Whistleblower reveals car giant Renault's cover-up to Watchdog

I have a R Reg Clio Sport and I was travelling on a very dangerous back lane with lots of corners with my 5 month old daughter in the car with me when my bonnet flew op and smashed into my windowscreen. I know this is'nt a Clio ll but surely there must be a problem with more than this one as it happened to mine too. My parner called Renault and they said It wasnt my series of car that there was a problem with. My parner wasn't very happy with this as it could have been really bad if my windowscreen had of smashed as my daughter travells in the front with me. Can I claim agains Renault for this even though it is not a Clio ll? Thanks, Claire. Doncaster

On Friday 22nd June 2007

My son was driving his Renauly Clio 11 diesel on a busy dual carriageway at approx 55mph and for no reason the bonnet flewup.

He was extremly lucky to come away without a serious accident or possible fatility.

He now has to stand £200 excess and risks losing his no claims bonus.

THERE SHOULD BE A WAY OF CLAIMING COMPENSATION FROM RENAULT.

H Tingle

I was driving on the M6 motorway this afternoon, 3 Aug '07, 70 mph, the bonnet on my Clio opened, hit the windscreen shattering it and also damaging the roof. The bonnet jammed against the 'windscreen' but I had the presence of mind to look through the gap below it. I was luckily able to control the vehicle but had to stop on the central reservation, with the timely help of motorway maintence.

The police were called to the scene as this obviously caused a major problem. I managed to tie down the damaged bonnet to get off the motorway. My passenger and I were obviously very shaken by this incident as we were lucky to get out of it alive. I have now emailed Renault and am awaiting their reply.

I must say that the police control/actions were amazing.

me and my boyfriend were driving on the motorway at 60 mph and the same thing happened to us as above the bonnet flew open hit the window screen which smashed , damaged the roof and the door, we swerved off and were lucky to be alive , we were very very shaken. it is sickening , as we have phoned renault and they don,t want to know. I do not feel I should lose my no claims bonus and have to foot the bill for the excess. What on earth is the next thing for us to do , my car is a write off. . this happened on 4th August 2007. at 8.30am

My clio was taken into a garage with a fuel problem,they took the car for a test drive and the bonnet flew up smashing my windscreen, and denting the roof. they are denying liability saying it is renaults fault, renault was contacted and they are also denying liability. I cant claim on my insurance as i wasnt driving and my insurance dosent cover anyone else to drive my clio. what else can i do?

I feel there should be a way of claiming compension from renault?

I was driving my car with my son in the passenger seat.

We were driving about 45 miles per hour when suddenly the bonnet flew up and shattered the windscreen.

I managed to steer the car onto the hard shoulder and got it stopped.

It was a miracle that my son or myself were not seriously injured, although we were in shock.

The bonnet was stuck fast against the screen and had to be lifted for repair.

When I started talking to people about this it turns out there is a fault with this part of the car.

I have read many stories with people having the same problems.

But when I contacted Renault, they are adamant they have no case to answer.

I am totally appalled by their customer service and believe they should come clean sort this mess out.

Renault are saying the car has no fault although 1000’s of people have had accidents because of a fault bonnet catch.

They actually sent a letter out to customers highlighting this but still not accepting liability.

same problem as every one else, I have also had to pay for a new catch £65.00 and also £200.00 excess and lost 2years no claims bonus.This cant be right surley; is there any way for me to get some sort of recompence,as i dont have the money to take them to court nor the time Thanks Patricia

i was driving my car which i share with my 17 year old daughter who as just passesd her test on the m66 when the bonnet flew up smashed the windscreen and dented the roof,i had my 81 year old mother and 5 year old daughter with me, we are lucky to be alive i have spoken to renault they said they are aware of the fault but are not accepting liability are they waiting until there is a death.thank god i was driving and not my daughter who as yet as hardly any experience.

Oh My God!! i just cannot believe all these stories, we were driving at 75 miles an hour yesterday on the Motorway in her clio when the bonnet flew open and shattered the windscreen... She handled it amazingly but i s**t myself, it was a horrible experience and something has to be done.... she is at this very moment contacting Renault, but judging by the above comments im not sure they will exactly be helpful..... if anyone manages to get a good response, can they post it on here....

This happened to me yesterday whilst travelling on the motorway, at about 75 mph. how i managed to get myself accross 3 lanes only god will know. If someone would have been right at the back of me it could have caused a massive pile up and worse still if the bonnet had actually come off the car, there may have been some very injured people on that motorway. I dread to think what could have happened if the windscreen would have smashed.

