Another Duster
Discussion
Starting to think about winterisation.
The rear subframes all seem to rust from the same corner, must be a symptom of how they're handled at the factory.
Pic of one (not mine)
It's purely cosmetic but as has been proven on this thread I'm a little anally retentive.
Mine has festered and is worse although doesn't look as bad coated in BH UC.
So between jobs today I've given it a rough and ready lick of paint.
Process was
Wire brush on drill
BH Hydrate 80
Etch primer x2
Gloss black x2
Won't make a jot of difference to anyone other than me but its nice to keep on top of while it's still a few minutes here and there and not a mini restoration.
The rear subframes all seem to rust from the same corner, must be a symptom of how they're handled at the factory.
Pic of one (not mine)
It's purely cosmetic but as has been proven on this thread I'm a little anally retentive.
Mine has festered and is worse although doesn't look as bad coated in BH UC.
So between jobs today I've given it a rough and ready lick of paint.
Process was
Wire brush on drill
BH Hydrate 80
Etch primer x2
Gloss black x2
Won't make a jot of difference to anyone other than me but its nice to keep on top of while it's still a few minutes here and there and not a mini restoration.
Had one of these as a hire car in Poland last week, was actually ok. Fuel gauage hardly moved (which was starting to conern me) after 120 miles. After 220 miles it was still 7 out of 8, doubt the car has a 1000+ mile range.
Ride was great and quick enough for motorway duties. Nice driving position and height. Plastic fantatic inside, but that's to be expeted at the price point. Gearbox was a little clumsy\slow between 1st and 2nd but otherwise ok. Road noise was very intrusive. Android car play was fantastic.
Only problem we had was when we went to refuel upon return to the airport and the cap wouldn't open. Called the rental place and it's a known problem (thanks for telling us). Looks like it's been an issue going back to 2019 models, pretty poor it's not been resolved yet on a 2022 car.
Ride was great and quick enough for motorway duties. Nice driving position and height. Plastic fantatic inside, but that's to be expeted at the price point. Gearbox was a little clumsy\slow between 1st and 2nd but otherwise ok. Road noise was very intrusive. Android car play was fantastic.
Only problem we had was when we went to refuel upon return to the airport and the cap wouldn't open. Called the rental place and it's a known problem (thanks for telling us). Looks like it's been an issue going back to 2019 models, pretty poor it's not been resolved yet on a 2022 car.
scz4 said:
Had one of these as a hire car in Poland last week, was actually ok. Fuel gauage hardly moved (which was starting to conern me) after 120 miles. After 220 miles it was still 7 out of 8, doubt the car has a 1000+ mile range.
Ride was great and quick enough for motorway duties. Nice driving position and height. Plastic fantatic inside, but that's to be expeted at the price point. Gearbox was a little clumsy\slow between 1st and 2nd but otherwise ok. Road noise was very intrusive. Android car play was fantastic.
Only problem we had was when we went to refuel upon return to the airport and the cap wouldn't open. Called the rental place and it's a known problem (thanks for telling us). Looks like it's been an issue going back to 2019 models, pretty poor it's not been resolved yet on a 2022 car.
The gauge is a bit useless until you understand how it works. Ride was great and quick enough for motorway duties. Nice driving position and height. Plastic fantatic inside, but that's to be expeted at the price point. Gearbox was a little clumsy\slow between 1st and 2nd but otherwise ok. Road noise was very intrusive. Android car play was fantastic.
Only problem we had was when we went to refuel upon return to the airport and the cap wouldn't open. Called the rental place and it's a known problem (thanks for telling us). Looks like it's been an issue going back to 2019 models, pretty poor it's not been resolved yet on a 2022 car.
Very roughly
100 miles until the gauge moves.
100 miles until 3/4
100 miles until half.
100 miles until empty.
In the 1.3 Peteol atleast.
Fuel cap seems to happen to almost all of them, amazing that they haven't addressed it at the factory yet. Agree on the road noise, you do need to raise your voice slightly at higher motorway speeds. £50 worth of insulation and sound deadening would make a massive difference but that would be £50 x 2 million+ to Dacia.
Picked the car up early hours this morning after sunning ourselves in Rhodes for a week.
Seems Babet claimed a victim, atleast temporarily.
The heater fan didn't work at all, nothing on any of the 7 settings, windscreen demist, auto etc. Tried every combo.
Could hear the AC relay kicking in and could feel ambient heat coming from the heater matrix but no fan. No signs of damp at all but we had to set off home at 0200 in a cold and very misty car, in the Newcastle drizzle.
Anyway after about 45 mins of the climate set to Hi and plenty of heat radiating out of the dash it spontaneously fired back up and worked perfectly from then on.
Something must have got wet. Pretty disappointing TBH. The first time it's let me down in any way other than a fogged rear light which coincidently happened the last time we left it a week for a holiday.
Seems Babet claimed a victim, atleast temporarily.
