I'm about to buy a Picasso and would rather diesel than petrol but have heard the HDI may have Clutch problems..
Citroen UK and a few Citroen dealers tell me Clutch is no problem..
Would be great if anyone has any info as to weather the Clutch will cause probs..
Looking forward to sum info....
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Hi Albert
I have the C5 HDI (no problems whatsoever with clutch so far at 11,000 miles) However, I have heard stories on Citroen forums that the HDI Xantia had occasional probs with the clutch release bearing self destructing at about 30,000 miles and taking much of the clutch along with it (ouch!)
I'm not sure if this is implicated as well, but the HDI C5 has a hydraulic clutch mechanism which is a totally sealed unit from pedal to clutch. If it goes wrong, the whole caboodle has to be replaced at horrendous cost. Some Peugeots, I believe use the same system.
Now I don't know if ....
a) this problem only affected early HDIs such as Xantia and the
reputation has stuck.
b) ALL HDIs have the same clutch mechanism.
c) the hydraulic mechanism is the cause of the release bearing
demise or a different problem altogether!
d) 'failed' components were maybe just a bad batch.
Have a look at some of the yahoogroups on Citroens. I joined the Xantia group (my previous car) and C5. None of these seem to have any indication of widespread clutch problems. I think there is a Picasso group which would be worth joining before you buy.
Remember the Citroens all have a 3 year warranty. I'll probably be thinking hard about a change at the 3 year mark to make sure none of these expensive problems come out of my pocket!
Don't be put off by scare stories about Citroens, though. They tend to be much more reliable than people think. The rogue ones do attract a lot of attention, however and this colours your judgment a bit, especially in cases where the unfortunate 'rogue owner' has little or no understanding of how they tick!
A lot depends on how well they are driven, cared for and understood. This is especially true of the hydractive ones. Picassos should be even less of a worry. They are certainly selling like hotcakes. If there's a clutch problem many many people would have been affected and we would have heard by this time!
Good luck!
Graeme
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From HJ's Car-by-car guide - Picasso:-
EU wide problem with clutch of HDIs: release bearings are failing on average at 30K miles and the hydraulic actuators at approx 70K miles.
Both cause significant damage (£700 - £1000) to repair. Basically, the clutch assembly "blows-up", though not the actual clutch disc, which can have as little as 20% wear.
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Interesting!
Does anyone know if this is common to all HDI Citroens - or just Picasso? Is the problem ongoing or have any modifications been made on later models?
Graeme
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Didn't some one recently also report a starting stalling problem with this engine?
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Yes, I mentioned stalling Picasso, it seems to have sorted itself with another tank of diesel. They were both from Shell, but different garages in the same region.
Ben
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