twingo not starting or unlocking

[fergzie]

Hi

Ive got a 5 month old twingo which today for the second time in a month has broken down.

Im wondering if anyone else has had any similar experiences as apparently this is a problem known to renault.

The car wont open electronically and when you get in manually the engine wont turn, no interior light, no indicators, no speedo, nothing but a few warning lights.

The last time it happened the aa reset it by disconnecting the battery and renault said they couldnt tell the problem. This time I had it towed and theyve said its something like the ucf or mcf (sorry im not sure exactly what it is - was a quick phonecall) but whatever it is controls the immobiliser.

Their solution until 'renault fix the problem' is for me to remove a fuse every time it happens. Not too big a deal but shouldnt have to be doing itto a new car, especially not as a young female if im out alone in the dark at this time of year.

As they said this is a known problem im just wondering how widespread it is and how long its been going on for?

With a bit of googling ive already found someone with similar 'symptoms' from 2010 which suggests this has been going on a while!

Just looking to know what im dealing with here if anyine else has had similar issues and how theyve resolved them!

Thanks

 

[oscar]

hello, this is deffinately a common problem with much older renaults with remote central locking. the problem stems with the circuit boards inside the fob, made by the cheapest bidder back in the day but not anymore. basically an open earth from a dodgy solder in the circuit drains the battery inside it very quickly, to cut it basic it sends a very weak 'open doors, im not trying to break into you' message to the immobiliser if you understand what i mean? the tell tail signs are when you do get the doors open and it will not start, by taking the fuse out and putting it back in you are resetting the immobiliser and bypassing the ignition cut process. sounds like an isolated incident, especially on a more modern renault 05 onwards. garages won't tell you that though, as they are basically instructing you on how to steal a reanult lol.


edit* 5 months old, deffinately get it straight to renault and do not settle for anything other than a full fix with a courtesy car on ex gratia no matter how long it takes and do not settle for anything less! if they claim to not find the fault then let them know it's unacceptable and if needs be, contact the recovery service you used to ask for proof that you broke down good luck, sorry for the essay and i hope it all ends well

 

[sam666]

i had this problem last week 10 amp fuse near to bottom of row 3 on the fuse board

 

[singlespeed]

https://www.twingo133.net/technical...art-fixed-fuse-pulled-and-put-back-t7220.html

lts the UCH (body control ECU). Mine has been well behaved for ages, since a run of a couple in a week.

 

[fergzie]

Thanks guys. With the car only being 5 months old I was pretty annoyed.

I know its a simple fix but you just shouldnt have to do things like that with a brand new car!

The guy that phoned me was talking as if a fix was in the pipeline but it doesnt sound like it when its pretty common and over a range of ages.

Oscar - think im going to go down the road of 'demanding' a fix in as nice a way as possible and see how they treat it.I certainly wont be taking the car away without promise of them doing something further.

I know it seems petty over a fuse but the whole reason of buying the thing new was reliability!

 

[singlespeed]

hello, this is deffinately a common problem with much older renaults with remote central locking. the problem stems with the circuit boards inside the fob, made by the cheapest bidder back in the day but not anymore. basically an open earth from a dodgy solder in the circuit drains the battery inside it very quickly, to cut it basic it sends a very weak 'open doors, im not trying to break into you' message to the immobiliser if you understand what i mean? the tell tail signs are when you do get the doors open and it will not start, by taking the fuse out and putting it back in you are resetting the immobiliser and bypassing the ignition cut process. sounds like an isolated incident, especially on a more modern renault 05 onwards. garages won't tell you that though, as they are basically instructing you on how to steal a reanult lol.

Oscar - Fuse 12 (the 5Amp one highlited in the link above) which resets the problem is for the Multifunction Timer, which is within the UCH*. This is responsible for all the things governed by a timer, like interior light dimming, switching the stereo off automatically, intermittent wipers and the delay between locking the car and the alarm sounding, also, how long the alarm sounds.

Pulling the fuse resets the timers and isn't bypassing the alarm... I've had that thought and tried nicking my motor which probably upset the neighbours :lol:

***Google:-

The UCH (Unite Centrale Habitacle) is an electronic control module that is fitted to many late model Renaults (early 2000's onwards.) It is responsible for controlling many of the non-engine related functions of the car, such as central locking, electric windows, and even some of the lights (e.g. indicators.)

A brand new UCH is supplied with a blank memory. This must be coded (using the Renault Clip computer) to match the serial number of the ECU and key/card before it will work with the car. The memory can only be written once, so a used UCH cannot be taken from a donor vehicle to be used in another unless the ECU and keyfobs/cards are also transferred.

