Renault Fluence
Early Renault EV with a swappable battery and mandatory lease contract — pioneering concept, but the rental fees made it expensive to run. Lease contracts are now discontinued; early Li-ion cells have lost significant capacity. One for dedicated EV enthusiasts with access to a specialist workshop.
Electric Experiment
95 hp electric motor in the Fluence Z.E. — pioneering EV with swappable battery. Historically interesting, dynamically dull.
Engine Weaknesses 5
Batteries in older Fluence ZE have lost capacity dramatically. Hardly any vehicle still has the full 22 kWh; most have effectively under 18 kWh usable. Range has dropped from an original 185 km to 80–120 km in real-world use.
Symptoms: Dramatically reduced range, BMS shows only 75–80% SoH after 50,000 km
The Continental electric motor in the Fluence ZE has known faults that appear as 'battery charging not possible' and 'electric motor breakdown'. Repairs are expensive and spare parts are difficult to source.
Symptoms: Electric motor fault message, vehicle will not drive, charging abort, complete drivetrain failure
A new battery for the Fluence Z.E. costs around 8,000 € at Renault. Since production ended, the original battery type is no longer available. A workaround uses adapted Nissan Leaf cells, but requires specialist workshops.
Symptoms: Significantly reduced range; battery capacity below 75% of factory output; battery status fault message on display.
Known fault on the Fluence Z.E.: the vehicle reports charging interrupted or refuses to charge at all. Cause is often the outdated BCI charge controller, which no longer works with modern wallboxes.
Symptoms: Charging does not start or stops after a few minutes; fault message 'charging fault'; no charge current despite cable correctly connected.
The Fluence ZE was designed for the Better Place battery swap system. After Better Place's insolvency in 2013, battery swap stations disappeared; the vehicle is limited to standard charging, which has hollowed out its original niche.
Symptoms: Battery swap no longer possible, reduced flexibility on long trips
Vehicle Weaknesses 7
On the Fluence Z.E., carbon dust accumulates inside the electric motor, causing charging faults and complete motor failure. Renault acknowledged the problem but didn't automatically honour warranty. Motor replacement costs 2,700–4,600 €.
The BMS of the Fluence Z.E. shows erroneous state-of-charge readings and can abort charging unexpectedly. The high-voltage battery loses capacity faster than normal due to software faults.
The automatic gearbox tends towards harsh gear changes and can fail prematurely if maintenance is neglected. Regular gearbox oil changes are mandatory.
Shock absorbers and suspension components wear above-average with frequent use on poor city streets. Vibrations and worse handling are the result.
The dashboard display and other infotainment electronics show faults typical of older Renault electronics. Sporadic fault messages in the instrument cluster.
Headlights and various exterior lighting components fail more often than the class average. Typical issue for vehicles of this generation.
The Fluence 2.0 16V shows starting problems at low temperatures caused by worn spark plugs or defective temperature sensors. After warm-up the engine runs normally.
