1.5 HDi diesel issues

[Dogbox]

I'm on the verge of committing to a Berlingo XL Flair auto diesel, year of manufacture 2019 which has done 39k miles. I've been busy reading up on the potential problems with the 7mm cam chain, which I'm sure this vehicle will have. Going by the number of posts on the subject, it seems there is a kind of inevitability that there will be issues at some time - is this really the case? Does anyone have this engine with the 7mm chain that has done a fair few miles and not had any complications? It is of a concern to me as I want this car to last me a good few years, but am becoming rather wary of it.
I want an XL size vehicle (which includes the Citroen XL, Peugeot Rifter, Vauxhall Combo Life) so that narrows my choices down somewhat - all of which in diesel form I assume have the same size cam chain pre 2023. I'm not keen on the 1.2 Puretech due to the wet timing belt and also the fact I drive long distances and want the better mpg.
It seems that all these 'modern' diesels are beset by some kind of problems - be it adblue, cam chains, or the Powershift transmission and wet belts in the Ford Tourneo! I don't know about the VW Caddy Life but can't afford the VW prices.
Would I be making a mistake buying this car? I've had two standard sized Berlingos (1.6 diesels) and had no problems with them.

[PaulC5]

Make sure it has been serviced every year by a Citroen dealer since Citroen may help if the cam chain snaps or starts to show signs of a problem (noise/fault codes/poor performance). Also January this year Citroen changed the oil spec to help reduce the chance of problems so make sure it has the correct oil. If serviced elsewhere then any goodwill will not be forthcoming. Our 308 has the 1.5 hdi engine and whilst it has enough power, it could do with more and fuel economy is not as good as our previous 1.6 hdi cars on long motorway runs being about 55 vs 65 mpg.

I keep thinking I should replace our 2007 C5 due to its age but the possible engine problems across different makes is a concern. The 1.5 hdi seems to be in all PSA cars and possibly Fords since there are reports of the cam chain failing on those. When looking on Autotrader there are quite a lot of 1.5 hdi cars on high miles so it is not inevitable they will fail. I had been looking at the VW/Skoda/Seat 1.5 tsi petrol cars and these engines can suffer from juddering.

[Maxr]

We've had three 1.5 Hdi Berlingos in the family, two manuals and an auto. The basic model early manual Mk2 car (we bought used) was OK till the clutch arm went at 60,000+ miles - a costly repair on an old (but below average mileage) car that wasn't worth doing (it was non metallic red with the lacquer peeling). The second was a Mk2 XTR manual we bought new and kept till we traded it at 110K+ miles, no problems except when the brake warning wires chafed on the rear axle - fortunately we found a local garage that knew the problem. Another local garage didn't and was ready to replace the braking control unit at £500 more, which wouldn't have fixed it. We then bought an almost new auto MK3 which we recently traded at 60k+ . That car gave us no problems at all. So we had a few problems but none were due to the cambelt. Diesel consumption got slightly better with each car - the Mk3 did at best 52-54 on long 60mph trips, maybe 44 locally. I'm told Adblue problems can usually be fixed, particularly if your car is out of warranty, by having someone disable the Adblue system while optimising the engine so the emissions are no worse (possibly better). We now have a 2024 C5 Aircross diesel that claims to do 63mpg on long trips our last Berlingo did 52mpg on. It's quieter than a Berlingo, smoother, more economical, and you don't have to fight the rear doors if you park on a hill (like our MK3 Berlingo), but it won't take anything like the amount of junk!

[PaulC5]

I would not encourage deleting the adblue system, it is illegal for a car used on roads and the insurance company on being told of the modification would not insure the car. It would pass the current MOT for a diesel since NOx levels are not measured but this could change in the future. If diesel NOx levels could be reduced to relevant standards by optimisation instead of using adblue then you would think the regulators and car makers would do it. For the millions of cars and wagons with adblue, failure of it may not be as prevalent as people fear otherwise we would see many reports every day.

[Dogbox]

Make sure it has been serviced every year by a Citroen dealer since Citroen may help if the cam chain snaps or starts to show signs of a problem (noise/fault codes/poor performance). Also January this year Citroen changed the oil spec to help reduce the chance of problems so make sure it has the correct oil. If serviced elsewhere then any goodwill will not be forthcoming.

I will definitely check that it has had timely dealer services. Is it 5w30 oil they use now?

What a stress it is buying a car these days, seems that there is so much to go wrong with them - they concentrate on all the 'tech' but engines and gearboxes appear to have some fundamental issues. Just had to reject a Ford Grand Tourneo for gearbox and adblue problems so after all the stress of that thought getting a Berlingo would be more straightforward - seems that's not the case

[RichardW]

We've had three 1.5 Hdi Berlingos in the family, two manuals and an auto.

Those were 1.6s, not 1.5. The 1.5 come in around 2020, a development of the DV6 engine. They went back to a 16V twin cam design the same as the early engines (Engines from 2011 DV6C through to the Blue HDi engines were 8V single cam). The second cam is driven by a small chain in the head - and on early 1.5 engines this was only 7mm wide, and not man enough, and prone to breaking - later cars have an 8mm chain; there is a conversion kit for early engines, but it's not cheap as it requires, cams, chain, tensioner and cam cover, and there is a good few hours required to fit it. It's important to use the correct oil, and change it regularly. Apart from this, the engine doesn't seem to give much trouble - on Ford installations there is a short flexi hose on the boost pipe from the intercooler at the back of the engine that splits, don't know if this is present on Cit / Pug installation. The DPF system is a bit fragile compared to earlier cars, not much you can do about that, except not use it for lots of short journeys, and fix any engine issues promptly to avoid any knock on DPF issues developing.

[PaulC5]

The latest oil spec for the 1.5 hdi is 5W30 Oil to PSA spec FPW9.55535/03 so make sure it has this spec listed on the service receipts, not just the viscosity.
https://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-307656-tot ... tis%20FPW9.

[GiveMeABreak]

I also have the 1.5 with only 26k miles and no issues so far.

[Scholsio]

Hi Paul C, I'm also from Lincoln. Was wondering if you had any pointers for crank non start after changing the cam carrier due to snapped chain.
8mm kit fitted with new cams etc, same P0017 and P050B codes return. Fuel present at injectors, new battery fitted to ensure amps and voltage good.
Cam and crank sync showing on good topdon reader I have. Bit lost at this point.

[GiveMeABreak]

My first suspicions would be the timing.

[Pilgrim]

Hi guys,
I currently own a 2019 Berlingo 1.5 hdi. On around 80000 miles.
I was driving to work and engine cut out.
After diagnosis my 7mm cam chain has snapped.
It's going to another garage this week to access how much damage has been caused.
Seems to be a common theme that Citroen have tried to brush under the carpet.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[GiveMeABreak]

Yes, the latest engines have an 8mm chain and there is a kit to retrofit these for vehicles with 7mm chains that have been diagnosed as failing.

This will of course rely on the noise being detected ahead of failure, for this to be a solution. Not sure where you have it serviced, but any contribution from Citroen will depend on age, mileage and servicing being carried out on time and to recommendations.