Xantia HDi ownership

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ianrobbo
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Location: West Sussex
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Xantia HDi ownership

Post by ianrobbo »

I had my 2000 Xantia HDi 90 for almost 2 years and 40,000 miles. Sold it on Saturday with 140,000 on the clock.

Thought new or potential Xantia HDi owners might be interested in my experiences - there are lots of problems and tales of woe on forums (partly why they're there!), but not often good news.

When I originally bought the car (ebay) it needed 2 rear spheres, plus numerous other niggles such as drivers side electric mirror window didn't work, airbag light flashed all the time, drivers side passenger manual window didn't work, plus lots more.

So I fitted 2 new spheres, and 2 rear hubs which were snagged on the MoT a couple of months later. The electric window mechanism plastic clip was cracked, so a second hand mechanism from a scrapper was fitted. And at the last MoT, just one front suspension bush.

Reliability has been excellent. In those 40,000 miles, I've had to replace a starter motor, and a lift pump. That's it. Neither failed, just got intermittent.

So over that 2 years, I slowly fixed all the little niggles, so the guy who bought it from me got a much better car than the one I bought.
And apart form those items above, I've replaced oil, fuel & oil filters, plus oil. And front pads. Lots of front pads. I bought Bendix ones from GFS, and it ate them for brekkies.

I reckon I averaged 50mpg, and often got 55 (best tank range was 723 miles before the light came on). That was mostly motorway driving in rush hour, so speeds were reasonable, not high.

And nice enough to drive. Not fast, but roadholding was surprisingly good. I've had 6 BX's in the past, and at the time they were great, but I didn't rate the ride quality on this one very highly.

Worst thing about it? The headlights. Awful. Bright enough, but absolutely no penetration. The light seemed to scatter in all directions.

So, all in all, a positive ownership experience. I didn't love the car, but I did admire its abilities.

And the best thing about it? Bought it for £680, sold it for £695. Happy days!
2000 Xantia 2.0 HDi
1989 Saab c900 T16S
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DHallworth
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Post by DHallworth »

Sounds like you had a better 2 years with yours!

The last 12 months with ours have been a ballache!

I hate the bloody thing at the moment!

David.
'98 Xantia Activa V6 :-D
'00 XM V6 Exclusive
'09 C5 2.7 HDi Exclusive
‘10 C5 3.0 HDi Exclusive
'12 C6 3.0 HDi Exclusive
'15 C4 BlueHDi Feel
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DHallworth
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Post by DHallworth »

It's quite scary when you do a list of everything you've done to a car, this is the work I've done to the girl friends HDi Exclusive in the last 12 months.

Xantia HDi Replacement Parts:

2 rear spheres
Accumulator sphere
Rear silencer box on exhaust
Front discs and pads
Track rod and track rod end and tracking
4 replacement Michelin Tyres
Crank shaft pulley
Auxilliary belt
Auxilliary belt tensioner
4 replacement injectors with washers and plastic spacers
4 replacement Lucas glow plugs
Replacement pre/post heat control box
Replacement ignition switch
2 x Fuel filters
2 x Air filters
2 x Oil filters

There's one or two things it's going to need still too...

The bushes on the wishbones are showing signs of slight wear. Apparently you need to replace the entire wishbones on these.

The biggest thing I hate about the car though is that I just cannot get comfy in it like i can in my Activa or V6 Xantia. This HDi is an exclusive so the seats should be the same. They just don't feel it though. The fact this one has a sunroof and my head is brushing against the headlining all the time doesn't help.

This one is my girl friends car though. She finds it comfy, it does over 50mpg for her and she likes it so I can't slate it to much.

David.
'98 Xantia Activa V6 :-D
'00 XM V6 Exclusive
'09 C5 2.7 HDi Exclusive
‘10 C5 3.0 HDi Exclusive
'12 C6 3.0 HDi Exclusive
'15 C4 BlueHDi Feel
ianrobbo
Posts: 33
Joined: 21 Jul 2008, 21:00
Location: West Sussex
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Post by ianrobbo »

DHallworth wrote: The bushes on the wishbones are showing signs of slight wear. Apparently you need to replace the entire wishbones on these.
I think it depends which bush on the front wishbone it is. The one I replaced was a rear bush, it was cheap enough from GSF, and although it was a bit awkward to change it wasn't too bad.
2000 Xantia 2.0 HDi
1989 Saab c900 T16S
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DHallworth
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Posts: 2382
Joined: 20 Nov 2005, 17:05
Location: Glasgow
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x 119

Post by DHallworth »

ianrobbo wrote:
I think it depends which bush on the front wishbone it is. The one I replaced was a rear bush, it was cheap enough from GSF, and although it was a bit awkward to change it wasn't too bad.
I looked at the calendar today and noticed that the car was due an MOT as it expired yesterday.

Took it in for MOT and got 4 advisories...

Both Rear wishbone bushes need changing
Both ABS rings on the front drive shafts are loose

Now I know it's the rear bushes I can get them changed easily enough by the sounds of it.

