Late last year I had a Vauxhall Cavalier until I had a bit of a prang when a Punto hit me side on. The car was written off and being on a tight budget I looked around. I finally found an M reg Citroen XM Exclusive CT Turbo, a Series II model with full service history, plus when I got it, the garage put it through another service and MOT.
Now, while I think it's a great car and really comfortable to drive there have been a few problem. Some of these I suspect are minor but my car knowledge is next to nil.
First off.
The rear passengers side electric window refuses to open, either using its own switch or the control in the centre console.
The electric mirror adjustment refuses to work. No movement there at all.
The glove box catch seems to have had one of its 'teeth' broken, as the plastic part that the lid slots into is sitting down at one side.
The heater/aircon system sometimes won't work when first starting, other times it will just intermittently stop for no reason.
These are all fairly minor problems that I could ignore but I would prefer if I could fix them, so any advice is appreciated.
Incidentally, I checked all fuses for these systems and they seem fine.
Also, I've noticed after driving for a while there's a bit of a sensation of heat coming from under the car, is that normal?
However, the last problem is more of an irritant, it involves the lock on the drivers door. The key I got had a rather battered fob remote and the key itself was a bit worn. I replaced the batteries in the fob and it worked for a while but eventually it got temperamental then refused to work alogether. Is it worth replacing the batteries again?
The main problem with the lock however is that the key started 'spinning' in the lock. Pressing in hard and then turning the lock worked for a while but even that didn't do it. I had a fresh blank key (without remote) cut and that worked fine for a while but now the problem repeats. Both keys work fine in the passengers lock and the boot lock, as well as the ignition but not the drivers door. Any ideas?
The first lot of problems I've posted are minor but I'd not mind some suggestions, the lock is the key (no pun intended) problem.
Still, despite all this, the XM is a pleasure to drive, especially on the craterlike roads of Ayrshire where I felt like I was being shaken apart in my Cavalier. Sorry that my first post has to be such a lengthy problem. [:)]
XM Problems
Moderator: RichardW
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Peter.N.
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Firstly, the electric window problem is quite likely to be one of the switches, as thet are connected in a 'two way' circuit, either of them could cause the window not to work. To test you could try swapping them over with the ones that do work. The only cure for these , other than replacement, is to take them apart and give the contacts a good clean.
The mirror could be the same problem, you could try taking it out and spraying the contacts with WD40.
The glove box catch you will have to replace.
The heater problem I assume is an intermittent blower motor. The usual problem with these is failure of the speed regulator transistors, if you are handy you can replace them, otherwise get a secondhand blower form the scrapyard, they are not to difficult to fit.
The problem with the lock is a common one, its worn out! The remote control transmitters suffer with dry joints, again, if you are any good at soldering and have good eyesight, take the pc board out and examine it for cracks and resolder any, very often the components come loose from the board at one end. Otherwise, the cheapest way to rectfy the problem, is to get a matching transmitter and reciever from a scrap car. The reciever is mounted under the glove box.
The mirror could be the same problem, you could try taking it out and spraying the contacts with WD40.
The glove box catch you will have to replace.
The heater problem I assume is an intermittent blower motor. The usual problem with these is failure of the speed regulator transistors, if you are handy you can replace them, otherwise get a secondhand blower form the scrapyard, they are not to difficult to fit.
The problem with the lock is a common one, its worn out! The remote control transmitters suffer with dry joints, again, if you are any good at soldering and have good eyesight, take the pc board out and examine it for cracks and resolder any, very often the components come loose from the board at one end. Otherwise, the cheapest way to rectfy the problem, is to get a matching transmitter and reciever from a scrap car. The reciever is mounted under the glove box.
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Jade Falcon
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The replacement key I had was from Timpsons and was just a basic key, not a full replacement key that included the remote. I had asked at a Citroen garage how much it would cost to get a replacement and they said about £100. However, I know of a place in Prestwick, a town just a few miles up the road that say they can make XM replacement keys, including the fob for about £25. Is this worth checking out would you say.
I'm not particularly mechanically minded, and I could see if a local garage could check it out, they had repaired the Nissan Bluebird I once had at a very cheap price. In fact, my Dad had a Citroen BX and when it failed it's MOT one of the things wrong was the pipes to do with the hydropnuematic suspension and total repair costs of everything including that were about £150 so they are quite reasonable.
The Haynes manual doesn't really help that much with the XM as the pictures aren't really the best quality. I'm glad that it seems to be nothing particularly terrible. If a replacement key to operate the central locking is all thats needed or even a patch up of the existing that's the problem more or less sorted I would assume, or does the lock have to be perfect for the remote fob to work?
I'm not particularly mechanically minded, and I could see if a local garage could check it out, they had repaired the Nissan Bluebird I once had at a very cheap price. In fact, my Dad had a Citroen BX and when it failed it's MOT one of the things wrong was the pipes to do with the hydropnuematic suspension and total repair costs of everything including that were about £150 so they are quite reasonable.
The Haynes manual doesn't really help that much with the XM as the pictures aren't really the best quality. I'm glad that it seems to be nothing particularly terrible. If a replacement key to operate the central locking is all thats needed or even a patch up of the existing that's the problem more or less sorted I would assume, or does the lock have to be perfect for the remote fob to work?
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Peter.N.
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C5 X7 VTR + Satnav Hdi estate Silver
C5 X7 VTR + Hdi Estate 2008 Red
In the past: 3, CX td Safaris and about 7, XM td estates. Lovely cars. - x 1205
Sounds like you've got a good garage there, I should hang on to them. That key price sounds very good, I had to replace the fob on mine and it cost nearly £80 from Citroen and it still didn't work because the reciever was faulty. They wouldn't reprogramme the key, they siad I would have to buy a fob + reciever for over £200! so I still have the new one. I bought a secondhand one complete for about £50. I should go for the Prestwick job, I would be interested to know if its OK. I agree with your comments about the Haynes manual, there is also not nearly enough information about the electrical system.