Something needs to be done and i am going to instruct my solicitor to proceed further.I am currently waiting for Renault to call me back, but the gentleman i first spoke to has said the accept responsibility! But i will have to wait and see what the supervisor at their headoffice comes back to me with. Im not taking this lying down. This could seriously have led to death!

jeez i have just bought a renault clio 1.2 and reading these comments has made my anatomy start to twich!!!!!, can any one tell me if there are particular models and what if anything i can do to prevent it happening. thanks bob

Happened to me last night. Just entered the motorway when the bonnet flew up totally obscuring my view. Lucky managed to pull onto the hard shoulder without being hit by the vehicles behind. Serious damage to the bonnet and roof.Called Renault, same issue as everyone else. If anyone makes any progress with Renault please post.

11th September 2007 Driving on a busy main road with heavy traffic flow in both directions at 50mph. Bonnet flew open (damaged the roof) I managed to bring the car to a stop safely and am thankful either myself or no other driver was Physically injured in the incident. Contacted Renault and I received same response no doubt as many other drivers have done. Why should I lose my no claims and pay excess on my insurance? It is clear this is a serious safety issue and potentially an Inherent Design/Manufacture De-Fault which needs to be taken seriously by Renault.In addition I was informed that I had been sent a safety re-call to date I have not received any saftey re-call from Renault.

I was driving down the Bedworth bypass on the way to the M6 on Thursday 20th September at 7pm when my bonnet flew open. I was driving about 50mph, the force of the bonnet smashed the windscreen, ruined the bonnet & also dented the roof of the car. The inside interior light was knocked out with the impact. Luckily, I am experienced enough to not have panicked. I drove a while looking through the gap at the bottom of the windscreen & managed to pull over into a layby without causing an accident. My car was then recovered as it was undriveable. I had to pick glass out of my skin. Obviously this is extremely ditressing.

I have had to pay £150 excess & lost over 20 years no claims. The bonnet was closed, Renault should accept responsibility. I finally had a call back from their "customer services manager", who was already primed with the standard responses. He was also extremely ignorant & rude & tried to pass the blame onto me. There will sooner or later be a death with this, and what will happen then!? When I get my repaired Clio back, I am getting rid of it.

This is a disgrace! Why should I lose all this money? It is OBVIOUSLY a design fault. Maybe they think they are too big that no one will challenge them??

I WAS TRAVELLING ALONG THE A2 AT APPROXIMATELY 45MPH AND MY BONNET FLEW UP SMASHING MY WINDSCREEN AND ROOF. I HAVE AN EXCESS OF £900 AND LOST MY NO CLAIMS AND STAND TO NOT OWN A CAR NEXT YEAR AS NOBODY WILL INSURE A YOUNG DRIVER WITH A CLAIM IN HIS FIRST YEAR. MY FRIEND HAS GLASS IN HIS EYE AND HAS A THREE MONTH WAIT TO SEE WHETHER HIS VISION WILL EVER BE RESTORED. HOW ON EARTH DOES RENAULT JUSTIFY THEIR FEEBLE EXCUSE THAT THE BONNET CATCH NEEDS TO BE MAINTAINED BETTER? WHAT OTHER CAR MAKER HAS ANYBODY HEARD OF CORROSION AFETR JUST A FEW YEARS? SOUNDS LIKE SHODDY WORKMANSHIP IS PUTTING ALOT OF PEOPLES LIVES AT RISK. TAKE SOME RESPONSIBILTY RENAULT!!!

same thing as everyone else 70 mph outside lane on way to work bonnet flew open for no reason this is bad im lucky to be alive its lucky i was going to work at midnight

Just happened to me - doing 40mph (if that) on my way to work in the dark, on a dark road - good job there was no traffic either in front or behind!! Will try to get in touch with Renault, does not seem to be an isolated incident - first we had heard about the bonnett problem was by looking on the internet after the fact!!

it happened to me 2 days ago, on a very busy main road in rush hour luckly no other car was involved and no one was hurt. i was doing 70mph in the outside lane. windscreen smashed and damage to the roof. ive called renault and got a reference number and was told to get back in touch with them after the repair garage has told me what the cause was! it has cost me £300 in excess for something that wasnt even my fault!! as for the letter that every clio owner was meant to receive from vosa explaining that the catch should be maintained, i never received this letter!

Hi i am 17 years old, driving my clio s reg at 50 mph on the dual carrigeway and the bonnet jst flew up and smashed my screen luky for me i didnt panic and swerve, the screen smashed and the boneet wht stuck to my screen and i couldnt see anything.im still in soo much shock caus i COULD HAVE LOST MY LIFE traveeling to college 2day at 8:25 on the north circular.

