Owners have filed 29 complaints on the Renault Alliance, covering 1983–1987. The system named most often is Visibility (16 reports). Worst years by volume: 1986, 1985, 1984; cleanest: 1983, 1987, 1984. 3 reports describe a crash, 2 a fire. On average the car was 9.2 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Renault Alliance
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 29 Alliance complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Visibility 16 Read
Vehicle fire caused by heater core, vehicle is involved in recall. Tt
Windshield wipers work intermittently
Sport chrysler in pa.,refuses to do recall mfg.,#541 heater core unless owner signs consent if dash/other is damaged. Tt
Power Train 3 Read
Cv joint bolts fell out while driving, causing accident
Computer failed, causing transmission to jump into neutral gear/stall
Transmission has rough shift into third gear when cold
Fuel System 2 Read
Engine caught fire, due to faulty hose, prior to recall 87V049000
Defective fuel tank.*mr the vehicle leaked gas from the fuel tank even though there was no evidence of rust or damage. The dealer suggested the fuel tank was poor manufacturing. The consumer requested a refund for the replacement tank
Seats 2 Read
Driver seat broke away at the frame, loose, dealer weld the seat frame back, know same proble in different location
Bolts that secures the driver seat bracket broke, causing seat to collapse. Tt
Engine And Engine Cooling 1 Read
Cv joint bolts disconnected, causing loss of control/accident
Steering 1 Read
Tie rods failed, causing accident
Suspension 1 Read
Breakage of ball joints at low rate speeds. Causing front wheel to slide out to the side. Tt
Tires 1 Read
Tire failed while driving at 55mp. I purchased the tires on 9/07/99 with 120,000 miles on the odometer. The failure occurred at 127,800 miles. I returned the tire to sears automotive in springfield, ohio on 12-29-00. The mangager of the store, mr. David sexton stated that the failure was caused by a "road hazard." I…
Alliance years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Fuel System, Gasoline | — | 1 | |
| 1986 | Engine And Engine Cooling | 2 | — | |
| 1985 | Power Train | 1 | — | |
| 1984 | Seats | — | — | |
| 1983 | Fuel System, Gasoline | — | 1 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 28 |
| Average complaints per series | 1 |
| Worst single series | 2 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 9.2 years |
A model average of 1 hides a worst series at 2. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
- No ads, on every page
- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Alliance?
By complaint volume, 1986, 1985, 1984 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Alliance years are the cleanest?
1983, 1987, 1984 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Renault Alliance have?
29 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1983–1987. Of those, 3 describe a crash and 2 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.