[AndyT1320]

Just outside of warranty and with just 30k miles on the clock, out Zoe has lost all it’s air con gas due to a seal failure and after a re-gas the Renault main dealer tells us that the compressor has failed.
£899 to fix it. Renault customer service admit that it is a manufacturing defect that this unit has failed but only offered 1 hour off the cost of the labour to fix this.
In all my years of driving (40 to be precise) I have never had a compressor failure on any car and to have this fail just a couple of months outside the warranty and with only 30k miles is really disappointing.
We can manage quite happily without aircon but clearly the battery can’t so what happens if we choose not to blow that money on getting the air con fixed? Will the battery go into meltdown or just reduce output?
Does an air con issue leave you with an un-drive-able car?
There are loads of conventional cars running about with air con that doesn’t work or in need of gassing so where does that leave us?
Personally, I think that Renault should stand by their product and cover this, or have there been too many failures already but not enough to recall any cars?

 

[yoh-there]

Andy, I will stay away from CS, disappointment, legalese, cause versus result, etc (in short, it s**ks big time). Believe me, others will chime in. I'll only touch on the technical side of things.

If the car refuses to charge / drive because of a compressor failure, the most likely scenario is that it developed an insulation fault. It is a totally sealed metal can with a motor and compressor inside. As it runs on the 400 volt system, which in itself is directly connected to mains while charging, this is not an benign fault and the car's refusal is, while frustrating, completely right. It's now totally a (serious) safety issue.

Next, I don't know about the UK, but here windshield heating is what you guys call a MOT item. As the compressor is not just for cooling but also for heating (demisting), the fault has also become a MOT item.

In short: it has to be fixed.

 

[srichards]

How long have you had the car? Did you pay a deposit by credit card or buy any of it with finance?

I'd be kicking up a merry stink about it. If it is a manufacturing fault then Renault should cough for the whole thing frankly. If the compressor is essential to the car being able to charge then you could expect it to be repaired FOC under the drive train warranty which should be 5 years. If it is also a safety issue that might give someone an electric shock it also should be reported to the DVSA.

Powertrain warranty is 5 years.

Electric powertrain consists of:

1 - Motor
2 - Reduction Gear
3 - Charger - box interconnection
4 - EVC Controller
5 - Inverter
6 - DCDC converter
7 - Connecting high voltage cables between these components

Start with the social media shaming. There's enough anti EV sentiment to make this into a big thing if they don't just roll over and replace it FOC.

Don't let them get away with it.

 

[andrew*debbie]

In all my years of driving (40 to be precise) I have never had a compressor failure on any car and to have this fail just a couple of months outside the warranty and with only 30k miles is really disappointing.

Yeah. Yours isn't the first Zoe with a compressor fault.


My first new car was a 1982 Renault Fuego Turbo. It was fast, cheap and the bank gave me a loan. The transmission failed about 1 month and 500 miles past the end of the warranty. Renault / AMC offered me nothing. I had to pay the entire cost. A few months later the brake pedal went all the way to the floor. The seals had gone on the master cylinder. I fixed that one myself but the parts took nearly 3 months to arrive in California. I bought a very rusty Pontiac for $100 and drove that for 3 months. I kept it the entire time I had the Fuego. The Pontiac always ran.

When I paid off the Renault I traded it for a 1978 Fiat. I know I got the better end of the deal.

 

[Cloud]

I'm starting to wonder how many actual properly working (with full effectiveness) heaters actually exist in Zoes in the wild. They should sort them out properly and do a full recall IMO, it's appalling the number of complaints about it either not working properly or not working at all. The fact that it's probably a good idea for all Zoe owners to keep a 12V hair dryer in the glove box (if it'll fit) says it all.

 

[Sandy]

What you see on line is the people with an issue are the loudest to shout, they become the baseline (artificially), so on that basis the Zoe is a flop that has everything wrong with it. But for the thousands (the greater number) who have no issue with their Zoe they get a bit fed up that their car is deemed so unreliable when its proven to not be.

I'd always say if an extended manufacture warranty is available then you should take advantage of that.

If you didn't then yes you should try to claim on the 5th year drivetrain warranty, the cooling system is integral to the battery pack and charging circuits, so you should have a good case for claim.

 

[yoh-there]

1) Calm down. The level of hysteria shown is below "the honorable gentlemen's standards". Yes we do watch the house here too sometimes. It's fun.
2) What @Sandy said
3) Unfortunately, the cooling system is not part of the drivetrain. It's non-essential to the drivetrain actually and is not on the list of drivetrain items.

What I have seen here is CS usually is happy to cough up half of the repair costs if things fail shortly after warranty and they are in the somewhat "new tech" bracket, which the heating/cooling system of the ZOE is.

The OP didn't state the age of the car nor which part of the warranty just lapsed, so it's a bit hard to judge.

 

[Plugger1]

What you see on line is the people with an issue are the loudest to shout, they become the baseline (artificially), so on that basis the Zoe is a flop that has everything wrong with it. But for the thousands (the greater number) who have no issue with their Zoe they get a bit fed up that their car is deemed so unreliable when its proven to not be.

I'd always say if an extended manufacture warranty is available then you should take advantage of that.

If you didn't then yes you should try to claim on the 5th year drivetrain warranty, the cooling system is integral to the battery pack and charging circuits, so you should have a good case for claim.

+1 for perfectly functional heating and cooling in both my Zoe's. There was a slight hiccup 2 years ago when Renault (allegedly) issued a summer software update which (allegedly) reduced the power to what felt like eco mode heating.

