Defective engines: a criminal complaint filed Monday against Renault

Dimitri Vernet with AFP / Photo credit: DENIS CHARLET / AFP 10:35 am, June 02, 2023

Nearly 2,000 owners of Renault, Dacia and Nissan cars will file a criminal complaint against Renault Group and Nissan on Monday before the criminal court of Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine), said Friday the lawyer of the plaintiffs, confirming information from the Parisian published Thursday. The complaint will be filed for "deception, endangering the lives of others, fraud and deceptive commercial practices," Christophe Lèguevaques told AFP.

Overconsumption of oil

"Today, we are almost 2,000 people (1,789). And as registrations continue to run, we can be even more. It is no longer just a face-to-face between a giant and an isolated person," he added. Cars equipped with 1.2 TCE or DIG-T gasoline engines, manufactured by Renault between October 2012 and June 2016, are victims of overconsumption of oil that can lead to engine failure between 40,000 and 60,000 kilometers, often on the highway, creating an element of surprise, according to the lawyer.

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"One of the criticisms we make of Renault is to play Russian roulette with the safety of road users," he charged. The consumer association UFC-Que Choisir had already launched the alert in 2019 on these engines. A class action had been launched from January 2022.

Vehicles remain "safe and compliant with regulations", according to Renault

Since then, "93% of identified customer cases, having encountered a difficulty in the use of their vehicle, equipped with a 1.2 T engine produced between October 2012 and June 2016, have benefited from support," defended for his part a spokesman for Renault. The group "has never ceased and continues to examine the requests addressed to it. The requests to participate that could not be granted were all carefully examined for their constituent elements and a response was given," he added, which the complainants dispute.

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According to the Renault group, the vehicle remains "safe and compliant with regulations". Produced in Valladolid (Spain) and Sunderland (United Kingdom) in 400,000 copies, the engines concerned equipped the entire range of Renault (Clio, Mégane, Kangoo, among others) but also Dacia (Duster, Dokker, Lodgy), the Mercedes Citan or Nissan (1.2 DIG-T engine for the Juke, Qashqai 2 and Pulsar). In all, 133,050 vehicles were equipped in France, according to Renault.