AlI just bought a Twizy, which parts should I buy / install?

I bought a 2020 Twizy with 12500 km on the clock. In the last two weeks, I have driven almost 800 km with, and I love it. I love how it drives, I love its quirks, I love its disadvantages, I love the attention it gets from other people. My kids ask me to take them for a ride all the time. Really a great addition to the family fleet, next to the plugin Prius.

Before I bought it, I read a lot of blog posts / watched a lot of Youtube videos by Twizy owners, so I was well aware of some the maintenance issues that the Twizy might have during its life. For instance, the windshield heating seemed to have a life of its own. It almost never would switch on when the switch was operated, but it sometimes would switch on if I drove over a bumbp or used the windshield wipers. Some contact spray in the right place seemed to have fixed that.

I have a couple of questions about maintenance/parts.

1. Brakes. probably the weak point of the Twizy. I realise that brake wear depends on a lot of factors, but assuming that my Twizy is on its original brake pads and brake discs, I'm going to guess that I'll need new brake pads all around within about a year. Brake discs, maybe in two to three years, depending on how I drive it. I read brake pads or not that difficult to find, but the discs (especially the rear ones) apparently are. Given that the Twizy is not produced anymore, would it be a good idea to buy a full set of pads and discs now? Would you have tips where to buy good ones?

2. Door stops. I have mounted South Korean windows because I'll use the Twizy as a commuted vehicle, and the Dutch climate can be somewhat wet. The windows work fine, but clearly they're putting a heavy load on the door stops. I only use the right hand door to enter and exit the car, and already - after only two weeks! - it's clear that the right hand door sags further than the left hand door:



The part that's wearing out should be the rubber part as shown in this video . Is that correct? I saw these after market door stoppers which seem much more robust. Would it be advisable to buy and install these? How easy would these be to install?

3. The 12volt battery. Assuming the 12volt battery is the original, so four years old, would it be advisable to replace it before the coming winter? Would this be a good buy?

4. Headlamp alignment. Occassionally, oncoming cars flashs their lights at me. That might of course be because they love the Twizy, but I have the feeling my headlamps may be blinding oncoming traffic. Is there a guide somewhere online how I could adjust the headlamps so I'm sure they're not blinding anyone?

Any other faults / maintenance I could prepare for? I like to be prepared

I might go for xenon headlights , LED blinkers, an OVMS box (mainly for insight into the battery, and to control the charge current so that I can charge more on solar power). But any of that will be after the coming winter. I first want to get to know the Twizy under less-than-ideal circumstances, and I need to save some money after having bought it

Thank you in advance for any help.

Congratulations on your purchase and your enthusiasm. Now I hope to clear up a few questions.

1. Brakes. Brake pads are not a big problem. There are various manufacturers. If you continue to drive so much, I recommend changing the brake pads once a year. The brake discs will probably last a few years. For example, I still have the original ones on all 3 Twizys (#1 65000km, #2 26000km, #4 114600km (on #4 the rear discs need to be replaced soon). If you want to be on the safe side and the Twizy needs to be repaired quickly in an emergency, you can keep some in stock. It's best to write to Luis (the Korean guy who got your discs from. (@Biglu33)). The brake calipers shouldn't be a big issue at the moment either. But I recommend replacing the pistons at the front with specially coated ones (available in the forum). You should also clean and grease everything properly after every winter. Then you'll enjoy it for a long time.

2. I drive without discs. But I wouldn't use the stops you linked to. The door slams into them with full force without any suspension. There are files for 3D printing, so you can you can also vary the strength. The replacement is quick through the headlights or after removing the glove compartment.

3. Yes, after 4 years it could soon be time for a new one. The link looks good. That seems to be the original.

4. You can either have the alignment of the headlights checked in a workshop, or drive straight up to a smooth wall and then measure the distance from the headlight to the wall. The light cone should then hit the wall with a gradient of around 1.5%. (For example, if you are 1m away from the wall, the top edge of the light should hit 1.5cm lower than directly on the headlight). You can adjust this using the three Phillips screws directly on the headlight glass.

Your other additions also sound exciting. I can't tell you much about Xenon and LED, as I don't know the laws there.
You can also look into the "Twizometer". that would be a cheaper alternative to the OVMS (and can show you everything directly on a display in the vehicle)

I hope you have a lot of fun with the little one. See you later

Also congratulations from me!

Yes the Twizy isn't perfect, it's more a bike with a built in umbrella than a car, but as you do I clearly enjoy the litte funky bucket so much! Every freaking day!

Regarding the brakes: I had my Twizy in the local Renault Garage this week to change all pads. They were still the original ones and I made 28'500km with them. And it should be noted that I treat my Twizy very roughly, I'm always in race mode, which means I stomp the accelerator and I always brake late and hard. = Hypermiling is a hobby for other people.

