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Useless Facts - stuff you learn AFTER you own the car


Teki04

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... he makes his wife unload the groceries from the trolley, that's why.

 

my wife is way too scared to use my car for the groceries.

I think the earlier post is correct - I'm too short. But I'm tipping I'm not the only one too miss the internal handle. Time and more posts will tell.

 

I missed it too for about a year. Previous cars didn't have it, I only fouind out by looking in the manual :lol::oops:

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i dont know if this is what you mean by starting this tread and im sure my points have been covered already, but its a slow day at work (well not slow enough to read through all the pages here) and here are the bits im not a fan of.

 

in a mk1 172

 

You cant put your driver window down just a touch. Well not without a few attempts.

no storage, the storage they give is usless above 4k revs.

out of the 10,00 seat settings, i still cant get it right. i think the french have shorter legs and longer arms.

the passenger seat cannot be lowered to the same level as the driver. (im sick of seeing up my G/F's nose).

Its called a clio.

you need the key to open the fuel tank

the wipers are so violent it feels like we are going to tip when they wipe on corners.

there is not enough dials, info. i dont like having to wait for a little light to come on if somthing is wrong.

its called clio

the alarm button is built into the key.

the handbrake feels like a toy.

its built too good. very hard to dismantle (well in comparison to what im used to)

and its called a clio

 

and thats about all i can think of right now.

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out of the 10,00 seat settings, i still cant get it right. i think the french have shorter legs and longer arms.

the passenger seat cannot be lowered to the same level as the driver. (im sick of seeing up my G/F's nose).

the handbrake feels like a toy.

agree with these two.

 

but the seating can't be branded "a french thing". i can convince myself that the clio is OK but then i get into my pug 205 - and the seating position is perfect. oh well... :roll:

and yes, the handbrake feels like its going to snap off if you pull it too hard :mrgreen:

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i dont know if this is what you mean by starting this tread and im sure my points have been covered already, but its a slow day at work (well not slow enough to read through all the pages here) and here are the bits im not a fan of.

 

in a mk1 172

 

You cant put your driver window down just a touch. Well not without a few attempts.

no storage, the storage they give is usless above 4k revs.

out of the 10,00 seat settings, i still cant get it right. i think the french have shorter legs and longer arms.

the passenger seat cannot be lowered to the same level as the driver. (im sick of seeing up my G/F's nose).

Its called a clio.

you need the key to open the fuel tank

the wipers are so violent it feels like we are going to tip when they wipe on corners.

there is not enough dials, info. i dont like having to wait for a little light to come on if somthing is wrong.

its called clio

the alarm button is built into the key.

the handbrake feels like a toy.

its built too good. very hard to dismantle (well in comparison to what im used to)

and its called a clio

 

and thats about all i can think of right now.

 

handbrake like a toy? I'd have to disagree. Mine's terrific.

agree on the wipers.

keyed fuel tank is ok with me - just wait till 98 octane hits $2.00 per litre. then you'll need padlocks on the fuel tank.

Even on the mk2 172 the drivers window is very hard to lower "a little bit".

the seat? I'd like to be able to tilt the drivers bench up to stop the feeling I'm submarining off the bloody thing.

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Its built too good. very hard to dismantle (well in comparison to what im used to)

.

 

I don't know if its built too good, but after working on Commodores and Corollas its a bitch to do anything with. I'm even going to end up paying a installer to run a single (albeit a thick one) wire through the firewall. :cry:

 

Dave

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i dont know if this is what you mean by starting this tread and im sure my points have been covered already, but its a slow day at work (well not slow enough to read through all the pages here) and here are the bits im not a fan of.

 

in a mk1 172

 

You cant put your driver window down just a touch. Well not without a few attempts.

no storage, the storage they give is usless above 4k revs.

out of the 10,00 seat settings, i still cant get it right. i think the french have shorter legs and longer arms.

the passenger seat cannot be lowered to the same level as the driver. (im sick of seeing up my G/F's nose).

Its called a clio.

you need the key to open the fuel tank

the wipers are so violent it feels like we are going to tip when they wipe on corners.

there is not enough dials, info. i dont like having to wait for a little light to come on if somthing is wrong.

its called clio

the alarm button is built into the key.

the handbrake feels like a toy.

its built too good. very hard to dismantle (well in comparison to what im used to)

and its called a clio

 

and thats about all i can think of right now.