I dont know what to do at the moment but if any one can give me sum suggestions i could appreciate it because right now i cant afford to pay for a new screen and bonnet after all in only 17 and dnt work and saved up for years to buy this car and pay for my insurance.

Thnx

I was driving my renault clio on sunday 17th february,it was a nice afternoon and we we going at abouot 45MPH on a country lane when suddenly the bonnet came up and crashed into the windscreen !

My partner and her daughter were extremely frightened and thankfully the country road was quiet and wasn't going too fast so was able to stop the car in a controlled manner !

Thank god there were no cars on the road at the time or i may not have been here to write this. I contacted renault who said that they would not accept liability for this. Are they going to wait until someone gets killed before they take action !

I think it is an absolute disgrace that there are so many incidents with this type of bonnet yet they still say it is the owners fault. This speaks volumes about the corrupt and pure evil people who are basically covering this up RENUALT YOUR COMPANY IS A DISGRACE !

i was driving on the m8 motorway when the bonnet opened and smashed my wind screen. my self and my parner were lucky. we could have been killed . is there anyway i can claim renault.

this has happened to my son who was driving at 50 miles when the bonnet flew open smashed the windscreen left a dent in the roof he had to swevre of the the road hit a fence which smashed the passenger wing all this on his way with his girlfriend to the cinama we contacted renault but just a total waste of space we had to go through the insurance with a £300 acess and a loss of 25% no claims thank god they were both ok cant renault be sued never have another one of them cars

I cannot believe this has happened to so many people. it happened to me today! doing about 60 on the M55, it shot up, smashed my window, shattered glass is all inside the car. luckily I was in the slow lane and no one was behind me. it ruined my bonnet, destroyed the window and dented the roof! i am going to contact renault to tomorrow. I am shocked and disgusted

The same thing happened to me, i am amazed that so many people have survived without serious injury from this!

I was overtaking someone at 70mph on a dual carriageway when the bonnet came open smashing my windscreen and sticking up so I couldnt see. I was very lucky to be able to pull over without causing an accident to any other traffic on the road.

I will also be contacting renault today but from reading these reviews i do not hold out any hope! I am not covered on my insurance, the car is an S reg and therefore I am insured only for 3rd party fire and theft. I also just paid over £100 to put my car through its MOT last month! Which coincidentally was the last time the bonnet was touched.

How can this not be a fault with the car when it only seems to happen with Renault Clios?

Well, I just had the same problem on the 23/05/2008 driving at 60mph on a motorway with my clio 1.2 S reg (1998), and guess what, the bonnet flew open so quite scary and I need a new windscreen and of course a new bonnet. Has anyone had an answer whether we can get compensation for the damages?

Please let me know if I have a case!

Many thanks

I was taking my future inlaws to Inverness airport when the same thing happened to me today. Driving 60mph the bonnet flew up without warning smashing windscreen and damaging the roof. The force also made the interior light come flying out.

Very very scary!!!

Again looks like i am going to lose my no claims & be £200 out of pocket.

Same thing happened to me, on middle lane of the motorway. Luckily it wasn't busy traffic but awful that i wasn't aware of this problem! I now need new bonnet, windscreen and roof.

Money problems as above - this is not a car driven by people with money to throw away!

Renault - take responsibility!

me and two friends were driving on the dual carriagway and the same happened as all the stories here. we were lucky to come away with scratches from the glass (particularly from the sunroof which showered on top of us) and I am genuinly happy to be alive today. I am about to go through alot of financial struggle but it is basically not relevant anymore as i appreciate myself and my friends are still alive.

My Renault Clio's bonnet flew open this morning whilst on my way to work luckily not far from home on a straight road, at about 45 mph. The bonnet is dented and bent and wipers are ruineds as they were working at the time and there is a dent in the roof as wells as a smashed windscreen. I had not had my bonnet open for at least a week and had been travelling to and from work over that period. There is a plastic catch broken. My local Renault dealer said this was not covered by the cars warrenty which is still operative. I have been in touch with my insurers but don't know until Monday whether they will cover it. Now after looking up on the internet I find thousands of Clios have had a similiar problem. Lucky no injuries or worse. Renault should be ashamed of themselves for not addressing this problem and making an effort to help those affected.

The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) last week banned anyone from taking their test in a Clio that could be affected unless there's proof the bonnet catch has been checked. This is because a bonnet flew up during someone's test.

