Failed Bonnet Catch @ 85MPH

[mr.valver]

Friend of mine was going down the A1 when this happened...

Currently speaking to Renault to see where he stands, he had the recall done 2 years ago.

 

[ADY 554D]

looks more like 70mph to me other wise he would have been speeding aswell

 

[realnumber 1]

Nasty! Least they stopped okay without anything else happening.

 

[mr.valver]

Hit centre reservation and smashed the front wing and buckled his wheel to.

He's gutted to say the least, car was his baby for last 4 and a bit years.

 

[Revels]

That's probably a write off.

Good luck with Renault. It'll have to go through insurance I expect, not really their fault.

 

[jenic]

Renault will be hard work, but a new cars catch comes with 3 years warranty so should last that long surely?

Also, who service's it? Iirc the catch must be lubed up every service as per renaults guidelines too.

 

[Daniel]

Bonnet catches don't fail.

People fail to shut bonnets correctly.

At least nobody was hurt.

 

[kev182cup]

Bonnet catches don't fail.

People fail to shut bonnets correctly.

At least nobody was hurt.

so why did renault recall them all years ago? cos people dont shut them properly. lol

 

[marky-f1]

Bonnet catches don't fail.

People fail to shut bonnets correctly.

At least nobody was hurt.

Ok then.

 

[Dave..]

Definately a write off. Requires new windscreen and roof skin, and anything else that has bent beneath the panel. Surprising how much work goes into repairing something like that

 

[Alastair.]

ha ha

 

[Daniel]

so why did renault recall them all years ago? cos people dont shut them properly. lol

Ok then.

Has the catch failed? Has it snapped? No, thought not. Its just come undone.

The guy has had the recall done so its down to user error.

 

[Pedro]

Fook.


Im getting mine booked in.

 

[Alastair.]

this get me aswel dan when people moan about it, if you kept parts like this lubricated say every six months and make sure your bonnet is closed and locked into postion after everytime you open it their wouldnt be a feking problem.

 

[EllD90]

There will always be some sort of catch for Renault to get out of the situation. Good luck!

 

[kev182cup]

Has the catch failed? Has it snapped? No, thought not. Its just come undone.

The guy has had the recall done so its down to user error.

during your thorough inspection how did you work out the catch hadnt failed? and then come to the conclusion it was user error.

i had 1 of those dodgy bonnet catches and know how unpredictable they are. and renault replaced it straight away. funny that.

 

[Revels]

But he's had his replaced. Ergo, it's not the catch.

 

[Daniel]

during your thorough inspection how did you work out the catch hadnt failed? and then come to the conclusion it was user error.

i had 1 of those dodgy bonnet catches and know how unpredictable they are. and renault replaced it straight away. funny that.

Well what I did was... I used my eyeballs to see that the catch is still intact on the bonnet. Now if it had fractured, causing the bonnet to open at 85mph, it wouldn't still be attatched to the bonnet. It would be embedded in someones windscreen.

Renault also replaced this guys bonnet catch, so its not a 'dodgy one'.

And as Ali has stated, its down to poor maintainence. The amount of clios I get that have bonnet catches shitted up with gunk and grime and are really stiff to operate is unreal. Wash it off, re lube it and bobs your monkhouse.

 

[Snakey]

Bonnet catches don't fail.

People fail to shut bonnets correctly.

At least nobody was hurt.

Ok...

 

[Ali]

That must be s**t scary!

 

[kev182cup]

Well what I did was... I used my eyeballs to see that the catch is still intact on the bonnet. Now if it had fractured, causing the bonnet to open at 85mph, it wouldn't still be attatched to the bonnet. It would be embedded in someones windscreen.

Renault also replaced this guys bonnet catch, so its not a 'dodgy one'.

And as Ali has stated, its down to poor maintainence. The amount of clios I get that have bonnet catches shitted up with gunk and grime and are really stiff to operate is unreal. Wash it off, re lube it and bobs your monkhouse.

they wernt recalled for snapping. i can only speak from my experience but mine would click in then some times click out and the lever inside felt slack. and would look as though it had shut properly. so dont be to quick to throw blame onto the owner.

