RS275 Trophy - what goes wrong

[Z4MCSL]

Hi all,

So I have just acquired what appears to be a well looked after LY RS275 Trophy with 51k miles on it.

I have read a few bits here and there about the main things that go wrong/to look out for but would be interested in any advice on here?

And is it worth getting any sort of warranty?

Thanks

[Zarco]

My 2016 275 had a gearbox under warranty at just under 3yrs old and approx 20-25k miles. Input shaft bearing failed or something like that. Bit of a worry and it's not the only one I've heard of going online.

I had to replace a wheel bearing mid 2020 as well.

Last winter I had a small oil leak from the top of the engine (rocker cover?). That was a fairly pricey fix and again not unheard of. I think Renault used some poor sealant on some cars that's not up to the job.

I've never tracked the car but it does get driven hard for a couple of hours on Sunday mornings, and the odd more extended hoon around Wales etc. Also my daily driver so it's on 36k now (bought it 7months old on 6k).

Personally I wouldn't bother with a warranty.

[RonnieHotdogs]

I always heard they were fairly bomb proof.

Variants of the engine have been around forever (albeit non-turbo) so as long as they're maintained properly I don't think there's any major issues.

Liquid yellow is gorgeous too ... Always remember missing out on a LY car years ago. Had the Recaros too.

[Ben Lowden]

Zarco said:

Last winter I had a small oil leak from the top of the engine (rocker cover?). That was a fairly pricey fix and again not unheard of. I think Renault used some poor sealant on some cars that's not up to the job.

I had this on mine too and it was a lucky catch as I decided to get my belts done early. Apparently there was so much oil on the pulleys that the belts could have let go at any point, gulp. So definitely look down the back and side of your engine for any leaks. Rocker cover bolts weep as well, but these are easy enough to reseal.

It seems that gearbox bearings are becoming more common (from what you read on the internet anyway), I've been quoted £1200 by AW Motorworks if mine ever needs rebuilding.

Thermostats are a common failure but cheap and easy enough to DIY. Swivel joints in the front suspension are common as well, you'll know they need replacing when you start to feel resistance in the steering and it resists self centring.

If yours has the Ohlins, these need rebuilding in theory every 4 years/25k miles too.

Most of this (if not all) is covered in the PH buying guide https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-buying-guides/...

Edited by Ben Lowden on Wednesday 22 September 14:17

[Zarco]

I fitted some secondhand Ohlins a couple of years ago, but had them serviced before putting them on. I'm aware they need periodic maintenance.

I had a similar gearbox bearing failure on a 172 Cup 12yrs ago. Think that had done around 40k. I was the second owner from 10k, and had obviously generally ragged the crap out of it but I didn't abuse the 'box. Think it's just a trait of Renault gearboxes tbh.

Edited by Zarco on Wednesday 22 September 19:09

[classicfred]

Also got the rocker cover oil leak now....It is not always an easy spot as you need to remove the plastic engine cover to spot any leaks so would recommend removing the cover every so often and having a good look around.
Dephaser was replaced at 8,000 miles under warranty - common fault apparently.

Edited by classicfred on Saturday 25th September 00:37

[Zarco]

classicfred said:

Also got the rocker cover oil leak now....It is not always an easy spot as you need to remove the plastic engine cover to spot any leaks so would recommend removing the cover every so often and having a good look around.
Dephaser was replaced at 8,000 miles under warranty - common fault apparently.

Edited by classicfred on Saturday 25th September 00:37

With hindsight I could smell it on mine - the car smelt of hot oil around the front end after a run.

Bit like my old Mercedes 300CE-24v that drunk around a litre every 1000 miles!

I never had excessive oil consumption on the Megane so the leak must have been very small.

[Ben Lowden]

To update my post above, my Cup-S is now with AW Motorworks having the gearbox rebuild (£1200). Similar to Zarco I think it's the input shaft bearing that has gone, but Alex is just replacing all of the bearings whilst it's out.

It was the faintest whine and has been there since I bought the car, now on 39k miles but thought I'd get Alex to check it out while I was in the area. Digging through the paperwork annoyingly the previous owner of my car did take it to a main dealer while it was still under warranty, but they just said the it was tyre noise...

I'm getting the clutch, slave cylinder and flywheel replaced (£600) while the box is out. Alex said they should be OK to go back in, but I don't want to take the risk, especially after I had a similar experience with my Blobeye Impreza and the clutch crapped itself straight after the box had been rebuilt.

Clutch damper is also leaking which is common, but that's a more straight forward and cheaper fix.

Would this put me off buying a Megane? Absolutely not. I was aware of the potential gearbox issues when I bought my car so went in with my eyes open expecting it to happen and budgeted accordingly. Chatting to an R8 owner from PH on the weekend who told me box rebuilds on his V8 start at £9k also made me feel much better

[Zarco]

Mine made quite a loud clanking/grinding noise at low speed. Noticeable in stop-start traffic and reversing. Really obvious if I jacked the car up and turned the front wheels

Few vids on YouTube that demonstrate the noise!

My car is going in for cambelt service and MOT end of the month. Few months before it's 6th birthday.

[josh-cg608]

Thinking of purchasing a 275 trophy in the next year, how are you finding yours

[Z4MCSL]

Well if you check out my other posts you'll see...unfortunately....its exploded 😬😬😬😬