The DSA has a list of cars subject to a recall that aren't suitable for a practical driving test.

For more information go to the website www.dsa.gov.uk.

Clio Action Group -

You have probably located this website because you feel strongly about the recurring incidents of bonnets flying open on Renault Clio Mark IIs while in transit. If you have personally experienced this, I hope that you have escaped unscathed with only damage to the vehicle.

Clio Action Group Video

I have put a video up of the two parts that are failing on Clios, the bonnet catch mechanism and the safety catch. Please watch, and encourage others to. Refer to it in when contacting your MP - let's get them to see the sub-standard parts Renault are using. Remember to highlight that Renault are STILL putting this corrodable part into new cars, and replacing like for like at their service centres.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHfjteqTSIU

Complete the survey:

If you haven't already, please complete the Clio Action Group survey, and help to add to our analysis of the problem. Take the survey here . Here are some of the trends based on the first respondents:

78% - HAVE NOT received the reassurance letter from Renault…shocking when taken with the view that VOSA and the Department for Transport believe that all Clio owners have been notifed

63mph * - the average speed the Clio was traveling at when the bonnet (and safety) catch failed

£1,400 – the average cost of repairing the vehicle following the damage

http://groups.google.co.uk/group/clio-action-group

if you're experiencing problems with your Renault Clio Mark II, contact the firm on 0800 072 3372.

Every day Watchdog has heard more terrifying stories about Renault Clio Mark II bonnets flying open while the cars are being driven. Since April 2006, we've featured the problem with the Clio three times, and have now had over 1,000 complaints. And it's not just Clio drivers who could be at risk.

Andrea Cox was unfortunate enough to be behind a Clio when its bonnet flew open. She swerved, but her car went through a fence, rolled upside down, and ended up in a ditch. Cox suffered a fractured spine, and her car's a right-off. The police blamed the accident on the Clio bonnet, and say it could have ended with a fatality.

There's now a new version of the Clio on the road: the Clio Mark III. It has a completely different bonnet catch made entirely of metal, fully integrated, and, most importantly, fail safe. Of all the complaints Watchdog's received about Clio bonnet catches, not one concerned the new Clio Mark III. But there are still thousands of Clios on the road with the older bonnet catches. Experts say this is a design fault, and we know it's already caused serious accidents. Just how serious does it have to get before Renault will issue a recall?

Renault says it's continuing to analyse the cases reported to it, but it hasn't found a defect in any of the inspections it's already carried out. Renault has set up a special taskforce that will use its expertise to examine the cause of the accidents. In particular, it will look at whether this is a technical or maintenance issue. Renault says the results of the special taskforce are imminent, and when it gets them it’ll be in touch.

The company reiterates that customer safety is of paramount importance and any customer complaint is taken extremely seriously.

Renault Customer Service: 0800 072 3372. Office hours only.

If you’re experiencing similar problems, contact the Clio Action Group for support.

Yes its happeneded to me too. Driving along on the motorway going 70mph with my husband and I dont know how but we managed to pull onto the hard shoulder safely.

Again, its dented my roof so looks as if as its a write off.

I am the second owner and I have never recieved a letter.

My husband is contacting renault today with our complaint, just feel really lucky to be here today.

My son was driving home sunday morning, doing 30 mph and his bonnet shot up and smashed the windscreen, its dented the roof where the ariel sits, luckyly he was not injured, it has cost us £400 for a new windscreen and we have to find a new bonnet now, he was insured TPFT so I can't claim.

We have spoken to the previous owner and he says renault have never contacted him about the problem. we are going to get a solicitor to contact renault to try and get some compensation for the costs incurred.

We were driving on the M25 yesterday at 70mph in the fast lane when the bonnet flew open smashing the windscreen.We were so lucky an ambulance was behind us and was able to stop the traffic and get to safely to the hard shoulder. We were told by the emergency services that this is a known problem with clios. It is yet again a near miss fatality. Renault needs to take responsibility.

This has also happened to me while driving at 70mph on the motorway. Renault have tried to fob me off saying that we didn't close the bonnet correctly - this is incorrect as the bonnet had been closed according to Renault procedures, and checked by tugging it upwards - several hours later the bonnet opened. Somehow I manage to steer the car off the motorway - however this has left me severly shocked and upset. My car has a full service and MOT history with our local renault dealer. Renault have been appauling and seem unwilling to take proper action to prevent somebody dying in such an incident. Renault offer to replace corroded bonnet catches, but unfortunately the replacement part is exactly the same and will also corrode.

hi was driving on the m60 at 60/70mph,

when my heated back window exploded,

Renault fobbed me off and i had to claime it of my insurance, they say its hard to say what caused it.

