[Jaycee]

I have a 2016 Renault Captur Signature Nav Tce which has done just over 63,000 miles. A couple of weeks ago as I slowed down for a junction the engine seemed to over rev and the Check Auto Gearbox Message came on, this was just before I parked up. When I re-started the car about an hour or so later the message had disappeared and the car appeared to be running fine. I haven't noticed any problems again with it until today when the car appeared to 'lurch' quite noticeably at a gear change and again the warning came on, I had no choice but to continue driving as I was in the middle of nowhere and no phone signal! Again there were times when the engine over revved and 'lurched' when I took my foot of the accelerator, when I got home I went to put the car in reverse and nothing happened it wouldn't move, I could move the car forward but not reverse. I turned off the engine for a couple of minutes and then restarted it and low and behold no message and car went into reverse. Renault would like me to take it in for them to look at but as they are 30 odd miles away I am dubious about driving it that far in case it causes more damage? Is it likely to be something serious? Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[dick riculous]

Welcome to the forum, it could be the battery if you have not replaced it in the last 4 years.
other members should be able to help

 

[Baldyman1810]

Remember the days of points ignition,carburettors,mechanical injector pumps on diesels,torque converter automatics, when,if your battery was going iffy the engine turned over slowly and your lights went dim? Technology on cars these days is a wonderful thing,until it goes wrong.

 

[Jaycee]

Remember the days of points ignition,carburettors,mechanical injector pumps on diesels,torque converter automatics, when,if your battery was going iffy the engine turned over slowly and your lights went dim? Technology on cars these days is a wonderful thing,until it goes wrong.

I haven't encountered any of those issues so would assume it's not battery related.

 

[dick riculous]

When was the battery replaced? Baldyman is just reminiscing and not suggesting

 

[Jaycee]

When was the battery replaced? Baldyman is just reminiscing and not suggesting

Ahh right - It's not had a new battery and to be perfectly honest I wouldn't have expected to have to replace a battery in a car after just 4 years.

 

[Jaycee]

Ahh right - It's not had a new battery and to be perfectly honest I wouldn't have expected to have to replace a battery in a car after just 4 years. However it's been in a local garage today for diagnostic testing and I have a couple of codes for Renault to decipher for me

 

[dick riculous]

I would say you are right if it was not a captur, it relies on a tip top battery, if not it starts throwing
up problems , please take some time in the search section of the forum and you will see most problems start at about 4 years,

Your battery will be an EFB TYPE BATTERY, it requires a EFB battery, if you can wait other
members may help you more.

Sorry I will not be on the forum as much as I am using a very old computer after my laptop went south

 

[twodogs]

I am guessing this is the EDC box. First and reverse gears are on different shafts and have their own clutch (1, 3, 5 on one shaft, and R, 2, 4, 6 on the other). Can you change gear using the manual box settings (try a quick change from first to third)? If you can find someone who can check the fault with a reader this can be a good idea but can also be misleading. Also, clearing the fault might help for a short while and will at least rule out clutch failure. I had the same on a 2011 Scenic - the fault said "Clutch 1 Failure" which was quite scary but it turned out a software update solved the problem. Firstly the EDC box is generally reliable mechanically but has been know to suffer from electrical connector problems as well as software glitches. So taking the box apart is to be the last resort. Also as mentioned above a bad battery can cause the symptoms of an error, but will clear when the battery is charged or replaced.

You could try disconnecting the battery. Stop the engine. WAIT 5 minutes, then disconnect the battery, (gives chance for all modules to switch down.)
Now reconnect the battery and see what happens. This will probably offer a temporary solution.

 

[Jaycee]

I am guessing this is the EDC box. First and reverse gears are on different shafts and have their own clutch (1, 3, 5 on one shaft, and R, 2, 4, 6 on the other). Can you change gear using the manual box settings (try a quick change from first to third)? If you can find someone who can check the fault with a reader this can be a good idea but can also be misleading. Also, clearing the fault might help for a short while and will at least rule out clutch failure. I had the same on a 2011 Scenic - the fault said "Clutch 1 Failure" which was quite scary but it turned out a software update solved the problem. Firstly the EDC box is generally reliable mechanically but has been know to suffer from electrical connector problems as well as software glitches. So taking the box apart is to be the last resort. Also as mentioned above a bad battery can cause the symptoms of an error, but will clear when the battery is charged or replaced.

You could try disconnecting the battery. Stop the engine. WAIT 5 minutes, then disconnect the battery, (gives chance for all modules to switch down.)
Now reconnect the battery and see what happens. This will probably offer a temporary solution.

