Should I service the C5 myself?

Revvie · Post by **Revvie** » 09 Oct 2011, 22:52

Very kindly, my father in law has given the lady and I a Citroen C5 diesel, 2004, 2.0 HDi. It's just passed 145,000 miles and the servicing light has come on.

Now I usually service cars myself, but when I suggested this to the father in law he recommended I take it to the specialists at Citroen.

Other than changing the oil and filters (air, fuel, oil and pollen), is there anything else that Citroen does that I cannot do myself? Am I missing some vital part of the C5's maintenance? Incidentally, the timing belt was done at 95,000 miles, so no need to worry about that for a while.

I don't want to fail the father in law by blowing up his ex 'baby' in the first few weeks, so any advice would be great.

Thanks for your help.

BX · Post by BX » 10 Oct 2011, 00:16

PROGRAMME D'ENTRETIEN
La frequence de I'entretien normal est programrnee tous les 20000 km ou tous les 2 ans. Toutefois, il convient de rappeler qu'en cas d'utilisation du
vehicule dans des conditions particulierement severes, il est important de rapprocher les frequences d'entretien tous les 15 000 km. Sous le terme utili-sation severe, on entend : parcours essentiellement urbains (porte a porte, taxi. . .) pays tres chauds, atmosphere tres poussiereuse (chantiers ... ), petits parcours repetes (moteur froid), qualite du carburant utilise douteuse.
Il faut souligner aussi qu'un plan d'entretien specifique est a appliquer pour les vehicules a faible kilometrage annuel.

EVERY
20,000Km - Vidange de l'huile moteur. Change Oil
- Remplacement du filtre a huile moteur. Change oil filter
- Controle du niveau du liquide de refroidissement. Check coolant level
- Controle de niveau du Jiquide de freins et etancheite du circuit. Check brake fluid level and ensure there are no leaks
- Controle de niveau de l'huile d'assistance de direction et suspension. Check LDS fluid level
- Controle du niveau de la batterie (si bouchons dernontables). Check battery electrolyte level if there are removable plugs
- Controle des feux, de l'eclairage et de la signalisation. Check Lights, lighting and signalling
- Controle de l'etat et pression des pneumatiques (y compris la roue de secours). Check the condition and pressure of the tyres (including the spare)
- Controle de l'etat des balais d'essuie-vitre '. Check the condition of the wiper blades
- Controle de l'etat de la ligne d'echappement, the exhaust pipe
- Etat des courroies d'accessoires. the accessory drive belt (fan belt)
- Controle de l'etat des soufflets (transmissions, rotules, cremaillere de direction). the rubber boots (drives, balljoints, track rod ends, steering rack)
- Controle de I 'usure des plaquettes de freins. Brake pad wear
- Controle de l'etat du dispositif de rattrapage automatique de la garde a l'embrayage. Clutch automatic adjuster
- Purge du filtre it combustible. Drain the fuel filter
- Lecture des rnemoires autodiagnostic (suivant equipernent), Read diagnostic memories
- Reinitialisation de l'indicateur de maintenance. Reset the service indicator
- Remplacement du filtre a air d'habitacle **. Change the pollen filter

60,000Km Operation des 20 000 km plus:
- Controle de l' etancheite des amortisseurs. Check that the suspension struts are leak free
- Controle du niveau d'huile de la boite de vitesses pour les modeles 200l. Check gearbox oil levels for 2001 model
- Remplacement du filtre a air moteur. Replace air filter
- Remplacement du filtre a combustible. Replace fuel filter
- Remplacement du liquide frein (comprenant la purge a air) "". replace brake fluid (including bleeding)

120,000Km Operation des 60 000 km plus:
- Remplacement du liquide de refroidissement moteur et rincage du circuit '''~** . Flush cooling system and replace coolant

160,000Km Operation des 20 000 km plus:
- Remplacement de la courroie de distribution "". Replace timing belt
, Les balais d'essuie-glace etant fabriques a partir de caoutchouc (rnatiere naturelle et vivante), il est conseille de les remplacer au minimum une fois
par an et ce que! que soit leur etat d'usure .
, Le filtre a air d'habitacle doit etre controle tous les 15 000 km ou tous les deux ans, ou plus frequemment en cas de circulation en atmosphere
«chargee » .
••• Le liquide de frein, sans atteindre ce kilometrage, doit etre rernplace tous les deux ans ou 45 000 km en usage intensif.
'*'* Dans le cas d'une utilisation tres severe (petits trajets repetes, utilisation urbaine importante ... ), la periodicite de remplacement de la courroie de
distribution peut-etre ramene a 120 000 km. En cas de faible kilometrage annue!, il est recommande de la remplacer tous les 10 ans.
***" Le liquide de refroidissement moteur doit etre rernplace tous les 90 000 km en usage intensif Oll tous les cinq ans en cas de faible kilornetrage.

If you are changing the brake fluid it is best to use a pressureised system to pump plenty fluid through the system. If the ABS system gets airlocked a diagnostic system is required to bleed it.

SaabC5 · Post by **SaabC5** » 10 Oct 2011, 13:38

No reason why you shouldn't DIY the service yourself. At 145k the car isn't worth a great amount so why pay main dealer prices to do the basics? You've already listed the essentials, don't forget to check the brake fluid and LDS fluid levels and check the brakes for wear. Document this in the service book should you sell the vehicle on.

Post by **Paul-R** » 10 Oct 2011, 13:47

If the word Service is lit up on the dial face then it's not regular servicing needed. It means that there's something wrong that needs attention.

A normal service might get rid of it but it's highly unlikely in my experience. You need to get the error codes read by a Lexia or similar. The delete the error code s and see if they reappear which means they really need seeing to.

den169 · Post by **den169** » 10 Oct 2011, 18:19

The service light comes on when the car needs a service aswell as if theres a problem,If the service light is on because its due a service it can be turned off by,
With ignition switched OFF

Press & hold the trip reset button ( one you use to 0 the trip mileage )

Turn ignition to ON

Keep the button held down & watch the countdown in the display 9, 8, 7 etc till it gets to 0

When it gets to 0 release the button & it should be reset.
I think thats the code no need for a lexia it might take a couple of go's.
That should switch the service light off if its only a service needed if its something else the light will come back on.

Clogzz · Post by **Clogzz** » 10 Oct 2011, 19:05

The LED screen shows at start what’s happening when the service light is on.
Low windscreen washer level is enough to shine the service light.

Citroenmad · Post by **Citroenmad** » 10 Oct 2011, 21:04

If the service is overdue the service light will apear, I think, mine never get that far

The 2.0HDi is a very easy engine to service, the C5 has a huge engine bay and that 2.0 is a small unit so there is plenty of space to get at things.

The oil filter is very easy to access (try servicing a 2.0HDI 206!), ait filter is on the top and so is the fuel filter. The fuel filter can be a little tricky, but take care with the pipes and make sure no grit gets into the housing and you will be fine with it.

When checking the brakes check the rear brakes, the pads often wear like a wedge shape and this rapidly increases wear. If the pads are wedge shaped it means there is corrision between the caliper and the arm and it has wedged thecaliper out. In extreme cases it can contact the wheel as it moves out with the corrosion. To remedy this, remove the caipers (easier said than done if they have been there a while), sand back the corrision, apply some copper grease and reassemble with new pads.

No need for Citroen specialists