I find this horrifying and was in shock and scared driving it waiting for it to happen again.still persuing this as i think its most definately a fault. still pursuing this because i want to know why,they say this is very rare

I can't believe there are so many stories around about bonnet faults on the Renault Clio. I saw a Watchdog report on this issue and thought the company were going to sort it out.

So I was really surprised to read about Louise Gallie, from Congleton in Cheshire, on my local newspaper The Sentinel's website.

It sounds like she had a miraculous escape when the bonnet popped up on her Clio as she was driving along. And she's expecting a baby. It's unbelievable and could have ended in tragedy.

Here's a link to the story http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/news/Bonnet-flew-open-woman-drove-car/article-481130-detail/article.html

All,

My prgnant wife has had same problem - Renault Clio - bonnet flew open at 50mph, smashed windsceen abd damaged roof. Lucky to be alive.

We have written to local papers and MP (Anne Winterton). Ann is writing to Renault Managing Director and paper is running the story - feel free to leave comment as some appear to think it is our fault -

http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/news/Bonnet-flew-open-woman-drove-car/article-481130-detail/article.html

Thanks

Really cant belive this is happening to so much people and nothing is being done. My husband was driving his clio to work 50mph when bonnet flew open and smashed windscreen. He phoned them 2 days ago and they said car was recalled to be checked. We never received the letter and now this has happened we dont no how we are going to get it fixed because simply cant afford it and dont see why we should put it on insurance. Renault said they would call back next day, now been 3 days and no word. When are they going to take responisbilty for there mistakes?? Or is it going to have to be someones life taken first before they realise how bad it is? Just a simple search online shows how many people have the same problem.

Whilst driving to work at 4.30am had the nice suprise of the bonnect hitting the window screen and I had stick my head out of the window to see where to go!!! What a joke cost me 450 pound to fix and I feel it should be RENAULT that pays not me!

aye the exact same thing happened to me, i was driving along a dual carriageway at 55mph and my bonnet came up to say hello, luckily the cars behind me and on my inside saw what happened and gave me the room required to manouvere into the inside lane and towards the exit. £1200 worth of damage and im picking my car up this evening. after reading some of the stories on here im pretty lucky it happened where it did and not on a narrow back road, i'd like to think my driving skill and actually not panicking when it happened had something to do with me getting off the road without causing anyone else any damage. im gonna write a letter to renault but im not holding my breath

My daughters boyfriend was driving along a busy dual carriageway today with their year old daughter when the bonnet flew open and cracked the windscreen and dented the roof. Luckily neither of them were hurt. Renault have denied responsibility (again!) and they are left with having to find the money for repairs. I think its disgusting that Renault know about this problem but are putting their heads in the sand until someone dies. I just thank God it was not my familys turn. Something has to be done about this company.

Yes this just happened to me yesterday. I was travelling at 40mph on a 50 mph road when me bonnet just flew up and smashed me windscreen and dented me roof.Wasnt bothered about the damaage at the time just as long as me 2 sons who were in the back of the car were ok.But by reading the comments on here Im goin to ring Renault If I dont get a reponse from them I going to me solicitors.

This happened to me yesterday.I've had this car from new and I've recieved no letter from Renault. I was travelling at 40m.p.h on a 50 m.p.h road when me bonnet flew up smashed me windscreen and dented me roof.At the time I wasnt bothered about the damage as long as me 2 sons who were sitting in the back were ok.But by checking this up on the internet Im quite bothered now.Im goin to ring Renaault and if not satisfied im goin to me solicitors.

Same story - mine flew open at 40 mph smashing the windscreen and denting the roof. Called Renault and they were not interested at all - didn't even mention the word 'compensation'. I will not touch a Renault ever again

I have just had a phone call from my daughter. Driving on the M1 Bonnet flew up and smashed the windscreen, luckily she is OK. Iam very angry as after watching Watchdog I checked the locking mechanism myself.

Same again. my son was driving home at 45mph, last week, and the bonnet flew open, smashing the windscreen and denting the roof. luckily he managed to pull over safely, and phone me. as he is only 18,i thought it might be his fault, somehow...but reading here, i now know it definitely wasn't.

