Engine lacks power - Any ideas?

[Luke335]

Does anyone know of a problem where the car seems to lack power. My car seems to lack power intermittently. At its worst it drives as if it has around 80 / 90 hp. It has no low down torque meaning it's most noticeable when pulling away or trying to overtake other traffic. It also runs a bit roughly. Every now and then it runs perfectly normally but most of the time it seems to be somewhere in-between. Sluggish, but not very obviously slow if you know what I mean.

This isn't the same as when first running the engine from cold and it's not the temperature sensor. The car is totally standard.

I have been to several Renault garages with no luck. There are no warning lights and it doesn't log any errors. It's the only car I've driven for almost 2 years so it's obvious to me but not so easy for a mechanic to tell I guess.

I'm thinking about taking it to a specialist next. If anyone has any suggestions for the problem or where to take it please let me know. I'm thinking somewhere like Sanspeed or maybe Ren-tech at the moment. I'm based in Essex and Dorset at weekends.

Thanks,
Luke.

 

[Cue]

i had this problem - complete drop off in power... feels like you're pressing the brake or left the handbrake on or something...

never did get a solution, it just cured itself.

could be a number of things some basic some not so.

When did you last have it serviced?
What petrol do you use?
Have you checked that the brakes aren't sticking?
Have you tried some of that internal engine cleaner - relgex (is that a sports gel) or whatever it's called (additive to petrol to break down the carbon lumps)?
Have you checked the oil levels recently?
How many miles have you done in the car - could be spark plug related.
Did it start to occur when we had the bad weather recently - could be damp in the electrics.

etc etc.

 

[Luke335]

i had this problem - complete drop off in power... feels like your pressing the brake or left the handbrake on or something...

never did get a solution, it just cured itself.

could be a number of things some basic some not so.

When did you last have it serviced?
What petrol do you use?
Have you checked that the brakes aren't sticking?
Have you tried some of that internal engine cleaner - relgex (is that a sports gel) or whatever it's called (additive to petrol to break down the carbon lumps)?
Have you checked the oil levels recently?
How many miles have you done in the car - could be spark plug related.
Did it start to occur when we had the bad weather recently - could be damp in the electrics.

etc etc.

Thanks Cue. It could be the same thing. It's just had it's 24K service and I always use super unleaded. The oil levels are fine. I have had problems with the water temperature sensor in the past but this certainly seems ok at the moment. The trouble started about 6 months ago. Nothing weather related.
I haven't tried any engine cleaner so far or even checked the plugs myself. Might be worth a try.

Was your problem intermittant too?

 

[Cue]

yeh, only happened two or three times, went straight into the dealers who had the usual response (can't find anything wrong).

Try some of that engine cleaner that you add to petrol, i'm not guaranteeing that it'll do anything but it cleared up mine ok. It maybe a fuel filter or even an engine mapping issue.

If the petrol thing doesn't work take it to rentech because it's one of those things that may be serious or absolutley nothing to worry about..... better to be safe than sorry. If Rentech do find something get them to just do a report for you then go back to the stealership and hit reno customer services with it saying it's warranty related and you'll get it done as the local dealership monkeys can't seem to do it and charge it back to them.

 

[Luke335]

I'll give it a try.

Cheers.

 

[trophy176]

Mine flies!!!

You tried V-power Shell are running a promo over the next few months where you can purchase for same price as normal unleaded.

 

[Cue]

this all over the country?

 

[trophy176]

Yeah seems to be I was at a one in Durham who said next Monday then today my local has a sign up saying tuesday.

Gonna get my Dad to fill mine, his and some tins!!

 

[160dmb]

Don't store V power for too long, I have heard from several sources that it "goes off"

 

[Luke335]

I'm pretty sure it's not fuel related.

 

[Cue]

could be a dodgy sensor then, without a warning light reno won't be able to tell as the Monkeys can only read what's on their screens.

 

[Luke335]

could be a dodgy sensor then, without a warning light reno won't be able to tell as the Monkeys can only read what's on their screens.

I think you've hit the nail on the head there. I keep leaving my car with them for a week only to find nothing has been solved. I don't think they even believe there's a problem. That's why I was thinking of taking it somewhere with a rolling road.

 

[Steve]

I only ever use V-Power, put some sainsbury's 95 in the Teg the other day and thought someone had put a banana in the tailpipe while I was paying.

 

[Ash87]

could be a dodgy sensor then, without a warning light reno won't be able to tell as the Monkeys can only read what's on their screens.

Not all of them looking at the screens are monkeys thank you!

 

[Cue]

i should have clarified - in my experience... Blackpool, Bradford, Huddersfield and Halifax all employ monkeys.

 

[Luke335]

I don't think there are any monkeys on here. But I can appreciate people's frustration with going to the dealership. The trouble now seems to be that everything is controlled by electronic parts making small problems difficult to solve.

What's most frustrating is when the secretary tells you that everything has been checked and there are no problems, especially if for example your throttle has just stuck on 3 times in a 3 mile journey and you think your car is trying to kill you!

Anyway, back to the subject…..

 

[jezza l]

I had the complete loss of power regardless of gear/speed and how warm the engine was.
I had a fuel sensor and the air inlet solenoid replaced. No problems since then.

 

[Luke335]

Thanks for the advice Jezza. That sounds really promising to me. Where did you have the work done?

Cheers,
Luke.

 

[DaveTrophy]

Renault hopefully - anything like that is warranty work mate

 

[DaveTrophy]

Just read this bit

I don't think there are any monkeys on here. But I can appreciate people's frustration with going to the dealership. The trouble now seems to be that everything is controlled by electronic parts making small problems difficult to solve.

Thats very true, I can vouch for that - some people think it's just a matter of plugging the car into a diagnostic computer and it gives you the definitive answer...not so, I'm afraid

Diagnostics are there as an aid to point you (the technician/monkey) in the right direction - sometimes they can be put off the scent by other factors, meaning they're not always correct - it just gives the tech a starting point

But still, there are no excuses for having to go back time and time again for the same problem, as many owners have had to in the past!