 

[oscar]

thats the one neil! i should have called it the 'thingy' instead of the immobiliser thingy

 

[fergzie]

Got the guy at the garage to show me what fuse to take out so im all good there.

Apparently renault have put out some kind of dealer notice though 4 days ago stating they are aware of the problem and are examining 2 faulty parts to find the issue. They stated in the notice that the dealer is not to replace the part until they find the fault.

Ive got a number for renault customer support but (surprise, surprise) they arent open on a saturdayso will need to wait til monday to see if I can either find out when theythink the problem eill be fixed or if I can get the part replaced.

 

[LC]

Renault have the worst customer service I've came across hopefully the car will be back to you to enjoy very soon it's sad that this has happened so soon what model is it by the way I.e. RS TCE etc

 

[fergzie]

Renault have the worst customer service I've came across hopefully the car will be back to you to enjoy very soon it's sad that this has happened so soon what model is it by the way I.e. RS TCE etc

Had to work late today so havent had the pleasure just yet! Going to call them tomorrow afternoon.

Its just the standard dynamique. Its just a bit gutting - my mum had a megane years ago and never had any problems and shes got the new clio now and touch wood shes had no issues with it either so when people gave it "oh youre not buying a french car are you?" I laughed it off and ignored it.

Always shared my parents cars before so a bit rubbish for my first car to have problems amd I get the impression im going to have to jump through hoops to resolve it - hope the lovely people at renault customer service prove me wrong though!

 

[LC]

Renault have the worst customer service I've came across hopefully the car will be back to you to enjoy very soon it's sad that this has happened so soon what model is it by the way I.e. RS TCE etc

Had to work late today so havent had the pleasure just yet! Going to call them tomorrow afternoon.

Its just the standard dynamique. Its just a bit gutting - my mum had a megane years ago and never had any problems and shes got the new clio now and touch wood shes had no issues with it either so when people gave it "oh youre not buying a french car are you?" I laughed it off and ignored it.

Always shared my parents cars before so a bit rubbish for my first car to have problems amd I get the impression im going to have to jump through hoops to resolve it - hope the lovely people at renault customer service prove me wrong though!

All cars have their problems some more than others my problems were with the dealer not really the customer service team to be honest you'd think they'd want to get it sorted for you ASAP personally I'd buy another renault just not from a main dealer, the car is great, hopefully yours will be when you get it back!

 

[fergzie]

Thanks LC. I love the car otherwise - its perfect for what I need. Just want it to start every time!

 

[LC]

Thanks LC. I love the car otherwise - its perfect for what I need. Just want it to start every time!

You need to post a picture here you know it's part of the T&Cs

 

[oscar]

fergzie i saw the notice today on auto data that the dealers get, pages and pages of the three fixes and possible causes. most were UCH and immobiliser relays plus a select few others. funnily enough, renault have very few known problems compared to other cars out there. it's really unfortunate that you've been one of the unlucky few

 

[fergzie]

Thanks LC. I love the car otherwise - its perfect for what I need. Just want it to start every time!

You need to post a picture here you know it's part of the T&Cs

I'll get one up the next time he's all polished ;-)

Oscar - these things happen, unfortunately its just my turn! im just hoping it gets fixed without too much fuss! hoping when theyre testing and know the issue already that theyll find the problem and fix it soon!

 

[singlespeed]

Karens facelift Dynamique has done it once. Whilst in the garage for its service

 

[Martin_172]

our new one hasn't had any issues neither has my old GT or my gordini and none of our driving school ones have done it either so must be only a select few, however, if it does it will be getting towed in and if the dealer trys to tell me to remove a fuse every time it does it then he can have the keys back and ill have my £8000

 

[fergzie]

our new one hasn't had any issues neither has my old GT or my gordini and none of our driving school ones have done it either so must be only a select few, however, if it does it will be getting towed in and if the dealer trys to tell me to remove a fuse every time it does it then he can have the keys back and ill have my £8000

Ye thats my thoughts - its certainly not a "solution" to the problem as the guy at the dealership suggested!

Spoke to them tonight though - the girl I spoke to couldnt have been nicer, was really thorough about going through everything. She says shes going to look into it and will call me back by thursday so fingers crossed she comes back to me with a proper permament solution!

 

[Martin_172]

as much as they are nice I find Renault UK customer service useless, they tell you what you want to hear but don't get anything done any time ive delt with them, I hope you have more luck, I doubt you will hear back from them on Thursday

 

[fergzie]

as much as they are nice I find Renault UK customer service useless, they tell you what you want to hear but don't get anything done any time ive delt with them, I hope you have more luck, I doubt you will hear back from them on Thursday

Im giving them a fair chance to prove you guys wrong lol but believe me - if I dont hear from her on thursday she'll hear from me!