I DON'T WANT TO LOOSE MY SON!!! Renault, do something before its too late

i have owned five renaults, four clios and have never had the bonnet problem, but i parked my 1.9 dti outside the house this morning. locked it, everything turned off crook lock on, an hour later the back window apparantly exploded ?

my daughter was driving up the m6 north on friday the 26 of june when her bonnet also flew off , luckily she managed to pull on to the hard shoulder ,she has been advised by the insurance company that she will loose her £300 excess plus her no claims discount, why are renault getting away with this criminal act.

on june16th 2009 my bonnet flew open smashing my windscreen and my roof,renault gave me a hire car while the engineer checked out the lock.surprise surprise could not find any fault with it.also insurance will not pay as they don't class it as an accident.

I can not believe it - ME TOO!!

My Partner was driving my car, slowing down to approach a roundabout and this happened to him in my car. My roof, windscreen and bonnet all need some serious attention now!

I had not heard about this fault until my neighbour let me know - after the event! I never recieved any recall letter of other warning and my brother in law is a mechanic who regularly services my car - and the boy loves a bit of WD40 on all hinges and brackets!

I'm absolutley gutted!! Has anyone had any results from Renault? Would appreciate any advice of how to move on with this!

Thanx, C xx

Just incase we needed another report.. MINE TOO.

I had the renault clio mk2 and was driving on the M1 at about 70mph to luton airport at 7am. The bonnet opened and shattered the windscreen. Bonnet damaged, windscreen shattered, car's a write off. Lucky we're still alive.

Renault confirmed to me that this was not a fault with the car and simply that I had "failed to maintain the bonnet catch correctly" - however one's supposed to maintain a bonnet. I never heard anything so stupid.

Quite simply, and you're welcome to try this yourself, when you call them to report this issue and question their suitability to be in business, they will ask "have you opened the bonnet to check it's condition?"

Should you say NO, then you have failed to maintain the bonnet in accordance with the user's guide and therefore it's your fault.

Should you say YES, then you obviously didn't shut it properly after opening it.

Someone do something about these idiots..

03.08.09 today my daughter,partner and grandaughter were travelling on A19 had just overtaken and fortunately pulled in to lane where no-one in front when bonnet flew up and smashed windscreen and bonnet and dented roof and yes she was driving a Renault Clio 07 reg.if it had happened moments earlier all three would no longer be here. How can Renault get away with putting so many lives at risk, it's utterly outrageous!!!!!!!!!!!

Same for us-my son managed to escape relatively unscathed after this happened to him in the middle lane of a busy motorway.Somehow he managed to pull over as the lorry on the inside lane realised what had happened and slowed down to let him pull in.

I have spoken to Rob McQueen, one of the managers at Renault UK at length and there is no way they will admit any responsibility. This is absolutely disgraceful.

Someone will be killed by this one day and then the floodgates will open for negligence, hopefully.

Its happened to me today, driving on a4232 50mph bonnet flew open damaging windscreen,bonnet and roof. As it was 8.30am no other traffic around luckily!!! Anyone know what happening with renault

This sickens me It happened to me yesterday on the motorway driving at 70mph windscreen is shattered and roof is damanged! car is a write off but yet I still have to pay the excess. I can safely say I will never buy another renault again! I dont know how they can get away with it and as for the letter clio owners are supposed to get I am still waiting to recieve it! does someone have to lose their life before they will accept responsible!

This is still happening, bonnet of my Clio flew open on 23 Oct on the motorway smashing windscreen and damaging the roof. Lucky to avoid serious injury, was traveling 70 m.p.h .When is Renault going to take responsibility?!.

Driving home from work at 50 mph and bonnet flew up luckily for me I drive an artic and was able to handle situation. What if it was a young inexperienced person could be a fatal accident waiting. Cost to me is a new screen and bonnet.

i am absolutely shocked about all am i reading and how this is still going on! i was driving along at 70 mph yesterday and my bonnett flew open, luckily i had a fantastic person in the car with me who kept me calm and guided me off to the verge of the road safely. scariest experience of my life, bonnet was wedged in the windscreen and i was on a very bust duel carriage way in stoke on trent. the rac rescue were amazing too. i find out tomorrow if my car is a write off, have to pay £300 excess and bag goes my no claims... it makes me pig sick as i am such a careful driver and none of this was my fault! how noone has been killed yet i will never know! i have never had one of these so called letters from renault so had no idea at all about the fault, if i had then i would have taken my car to a garage asap. it is nearly xmas and i really cannot afford this expense but i have to say i am so very grateful noone was hurt!

renault you need to take responsibility, its only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt and if my car isn't written off i have to say i will be very scared driving it again

Im 17 and just passed my test 3 months ago, i was driving my friend home last night and the bonnet flew up, cracked all the windscreen and totally obscured my view. The road was very icey as the roads hadn't been gritted that morning. When i slammed on the brakes the ABS kicked in and felt like the wheels were about to fall out, i didn't know what it was at the time. Great experience for someone driving only 3 months, thanks renault!

