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Mon 27 Jan 2003 21:48

french car makers on the run - mike1

hi
just a bit of follow-up information for those persons "disenchanted" by the wonderfulness of french car manufacturer's courtesy and respect :

peugeot / citroen xud9te

peugeot 306td / xsara td engine blowing up : the french association "securite-autos" (which was called "scenic-renault") has started proceedings against peugeot and citroen. there was a first hearing 23.01.03 in paris. The association "securite-autos" is being backed by the magazine "que choisir" (a french
"which?" magazine). note that peugeot france had issued a technical bulletin extending the guarantee upto 120 000 kms on the engine. the association notes an increase in the amount paid to new claimants since the association has become involved. the next hearing's in march.

"securite-autos" has taken under its wing an association grouping peugeot 406 car owners who've had boot break-ins.

renault

following the official recall of 158 000 cars with the 1.9dci and the "technical upgrade" of a similar number of 1.5 dci cars, "securite-autos" wants renault to submit to an external independant audit of their internal procedures.

there seems to have been a recall of the new megane in switzerland but the letter on their web site is in german so if anyone can read german, please let us know what it says.

so for those of you who have intimate knowledge of the above problems - it looks like the french consumer association could help your case so stick to your guns. Go to www.securite-autos.com (it?s in french).

as a general comment, virtually all the french cars are given a 1 or 2 star rating for overall reliability (5 being the highest) by "auto plus" magazine (like auto express only much better). this is interesting because they usually rate french cars higher other make?s during tests/comparisons (that?s national pride getting in the way of objectivity).
however the involvement of "auto plus" was a major factor in getting renault to recall 500 000 1.9 dti vehicles.

cheers
mike1 (peugeot 205 grd @278 000 kms)

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Tue 28 Jan 2003 04:39

french car makers on the run - DavidHM

Give me a link to that German site, I'll sort you out with a translation.

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Tue 28 Jan 2003 20:34

french car makers on the run - mike1

there you go

www.securite-autos.com/images/2eRappelSuisse.gif

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Tue 28 Jan 2003 21:42

french car makers on the run - DavidHM

Done

RENAULT

Herr XXX

Urdorf, 12 September 2002

Our ref:

Your Renault MÉGANE/VF1JA0NNL52077**/OTS07AQ

Dear Herr XXX

You recently took delivery of a Renault Mégane, and we are pleased that you chose a Renault.

We pay close attention to the quality of our products. In particular, we have a found a weakness in the alternator belts of diesel engines. Large changes in revs or exceeding the service interval can cause damage to the alternator belt. In certain circumstances, this can prevent the engine from starting.

Your vehicle is one of those affected. For safety reasons, we wish to examine the alternator belt at your earliest possible convenience.

Please contact your usual Renault dealership, or another official Renault outlet, so that the necessary work can be carried out.

The work should take around 1 ½ hours and will naturally be free of charge for you.

If you no longer own this vehicle, we would be grateful if you could return this letter to us, if possible with details of the next owner.

We apologise for the inconvenience caused and thank you for your understanding in this matter.

Yours sincerely
Jörg Sigrist

RENAULT NISSAN SUISSE SA
Bergermoosstrasse 4, Postfach CH-8902 Urdorf
Telephone +41 777 02 00, Fax +41 1 777 02 01, www.renault.ch

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Fri 31 Jan 2003 21:39

french car makers on the run - mike1

thanks for that davidhm.
it look's like some some car builders never learn from their mistakes.

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