Citroen C5 X7 - Pesky Hydractive suspension

[c16rkc]

So I have bought a Citroen C5 X7, and it has the Hydractive suspension. I bought it knowing it had a fault where the front of the car sits high all the time.

Using the buttons inside the car, I can raise and lower both the front and the rear, but when I set to "normal" ride height, the front of the car goes back to the high setting, with the rear going to the correct height.

I phoned to book the car in at a Citroen Specialist, and they booked me in for the 13th September. But they said they may not be able to repair as they say C5 parts are no longer available. To my horror they said this fault may write the car off... So I am tempted to repair myself, after all despite being a complete amateur, I am no stranger to a bit of DIY car mechanics. I thought it would just be some sort of ride height sensor issue.

Does anyone have any ideas what this might be? - and if I purchase "Lexia" will it help me diagnose this sort of issue?

[GiveMeABreak]

My first thoughts are the front height corrector, but don't be tempted to get under the vehicle at any time unless independently supported, as any suspected issues can cause the suspension to drop like a lead weight without warning and will crush you.

Yes, parts are becoming an issue as production stopped back in 2015/2016, especially suspension pipes which are no longer available.

On 4 Cylinder vehicles there are 2 height correctors - one on the rear axle and the front one on the nearside of the subframe. These can be affected over time by water ingress / corrosion, so that would be my first thought.

Try raising to highest and then lowest suspension settings several times to see if that will free it. Otherwise it will need a diagnostic to confirm any fault codes. You'll really need Diagbox to get the full codes as generic OBD scanners won't cut the mustard.

[c16rkc]

Thank you - I'll try going up and down a bunch of times, great suggestion.

I have ordered a Citroen Lexia diagnostics box and software kit, as I think even if it is not needed here it will help long term.

[c16rkc]

Are there any places that a full schematic of the Hydraulics and electrics can be viewed? - I was think it might be easier to fault find from a diagram.

EDIT: I found one quickly using google... although it does not appear to have an index

I can see the ride height sensor now, I shall take a look at it which the car is jacked up off the floor, and placed on axel stands.

[c16rkc]

I tried cycling it up and down a few times. It happily goes up and down, but I did notice a couple of odd things:

1) It will go fully up (pos 4) and fully down (pos 1) perfectly every time
2) At the two middle positions (pos 2 and pos 3) the back appears to go to the correct position, but the front goes straight to maximum height.
3) The back seems to move first, then the front when rising. But the front drops first when lowering.

Not sure if any of this means anything, if anyone has any ideas I'd be extremely grateful!

[GiveMeABreak]

Again, possible the front height corrector. There are 2 tracks in these potentiometers and they can simply wear.

If you are going to have it replaced, make sure you exactly mark the location of the clamp of the existing sensor as the replacement must be put back in the correct location - even a few mm can make a difference. Fine tuning the heights are done with Diagbox and by using the height measurement calculation procedure. The results of the calculations are used by Diagbox to make the small adjustments.

When you get your diagnostics, you can check the current front heights against the reference heights and also see if there are any faults before you go swapping parts.

[Rp0thejester]

Let the headache's and tantrums begin!!

[c16rkc]

Again, possible the front height corrector. There are 2 tracks in these potentiometers and they can simply wear.

Thank you - yes I think it makes sense to be more like a sensor rather than pump/shocks/block, but of course I have no experience so I am very grateful for the advice. My first impression of the Citroen specialist is they are reluctant to do this sort of work, so I think it will be a good idea for me to learn and give it a go.

[c16rkc]

Let the headache's and tantrums begin!!

....I'll try not to make them too loud

[myglaren]

On some of the older models they were found to have water and dirt ingress. Some were successfully cleaned; not all though as the dirt was abrasive and damaged the tracks

[c16rkc]

I am starting to see what people mean... information on these cars is kinda scarce...

I thought it could not hurt to get a sensor ordered, and I have Lexia on it's way so that I can set the height up afterwards. But can I find the sensor part number?? - Sadly not...

This below seems to give me the main suspension components, for a 4-cylinder car like mine. I can imagine purchasing and replacing those sphere's over the next few months might be good preventative maintenance; similar to what I have done on my Mercedes CL500.



This looks handy for the rear sphere's too... and I have snaffled this picture aside for future use.



But the pesky front ride height sensor is not shown...

...ah but then I found this



Note: 6 cyl cars have a different image; this is for 4 cyl cars.

I have no idea what angle we are looking at here... I am thinking in from the top of the engine bay. I can only guess this part is best accessed from underneath the car, and it looks to be on the left hand side of the car (the passenger side on a UK model like mine).

Then for reference this is the rear sensor.



The manual then goes on to tell me all about topping up the fluid, setting up the ride height etc. but no mention of part numbers.

Can anyone tell me the part number for the front sensor please?

...and better still is there an online resource to find out part numbers?

[c16rkc]

Eureka! - I think I may have found it!

I stumbled on a very weird site carcar.info, and it seems to suggest that 5273 J4 is the correct part number for the front ride height sensor.



There are new ones available on Ebay, and Aliexpress which is encouraging.

I think I'll order one!! Wish me luck!

[MrBerlingoC5]

How did the luck work out?

I also find myself searching for this part number now so I'm curious if it's the correct unit? And indeed if it solved your issue.

[GiveMeABreak]

@MrBerlingoC5: If you require a part number, your upgraded membership provides for requesting official part numbers - just ask on this thread for the part you require and provide your VIN there in full:

Official Parts Thread