I am 17 years old just and only a learner and the bonnet came up on me . smash my window dented my roof and mullerd my bonne. lucky i know people in the repair trade and got a new window fitted and dents pull out as much as poss but cant find a bonnet please help it a 1.2 3dr billabong (thanks)

Same happen to us in 2nd lane of M1. Insurance will pay for damage (- excess) but not a new bonnet catch. Keep trying to get in touch with Rob McQueen but he is not returning my calls

Bonnet flew open on the dual carriage way this morning @60mph damage to car, right behind a lorry couldn't see a thing. Trying to get through to Renault now.

January the 2nd this year i was traveling down the motorway in my 02 Clio in the fast lane and my bonet flew up, smashing the windscreen and knocking down my rear view mirror and lights. The motorway was quite busy, all i could see in my wing mirror was a lorry in the second lane. Somehow i managed to get safely onto the hard shoulder. i was extremely shaken up. After the incident i learnt that it is a common fault, i have not recieved any warning letters from renault so did not have a clue about it before. My excess, because i am under 21 was £500. My car was actually wrote off and because it was on finance i ended up having to pay money out.

Something should be done about this!!

on my way to the seaside on saturday my clio bonnet shot up too !!!!!!!!!! pretty much same as everyone else in fast lane and had to dangerously cross 2 lanes my partner did a really good job to get us to safety and was very brave , i am 8 months pregnant and could have lost my baby if insurance companies wont pay because its not an accident this means there is somebody to blame . renault need to face up to whats happening before somebody gets killed !!!!!

Travelling down the M58 this morning and my bonnet flew up and smashed the windscreen. It became stuck in that position and I therefore had to bring the car to a halt from 70 miles an hour in the fast lane. Windscreen was only 2 weeks old and my car was MOT'd just last week. I am genuinely lucky to be alive. The seriousness of the situation is only just starting to sink in. Surely this is something that should be checked at the MOT stage if it is a recognised fault/phenomenon with this model.

Happened to me too on the 18th June 2010. Bonnet just flew up and smashed the windscreen. Took it to renault and they are trying to avoid liability.

driving my clio onto the A1 child in the back the bonnet flew open, lucky to have not reached the fast lane wind screen smashed lights blew out, i have never received letter from advising of fault, feel the goverment should do something, we should club together and take them to court do we need to wait for some one to be seriously injured and dead?

same thing driving @50mph bonnet flew open causing damage to car lucky to be unhurt only had the car since may so if previous owner had recieved a letter from renault how would i know !!! so angry

Whilst driving my wife`s Clio on Saturday 16th October,as I was in the fast lane on the M25, doing just under 70mph, the bonnet flew up and smashed the windscreen. The bonnet remained stuck to the windscreen and I had to maintain speed and veer across the three lanes to the hard shoulder. Not a pleasant experience. The AA man said it was a common thing for Clios! I wish I had known. I contacted Renault UK who gave me no help at all. I now have a car off the road for several days and will have to pay a £175 excess on my insurance. I was very upset with Renault`s response. They are knowingly letting people put their lives at risk. I will never buy another Renault. I have had 3 in the past.

On my way to work this morning, driving 40-50 miles an hr and the bonnet flew up and got stuck.

I then phoned the renault garage and they said I have to phone customer services first before they can fix it.

I'm waiting for customer services to phone me back as they were in a meeting. It's now 2:30pm it looks like the whole day at work has been lost... I'm a junior doctor-this puts others out at work, means there are less doctors to look after patients and it goes down on my permanent record I had a day off-all for a design fault........

I have had my car 4 years now, and recently we have been trying to fix it as it wouldn't start. Anyway I managed to get it working, when my dad took it to the garage to put fuel in it and check the tires. I have just taken it for a quick drive to get some cash out when the same thing has happened to me! Bonnet flew up, and stayed there. We had to drive 10mph back to the house where a friend could force it down. Now its all bent out of shape and I am so worried it is going to happen again. I am nervous about driving to Cardiff this evening!