 

handbrake like a toy? I'd have to disagree. Mine's terrific.

agree on the wipers.

keyed fuel tank is ok with me - just wait till 98 octane hits $2.00 per litre. then you'll need padlocks on the fuel tank.

Even on the mk2 172 the drivers window is very hard to lower "a little bit".

the seat? I'd like to be able to tilt the drivers bench up to stop the feeling I'm submarining off the bloody thing.

 

It defianlty works the treat. but it feels very flimsy. i like a nice tight "click click, and if i need to, click"

none of this clckclickclickclickclickclickclick,,,, and one more for good luck. (if you knwo what i mean)

 

and as far as how its built,,, took me a good hour or so just to get the point of giving up on getting a headlight out. on the old nissan its two bolts, a kick and pop.

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It defianlty works the treat. but it feels very flimsy. i like a nice tight "click click, and if i need to, click"

none of this clckclickclickclickclickclickclick,,,, and one more for good luck. (if you knwo what i mean)

 

and as far as how its built,,, took me a good hour or so just to get the point of giving up on getting a headlight out.

on the old nissan its two bolts, a kick and pop.

 

 

Wind the slack in on the handbrake, should be able to tighten the feel up with the adjuster underneath the car.

I'll be asking for this next service as mine is getting a little loose.

Anything under the bonnet of the Clio is really packed in for sure. Its a tiny engine bay, one of the smallest

I've seen for what it holds.

So we really have to take the good with the bad when it comes to working on the Clio, sometimes I wish I

had three arms and hands, was triple jointed and had torx drivers for fingers....

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thought I'd just clear up one of the earlier questions for those that care....the chilled glove box didn't come in until the 03 172.....although there maybe a few "press" 02 cars that have it also (the press cars had a few extra tweaks that make them a bonus car! :wink:)

 

now as for the record of how many you can fit in a clio.....well, we've had five (3 males 2 females) but I claim the record for inane overcrowding (unfortunately the clio wasn't around in those days....but it's about the same size!)

......8 in a Morrie Minor!!!!! (4 REALLY BIG blokes & 4 girls!) funniest drive home from the pub I've ever had! & yep....I was quite comfortable (as I was the driver), until I had to use first...it's a long throw on the morrie....and the guy in the front with a girl on his lap was over 6 foot...you do the math :wink::twisted:

:D

Aus

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NOT so useless fact No #1

 

There is enough room in the back (AND FRONT!) to do 'u know what ..'

 

Definately not on the leather/suede thanks!

 

NOT so useless fact No #2

 

The net in the boot is great to use to carry items such as picnic rugs, towels etc. which may be used in conjunction with NOT so useless fact No #1

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NOT so useless fact No #1

 

There is enough room in the back (AND FRONT!) to do 'u know what ..'

 

Definately not on the leather/suede thanks!

 

NOT so useless fact No #2

 

The net in the boot is great to use to carry items such as picnic rugs, towels etc. which may be used in conjunction with NOT so useless fact No #1

 

 

So who is going to start the "useless fact No #1 - fave destination" thread?? :roll:

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  • 7 months later...

Well,

 

Sorry to dig up an old thread.

 

But something that just surprised me...

 

The middle seatbelt. Part of it used to just dangle there. I've only JUST noticed about 3 minutes ago there is a magnetic patch to hold part of the seatbelt against the roof. COOL!

 

Something else a little useless which we all know... why is it the built plate is a plastic sticker? NOTHING in the engine bay to tell you a build date. Was looking for it last night (haven't in a while) so we could use it to compare to another vehicle... :wink:

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For example; with the Fiesta Zetec, when the front wipers are on and reverse is engaged, the rear wiper turns on too. Also the radio is speed related - go quicker, the volume goes up.

 

Yeah those two and the split fold seat i was impressed with lol.

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For example; with the Fiesta Zetec, when the front wipers are on and reverse is engaged, the rear wiper turns on too. Also the radio is speed related - go quicker, the volume goes up.

 

Yeah those two and the split fold seat i was impressed with lol.