 

[JCC]

LOL @ people disagreeing with one person who is a Renault Tech, and the other who IIRC worked at Renault for many years.

Pretty sure it was down to poor maintenance that all these catches started failing anyway?

 

[MonkeyKnifeFight]

That is staunchly pro queer!! unlucky

 

[gaz44]

Nobody can comment on whether the catch failed or was not looked after, without seeing it. It's guess work - Renault tech or not. A replaced catch can't fail...? Whatever.

 

[J.B.]

Handbags out here! What's with the attitude? The guy is perfectly entitled to call Renault if he wishes, it might be completely futile but it's worth a go when faced with a write off is it not? Personally I don't see any reason someone should have to oil a bonnet catch to stop it from failing and writing off the car, that might be what Renault say you should do but I don't agree with it none the less.

 

[AlexS]

If the vehicle was recalled then the catch was replaced. There were two recalls, the first was for an inspection and the 2nd they replaced it.
If the car had the recall done in 2008 it was probably the first recall where they only lubricated the catch.
The safety catch does not 'fail' it just sticks open due to a build up of crap in there, the majority of vehicles that are serviced regularly will have had the catch maintained by their dealer/ garage. The same catch is used on other models and has no issues there so there is no design fault, just a lack of maintenence.

 

[Da]

I think we're confusing two things here - the bonnet catch and the safety catch.

As far as I can remember it was the safety catch that was subject to the recall and as such it only becomes an issue if the bonnet isn't closed correctly by the user.

Not aportioning blame by the way, just clarifying things a little.

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

Either way you look at this its a nightmare, i cant see Renault taking any proportion of blame whatsoever given the amount of clios that this has happened to.

That would then surley open the floodgates and secure the future for any other Clios this might happen to.

Definatley a hit on the insurance TBH!

 

[Linus27]

Is there any way to tell if your car has had the recall done for this catch. I've just bought my 02 Clio 172 and I would guess it has had the work done but you never know for sure and would be good to know for piece of mind. Any way of finding out?

 

[SC03OTT]

Ask Renault.

 

[Silent_Scone]

bonnet pins ftw

 

[Daniel]

bonnet pins ftw

Mk1's ftw!

(Bonnet opens forward )

 

[chrispy.clio]

Aerocatches FTW

Very bad luck tho :S

 

[makavelli]

gutted, must be scary as fook having that haven especially at high speeds.

when i had the 182 I aways checked my catch over everytime the car and engine bay had a detail, gave it a clean wipe down and re-grease everytime just to ensure this never happened

 

[.Stevo.C.]

Yup it's s**t scary had the exact same thing happen to me in my old 306 funny thing is it happened just after i picked it up from a garage who noticed the catch was sticking a bit but thought i already knew so didnt bother telling me, c***s.

 

[Brett]

It scares me to think this could happen on track at 120,130+ mph. Definately something people don't think about enough checking the condition and maintenance of the bonnet catch.

 

[Rocky_24]

so i dont know if my car has ever had the catch replaced, is there a way of finding out?

it looks similar to the pic in the op a bit rusty and old, shall i just lube it and it will be ok?

 

[Russ_16v]

Mk1's ftw!

(Bonnet opens forward )

I can tell you from experience you drive off at a track day without shutting a Mk1 Clio's bonnet, it will raise up and block your view! lucky for me I was able to stop and put it down properly, o) but I never thought a bonnet that opens forward could lift, but the air speed through the bay can push it up a good way!

 

[Daniel]

FLOL!! I'd s**t myself!

 

[Alan]

Ooooft, i don't think reno will do much about that, at best the car is worth about 3k so even going thru the insurance it'd be a write off, which in turn will make future policies a bit more expensive.

Its not up to reno or whichever manufacturer to keep on top of YOUR car's bonnet catch/handle maintenance regardless if they've been recalled.