Would an issue like this be covered by the extended warranty? If so, the extended warranty is an absolute steal at the price it's offered.

 

[AndyT1320]

Thanks for the responses, I find it difficult to understand how, in the face of such a lot of issues with Zoe heaters and air con that more has not been done to address the issues, my local main dealer admitted that they get loads of Zoe's in with various heater faults. In my case, I can't understand why Renault won't deal with this problem and fix the issue having admitted that its a manufacturing defect. I will soldier on with this and am writing to Renault as well as taking the matter up with RCI as they are dependent on this system for the safe operation of the battery both whilst charging and under heavy load. Their first reaction was "call us if you have a battery problem" I responded that perhaps we should book an appointment as it will be very soon! They are looking into the matter further.

 

[Nanny CJ]

Thanks for the responses, I find it difficult to understand how, in the face of such a lot of issues with Zoe heaters and air con that more has not been done to address the issues, my local main dealer admitted that they get loads of Zoe's in with various heater faults. In my case, I can't understand why Renault won't deal with this problem and fix the issue having admitted that its a manufacturing defect. I will soldier on with this and am writing to Renault as well as taking the matter up with RCI as they are dependent on this system for the safe operation of the battery both whilst charging and under heavy load. Their first reaction was "call us if you have a battery problem" I responded that perhaps we should book an appointment as it will be very soon! They are looking into the matter further.

Hi Andy I have had three new heat pumps and had to use blankets and gloves over the winter, when it was extreemly cold we use our old petrol car that has a heater. yes i agree its a joke Renault dont really want to know nor does the dealer, other issues i don't get any where near the mileage its supposed to, and the App does not work.
I just want my money back.

 

[PeteKS]

Makes the £289 a year seem worth it even more than it did before

 

[Nanny CJ]

What you see on line is the people with an issue are the loudest to shout, they become the baseline (artificially), so on that basis the Zoe is a flop that has everything wrong with it. But for the thousands (the greater number) who have no issue with their Zoe they get a bit fed up that their car is deemed so unreliable when its proven to not be.

I'd always say if an extended manufacture warranty is available then you should take advantage of that.

If you didn't then yes you should try to claim on the 5th year drivetrain warranty, the cooling system is integral to the battery pack and charging circuits, so you should have a good case for claim.


[Aren't you lucky you must have the only perfect Zoe we have just spent the last winter with blankets to keep us warm,
unable to get more than a hundred miles out of a charge. that is supposed to give 250 and have an app that does not work. and it is only a few months old
Clearly you have little expectations for your money.

 

[srichards]

100 miles sounds poor for a 40 unless it's below freezing and at motorway speeds. I wouldn't have put up with a duff heater. It sounds broken.

 

[Yev]

Thanks for the responses, I find it difficult to understand how, in the face of such a lot of issues with Zoe heaters and air con that more has not been done to address the issues, my local main dealer admitted that they get loads of Zoe's in with various heater faults. In my case, I can't understand why Renault won't deal with this problem and fix the issue having admitted that its a manufacturing defect. I will soldier on with this and am writing to Renault as well as taking the matter up with RCI as they are dependent on this system for the safe operation of the battery both whilst charging and under heavy load. Their first reaction was "call us if you have a battery problem" I responded that perhaps we should book an appointment as it will be very soon! They are looking into the matter further.

Hi Andy, wonder if you had your issue resolved as it seems like my wife's Zoe of the road as well because of the same aircon failer and it won't charge just keeps cutting off the charging points in the area, facing a bill of £1200

 

[freddym]

Yeah. Yours isn't the first Zoe with a compressor fault.


My first new car was a 1982 Renault Fuego Turbo. It was fast, cheap and the bank gave me a loan. The transmission failed about 1 month and 500 miles past the end of the warranty. Renault / AMC offered me nothing. I had to pay the entire cost. A few months later the brake pedal went all the way to the floor. The seals had gone on the master cylinder. I fixed that one myself but the parts took nearly 3 months to arrive in California. I bought a very rusty Pontiac for $100 and drove that for 3 months. I kept it the entire time I had the Fuego. The Pontiac always ran.

When I paid off the Renault I traded it for a 1978 Fiat. I know I got the better end of the deal.

It's a terrible state of things when a 78 Fiat was more reliable than an 82 Renault. My Fiat's bought new around that period all had free prerusted steel bodies courtesy of the Russian input.

 

[MrMoonUK]

mines in the garage with a heater failure right now, they firstly topped up the gas, it didn't work and now they are saying they don't know what's wrong as its not losing gas and its working just isn't getting hot, oh well will enjoy the enterprise rental for a few more days until they fix it! least the vauxhall corsa has a working heater!

 

[srichards]

Have they checked the temp sensor in the door mirror? Those going wonky seem to cause heater failure as the car thinks it's warmer than it is so it doesn't heat at all.

I have to set mine at 23C It doesn't really warm at all.

 

[MrMoonUK]

Have they checked the temp sensor in the door mirror? Those going wonky seem to cause heater failure as the car thinks it's warmer than it is so it doesn't heat at all.

I have to set mine at 23C It doesn't really warm at all.

that’s working fine, they said they checked all sensors and working fine, compressor working and no leak, they said they are stumped, tech is taking the weekend to think it over, whatever that means.

I imagine they need to replace the CLIM computer if the hardware is working

 

[srichards]

Its only a heater. It shouldn't baffle them so much.

 

[andrew*debbie]

Its only a heater. It shouldn't baffle them so much.

Heat pump systems are fairly complex except in the i3. The i3's system is insane.