I will be changing my car next year and am thinking of getting a Renault Espace 2.2DCI but I have read that the electronic handbrake has not been fully tested for towing. I would welcome feedback form anyone who has an Espace.
Renault Espace
- Thread starter Kevin_5129134
- Start date
Damian
Moderator
Kevin, if I were you I would seriously reconsider buying an Espace, or any Renault model in fact.
I have an Espace, the 2.2Dci, and have had nothing but 5 years of trouble, expense and fights with Renault to get to a reasonable solution, that only after writng directly to the Managing Director of Renault UK.
8 primary fuel pumps
High pressure fuel pump, regulator, and associated items
Clutch Master cylinder
I have no idea how much the primary fuel pumps were, they were warranty items, but the High pressure bits were
I have an Espace, the 2.2Dci, and have had nothing but 5 years of trouble, expense and fights with Renault to get to a reasonable solution, that only after writng directly to the Managing Director of Renault UK.
8 primary fuel pumps
High pressure fuel pump, regulator, and associated items
Clutch Master cylinder
I have no idea how much the primary fuel pumps were, they were warranty items, but the High pressure bits were
hi kevin, i had the 1.9 dci renault scenic (with the big bum) it was an 04 reg and we had nothing but trouble with it. the gears were really clunky it had a new clutch but still we had problems with the gear box. it had a new starter motor and in 9 months it had been in about 9 times so it went back. renaults dont hold much weight on the towball either.we had it before we got the van.
there are better towers of mpv out there the seat alambra and vw sharan are good towers with a max towbar weight of 85 thats better than alot of cars.
there are better towers of mpv out there the seat alambra and vw sharan are good towers with a max towbar weight of 85 thats better than alot of cars.
Kevin....Dont believe it, I have been driving Renalt Espaces for the past 8 years and have never had a single problem.
We have just returned from a 2000 mile round trip with caravan around france in our 2006 Espace without a single missfire.
I am in the very fortunate position of being a Director of a family run Motor company in Cornwall. Our franchises cover Renault (X 2) Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Diahatsu and SEAT, I also have access to many other franchises. Over the years I have towwed with all makes but have never found anything to match my current Espace. A new 2 litre DCI 175 BHP with fap filter.....amazing power and incredible fuel economy 29 mpg while towing a large caravan at an average of 60mph whilst being incredibly good to the environment and 5 star ncap safety rating.
Like I said I have the option of many 4 x 4 and other vehicles at my disposal but have never found a vehicle to match the Espace.
I know this will get the a reaction from all the 4 x 4 readers but this is my opinion after trying many other makes of vehicles.
As for reliability, its like any manufacturer of vehicle, you get good ones and you get bad ones.....its something I deal with every day...... But i have never had problems with a Renault.
We have just returned from a 2000 mile round trip with caravan around france in our 2006 Espace without a single missfire.
I am in the very fortunate position of being a Director of a family run Motor company in Cornwall. Our franchises cover Renault (X 2) Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Diahatsu and SEAT, I also have access to many other franchises. Over the years I have towwed with all makes but have never found anything to match my current Espace. A new 2 litre DCI 175 BHP with fap filter.....amazing power and incredible fuel economy 29 mpg while towing a large caravan at an average of 60mph whilst being incredibly good to the environment and 5 star ncap safety rating.
Like I said I have the option of many 4 x 4 and other vehicles at my disposal but have never found a vehicle to match the Espace.
I know this will get the a reaction from all the 4 x 4 readers but this is my opinion after trying many other makes of vehicles.
As for reliability, its like any manufacturer of vehicle, you get good ones and you get bad ones.....its something I deal with every day...... But i have never had problems with a Renault.
Damian
Moderator
Simon, I dont understand why you say "Dont believe it", I have the worksheets for the work done, and the lack of bank balance to substantiate it!!
As for the Dealer, I have no complaints whatsoever, they were great and had just as many arguments with Renault on my behalf.
The problem was made worse by Renault NOT wanting to find the CAUSE of the problem, and eventually replaced the whole fuel system, fueltank, all fuel lines, pumps, everything including injectors, and its running very well now, BUT,why did it take me 5 years of complaining to get here.
To give you another take on Renault , here is the result of the Top Gear Car Reliability survey,well part of it:
There were 142 cars listed in the final survey, of which the
following 10 were ranked as the most unreliable.
