Hi, I'm a small business owner, operating out of some industrial units. 3 weeks ago, I mentioned to a neighbouring business owner that I was keeping my eye out for a cheap 7 seater. He said that, coincidentally, he knew of an Espace going that he could get for £600, but it was in Rochdale (we're in Swansea). I said I'd have a look at it.

The next morning, he told me that he'd bought the car the night before, and got it for £525 for me (+ the cost of delivery), the car had 79k on the clock, 11 mths MOT and 9 mths Tax. I was chuffed. This was a Wednesday, he said the car would probably come down on Sunday. He'd paid out for the car, so I gave him the cash. On Sunday he said that getting back to Rochdale would be a problem for the driver, so they'd sorted a place on a car transporter on the cheap. Tuesday morning he said the car had been picked up, and should be with us on Wednesday. By Wednesday evening, he said the driver had hit his tacho limit, the car would be the next morning. This same excuse went on for the rest of the week, until Friday when he disappeared. He phoned to say his daughter had been taken ill, but he'd had the car dropped off with a dealership in town. Next day he said he'd spent the night in hospital with his daughter, so I left it there. The day after, his car had been stolen. The day after he'd stayed home all day waiting for a courtesy which never arrived (and still hasn't two weeks later!).... Read more

Hi I have a Citroen xsara 1.4i LX Y Reg.Taken in due to leak (possibly coolant) and warning lights and alarm coming on due to engine temp.Garage replaced the head gasket (skimmed and pressure tested) new radiator.Also had new clutch and section of exhaust in order to pass MOT.Had car back two days and exactly same engine over heat problem same warning lights. Garage took it back thought it was a sensor problem so they 'tracked' electrics to see if they had broken anything.They could not find a problem so sent it for electical testing.Not sure what happend then other than they got a 'download' from Citroen. Got the car back (not really sure what had been diagnosed or fixed possibly new sensor put in) I do know that they put in a new water pump. Now car is coughing and jumping when it has been driven for over 30mins. they checked ECU for codes (there were about six of them) they cleared these off and i took the car back the next day and there were about six codes again. Two of them matched original codes one related to coolant temp the other causing the ECU to put to much petrol in the fuel mix which is the reason for the car 'coughing' they are convinced that the ECU is faulty because they have replaced the coolant temp sensor already. Is this correct? I get the feeling I am being fobbed off because they do not really know what is wrong so they just want to replace the whole ECU as an easy option. Ta Clare Read more

Hi.

My other half's airbag light has come on and won't extinguish on this car. There's no seat sensors and it has a switchable on/off lock using the door key but even switching it off does extinguish the light. There is a label in the glovebox indicating the gas generator needs refilling or replacing before Oct 2010 but i've never heard of this being done.... Read more

Hi

can anyone confirm whether the door mirror housing on the CC is the same as the hatch or indeed estate 206? I've been daft figures for a replacement, and told it's unique by one spares place.

I'm after the black plastic housing - i have the colour coded bit on the top and the glass is intact. Don't know about the electrics, but one thing at a time.

Thanks Read more

Hi,

I had a C5 2.0 HDi go for a 100,000 service (at a Citroen authorised garage), during which the timing belt was replaced. On the first significant journey, I noticed the vehicle performed oddly (while accelerating), and with not as much power as usual, but put this initially down to not having used it for a while and perhaps a bit of water in the fuel. (In hindsight, this is clearly crazy. Suffice to say that I now know much more about a HDi engine than I did a few months ago.) I also noticed the turbo didn't engage, and the cruise control didn't work. I continued my journey, but after 700 miles, the vehicle suffered another problem which lead me to call out the RAC.

I had booked the vehicle in back at the servicing garage to be looked at when I returned, but it didn't get that far.

It was taken to another Citroen garage who found the timing to be incorrect (about a tooth out; the timing pin wouldn't go in, though which way and on what gearwheel I don't know). The Lexia said there was a "synchronisation problem". Unfortunately they removed the belt in order to further investigate the cause, which they did not find. They did find a couple of failed rockers on cylinders 2 & 3. The other garage confirmed the water pump bearing had not failed, nor tensioner bearing.

Having transported the vehicle back to the Citroen garage that carried out the service, at their request, they are refusing to take any responsibility, and, as the belt is now removed, they refuse to believe it was in the wrong place anyway.

A consultant engineer suggested the most likely cause was the tensioner being set incorrectly, and the belt having jumped.

The servicing garage said they would have fixed it if they vehicle had been presented with the belt on, and the timing off. That indicates they would have warranted this work if it wasn't for the fact they don't believe the timing was off.

Given the belt has been removed, I think it's unlikely I'll get this resolved without cost to myself. Hence the following question:

The consultant engineer suggested, sometimes, if the vehicle timing is corrected, and the rockers are replaced, often the vehicle will be "fine". (Obviously I'll have that nagging doubt hanging over me for quite a while, but there's the chance it'll be okay.) Is that a reasonable course of action? Or is it far more likely that there'll be lots of other internal damage, which would require a full rebuild? The former work I've had quoted for around £ 550, which is potentially something I can contemplate. But the latter comes in at £ 1,800+, which I can not.

Couple of other things...

The lack of turbo ties in with a lack of power so that seems consistent.

But the Lexia saying a synchronisation problem indicates the vehicle itself knew there was a problem - wouldn't this have caused the STOP light to come on (which it did not)?

And wouldn't this have been checked by the servicing garage too?

The servicing garage also says they find it strange that cylinder 2 & 3 rockers failed, not 1 & 3 or 2 & 4. To me that's just chance that these rockers randomly failed first due to stress, which could happen in any order, but is there a good reason to think this strange?

Is it at all possible that the timing belt didn't jump due to the tensioner? Could it be that the servicing garage replaced it, and didn't time it up correctly in the first place? (I've seen the kits they use to replace belts, and they seem to have pins that would make an incorrect fitting impossible. But could they have missed something somehow?)

Thanks and appreciate your advice.

denty. Read more