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I have a Renault Captur from 2016 with a petrol engine. I'm having a slight trouble when taking off. With the car stopped I shift into 1st gear and slowly release the clutch while at the same time slowly pressing the gas pedal. After this, I fully release my foot from the clutch and only use the gas pedal. This is where I'm having issues.

After fully releasing the clutch, I am at about 2000 rpm and usually at a very slow speed like 13 km/h. I slowly give it more gas in order to gain more speed, (I've tried until 4500 rpm-ish), but the speed stays practically the same, maybe it reaches 17 km/h. This is driving me insane. Here I am in my car making my engine roar like some mad behemoth but my car won't go any faster and it's getting really frustrating.

I want to be able to go faster in first gear because when I'm stopped at a red light and I take off, the cars in front of me take off very fast, and I go very slowly, and I feel like I'm being a nuisance for the cars that are behind me. If I change to 2nd gear at about 2000 rpm when in 1st gear I still go slow, because the car isn't moving fast enough so that I can take full advantage of being in 2nd.

My car has eco driving, and I have disabled it and tried again, but everything is still the same.

I've never had this type of trouble before. Is my car faulty in any way? Or am I doing something wrong?

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    If it's a 2016 it should still be under warranty. What does the dealership make of it?
    – Zaid
    Aug 17, 2016 at 18:41
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    I haven't taken it there yet. I wanted to make sure it was a problem with the car and not with my driving, beforehand.
    – João Pinto
    Aug 17, 2016 at 18:52
  • In first does it make any strange noises? How does the car behave when you downshift from 2nd to 1st? Does the speed increase at all as the engine speed increases in first?
    – Jason C
    Aug 17, 2016 at 19:32
  • Also, is it the 6 speed?
    – Jason C
    Aug 17, 2016 at 19:34
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    What happens if you start off more aggressively? Have someone else drive it and see what happens, specifically an auto mechanic at the dealership.
    – DizzyFool
    Aug 17, 2016 at 20:48

2 Answers 2

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What you describe seems to match the cars specifications (I know you implied 4500 and 17kph in your post but try running a more controlled experiment and writing down the results).

According to http://www.renault.com.au/vehicles/cars/captur/captur/features-specifications 1st gear at 1000 rpm will get you 6.5 kph.

So that means, in 1st gear, you should be getting:

  • 13 kph @ 2000 rpm
  • 17 kph @ 2615 rpm (you should hit peak torque just before this at 2500)
  • 29.25 kph @ 4500 rpm

This seems to be close to what you are describing. Note also you hit peak torque at 2500 rpm just before 17kph in first so expect it to become more difficult to accelerate e.g. up hills once you pass that. So if that matches what you see I'd say there's no problem, just spend less time on 1st. Use it only to get started. Personally, although my car is not the same as yours, fwiw I usually start in 2nd, using 1st only for trickier situations e.g. uphill or in slow moving traffic. It's pretty rare for me to ever spend more than a couple seconds in first on my car, at least.

Now, if you're going 17 kph @ 4500 rpm with the clutch all the way out, youd certainly want to have it looked at.

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  • I guess that the problem lied with me. I didn't have much practice and I guess I wasn't giving it enough gas at the right time (when releasing the clutch). I'm marking your answer as the correct one because you took the effort to investigate the car's specifications and provided an overall view of what could be wrong. Thank you.
    – João Pinto
    Sep 24, 2016 at 12:19
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I slowly give it more gas in order to gain more speed, (I've tried until 4500 rpm-ish), but the speed stays practically the same, maybe it reaches 17 km/h.

If

  • your foot is completely off the clutch pedal and
  • road speed doesn't increase proportionately to RPM

You probably have a slipping clutch that needs to be replaced (or decontaminated or repaired).

If your roadspeed is 17kph at 4500 RPM in first gear, this also suggests the clutch may be slipping.

Normally you'd hear this as a loud squealing noise.

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  • Please correct me if I'm wrong but if the clutch was slipping then wouldn't he feel the effects on all the gears? It sounds like he's getting it only in the second gear.
    – Mugen
    Nov 13, 2016 at 19:01
  • @Muge, The OP's description is mostly about not ever getting road speed high enough in first gear. But the issue is moot, the OP seems to be satisfied with just applying more throttle.
    – RedGrittyBrick
    Nov 13, 2016 at 20:03
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    Never in my life have I heard a slipping clutch make a squealing noise; if it were true then every time you used the clutch (to set off, for example) you'd hear a squealing noise. Please check your facts
    – Caius Jard
    Nov 28, 2016 at 11:21

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