C3 sensodrive with flashing AUTO and snowflake. (plus overheating fault)

[T4chippy]

Hi Everyone, The mrs has bought a 2003 C3 1.6 exclusive Sensodrive and I've been reading up alot about this dreaded flashing AUTO and snowflake, let me explain the circumstances that lead to this error.

The car drives faultlessly when driven normally it's only when I'm teaching her to drive and she is moving very slowly (Mainly in reverse) on three point turns or bay parking that it beeps, then the AUTO and snowflake flash and then it won't go into gear at all for at least 10-20 minutes, which really freaks her out when shes halfway through turning in the road

Am i right in thinking that the Clutch actuator is getting too hot and throwing a fault and will only start again when cooled down? I read somewhere that the actuator didn't have enough grease from factory or something similar. Assuming that is correct are the £200 Sachs ones off ebay okay as a replacement? and would you recommend DIY fitment? (I though i read you needed a clutch alignment tool?)


Secondly I seem to have an intermittent overheating fault where the gauge shoots up to the red beeps and goes back to normal straight after? (I've had a new Bosch temp sensor fitted and the previous owner had the thermostat changed before we bought it to try and fix it with no luck)

I put it in a local garage who do diagnostics, £140 later I'm no further along in rectifying these faults so thought I'd ask you guys before putting it back in for round two. The invoice says... Investigate gearshift fault, Cary our fault code read and reset, Check wiring to transmission and all connectors to ecu, actuator and gearbox ecu, renew ECT sensor. He assured me the wiring and all connections looked good.

Thanks in advance guys, any help greatly appreciated

[wheeler]

would have been interesting to know what the gearbox fault codes were ?
Is there not 2 temp sensors on this engine ? something makes me think there is a second temp sensor in the cylinder head under the stat housing that can get missed as its not immediately visible & I think this is the on that does the temp gauge (blue in colour if I remember right)

[RichardW]

These are a disaster - you could throw more than a grand at it, and it still might not work! Better to get shot of it, and if you must have an auto, get something else that has a proper torque converter auto box!

[Hell Razor5543]

T4chippy, I hate to confirm bad news, but daviemck2006 had a Citroen C2 with a Sensodrive, and it caused him nothing but grief. Although he did manage to get the gearbox sorted out he sold it on, and then (about a year later) saw the same car was up for sale (spares or repairs, if I remember correctly).

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=43673

[daviemck2006]

I know what I would do to it, and to be honest its not what the op would like to hear. It consists of a gallon of petrol and a match Im afraid

[white exec]

If they're that much the Work of the Devil, I hope PSA have been hit by copious warranty/extended warranty claims. Some pretty sobering reports here.

[daviemck2006]

The c2 sensodrive I bought was 1 owner and had the most comprehensive service history of any car I have ever seen and was a lovely looking thing. Before I had it home I had decided I did not particularly like the gearbox, it worked ok in the country, but about town the most frustrating thing, slow, unresponsive, jerky gearchanges, and got caught out in the wrong gear many times. When it broke, the final bill for fixing it was more than I paid for it, i had no confidence in it and sold it at a big loss. I then saw it, less than a year later and less than 9000 miles later, for 100 quid spares or repair with a broken gearbox with a quote from the same citroen dealer for over 1300 pounds to fix it. I love autos, but i would never, ever again buy another semi auto whoever made it.

[T4chippy]

sorry guys I didn't get any notifications about the replies.

@wheeler, The car is booked in for them to have a further look tomorrow so I'll get a list of fault codes, and I did mention to the mechanic I thought there was two temp sensors but i guess he forgot, I'll mention it again tomorrow.

Starting to feel disheartened, It's not my cup of tea but she loves the bloody thing

[daviemck2006]

My honest advice is sell it and look for a decent, older peugeot 205 auto. Admittedly they have a poorer crash protection being an 80's design, but they are simple to work on, a proper automatic, and a really nice drive. There are a few for sale, their values are creeping up and there are some asking ridiculously high prices but you will get a decent one, like I did for under a grand. A far better drive than any sensodrive would ever be, and a far better drive than any 80's supermini deserves to be. I wouldn't hesitate to get I to mine and drive it anywhere.

[T4chippy]

My honest advice is sell it and look for a decent, older peugeot 205 auto. Admittedly they have a poorer crash protection being an 80's design, but they are simple to work on, a proper automatic, and a really nice drive. There are a few for sale, their values are creeping up and there are some asking ridiculously high prices but you will get a decent one, like I did for under a grand. A far better drive than any sensodrive would ever be, and a far better drive than any 80's supermini deserves to be. I wouldn't hesitate to get I to mine and drive it anywhere.

Thanks fella, yea it's looking that way, might just sort the overheating issue and move it on, It drives just fine when driven normally.

Being a learner she doesn't like the rolling back you get with a semi auto, We'll look for a full auto like you said I think

[furriegurrie]

I can 't say I share this opinion on the sensodrive. Okay, I have recently had to replaced the clutch and bearing, but that's not really surprising with 110k miles. It's behaviour does get some getting used to and sometimes manually you would do a better job. But it is not that bad...
You will need a garage that know what to do with this and be able to use a Lexia on it. Having it reinitialized will likely make it behave better.
Also make sure the battery is the biggest you can fit. The ecu of the sensodrive can't deal with low voltage....

[T4chippy]

I can 't say I share this opinion on the sensodrive. Okay, I have recently had to replaced the clutch and bearing, but that's not really surprising with 110k miles. It's behaviour does get some getting used to and sometimes manually you would do a better job. But it is not that bad...
You will need a garage that know what to do with this and be able to use a Lexia on it. Having it reinitialized will likely make it behave better.
Also make sure the battery is the biggest you can fit. The ecu of the sensodrive can't deal with low voltage....

Hi furriegurrie, If it was just the drive of it she could manage i think, It's the stranding her in the middle of a road on a three point turn for up to 20 minutes thats lost her confidence in it.

The garage I have taken it to was recommended locally as a fault diagnosis garage, although not specifically Citroen. I will ask if they have Lexia though.

I have tested the battery in all scenarios and it takes the load well and is a 62Ahr battery

[daviemck2006]

If she likes the c3 they are available with full auto also. I did consider one of them for the daily, but went for the 407 coupe just because if I had not gone for the big gt tourer coupe with big engine just now, I never would have. To be honest the 205 is a hobby car, even though it is in cracking condition and only covered 34000 miles I wouldnt want it to be the daily car!

[T4chippy]

If she likes the c3 they are available with full auto also. I did consider one of them for the daily, but went for the 407 coupe just because if I had not gone for the big gt tourer coupe with big engine just now, I never would have. To be honest the 205 is a hobby car, even though it is in cracking condition and only covered 34000 miles I wouldnt want it to be the daily car!

Thats a fair point, I'll mention it to her, thanks for that

[Harlequin]

If your mechanic does have access to LEXIA it would give more information than a basic code reader.