New C5 daylight running lights

[jpn369]

Having had to surrender ownership of my precious Xantia 2.0HDI Exclusive Estate having reached a sterling 210k I have gone for an '08 plate C5 Tourer 2.0HDi Exclusive.
I have just discovered that in order to replace the daylight running light bulb, I have to pay £35 for the bulb and it involves removing the front bumper.
Does anyone out there know anything of this monumentally stupid state of affairs and any easier way around it?

[DickieG]

Unfortunately I can't help you a lot other than to say that whilst daytime running lights now have to be fitted they do not have to be turned on, unfortunately removing the front bumper to gain access to front bulbs is now normal practice on most cars, pretty much like the front fogs on your Xantia.

As you've changed over from a Xantia Exclusive estate to a new C5 Exclusive estate I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts on your new car by comparison as I'm seriously considering one to replace my Xantia estate when the time comes.

[jpn369]

This could be the start of a whole new thread, but in reply to your query.
In reference to the Exclusive version, it is the only one in the range to have hydro suspension.
It also has an electric tailgate, which is a fairly useless gimmick. More trouble than it is worth.
The electronic handbrake however is impressive and far better than those I have used on the VW Passat.
Fuel consumption and power on my 138 bhp '08 model is actually slightly disappointing in comparison to what I got from the Xantia 110bhp, which has a lower weight. The C5 returning about 38-40 mpg versus the Xantia's 45mpg. Of course road tax is lower with the C5 in spite of them having virtually identical CO2 emissions-it is just to do with the age of the car!
Having said all of that, I love the look of the car, it is quiet and very comfy. I am very tempted to trade it in ASAP for a 160bhp model, with more poke, lower CO2 and higher mpg-I just dont know about going Exclusive for the suspension and having to tolerate that tailgate!

[jpn369]

Does anyone know how easy a DIY job it is to get the new C5 bumper off?

[birksy]

My suggestion would be to log on to http://service.citroen.com/ pay £5 or so (5euros) for an hours access. Enter your vin and download the diagrams and repair procedures. Buy the bits you need and proceed with job hoping nothing gets scratched or broken.

Failing that you might as well pay the £35?

[jpn369]

Thanks for that. FYI the £35 was just for the bulb-it was an hour and a half labour on top to fit it-otherwise I would have paid £35 to get it sorted.

[DickieG]

Apologies if I'm being a nuisance but is your C5 a manual or auto? FYI BMW 5 Series have had electric 'soft closing' tailgates for over 10 years and despite having had a wide experience of different cars I've never heard of one failing

[Citroenmad]

The C5III is a heavy car, even compared to the C5I and I. Infact the 1.6HDi 110 in the C5II is quicker than the 2.0 138bhp in the C5III.

My C5II 2.0HDi 138 returns 48-50MPG and its certainly not underpowered. With the extra weight of the III, its no wonder Citroen soon upped the 2.0HDis power to 160.

[jpn369]

My C5 is a manual.
As far as the tailgate is concerned-it seems to have a system that prevents you using the electric opening and closing if it is at all worried about battery levels, it obviously works fine if the engine is running.

[jpn369]

Thanks to birksy's tip I paid my 5 Euros and discovered that you can use a Torx bit in a small ratchet drive and undo the bulb and drop it out of the bottom of the headlamp assembly with a bit of wiggling as it has a rubber seal holding it in. Suffered a few scratches to the forearms-but nothing new there.
Another tip, if you drop the bulb-like I did with one-you can easily remove the foglight assembly to retrieve it.
But now comes the next issue-the bulb. I cannot find its equivalent. Citroen say you cannot remove it from its mount-yes you can. It might break a spur or two, but then you would only be doing it if the bulbs blown.
So can anyone identify the bulb used?


Of course what I didn't say was that I did this without removing the bumper, but accessed everything from the engine compartment.

[jpn369]

I think I have now sorted this.
The mount the original bulb came in is the same size as a G4 halogen lamp.
I managed to track down an LED G4 lamp with a claimed equivalent output of 20-25w costing £7.80 plus p&p from www.everled.co.uk. To my surprise the package arrived covered with a load of russian postage stamps! The total cost for the two bulbs was £19.60 compared to the £35 for one bulb from Citroen. Also an estimated life of 50,000 hours with an LED compared to what you can expect from a halogen.
This new bulb slotted in and appears to function perfectly. I have covered over 100 miles and they are still working fine. I had been concerned about them working loose.
The bulb on its own and mounted in the base and comparison pics between the new daylight running bulb and the sidelights are below.

[jpn369]

I am just adding this as I have mistakenly called these daylight running lights not daytime running lights. Doh!

[jpn369]

Final update: Lights still functioning perfectly.

[CitrusC5]

I have the daytime running lights, the bulbs can be seen in place through the headlights, however I can't activate them from the Menu Function to turn them on. Would I be right in saying that I will need to take the car to a dealer to get the functionality activated, and will they want to charge for this ?

[jpn369]

Don't know how old your C5 is but you may be able to get it sorted as a warranty job. I have seen other threads on other forums with comments about the daytime running lights menu issues.
http://www.car4play.com/forum/post/?t=3530" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.citroen-owners-club.co.uk/ci ... ng-lights/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;