UNDERSTAND IT ALL – The damaged engine of Renault, Dacia and Nissan in court

new episode on the so-called “motorgate” affair. Several dozen owners of vehicles potentially equipped with a defective engine will file a criminal complaint against Renault and Nissan, with a complaint filed with the Nanterre criminal court on Monday, June 5, we learn in an article from the Parisian.

A class action brought by Master Christophe Lèguevaques, a lawyer from the Paris Bar Association, with complaints filed for serious crimes such as aggravated deception, deceptive commercial practices or even endangering the lives of third parties. What can we learn from this case and the possible consequences for the two groups involved, Renault and Nissan? And what hope of compensation for the plaintiffs?

The engine behind this case is the 1.2 TCe petrol unit that was installed on many models of the Renault, Nissan and even Mercedes group between 2012 and 2016 (see table at the end of the article).

This engine can have faults that cause excessive oil consumption, with premature wear of mechanical components that can lead to engine failure.

Contacted, Renault, that I had already recognized Having identified this phenomenon of excessive oil consumption, you believe that you have identified the engines affected by this problem on a case-by-case basis:

“After identifying this phenomenon, Renault implemented a technical response and financial support that extends beyond the manufacturer’s warranty and taking into account the origin of oil consumption, compliance with the maintenance program, age and mileage. of the vehicle”, says the manufacturer. in a press release.

Renault also believes that it has compensated the majority of affected motorists:

“The vast majority of customers identified as having encountered a difficulty of this nature have benefited from support (almost 93% of cases). Naturally, Renault continues to carefully examine all requests addressed to it, and provides them with an answer. circumstantial information.”

Total or partial coverage of repairs, for example a replacement of the engine that can amount to 10,000 euros, which some plaintiffs dispute:

“People are offered, at best, only a very partial refund for their repairs, and at worst, nothing at all, for reasons of faulty maintenance – missed schedule, dumping outside the manufacturer’s network “, explains to the Parisian Maud. Perdriel-Vaissières, lawyer for a motorist concerned about this problem.

This engine has been installed in nearly 400,000 vehicles, mainly marketed in Europe. In France, it is estimated that 133,000 specimens would be affected.

“Dozens of people” will file a complaint next Monday, according to the parisianwhich presents them as “the vanguard of a group of victims that to date represent 1,782 people.”

Facebook groups of alleged victims of this “motorgate”, as they call it, have been formed with about 7,000 members in France, and around 700 for each of the countries mentioned in the article, in Spain, England, Belgium.

The plaintiffs accuse Renault in particular of not having carried out a recall campaign after having identified this problem. European legislation does not require it, because the safety elements of the vehicle are not in question, defends the manufacturer.

If there were no bodily injuries caused by this problem, the plaintiffs believe, however, that a failed engine can have serious consequences. On the highway, for example, the rapid loss of power associated with an engine failure would endanger the occupants of the vehicle and other road users.

It will therefore be up to the courts to determine if this is the case, particularly with the crime of “endangering the lives of others”.

For Maître Marc Barennes, associate lawyer at the Brandeis office in Paris, the various infringements charged, if proven, are serious and would expose the manufacturers involved, Renault and Nissan, to fines that could reach up to 10% of annual turnover and prison sentences. of those responsible for these crimes at the time of the facts.

This lawyer, who launched the first collective action in France at the beginning of the year for the benefit of companies and public entities within the framework of Dieselgate, recalls that the two cases are not related. The “motorgate” only refers to this gasoline engine and not to Diesel.

If you don’t get hold of this petrol engine dossier, you still see two positives in this collective action approach, while France has lagged behind its neighbors England and Germany in particular:

“From the point of view of justice in the first place: if there has been an infringement, there must be compensation. And also for deterrence against large companies, which may be incited to commit infringements if they do not lead to the corresponding sanctions”, says Marc Barennes.

For its part, Renault remains highly critical of this initiative. the article of Parisian Also remember that registrations for collective actions are paid, between 360 and 489 euros depending on the case.

“This approach by a lawyer characterizes an attempt to instrumentalize criminal justice for compensation purposes, for not having acted usefully before the competent civil courts,” underlines the Renault press release.