We have a 2015 plate Citroen c4 grand Picasso with roughly 85,000 miles on the clock. Bought in aug 2022 (on finance 5 years). Background: Had lots of issues from the get-go - in the first year of owning have had all injectors replaced twice, new battery, issues with sensors among other things. Have also had injectors replaced for a third time since then.
Current issues! In April 2025 car started to sound like a train, called RAC out who told us that the injectors needed sealing. Had mobile mechanic out (not RAC but a company we have used previously) to seal injectors - the guy couldn't do it, blew the starter motor and told us the engine had seized (other things happened/lies were told, long story). Other employees from the company then came back and forth for the whole week trying to "fix it". On the Friday, sealed injectors, replaced starter motor, all should be fine. Charged us an arm and a leg
.Since then we have been losing coolant and having a warning light come up on the dash that says to stop the vehicle due to overheating. It's not leaking out anywhere we can see. The water tank will be full, and you can hear it bubbling in the engine when driving (which I don't think it should be!). Then when we check the water bottle will be completely empty. If you open the water cap slightly the pressure build up causes the water to gush back in to the water tank, but it comes back completely black! This has been ongoing now since April. Have tried to contact the company who sealed the injectors but having no luck - not even sure if it's something they caused or something that is completely unrelated. Not looking to blame anybody or cause trouble with the company, just trying to get an idea of what to do going forward.
We have had several different opinions on the issue and nobody seems to be able to give a definitive answer!
We've had the radiator bled around 15 times now as first suspected it was air locked. Another guy sucked on all the pipes and found a blockage in the water pump - this fixed all the problems for around a week! Then they all started back up again. We've had the thermostat housing replaced. Another person thought it may be the actual thermostat, but then my usual mechanic thinks head gasket, he did the head gasket dye test which turned from blue to very green. However, We've had a few people say it can't possibly be the head gasket as the oil is not milky, there's no white smoke from engine and no other "typical" head gasket signs. Although when we've googled the symptoms that seems to be the first thing suggested!
We're now in the dilemma of what to do with the car. As nobody seems sure what the actual issue is, it's been suggested that we get a re-conned engine put in (£3000) but we're wary of doing this. We could get the head gasket replaced (quoted £2500) but again are hesitant due to the high costs involved when we're not 100% sure that's the issue. The finance company have given us our options from their end: part ex, private sale, Voluntary surrender, voluntary termination, but we just don't know what to do for the best!
Before we spend out on the car we'd just like to know if others have experienced this type of issue and what happened with regards to it. We've considered VT-ing but we we're hoping to keep the car on the road at least until the finance agreement ends, as it's perfect for our needs (when it wants to work properly!!). If it's not financially sensible to do so then we will have to look at our options
Any and all advice would be very much appreciated!
