Renault Floor Mats
Renault's own owner's manual is blunt about this: the driver's mat "should always be fixed using the pre-fitted mounting components", and you must check that nothing is "obstructing the pedals, heel wedged by the mat". That is why a proper set is handed and clipped. In a right-hand-drive car the anchors are on the right, so a left-hand-drive mat set is a mirror image with nothing to clip to.
- Trade counter at 89 Chris Hani Road, Briardene
- Collect from the counter, or courier with the carriage in the quote
- Price, condition and fitment settled on a written quote
Floor Mats, explained
Mats are the least glamorous thing on this site and the one with the clearest safety case behind it, so it is worth a minute of your time.
Renault's own owner's manual
Renault's own owner's manual is direct about it. It instructs that mats must be correctly refitted and the right way round, and that they be fitted with the components supplied — giving the example that the driver's mat should always be fixed using the pre-fitted mounting components. Separately it tells you to check, while the vehicle is stationary, that nothing will impede driving, and lists anything obstructing the pedals or a heel wedged by the mat as exactly the sort of thing it means.
Those anchors are the whole point. A mat that is clipped down cannot slide forward under the pedals. A universal mat has nothing to clip to, and a universal mat laid on top of an existing mat is worse still. This is not a theoretical hazard — floor-mat pedal entrapment has driven mass recalls internationally, and the standing advice in those cases was to remove the driver's mat and not replace it with anything until a proper one was available.
There is a right-hand-drive point here too. The anchors for the driver's mat are on the right-hand side of the car, so a mat set made for a left-hand-drive market is a mirror image: the shaped driver's mat lands on the passenger side and there is nothing for it to clip to. Handing matters even on something as simple as a mat.
One note on where to get them. Renault operations in other markets clearly sell model-specific genuine mats, and there are South African aftermarket suppliers making shaped sets. We could not confirm a Renault South Africa genuine-accessory mat catalogue, so we will not tell you there is one.
How you know floor mats are on the way out
Recognise any of that? Tell us the model and year and we will go and check what we can get hold of for you.
The questions we ask before we price floor mats
Renault has renamed these trims more than once, which makes accessory listings unusually unreliable. The Triber launched here as Expression, Dynamique and Prestige and is now Evolution, Techno and Iconic; the Kiger went from Life, Zen and Intens to the same new set. So the same trim name can describe different cars, and some things sold as accessories — roof rails, fog lamps — were grade-specific equipment rather than dealer add-ons.
In plain terms, the call you have to make is which era of trim naming your car belongs to — and the model name on the boot lid is not enough information to make it.
Include the year and the VIN rather than the trim name off the advert when you ask us about floor mats. Two questions up front beats a part that has to be couriered back.
Further reading on floor mats
Independent sources, not ours. Worth a look if you want the background before you enquire.
Floor Mats — what customers usually ask
Where can I find car mats for a Renault in South Africa?
Aftermarket suppliers make shaped sets for the higher-volume models, and used original sets come out of cars being broken — which is where we come in, particularly for models where new shaped sets are hard to find. The thing to insist on either way is that the driver's mat is shaped for your car and anchors properly. Tell us the model, the year and whether you want the front pair or a full set.
Why can I not just use universal mats?
Because they have nothing to clip to. Renault's manual specifies that the driver's mat should be fixed using the pre-fitted mounting components, and a universal mat has no such components — so it is free to slide forward. Internationally, mat entrapment of the accelerator pedal has driven mass recalls, and the advice during those was to take the driver's mat out entirely rather than substitute an unsecured one. For the passenger side and the rear it matters much less.
Which car floor mats are best?
It depends on what you are protecting against, and the honest answer is that neither type is universally better. Rubber and thermoplastic tray mats with a raised lip are the right choice for mud, sand and spilled drinks and hose clean. Carpet mats look and feel better and suit a car that stays clean. What matters more than the material is that the set is shaped for your footwell and anchors to your car's fixings.
Will mats from a left-hand-drive car fit my Renault?
No, and not just because they look odd. A mat set is handed: the driver's mat is shaped for the driver's footwell and carries the fixings for the anchors on that side. In a right-hand-drive car those anchors are on the right. A left-hand-drive set puts the shaped, anchored mat on your passenger side and gives you nothing to clip down where it matters.
Do you have Kadjar floor mats?
Ask us, but here is the honest context. The Kadjar had a very short South African life — sold here from 2016 and discontinued locally around the end of 2018 — so the local parc is small and so is the supply of anything that comes off one. That makes mats for it harder to find than for a Kwid or a Kiger, not impossible. Tell us what you need and we will say plainly whether we think we can get it.