Two weeks before, my brakes had started to chirp* now and then, which was the reason why I brought my Twizy into the Garage in the first place, because that's usually a sign that the pads are on their last stretch. - Which was the case. - The disks however are still good all around according to my Renault man.

(* I really mean a high pitched and regular chirping, like a small bird.)

I will make a post about my pads change in my own thread as soon as I get the invoice from the garage.

Regarding the 12V block, I would change it every two years, it's a relative cheap part and driving around with healty one gives you peace in mind.

Hallo, auch von mir ein herzliches willkommen.
Auch ich kann bestätigen, dass der Twizy nicht perfekt ist, dafür ist er auch nicht langweilig und dieses super Forum gibt tolle Hilfestellung, wenn es Probleme gibt.
Gut, auf manches Problem könnte man gern verzichten (siehe meinen aktuellen Beitrag "Antriebswelle"), aber schau heute viele moderne Fahrzeuge an, mit was für Problemen die manchmal zu tun haben.
Bei der Batterie hab ich die Erfahrung gemacht, dass sie meistens mindestens 4 Jahre hält, bei meinem Cargo ist noch die erste drin (Bj. 2015). Die Ersatz liegt seit gestern da (AGM 14 Ah 32,90€ inkl. Versand, Lieferzeit 1 Tag), allerdings sind die Schrauben so vergammelt, die bring ich nicht mehr auf (war wohl kein Polfett vorhanden )

OK, thank you for your answers, everybody. When I have a free weekend coming up, I'll order the 12V battery and replace it. I have the tools, it should be a simple job.

About the Twizometer, where could I find more information about this please? When I search the forum I see some posts, but not for instance a website where I can see the functions and price etc.

I was on vacation last week, so the Twizy sat unused for that week. I left it with about 60% charge, is that a good level to leave it with when I won't use it for a while? That won't happen a lot, and probably never for longer than a week, but I want to take care of the battery as well as I can.

I have the feeling that I hear a little more brake rub now that I've started driving it again. I've breaked hard a couple of times to remove any rust. I realise that any brake rub can be heard more clearly in a vehicle like a Twizy, but I find it hard to judge how much is normal. I also have the impression that the brake rub sound increases while I'm cornering, which make me suspect that the wheels (and thus the brake discs) are tilting a little when a sideways force is applied to them. Does this sound normal?

Ja, dass die Bremsen anfangs bei Kurvenfahren lauter schleifen, ist völlig normal.
60 % sind ein guter Wert. Damit dürfte der Twizy mehrere Jahre Standzeit überstehen. Wenn kein dauerhafter Verbraucher angeschlossen ist, wie ein OVMS, kann man ihn auch problemlos eine Woche stehen lassen. Bei neueren Ladegeräten (2 kW- Versionen) wird der 12 V Akku regelmäßig bei Bedarf nachgeladen.
Im Zweifelsfall kann man auch einfach die 60 A Sicherung während einer langen Abwesenheit abziehen.

About the rubber door stops, I think I am finding out that the original Renault part (908782937R) is not available from Renault anymore, is this correct?

I see these on Ebay, not cheap but not absurdly expensive either. I can't tell if these are original. Would anyone recommend buying these - or recommend not buying these?

I don't have a 3D printer.

PriusTwizy schrieb: About the Twizometer, where could I find more information about this please? When I search the forum I see some posts, but not for instance a website where I can see the functions and price etc.

Twiz o'Meter has it's own section in the forum.
There you will probably find answers for all your questions.
If not, feel free to post them in one of the existing threads or start a new one if it makes sense.
There , for example, you will find the manual.

As Twiz o'Meter is not a commercial product, there is not homepage.
Just send a PN to Fabio/Delvecchio and ask him for pricing.
The manual in between is probably a bit outdated.
It's impossible for Fabio to keep it uptodate.

In case that Twiz o'Meter with it's enormous functionality is overkill for your needs, just have a look at ToMmy project
In the next days it will post some news about it.
It will probably be availiable soon.

PriusTwizy schrieb: About the rubber door stops, I think I am finding out that the original Renault part (908782937R) is not available from Renault anymore, is this correct?

I see these on Ebay, not cheap but not absurdly expensive either. I can't tell if these are original. Would anyone recommend buying these - or recommend not buying these?

I don't have a 3D printer.

This parts look very very original. This picture is a rubber stopper, The 3D printed can be identified with the "stripes" (layers) from the printing process.

PriusTwizy schrieb: About the rubber door stops, I think I am finding out that the original Renault part (908782937R) is not available from Renault anymore, is this correct?

I see these on Ebay, not cheap but not absurdly expensive either. I can't tell if these are original. Would anyone recommend buying these - or recommend not buying these?

I don't have a 3D printer.

I just bought the same, some days ago. I really think these are the original ones.

All right, thanks. I'll order a set, just to have them for when one of mine fails. I only use one door, so with a set of two, I should be good for some time.