 

Dude. The Clio does both of those things... plus the split fold seat is better too, as the bench is also split (I think the Fiesta had a one-piece bench, two-fold seat back)

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Time for my comment.

 

I just found out that the 2 cans of goop for the tyres fit really nicely in the 'cheese holder' under the passengers seat along with the manuals.

 

Also found out that if you hold the ESP switch for about 30s, it turns off the warning light in the dash, but stays off, and you cannot re-engage it until you turn the car off.

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Also found out that if you hold the ESP switch for about 30s, it turns off the warning light in the dash, but stays off, and you cannot re-engage it until you turn the car off.

 

NICE one! Interesting. Might try that later.

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Useless fact...

 

My paranoid, corner hating slug of a driver wife (who happens to be very beautiful) drove it for the first time the other day...

 

Changed out of 2nd at 90km and said whooooooooaah! :) yeah!!...this is fun...

 

4 yr old in the back said "two hands mummy"...

 

Daddy smiled...now she understands.

 

That about sums it up.

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Useless fact...

 

My paranoid, corner hating slug of a driver wife (who happens to be very beautiful) drove it for the first time the other day...

 

Changed out of 2nd at 90km and said whooooooooaah! :) yeah!!...this is fun...

 

 

Mine went for a "first drive" last weekend; after warming it up (the CAR!) we found a nice deserted road and I told her to floor it in 2nd. At about 6000RPM she muttered a swear word and changed up to 3rd!? After asking why she changed so early I had to explain that things were only just starting to get interesting.... :(

 

After thinking the Exaltos were a very quiet tyre I managed to get a long loud howl out them on Friday around a sweeping bend :lol:.

 

I also discovered if you stall the engine :oops:, then quickly restart it (as you do when there is traffic piled up behind you) and then immediately floor it, the traction control will not yet have activated :oops::oops::oops: (And you will be across the intersection like a shot with lots of wheel spin!? :oops::oops::oops: )

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Useless fact...

 

My paranoid, corner hating slug of a driver wife (who happens to be very beautiful) drove it for the first time the other day...

 

Changed out of 2nd at 90km and said whooooooooaah! :) yeah!!...this is fun...

 

4 yr old in the back said "two hands mummy"...

 

Daddy smiled...now she understands.

 

That about sums it up.

 

HAHA LOVE IT! Something to get my mind off study.

 

 

Useless fact;

 

Something made me love the Clio. Dunno what. But I've just realised I have magazines from2001 when I went to Portugal (Just so you know, the 172 beats the Civic Type R!). Most of them feature a 172. And in April 2004 (before I bought the Fiesta!) I was buying Car magazines with Clio 182 vs GTi180 vs Mini vs Seat in them... shesh, talk about addicted!

 

Loving this - and Mase, this might explain something to your wife

 

'While the Mini will make you grin at the start, middle and end of each journey, the Clio adds the prickle of palm sweat and a faster heartbeat. Which is why we think it's the best hot hatch you can buy for the money'

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Well it took me 5 and a half..............I better keep reading this thread.

 

And I must be a funny shape. I love the driving position in the RSC, big part of the reason I sold the 205 was because the seat was killing my back.

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Useless fact...

 

My paranoid, corner hating slug of a driver wife (who happens to be very beautiful) drove it for the first time the other day...

 

Changed out of 2nd at 90km and said whooooooooaah! :) yeah!!...this is fun...

 

 

Mine went for a "first drive" last weekend; after warming it up (the CAR!) we found a nice deserted road and I told her to floor it in 2nd. At about 6000RPM she muttered a swear word and changed up to 3rd!? After asking why she changed so early I had to explain that things were only just starting to get interesting.... :(

 

After thinking the Exaltos were a very quiet tyre I managed to get a long loud howl out them on Friday around a sweeping bend :lol:.

 

I also discovered if you stall the engine :oops:, then quickly restart it (as you do when there is traffic piled up behind you) and then immediately floor it, the traction control will not yet have activated :oops::oops::oops: (And you will be across the intersection like a shot with lots of wheel spin!? :oops::oops::oops: )

 

I have seen the Shift Change light come on at ~6,500 rpm then it flashes as it hits the rev limiter.. maybe she saw that come on and shifted early??