Citroen C3 (133rd)
VW Polo (New) (134th)
Citroen Xsara (135th)
Citroen C5 (136th)
Fiat Stilo (137th)
Renault Megane (New) (138th)
Mercedes M-Class (139th)
Peugeot 307 (140th)
Renault Laguna (141st)
Renault Espace (142nd)
Not my personal view, but that of those who took time tocomplete the survey, now we cannot ALL be wrong!!
As for the Dealer, I have no complaints whatsoever, they were great and had just as many arguments with Renault on my behalf.
The problem was made worse by Renault NOT wanting to find the CAUSE of the problem, and eventually replaced the whole fuel system, fueltank, all fuel lines, pumps, everything including injectors, and its running very well now, BUT,why did it take me 5 years of complaining to get here.
To give you another take on Renault , here is the result of the Top Gear Car Reliability survey,well part of it:
There were 142 cars listed in the final survey, of which the
following 10 were ranked as the most unreliable.
Citroen C3 (133rd)
VW Polo (New) (134th)
Citroen Xsara (135th)
Citroen C5 (136th)
Fiat Stilo (137th)
Renault Megane (New) (138th)
Mercedes M-Class (139th)
Peugeot 307 (140th)
Renault Laguna (141st)
Renault Espace (142nd)
Not my personal view, but that of those who took time tocomplete the survey, now we cannot ALL be wrong!!
Hi Damian, I speak from my own personal experience only. I think we are all aware that polls are usually flawed, you could look at another poll that will show a completeley different result.
All I can say is that I deal with many Vehicle Manufacturers and the quality and reliability of the "CURRENT" Renault range is superb. Over the past 3 years Renault has made enormous leaps in their quality and reliability, although I will admit that the previous Espace did suffer problems.
The faults you list are certainly not a common Espace issue, and to be very honest not one I have ever heard of in an Espace.
Was the vehicle still under the 3 year Manf warranty? If so no expence would be attributed to the customer. Was the vehicle puchased through a Main Dealer and did it have a full Main Dealer service history? Renault customer Service will always look at this favourably when making goodwill contributions as you have been loyal to the brand.
Once again my replies are just based on my own day to day experiences.
I personally have never had any major problems with any of the Espaces I have driven and have my full trust in them, and would certainly reccomend them as a very capable towcar.
also remember to check the weights very carefully as the espace has a total train weight equal to its kerbweight plus max tow weight which means that a lot of vans are simply too heavy or you can not carry any luggage or passengers. i looked at a grand espace 2.2dci (2005) and came to the point of signing on the dotted line when i found out that if i wanted to tow my ace celebration 590 which weighs 1650 kgs fully laden then my wife and kids would not be able to travell with me in the car as i would have been over the train weight. renault have no margin like most other manufacturers and having seen the driver power survey mentioned above im glad i did not buy it.
No problem with the Espace and the elctronic hand brake when towing. It's a great car for towing. However, being front wheen drive can be tricky in less grippy siuations. However; good tow car and great vehicle !
John
John
Kevin
Bought a renault espace about 6 weeks ago 2.2dci replaced the egr valve an air flow valve. Got a guy near us who put it straight on the computer told us exactly what was wrong, got it fixed and have just returned from 2 weeks in france, brilliant car absolutely love it. Plenty of room and tows really well. Had a galaxy before and thought that was good but the espace is a different class.
Everyone has their own opinion, people who have had problems are going to have a downer on them its the same with every car.
Bought a renault espace about 6 weeks ago 2.2dci replaced the egr valve an air flow valve. Got a guy near us who put it straight on the computer told us exactly what was wrong, got it fixed and have just returned from 2 weeks in france, brilliant car absolutely love it. Plenty of room and tows really well. Had a galaxy before and thought that was good but the espace is a different class.
Everyone has their own opinion, people who have had problems are going to have a downer on them its the same with every car.
Hello Kevin Damian & Simon,
Everyone who owns any item will have a unique and personal experience, and if questioned will produce variances in the levels of reliability, costs and satisfaction etc.
It seems a little too simple to assume that your own personal experience is going to be common with every one else's. With cars, they are incredible and complex pieces of equipment, and it is a real testament to the manufactures that they can get them to work at all.
All manufactures have made vast improvements in overall reliability, just think back to good old days of BL, some people thought it stood for Bad Luck, or if you got on that worked Bl**dy Lucky.
