My renault clio is causing me problems when i try to start it, it starts sometimes and not others, i was told by someone that it might be immobilser, but immo light does not flash when it don't start so something else is wrong with the car, sometimes loses power when standing at traffic lights, i am at my wits end, really need an answer? its becoming very unreliable. PLEASE HELP

Kellyg, September 2009

My daughter had this problem with her Clio , I spayed all electical connections with WD 40 ,It has solved the problem.

Bozzie, November 2013

Try changing the earth cable

skyeman, June 2011

Hi there, had similar problem on a megane coupe it turned out to be the crank sensor, about £25 (part only). Might be worth a try.

Mal, December 2009

Thank you all so much for your info, i have now had the car diagnosed and its told me its the crank shaft sensor, no signal being sent, its cost me 75.00, but my mechanic is going to change it for free! yehe. Hope this solves my problem, if not i'll be back!

Many thanks.

kellyg, October 2009

Remove the air filter piping, look on the back of the engine on top where the gearbox meets the engine - there is a black sensor held in place with two bolts and has some wiring coming out of it.

Remove that and clean it - it is the crank position sensor and is famous for giving problems on these motors.

Also on top of the motor by the throttle body there are various plugs for throttle position sensor, etc - unplug each of these and spray a little brake cleaner into the connectors. Let it dry for a few minutes and plug the plugs back in again - again another common Renault fault.

Sean, October 2009

try the fuse box in the engine bay these cars suffer from water in fuse box look at 3 black small relays pull them out and check for corrosion bet this is your problem 90% garantee

jon, October 2009

What year, engine size and fuel type?
What happens when it fails to start, does the starter spin the engine as normal or does it sound like it is spinning a bit slower or does nothing happen at all?
Has it been serviced lately, or at all?
Does it start better or worse once the engine is hot, ie after it has been running for 10 minutes or so?
When it is running are any of the dash warning lights on?
Start by checking all the cheap/obvious things.
Make sure the air filter is clean, and there are no leaks in the intake air trunking or vacuum pipes.
Remove and check the spark plugs and HT leads.Make sure there is no water in the spark plug cavity.

spud, September 2009