The heater fan didn't work at all, nothing on any of the 7 settings, windscreen demist, auto etc. Tried every combo.
Could hear the AC relay kicking in and could feel ambient heat coming from the heater matrix but no fan. No signs of damp at all but we had to set off home at 0200 in a cold and very misty car, in the Newcastle drizzle.
Anyway after about 45 mins of the climate set to Hi and plenty of heat radiating out of the dash it spontaneously fired back up and worked perfectly from then on.
Something must have got wet. Pretty disappointing TBH. The first time it's let me down in any way other than a fogged rear light which coincidently happened the last time we left it a week for a holiday.
loserone said:
We've had our Duster a year now, 20k miles. Aside from hitting a sheep when a few weeks old, an early oil change and then the A+B service at my local independent 5k ago it's been great.
Our use is heavy on tyres and they're down to 3mm and frequently rotated. Not sure if we will replace them before or after the holiday to France in the summer but the performance in the wet is lower as you would expect.
It's been used for A framing
A snowy house move the van couldn't get through
Green laning
And all the family stuff you expect with three young kids.
Still getting 55MPG. Hoping it will last.
What's the story with the 405 estate?Our use is heavy on tyres and they're down to 3mm and frequently rotated. Not sure if we will replace them before or after the holiday to France in the summer but the performance in the wet is lower as you would expect.
It's been used for A framing
A snowy house move the van couldn't get through
Green laning
And all the family stuff you expect with three young kids.
Still getting 55MPG. Hoping it will last.
I had 3 diesel 405s, loved them. If only they made them still.
Beware Dacia customer service, it’s dire. For what my Duster cost it’s okay but getting a small niggle sorted has been like pulling teeth. There is a well documented issue with doors cutting into weather strips. Not the end of the world but not right on a year old car and it was wearing the paint on the door. The Dacia dealer didn’t even want to see the car and tried to send me to their Ford and Mazda bodyshop who would no doubt have attempted to try and charge me. I made a fuss and finally (some months ago) I popped in and saw a tech who said we’ve seen lots with this issue. Roll forward and the car went in this week having now developed a rattle (I know a cheap car and all that) but more seriously a heavy vibration as the car changes gear at 30 mph (it’s the edc gearbox). The tech and service bloke drive the car and agree there is a vibration but say nothing we can do as there isn’t a fault code and we’ve never driven or even seen another version the same to compare it with. They fix the weather strip but then call and say actually we can see the doors isn’t aligned correctly (no s
t, what do they think caused the damage). They say this (adjusting an unmarked and undamaged door) isn’t a warranty issue and that’ll be £180 thank you. Thankfully Dacia UK offer to pay due to the messing around. So, the damaged weather strip is a warranty issue and yet the door that caused it isn’t despite this being a well documented issue. I know, some will say you’ve got what you wanted in the end but only after months and knowing that if I hadn’t made a fuss I’d have been charged for what is clearly a warranty issue (their words regarding the weather strip). In the meantime I will drive another version of the car found locally before advising them that yes there is a gearbox fault. There was no vibration for the first year.
Anyway to sum up the car is okay for the money, Dacia UK have actually done their best and their dealers appear to be pretty useless.
t, what do they think caused the damage). They say this (adjusting an unmarked and undamaged door) isn’t a warranty issue and that’ll be £180 thank you. Thankfully Dacia UK offer to pay due to the messing around. So, the damaged weather strip is a warranty issue and yet the door that caused it isn’t despite this being a well documented issue. I know, some will say you’ve got what you wanted in the end but only after months and knowing that if I hadn’t made a fuss I’d have been charged for what is clearly a warranty issue (their words regarding the weather strip). In the meantime I will drive another version of the car found locally before advising them that yes there is a gearbox fault. There was no vibration for the first year. Anyway to sum up the car is okay for the money, Dacia UK have actually done their best and their dealers appear to be pretty useless.
As I said on the the other more general thread the PH Editorial about their Duster has gone very quiet. It’s telling that so many owners experiences are blighted by poor dealership experiences which I believe are caused by Dacia UK refusing to sanction warranty work without a fight due to the smaller margin in the product.
Mikebentley said:
As I said on the the other more general thread the PH Editorial about their Duster has gone very quiet. It’s telling that so many owners experiences are blighted by poor dealership experiences which I believe are caused by Dacia UK refusing to sanction warranty work without a fight due to the smaller margin in the product.
I suspect you are correct but my experience has been that most main dealers from Land Rover to VW are poor. I’ve never been delighted and the best it has ever got is satisfied. Dacia fall into the quite pissed off category. Of course I won’t buy another. Shinyfings said:
Mikebentley said:
As I said on the the other more general thread the PH Editorial about their Duster has gone very quiet. It’s telling that so many owners experiences are blighted by poor dealership experiences which I believe are caused by Dacia UK refusing to sanction warranty work without a fight due to the smaller margin in the product.