Wonder if I can tack the abs rings back on with the welder.

David.
'98 Xantia Activa V6 :-D
'00 XM V6 Exclusive
'09 C5 2.7 HDi Exclusive
‘10 C5 3.0 HDi Exclusive
'12 C6 3.0 HDi Exclusive
'15 C4 BlueHDi Feel
andmcit
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Post by andmcit »

DHallworth wrote:Wonder if I can tack the abs rings back on with the welder.
:? David - wouldn't a tiny bit of JB Weld/Chemical Metal or even Araldite not be
a safer in-situ solution? I'd certainly try them before more drastic measures!

Andrew
andmcit
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Post by andmcit »

Incidentally, more back onm the original thread - I've found all/any Xantia
headlights to be superb - one in particular I reckon must've had recent
replacements as the road was like daylight on dip; I regret giving the car
away if only for the realisation afterwards that the lights were the best I've
driven with and I'd totally forgotten to swap them over with other spares... :roll:

Swapping whole wishbones dodges the whole dis-assembly and reassembly
nightmare shennanigans but more money outright first clawed back if you fit
the wishbone yourself whereas paying a garage to fit bushes may even break
even - plus the guy will tell you never to ask him to do it again probably!!

Andrew
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DHallworth
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Post by DHallworth »

Wishbones seem to be about 80 odd quid each or 218 odd quid from the dealer.

GSF list the rear bushes for 13 quid.

The other bushes on it are apparently fine so I don't think it's worth the extra cash.

Welding for us is easier then messing around with chemical metal really. With the tig, the heat is very localised so I reckon we could do it with the drive shaft still in situ.

Will have a look over the weekend and see.

David.
'98 Xantia Activa V6 :-D
'00 XM V6 Exclusive
'09 C5 2.7 HDi Exclusive
‘10 C5 3.0 HDi Exclusive
'12 C6 3.0 HDi Exclusive
'15 C4 BlueHDi Feel
andmcit
Posts: 4299
Joined: 03 Mar 2005, 17:59
Location: Swansea - South Wales
My Cars:
x 30

Post by andmcit »

Obviously bush replacement DIY is the cheapest route - that's a given.
Wouldn't want to do them (even the bigger bracket ones) every day mind;
and once a year is probably pushing it but just about tolerable! :x

Andrew
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DHallworth
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Post by DHallworth »

Thanks Andrew,

It's not one I've ever done before so it'll be a first time for me.

Did you ever have any luck getting your V6 Xantia going?

David.
'98 Xantia Activa V6 :-D
'00 XM V6 Exclusive
'09 C5 2.7 HDi Exclusive
‘10 C5 3.0 HDi Exclusive
'12 C6 3.0 HDi Exclusive
'15 C4 BlueHDi Feel
andmcit
Posts: 4299
Joined: 03 Mar 2005, 17:59
Location: Swansea - South Wales
My Cars:
x 30

Post by andmcit »

Not yet - still no news, and in this case, no news IS BAD NEWS!
God knows why it decided to play hard to get permanently all on
it's own accord - if I was paranoid I'd say it's another one of my
cars that's suffered the unwelcome attentions of a third party with
a grudge against me and my cars. :(

Let's just say I've had a series of problems. One I can't prove, but I'm
convinced a sump didn't just empty and it's plug disappear on my black
Activa without leaving any trace evidence if it'd been an accidental
oversight on my part tightening it up on an oil change; it was fine the
day before and knackered shortly into the morning run...

and two separate incidences of loose wheel bolts on different cars... :shock:

Andrew
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DHallworth
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Post by DHallworth »

Bloody hell, that's not good! Someone must have a serious grudge against you to drop all your oil, and loosen your wheel bolts!

One way of looking at it is at least it was an Activa where replacement engines are fairly readily available. If it was your 24v XM then you'd of been in a right mess!

How did they get under it to do that?

You any inclinations at all as to what might be wrong with the V6?

David.
'98 Xantia Activa V6 :-D
'00 XM V6 Exclusive
'09 C5 2.7 HDi Exclusive
‘10 C5 3.0 HDi Exclusive
'12 C6 3.0 HDi Exclusive
'15 C4 BlueHDi Feel
ianrobbo
Posts: 33
Joined: 21 Jul 2008, 21:00
Location: West Sussex
My Cars:

Post by ianrobbo »

andmcit wrote:Incidentally, more back onm the original thread - I've found all/any Xantia
headlights to be superb - one in particular I reckon must've had recent
replacements as the road was like daylight on dip; I regret giving the car
away if only for the realisation afterwards that the lights were the best I've
driven with and I'd totally forgotten to swap them over with other spares... :roll:
Fine on dip, but main beam was hopeless - my 1989 Saab 900 headlights are much better.

I replaced both bulbs in the time I had it, but not the reflectors/shells.
2000 Xantia 2.0 HDi
1989 Saab c900 T16S
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