Clio bonnet popped typo whilst driving home from work just floss no one was hurt. I've owned this car from new around seven and a half years. Why didn't renault contact me regarding this?

driving into town and my bonnet flew open at 60mph smashed the windscreen and dented the roof had to pay £140 for the windscreen and £35 for a second hand bonnet. i have just been to a garage and the told me it's a common fault.....i'm terrified to drive anywhere i am a young mum with a 2 year old son i can't afford to replace a windscreen on a regular basis...i have now tied my bonnet down with bunjee rope's just for piece of mind...this is a serious fault and renult need to do something!!!!!

Same deal as everyone else, driving at 50mph and the bonnet smashed my windscreen and dented the roof as much as to cause the light to fall through. On the advise of the traffic police who said I was the third clio since the day before with this issue, I contacted Renault and they were very polite but denied a problem with the design when I called them back today having done some research into the problem, they were curt, dismissive and inexcusably negligent. I told them of my intent to take the matter further by reporting to certain authorities at which point they hung up.

If anyone else feels the need to complain - which I feel you should:

For lack of better word harass renault on 08000723372

Report the incident and fallout to:

VOSA, BBC Watchdog, Local Council Trading Standards, and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Trades.

set off today on way to work driving a 60mph on single carage way when my bonnet smashed up, widscreen smashed big dent in roof bonnet ruined and both doors bent nearly ditched the car, unbelievable how many stories there are and nothing is being done

We had a similar incident June 2011. Bonnet crumpled, roof damaged and windscreen cracked. This was at a speed of 40mph.

So whats happening? Who do we turn to?

There is a large number of these incidents we need to get the fault sorted. I will not buy another Clio or Renault with a plastic catch for the SAFETY CATCH it's just not good enough.

Same thing happened to us May 2011. Going 70mph down the dual carriageway, when the bonnet smashed up into the windscreen. It also damaged the roof and knocked the interior light out. Lucky to be alive as the road was quite congested! Renault need to take responsibilty!

Same thing happened to me in October 11. Luckily i didnt have my children in the car at the time. my clio was a right off due to roof damage from the impact of the bonnet- huge dent between windscreen top and the sun roof seal.Renault say its down to poor maintenance but as ive had the catches replaced at my last two MOTs ( failed because of the catches both times) there must be something wrong when they dont even last 12 months.Thanks to renault I am now without a car until the insurance settlement is sorted out and ive gone from been a very confident driver to a gibbering wreck.

Same thing happened to me in October 11. Luckily i didnt have my children in the car at the time. my clio was a right off due to roof damage from the impact of the bonnet- huge dent between windscreen top and the sun roof seal.Renault say its down to poor maintenance but as ive had the catches replaced at my last two MOTs ( failed because of the catches both times) there must be something wrong when they dont even last 12 months.Thanks to renault I am now without a car until the insurance settlement is sorted out and ive gone from been a very confident driver to a gibbering wreck.

this has happened to me and my partner today.

We have a 2003 clio mk II and the bonnet smashed our windscreen whilst we were driving on the dual carriageway this afternoon.

Our car has recently passed its MOT and although it was windy this afternoon, the catch is clearly responsible for what has happened.

The same thing happened to me on 28/12/11 12am a52 dark road on my own. I must have to say one of the most terrifying thing thats ever happened to me. I contacted renault uk who went out to assess the vehicletoday (in their eyes) to see what the cause was. They previously advised me about maintaining the bonnet catch as this could cause the catch to corrode. I am awaiting a call tomorrow 5/1/12 and am waiting for the script of: it is not a known fault renault are not reliable for your own maintanence of the bonnet catch, bla bla bla!! my car is a 2002 plate and was recalled in 2008 which funnily they do not have on their records. My insurance company have passed my claim onto their expertise department where they send out their own assessor and fight my corner basically but this process is taking longer than renault proving, they are not at fault speech. I want to know if anyone has any advice and if there are any success stories for older cars such as mine.

0630 hours this morning 1/8/12 i was traveling eastbound on the M74 approaching junction 4 in the fast lane at 70mph when the bonnet flipped up smashing my windscreen. Its lucky i was calm and took my car over 3 lanes of traffic to hard shoulder and contacted police. I am a police officer myself and was shaken at the time. The attending officers stated this is a common problem with Renault Clio cars, as did the garage that has repaired my car. contacted Renault who weren't interested, and said i didn't close the bonnet properly, which is funny because it passed an mot in June and hasn't been opened since! and i drive on the motorway everyday. so i called the papers instead :-) why should i have to pay 300 repair costs, i could have been killed. when someone dies, then they might change their minds, but i wont hold my breath.

The best you can do is to tell other people not to buy Renault. Simple as that. Looking at all these incidents here.

Disgrace that the authorities does not step in and stop trading of Renault until this problem is fixed.