Kevin I think you are quite sensible to ask for comments. But you should consider that you are likely to receive replies from people who hold strong views and tend to be the extremes of experience, (e.g. Damian And Simon) - who is right?
Well there is probably truth on both sides, but there is a lot of middle ground as well which hasn't been expressed.
Damian, I do not dispute that you have had more than your fair share of problems with your vehicle, but it would be wrong to condemn a manufacture on the basis of only one sample. We all make mistakes at some time or another, sometimes it is the way that a mistake is handled that can create a bigger impact than the actual problem, and it works both ways, as you say you are happy with the dealer, but you have a different opinion about the manufacture, the same difficulty but very different responses.
Simon, I think you have set your self up by letting on that you are a dealer, and you are likely to suffer the consequences. All of the contributors Renault problems are going to be yours now! But seriously You paint a very rose picture of Renault ownership, but even you must have had some customers with recurring or contentious issues.
Such issues can and do affect individuals and all make & models of mass produced cars, even hand built cars will have good and bad customer experiences.
Now to my own experience. I have had a many different cars and some have been Renaults, starting with a an R10 (rear engine) 12TS, Phase 2, 2L petrol Espace and most recently a Phase 3 W reg Grande Espace 2.2dt.
As a family we love the accommodation that the Espace offers, the height and airyness is particularly appreciated by one of my daughters who tends to get travel sickness in other vehicles. The extra luggage space in the Grande proves invaluable when taking Cubs and Scouts on trips and camps. I also use it to tow. It copes with 1300Kg caravan very well, having good low down pull, it manages to keep up with traffic flows, and will cruise in 5th gear quite happily.
I also use it pull a large twin axle box trailer, The trailer has an MPTLM of 2000Kg, but whilst on occasions it has been up there, it is usually nearer 1800Kg. The Grande manages quite adequately
In common with any front wheel drive vehicle it looses grip on gravel tracks when towing up hill.
We have had some problems with vehicle, The Oil cooler radiator split and leaked oil every where, (
Everyone who owns any item will have a unique and personal experience, and if questioned will produce variances in the levels of reliability, costs and satisfaction etc.
It seems a little too simple to assume that your own personal experience is going to be common with every one else's. With cars, they are incredible and complex pieces of equipment, and it is a real testament to the manufactures that they can get them to work at all.
All manufactures have made vast improvements in overall reliability, just think back to good old days of BL, some people thought it stood for Bad Luck, or if you got on that worked Bl**dy Lucky.
Kevin I think you are quite sensible to ask for comments. But you should consider that you are likely to receive replies from people who hold strong views and tend to be the extremes of experience, (e.g. Damian And Simon) - who is right?
Well there is probably truth on both sides, but there is a lot of middle ground as well which hasn't been expressed.
Damian, I do not dispute that you have had more than your fair share of problems with your vehicle, but it would be wrong to condemn a manufacture on the basis of only one sample. We all make mistakes at some time or another, sometimes it is the way that a mistake is handled that can create a bigger impact than the actual problem, and it works both ways, as you say you are happy with the dealer, but you have a different opinion about the manufacture, the same difficulty but very different responses.
Simon, I think you have set your self up by letting on that you are a dealer, and you are likely to suffer the consequences. All of the contributors Renault problems are going to be yours now! But seriously You paint a very rose picture of Renault ownership, but even you must have had some customers with recurring or contentious issues.
Such issues can and do affect individuals and all make & models of mass produced cars, even hand built cars will have good and bad customer experiences.
Now to my own experience. I have had a many different cars and some have been Renaults, starting with a an R10 (rear engine) 12TS, Phase 2, 2L petrol Espace and most recently a Phase 3 W reg Grande Espace 2.2dt.
As a family we love the accommodation that the Espace offers, the height and airyness is particularly appreciated by one of my daughters who tends to get travel sickness in other vehicles. The extra luggage space in the Grande proves invaluable when taking Cubs and Scouts on trips and camps. I also use it to tow. It copes with 1300Kg caravan very well, having good low down pull, it manages to keep up with traffic flows, and will cruise in 5th gear quite happily.
I also use it pull a large twin axle box trailer, The trailer has an MPTLM of 2000Kg, but whilst on occasions it has been up there, it is usually nearer 1800Kg. The Grande manages quite adequately
In common with any front wheel drive vehicle it looses grip on gravel tracks when towing up hill.
We have had some problems with vehicle, The Oil cooler radiator split and leaked oil every where, (
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