2000 - 2003 Xsara Picasso 2.0HDi Checklist

willinot · Post by **willinot** » 19 May 2008, 10:10

Hi,

Im in the market to purchase a Xsara Picasso 2.0HDi.

Due to budget I was looking for one around 2000 - 2002.

Can you give me any advice on what too look for when purchasing one of these cars.

Ive read that they have issues with clutchs, suspension and a FAP filter.

Any further information or correction of the above will be greatly appreciated.

ps: I applogise if a similar question has been posted before and I did search through the archive before postingbut could not find what I wanted.

Thanks and regards.

Paul.

nick · Post by **nick** » 19 May 2008, 14:54

I would be suspicious of any HDi that didn't start and run perfectly, both hot & cold. If the engine takes loads of cranking to start this can indicate possible fuel system problems which can be expensive to fix.

Check all the electrics work properly, if not this can be caused by problems with the BSI on multiplexed Citroens which again can be expensive.

There are rumours of clutch problems on HDis, but this seems to be entirely down to the dual mass flywheel fitted on some.
No 2.0 HDi Xsara or Picasso was fitted with a DMF, so this won't be a problem on the ones you're looking at. (Some of the more recent 1.6 HDi versions do have them)

Again, no 2 litre Xsaras/Picassos had FAP filters, only the 1.6 sometimes did.

willinot · Post by **willinot** » 19 May 2008, 19:12

Thanks Nick. What about overheating and radiator problems. Again its something Ive came across on internet searches so just want to make sure Im looking in the right areas over and above the standard things to look for.

Cheers.

Paul.

willinot · Post by **willinot** » 19 May 2008, 19:13

Also, what is the road tax on the 2000 model. Is it £120per year.

reblack68 · Post by **reblack68** » 19 May 2008, 19:42

Cheap tax only applies from March 2001 onwards, so only on a Y plater or newer. Anything older than Y will pay £185 at current prices.

C.J. · Post by **C.J.** » 19 May 2008, 23:00

Been reading and hearing a great deal about DMF's failing recently. What actually causes this expensive failure, and what can be done to reduce the risk, or is it inevitable on all modern diesels....presumably doesn't apply to petrol driven cars?

DickieG · Post by **DickieG** » 20 May 2008, 06:16

C.J. wrote:Been reading and hearing a great deal about DMF's failing recently. What actually causes this expensive failure, and what can be done to reduce the risk, or is it inevitable on all modern diesels....presumably doesn't apply to petrol driven cars?

I believe the failure occurs due to the bond between the rubber and metal sections of the flywheel not holding. This happened to my Mum's Gold TDi @ 3,000 miles

whilst it was out of warranty VW only asked her to contribute £100 thankfully.

reblack68 · Post by **reblack68** » 20 May 2008, 06:27

The way to reduce the risk is to take it off, throw it away and fit a proper flywheel. I know a conversion kit is available for the HDi.

The failure occurs because it is a stupid idea. Somebody has sat down and given a lot of thought to how they can introduce a new way for a car to break down expensively. Just when they develop the technology to extract massive amounts of torque from a diesel engine they develop a flywheel that can't handle it?

I strongly suspect the DMF of making our C5 lethargic when it has the same engine as the much livelier Xantia.

C.J. · Post by **C.J.** » 20 May 2008, 08:50

reblack68 wrote:The way to reduce the risk is to take it off, throw it away and fit a proper flywheel. I know a conversion kit is available for the HDi.

So what difference would you notice.....not that I've got an HDi YET.

What's the point of a DMF anyway? Something to do with reducing vibration is it?

mooseshaver · Post by **mooseshaver** » 20 May 2008, 15:57

C.J. wrote: What's the point of a DMF anyway? Something to do with reducing vibration is it?

Its to reduce noise. And apparently money in your wallet.

mooseshaver · Post by **mooseshaver** » 20 May 2008, 16:44

This might help http://youtube.com/watch?v=YnaXB8q3uzQ
It shows what a Dual Mass Flyweel looks like.

C.J. · Post by **C.J.** » 20 May 2008, 17:36

mooseshaver wrote:This might help http://youtube.com/watch?v=YnaXB8q3uzQ
It shows what a Dual Mass Flyweel looks like.

Couldn't get any sound/explanation to go with that link Moose', otherwise quite a helpful clip, thanks.

Sorry Paul. I/we seem to have hijacked your Picasso thread here.

All relevamt though I suppose.

I had one of the very first 2.0 HDi Picasso's to be registered up here on merseyside, back in June 2000, and it proved to be a very satisfying and reliable car over 3 years and 40k.
It has it's design faults, as I told Citroen HQ. The worst one being the appauling dash reflection onto the screen, since sorted with a darker dash now I believe. All in all a great car though, and my mate who works for a Citroen main agent, reckons it's still a better all round car than the new C4 Picasso with all its fancy electronic gadetry.

willinot · Post by **willinot** » 21 May 2008, 09:33

Many thanks guys. All posts are good, the more info I have the better.

Cheers.

Paul.

steelcityuk · Post by **steelcityuk** » 21 May 2008, 09:54

Hi,

Some info about dual mass flywheels on Lucas site - http://www.luk.com/content.luk.de/en/pr ... zms_sv.jsp

I'm under the impression that on some vehicles it's recommended to replace the flywheel when doing the clutch so the bill for parts can be over 1K - Audi maybe?

Anyhow back to the original question, Car Mechanics magazine did an article in the April 2008 on diesel diagnostics. If you can get hold of a copy it was a good article.

Steve.

nick · Post by **nick** » 21 May 2008, 16:24

willinot wrote: What about overheating and radiator problems. Again its something Ive came across on internet searches so just want to make sure Im looking in the right areas over and above the standard things to look for.

I don't know if that relates specifically to the Picasso, but the HDi isn't particularly known for cooling problems. Direct injection diesels pass less heat into the cooling system than indirect injection so the cooling doesn't need to be quite so heavy duty.
Head gasket failures aren't unheard of on the HDi, but aren't all that common. The 2.2 seems to suffer more than the 2.0.