 

I have done the engine stall and wheelspin heaps... :P

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Easy on the acelerator guys :P

I've found a good way to ward off traffic when you stall is to quickly punch the Emergency lights switch. The button is handily VERY close to the handbrake... :P

You can then restart the car at your own pace and there's no need to leave distinct PP2 tyre tracks on the road...

 

One thing I've found I guess is that, after you stall in a Clio, people do tend to think you drive a girl's car and give you some 'slack', when I first drove it, and had the usual Renault clutch adjustment times, I was vastly utilizing that emergency button and never got too many horns... hehehe

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Easy on the acelerator guys :P

I've found a good way to ward off traffic when you stall is to quickly punch the Emergency lights switch. The button is handily VERY close to the handbrake... :P

You can then restart the car at your own pace and there's no need to leave distinct PP2 tyre tracks on the road...

 

One thing I've found I guess is that, after you stall in a Clio, people do tend to think you drive a girl's car and give you some 'slack', when I first drove it, and had the usual Renault clutch adjustment times, I was vastly utilizing that emergency button and never got too many horns... hehehe

 

hehe. One problem with that is to ensure you don't have hard-to-start issues!

 

I stalled outside Leichhardt Marketplace on Marion St when my car was new... and I couldn't get it to start! Considering it was almost dark too, the Xenons kept coming on and going off as it wouldn't start. Should have seen the looks I was getting :lol:

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Useless fact #130:

 

Other drivers will be angry and abusive at seeing an 'econobox' going around a corner and three wheeling (losing control apparently :roll: )

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Useless fact #130:

 

Other drivers will be angry and abusive at seeing an 'econobox' going around a corner and three wheeling (losing control apparently :roll: )

 

:lol: Note to self: drive slower so cars behind see me enter the corner....

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With the car starting thing, I've always switched my lights off before restarting the car when I stall (if its at the lights...). I've found the car tends to struggle if the stereo, lights and, in the rare case, air con is still on, takes a couple of turnovers....

 

hehe what happened Teki with the three wheeling situation? :P

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I found out at my Murcotts class the other day that when encouraged to get the car out of control around turn one at Sandown in the wet/hail, that the Clio does an incredible job of cleaning up after itself to pull it back into line. As she pulled back up after the off line off camber corner i could only gigle to myself that i had felt those acronyms.. ESP. ABS EBD.

 

Also on the same exercise, poor dude in his brand spanker of a Liberty stayed on the power instead of getting off and as a result broad sided the Armco. Kinda proof that AWD is only helpful when you accelerate.

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I had a bottle of white and decided to see if I could chill it in the glovebox, I was surprised to discover it fits!

 

next time I am going to try 2 8)

 

So it actually chills the wine? is this just a 182 thing? or do 172s do this as well?

I assume you need to have the air conditioning on too, which setting do i need to set it to? i.e coming out at your feet or in your face? etc...

I'm gonna have to try it on the way to work tomorrow with a can of coke or something!

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I had a bottle of white and decided to see if I could chill it in the glovebox, I was surprised to discover it fits!

 

next time I am going to try 2 8)

 

So it actually chills the wine? is this just a 182 thing? or do 172s do this as well?

I assume you need to have the air conditioning on too, which setting do i need to set it to? i.e coming out at your feet or in your face? etc...

I'm gonna have to try it on the way to work tomorrow with a can of coke or something!

 

I find this very interesting and surprising seeing the aircon in a clio does bugger all! maybe the french were only thinking about chilling white wine!

 

8)

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I had a bottle of white and decided to see if I could chill it in the glovebox, I was surprised to discover it fits!

 

next time I am going to try 2 8)

 

So it actually chills the wine? is this just a 182 thing? or do 172s do this as well?

I assume you need to have the air conditioning on too, which setting do i need to set it to? i.e coming out at your feet or in your face? etc...

I'm gonna have to try it on the way to work tomorrow with a can of coke or something!

 

Down the back of the glovebox, on the RHS side is a little yellow plug. If you open this it lets

chilled air into the glove box (when the AC is turned on and operating at a cool temp setting).

Its listed as a 'glovebox can chiller'. Never had a chance to try it yet, didn't realise a bottle of wine

would fit though, now its a must try! :D

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I had a bottle of white and decided to see if I could chill it in the glovebox, I was surprised to discover it fits!

