is a modified valve cover gasket that most should have fitted by now.
David
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Oh dear,more top quality from Renault,well the TV ads are pretty good.
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Just a suggestion but it might be worth changing the gearbox oil, making sure you use the correct type/grade. I had the same symptoms as you on a 34000 mile AX and a gear oil change 3 months ago has completely cured the problem.
For the sake of a few pounds and a few minutes work, it's worth trying.
Keith
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