Thank you for your response. I took it to a garage and the reader came up with 2 'issues' one was Clutch 2 Motor Circuit, General Electrical failure and the other was Fuel Pressure Regulation, Signal Amptitude Maximum. The mechanic cleared the fault and said to call Renault with the codes and see what they suggest. Car has been fine to drive since. Is the transmission/gearbox something that should have been routinely checked during a B service?

 

[dick riculous]

Thanks for the follow up, if you know the codes could you please post them

 

[twodogs]

Thank you for your response. I took it to a garage and the reader came up with 2 'issues' one was Clutch 2 Motor Circuit, General Electrical failure and the other was Fuel Pressure Regulation, Signal Amptitude Maximum. The mechanic cleared the fault and said to call Renault with the codes and see what they suggest. Car has been fine to drive since. Is the transmission/gearbox something that should have been routinely checked during a B service?

Clutch 2 controls second gear as well as reverse. As I thought, clearing the fault seems to solve the problem although it will almost definitely return. At least it seems to show that the clutch hasn't failed mechanically. Most likely an electrical problem (external connections, battery). I think you will end up with a trip to Renault for a software update or recalibration. Keep us updated and good luck.

 

[Baldyman1810]

Do Renault fit particularly rubbish batteries to their cars? There seems to be a lot of problems on here that are battery related. Or is it down to people only doing short runs,using stop/start and "wearing out" the battery? Never had to change a battery on a car I have owned,my last car,a Fiesta tdci,did 112,000miles in seven and a half years on the original battery that was still good when I sold it. A neighbour had a Citroën,can't recall the model,think it was a C4,for(if I recall correctly)13 years,still had the original battery when he got rid of it.
As for reminiscing,maybe,but when things were simpler you got from A to B in your car and if something went wrong the AA,RAC or whoever bloke,could actually fix it at the roadside. Cars have overly complicated electrical systems these days with unnecessary belts and whistles to entertain or ease the task of driving. Gadgets to dip your headlights for you,keep you in lane on motorways,stop you getting to close to the car in front,etc. All well and good,when it works,what if your battery is iffy? With the amount of traffic on the roads(pre covid)and the number of idiots in cars doing stupid,dangerous things,100% concentration from the driver(you) is vital. If you can't be arsed to do it yourself or find it too strenuous maybe you shouldn't be driving.

 

[twodogs]

Do Renault fit particularly rubbish batteries to their cars? ............

It's not really the batteries, it's the car electronics being particularly sensitive to voltage. Remember the blue screen of death on older desktop computers? 90% of the time that is because the processor is not getting the exact voltage it needs to work properly. You could nearly always cure this by taking out the old and cheap 300W PSU and replacing with a better unit. French cars seem to be particularly bad at this with electronic control units hiccupping at the slightest fluctuation. Aggressive smart charging, stop-start motoring, high electrical demand as well as residual drainage, maybe even EFB instead of AGM can all contribute. A battery will keep starting a car for six or seven years. Whether it can be relied upon to provide a stable power supply to the sensitive electronics for this long is doubtful. First signs of failure are intermittent spurious faults that clear themselves and return. Yes I am often tempted to return to a classic car. My first car had no sensors, unless you call the fuel gauge one. In fact my 1949 2CV didn't even have a fuel gauge.

 

[Jaycee]

Thanks for the follow up, if you know the codes could you please post them

Sorry only just saw your post when I came back on here to find out what sort of battery the car needed - the codes it came up with were DF490 & DF383.

 

[dick riculous]

Thanks so much for your reply, it should help other members your
battery will be an EFB

 

[Baldyman1810]

Clearing the fault code doesn't "fix" the fault,it just clears the notification there is a fault. The notification of a fault is stored on the cars management system. When a fault is rectified the warning display automatically goes away. The fact the car seems OK now doesn't mean there isn't an underlying problem. If clearing the code "fixed" problems we could all buy readers and save a fortune not having to buy parts.

 

[twodogs]

Clearing the fault code doesn't "fix" the fault,it just clears the notification there is a fault. The notification of a fault is stored on the cars management system. When a fault is rectified the warning display automatically goes away. The fact the car seems OK now doesn't mean there isn't an underlying problem. If clearing the code "fixed" problems we could all buy readers and save a fortune not having to buy parts.

You misunderstood what I was suggesting. Of course clearing a fault doesn't fix it, but by the same token a fault code does not always accurately describe the real fault. A fault showing showing gearbox clutch failure could be something else. If, after clearing the fault, the car drives OK, even if just for a few hundred yards, then the gearbox clutch obviously hasn't failed. As I said, the fault may inevitably return but now we at least know we are not looking to replace one of the clutches yet. Many of these "reported" mechanical faults are much simpler and intermittent - just look at all the posts with battery issues and warning lights.