 

next time I am going to try 2 8)

 

So it actually chills the wine? is this just a 182 thing? or do 172s do this as well?

I assume you need to have the air conditioning on too, which setting do i need to set it to? i.e coming out at your feet or in your face? etc...

I'm gonna have to try it on the way to work tomorrow with a can of coke or something!

 

I don't know whether 172s have it; there's a vent with a cover in the bottom right hand corner of the glovebox that blows air downwards when the air-con is on. Not sure what settings it works for, but generally if you have the air-con on it should work.. I suppose it'd work with the heater as well, if you want to keep your pies warm or something.

 

I don't know how well it works chilling something (from ambient temp) but it worked pretty well maintaining chilled wine!

 

beaten by bio, hehe!

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I had a bottle of white and decided to see if I could chill it in the glovebox, I was surprised to discover it fits!

 

next time I am going to try 2 8)

 

So it actually chills the wine? is this just a 182 thing? or do 172s do this as well?

I assume you need to have the air conditioning on too, which setting do i need to set it to? i.e coming out at your feet or in your face? etc...

I'm gonna have to try it on the way to work tomorrow with a can of coke or something!

 

I don't know whether 172s have it; there's a vent with a cover in the bottom right hand corner of the glovebox that blows air downwards when the air-con is on. Not sure what settings it works for, but generally if you have the air-con on it should work.. I suppose it'd work with the heater as well, if you want to keep your pies warm or something.

 

I don't know how well it works chilling something (from ambient temp) but it worked pretty well maintaining chilled wine!

 

beaten by bio, hehe!

 

it will not work with heat. It only siphons off cold air from the aircon heat exchanger, not the heater core.

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The power windows will go up even when the car has been turned off and the keys taken out.

 

And Teki, put your front wipers on then stick your car in reverse and go back. The rear wipers magically come on. I guess this is what they mean by smart rear wipers.

 

Are you sure? Only my driver's window goes up after the car is off, and only before you open any door. Open either the passenger or drivers door, and you can no longer close the window without the key.

 

Um, yea, I discovered that a while ago :wink: Kind of hate the smart rear wiper, as when it only just starts to rain on the front windscreen and I put the car into reverse, it dirties my whole rear window!

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berniebern wrote:

The power windows will go up even when the car has been turned off and the keys taken out.

 

And Teki, put your front wipers on then stick your car in reverse and go back. The rear wipers magically come on. I guess this is what they mean by smart rear wipers.

 

 

 

Are you sure? Only my driver's window goes up after the car is off, and only before you open any door. Open either the passenger or drivers door, and you can no longer close the window without the key.

mine do the same as Teki. annoys me no end. is there some setting somewhere that I have overlooked in the manual?

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With the key in the 'ACC' position flick the main wiper switch on then off, on then off. You would hear a beep to tell you the auto function has been turned off if that worked.

 

Um, isn't the Auto features just the first click? (i.e. intermittent which then gets harder as it rains more?) Cause, I know when you do the second click, it goes at a constant rate unless you stop at a red light... no matter how soft the rain is.

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With the key in the 'ACC' position flick the main wiper switch on then off, on then off. You would hear a beep to tell you the auto function has been turned off if that worked.

 

Um, isn't the Auto features just the first click? (i.e. intermittent which then gets harder as it rains more?) Cause, I know when you do the second click, it goes at a constant rate unless you stop at a red light... no matter how soft the rain is.

 

Yes, that's what I found. There's no "intermittent" as such, the first setting is "auto" and it varies automatically with the rain density. IIRC it won't stay on auto once the ignition has been switched off and you need to switch the wipers off then on again to the first detent for the "auto" to work again.

 

Had me confused at first as to why the "intermittent" setting was varying by itself!? :lol:

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Yes, that's what I found. There's no "intermittent" as such, the first setting is "auto" and it varies automatically with the rain density. IIRC it won't stay on auto once the ignition has been switched off and you need to switch the wipers off then on again to the first detent for the "auto" to work again.

 

Yep! I do believe it's so if your at the snow (as you do in France) that when you turn on the car, if there is ice or snow on the wiper, it won't turn on and snap. Hence, it waits for you to tell it that it's ok to turn it on!

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