French Cars Specialists

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Common Faults with Citroens

No car is perfect, and all cars have their faults. This is why at Citroen Peugeot Specialists, we are committed to providing customers with information about cars they may be thinking of purchasing, so that they can make a fully informed decision. Here are some of the most common faults and repeat issues we come across in various Citroen models.

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Citroen C4 Picasso and grand Picasso:

More and more, we are getting Citroen C4 Picassos with water ingress in looms and water damage inside them, with all the obvious problems that that causes damp in the car and subsequent electronic issues. The main cause of the problem is an under-designed drainage system in the scuttle area (gutter that exists in front of the windscreen). On account of this, a/c blower motors and blower modules are frequently in need of replacement, a stripping and carrying “open heart surgery” service that is being carried out on looms in order to save them.

It is, in fact, easy to spot the problem, as the distinctive sloshing noise of water moving around can be heard from inside the car. To remedy the problem, we modify the drainage outlets so that the problem becomes less likely to re-occur.

 Citroen C3 Picasso:

Many Citroen C3 Picassos have also come to us with water damage in the fuse box; the crucial part living under the bonnet. Although we haven’t found the source yet, every car we have dealt with has had to have a new fuse box, but what is more difficult to achieve is repairing the multi plug wires that rot. Luckily we have been keeping parts of looms from cars that get scrapped and using perfect wires that we extract from those and graft them into the cars own loom/multiplug. The cost of replacing that particular loom in the car would be astronomical, hence the repair. As for the source of the ingress, this is an avenue we endeavour to keep researching.

1.6/1.4 THP engine turbo

Peugeot/citroen cars that are equipped with the 1.6/1.4 THP engine turbo or are normally aspirated are also a cause for concern. We are finding many problems relating to cooling fans are actually the result of misfire due to poor maintenance. A state of emergency is declared by the engine control unit (ECU) upon measuring a huge amount of knock and misfire. Often the fan doesn’t even want to switch off after ignition off and the battery has to be disconnected. However the solution is fairly simple, and indeed inspecting the spark plugs usually reveals that problem. The real issue is the length of service intervals and when the vehicle does go in for service, because of the very high cost of the plugs and the reluctance to include the cost within a “cheap service”, they end up staying in the vehicle forever! Full service history means nothing these days unless it is carried out by people who care and understand the vehicles they work on.

At Citroen Peugeot Specialists, we are committed to providing our customers with the information they need to make the right Citroen or Peugeot purchase. As well as this, we provide high quality repairs, MOTS and services on all makes of car, with particular focus on Citroens, Peugeots and Renaults. For more information, get in touch with our friendly team of experts today and let us share our expertise with you.

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