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Renault Zoe Recalled over Braking System Issue

French manufacturer Renault is recalling the Zoe electric car because of a potential fault with the braking system. According to the company, almost a fourth of all Zoe vehicles ever made will have their brake fluid hoses replaced.
Renault Zoe 1 photo
Photo: Renault
Renault declared that there was a potential risk of rupture to the brake fluid hoses, without elaborating on the subject. With this official announcement about the recall, Renault confirmed a previous report published by BFM Business, a privately held French radio and television station. 10,649 units are affected out of the 42,300 production total and all cars were manufactured in Flins, France.

Flins is the place where Renault also produces the Clio IV. In the near future, the Flins assembly plant is expected to handle production of the all-new Nissan Micra, a supermini with concept car styling. Renault expresses that the affected vehicles were made from the Zoe’s launch in 2012 to October 6, 2014.

Up to this moment in time, Renault hasn’t heard anything about accidents relating to the fault with the braking system. The position of the brake hoses will be inspected by Renault service technicians and, if something doesn’t seem to be right, the hoses will be replaced. Of course, the inspection and replacement are free of charge to the owner, as it is the case with virtually every other recall.

As a brief refresher, the 2016 Renault Zoe starts at €22,100 (roughly $24,665) in Life trim. After applying what the French government is calling the bonus-malus ecologique, the price changes to €15,800 or $17,640 at the current exchange rates. For an electric supermini that can travel up to 240 km (149 miles) on a full charge, that’s not a bad deal at all.

The drawback is that you're not the owner of the battery, which is why you have to pay a monthly lease to Renault. Sounds stupid, right? Even so, as my colleague said in his review of the Renault Zoe, this is a great place to start for those looking to make the switch from internal combustion to electric.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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