I suspect you are correct but my experience has been that most main dealers from Land Rover to VW are poor. I’ve never been delighted and the best it has ever got is satisfied. Dacia fall into the quite pissed off category. Of course I won’t buy another. 
20000 mile service today.
Oil comes out with a slight reddish tint, not sure what that's about. Different brand gone in this time so will be interesting to see if its the same at the next change.
Air filter looked virtually unused after 10000 miles, might leave it longer this time although for the sake of £12 it seems pointless not to change it.
Cabin filter on the other hand does look done after 10k. Think they're specified yearly anyway. Noticeable difference in airflow but the old Bosch one did look quite a bit more substantial than the Mann one I chucked in this time. The AC pipes block the cover so you have to bend the filter to get it in and out, ste design.
Used AutoDoc for all the parts this time as ECP is getting expensive. Pretty impressed, well packaged but the spend to get free postage is a bit high, got anough for another interim and full service.
A touch of rust on the front lower crossmember. Must not have hit it with the Bilt Hamber the first time so gave it some Hydrate 80 and Dynax UC while I was down there.
All good otherwise. Interesting to note some owners complain of tappy engines, mines still quiet. Never seen anymore metallic particles or sheen in the oil after that very first change. Well worth it IMO.
Oil comes out with a slight reddish tint, not sure what that's about. Different brand gone in this time so will be interesting to see if its the same at the next change.
Air filter looked virtually unused after 10000 miles, might leave it longer this time although for the sake of £12 it seems pointless not to change it.
Cabin filter on the other hand does look done after 10k. Think they're specified yearly anyway. Noticeable difference in airflow but the old Bosch one did look quite a bit more substantial than the Mann one I chucked in this time. The AC pipes block the cover so you have to bend the filter to get it in and out, s
te design. Used AutoDoc for all the parts this time as ECP is getting expensive. Pretty impressed, well packaged but the spend to get free postage is a bit high, got anough for another interim and full service.
A touch of rust on the front lower crossmember. Must not have hit it with the Bilt Hamber the first time so gave it some Hydrate 80 and Dynax UC while I was down there.
All good otherwise. Interesting to note some owners complain of tappy engines, mines still quiet. Never seen anymore metallic particles or sheen in the oil after that very first change. Well worth it IMO.
I had a long trip in a friends car over the weekend. It sounded like a 3 cylinder to me so I'm assuming it's the same engine. (They had no idea what it was!)
Quite nice car, but wasn't really impressed with the space in the back, looks to me like boot space has been prioritised. Comfy rear seats though.
Engine seemed game for a small unit, impressively quiet on a cruise, but that could also be masking from the rather high road noise, although the rear of cars generally is noisier. But I would wonder at the long term longevity of a small hard working engine in such a large car.
Lots of hard plastic inside but I actually find it lasts better and is easier to keep clean than fancy finishes.
Problem for me though is that I just don't think they are cheap enough any more to justify the "just enough" build quality and poor customer service.
Quite nice car, but wasn't really impressed with the space in the back, looks to me like boot space has been prioritised. Comfy rear seats though.
Engine seemed game for a small unit, impressively quiet on a cruise, but that could also be masking from the rather high road noise, although the rear of cars generally is noisier. But I would wonder at the long term longevity of a small hard working engine in such a large car.
Lots of hard plastic inside but I actually find it lasts better and is easier to keep clean than fancy finishes.
Problem for me though is that I just don't think they are cheap enough any more to justify the "just enough" build quality and poor customer service.
My best eBay bargain in a long time.
A pair of calipers, carriers and pads from a crashed Duster that still had the factory protective foam on the doors from transport. Essentially zero miles.
£80 delivered, absolute steal as I've had bad experiences with remanufactured calipers, they always use inferior parts.
Will probably paint these up and swap them over, that zinc coating only lasts a winter before wearing off.
A pair of calipers, carriers and pads from a crashed Duster that still had the factory protective foam on the doors from transport. Essentially zero miles.
£80 delivered, absolute steal as I've had bad experiences with remanufactured calipers, they always use inferior parts.
Will probably paint these up and swap them over, that zinc coating only lasts a winter before wearing off.
SirGriffin said:
Problem for me though is that I just don't think they are cheap enough any more to justify the "just enough" build quality and poor customer service.
I don't disagree. It's still decent value but with a few discounts from other brands some of their offerings are not far away and then you have to start comparing them like for like.
If you can't caveat some things with "well it's a brand new car for £15k" then you can't overlook them either.
irish boy said:
Great thread!
I’m deliberating currently over a 1-2 year old duster vs a 7-9 year old rav4 as a do everything family hack on a 14k budget. Need to get a spin in one!
Be interesting to see what you decide. 9 winters vs 2 winters is going to have an impact for sure. I'd actually back a Renault built car to be less rusty than a Toyota even if Toyota have them beat on the reliability front. I’m deliberating currently over a 1-2 year old duster vs a 7-9 year old rav4 as a do everything family hack on a 14k budget. Need to get a spin in one!
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