Good job I love my C5.

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Alec B
Posts: 80
Joined: 19 Feb 2010, 21:41
Location: Lymington,Hampshire U.K.
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Good job I love my C5.

Post by Alec B »

Or else it would have been sold by now!! The latest problem is the suspension pump has failed leaving us with very low and stiff suspension all over the bank holiday. My local Citroen specialist gave it a quick run on his Lexia which shows the pump has indeed failed (he sent a direct command to it and it wouldn't fire up) and also the front + rear height correctors are faulty which he thinks may have caused the pump to fail, as it would have been running more than it should. The garage I bought it from thinks (and I hope) it will be covered by the warranty. This is going to be costly I believe so lets hope the warranty covers it. Oh and the rear demister doesn't work so that will be £65 excess + £30 to re-tint the new glass. C5 ownership certainly isn't cheap #-o :roll: .
Current Car
C5 Estate VTR 1.6HDi 2005 S2

Previous French Cars
Pug 205 Gti 1.6 1985.
Xantia Estate LX 2000 90bhp HDi
Xsara Picasso VTX 1.6 HDi (92) 2007
Jabo
Posts: 253
Joined: 08 Apr 2011, 15:52
Location: West Dunbartonshire
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Re: Good job I love my C5.

Post by Jabo »

Alec B wrote:C5 ownership certainly isn't cheap #-o :roll: .
It certainly is not! In the year that I've owned my C5 I've:

Replaced the windscreen as it cracked
Fitted TWO new suspension fluid reservoirs - both cracked during stupid accidents - and obviously needed about 10 litres of LDS
Fitted 4 new tyres
Fitted a new ignition coil
Fitted new spark plugs
Replaced the windscreen wipers twice. They're finally working properly
Fitted 2 new sets of windscreen washers as they keep blocking
Repaired a crack in the screenwash reservoir
Bought and about to fit new bearings in my driver's side rear arm
Tried to repair the broken strips in my rear demister, didn't work
Fitted a new cambelt-side engine mount, aux belt tensioner and aux belt as the tensioner's mounting point suffered fatigue failure
Turned off the temperature reading on the dash via Lexia as it was well out

and there's still more niggly jobs needing done!
2001 Citroen C5 SX 2.0 petrol - Misty Lilac

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Alec B
Posts: 80
Joined: 19 Feb 2010, 21:41
Location: Lymington,Hampshire U.K.
My Cars:

Re: Good job I love my C5.

Post by Alec B »

We should have a top trumps battle for C5 drivers. I've had

1 new sidelight bulbs which involved removing the bumper
2 new headlight main and dipped bulbs (might as well as the bumper was off)
3 currently has egr or maf sensor fault
4 keeps wandering (tracking has helped) but probably rear arms costly!!
5 rear demister ( see original post)
6 boot window solenoid needs doing

all in 2 months of ownership.
Current Car
C5 Estate VTR 1.6HDi 2005 S2

Previous French Cars
Pug 205 Gti 1.6 1985.
Xantia Estate LX 2000 90bhp HDi
Xsara Picasso VTX 1.6 HDi (92) 2007
Citroenmad
Posts: 8125
Joined: 04 Dec 2008, 22:08
Location: Northeast
My Cars: 07 Citroen C6 V6 HDi Exclusive - Red
07 Citroen C5 HDi VTR - Red
09 Citroen C3 1.4i VTR - Silver
01 Citroen Saxo 1.1i Forte - Mango Orange
93 Ford Mondeo 2.0i GLX
19 Hyundai i10
x 110

Re: Good job I love my C5.

Post by Citroenmad »

Your really having some bad luck with that one :?

Ive been reasonably lucky with my current C5:
Clutch: £700 - still very annoyed about this failing at 29K miles despite my very sympathetic attitude towards clutches, the DMF failed, the clutch plate was just about new looking.
Track Rod end: £20

I can't remember anything else unexpected in my 22K mile and 14 month ownership. All its had otherwise is services (done by me every 6K with genuine parts and Total ECS oil) and a set of Michelin tyres.

My last one was a little more problematic:
Comms2000 unit: £100
Drop links: £70
Handbrake cables and guides: £??
New pads and discs due to the brake sticking on, ruining the discs and pads
Flush of LDS due to someone previously putting in LHM: £100#

Not too bad over my yearly and 18K miles with it. It did have a full set of Michelins fitted (£550), cambelt kit and water pump (£220) and servicing every 6K but that is all expected and just routine running costs.

My oldest C5, which is still here:
Intercooler
Front caliper
Rear caliper
new speedo unit (£70 - got a new old stock one from a locak French car place)

Again, along with tyres, servicing and cambelt kit. Not bad for the 34K miles and 3 years with us.

Could well be a few things missing off those lists, but on the whole I find them reasonably cheap to keep. Asside from the failed dual mass flywheel! :twisted:
Chris
07 Citroen C6 V6 HDi Exclusive - Red
07 Citroen C5 HDi VTR - Red
09 Citroen C3 1.4i VTR - Silver
01 Citroen Saxo 1.1i Forte - Mango Orange
.
93 Ford Mondeo 2.0i GLX
19 Hyundai i10
Alec B
Posts: 80
Joined: 19 Feb 2010, 21:41
Location: Lymington,Hampshire U.K.
My Cars:

Re: Good job I love my C5.

Post by Alec B »

Not too bad I have to say. We have just had the quote @ £1020 so fingers crossed it gets covered by the warrenty. Although still not sure of cause. Any ideas anyone or are the pumps prone to failure (the garage is unsure now what caused it to fail).
Current Car
C5 Estate VTR 1.6HDi 2005 S2

Previous French Cars
Pug 205 Gti 1.6 1985.
Xantia Estate LX 2000 90bhp HDi
Xsara Picasso VTX 1.6 HDi (92) 2007
Citroenmad
Posts: 8125
Joined: 04 Dec 2008, 22:08
Location: Northeast
My Cars: 07 Citroen C6 V6 HDi Exclusive - Red
07 Citroen C5 HDi VTR - Red
09 Citroen C3 1.4i VTR - Silver
01 Citroen Saxo 1.1i Forte - Mango Orange
93 Ford Mondeo 2.0i GLX
19 Hyundai i10
x 110

Re: Good job I love my C5.

Post by Citroenmad »

Seems a little steep!

I had a problem with the pump on my last C5 as someone had filled the suspension tank with LHM and it didn't seem to mix with the LDS. Now I know its been said on here that it does mix and should not cause a problem. In my experience it doesn't, it started to foam and the pump failed to have any effect. It was flushed out and new LDS was put in. The Citroen indy said they have replaced a few pumps due to them having a LDS/LHM mixture. I only have their word for this though.

Its not a common failing at all, quite unusual in fact.

They are quite certain its the pump?

In a way its a shame it is under warranty, as I would be getting hold of a secondhand one and seeing if it really is at fault.

What were the symptoms before it went, or did it just stop working?
Chris
07 Citroen C6 V6 HDi Exclusive - Red
07 Citroen C5 HDi VTR - Red
09 Citroen C3 1.4i VTR - Silver
01 Citroen Saxo 1.1i Forte - Mango Orange
.
93 Ford Mondeo 2.0i GLX
19 Hyundai i10
Alec B
Posts: 80
Joined: 19 Feb 2010, 21:41
Location: Lymington,Hampshire U.K.
My Cars:

Re: Good job I love my C5.

Post by Alec B »

Seems a little steep!
Yes we thought the same it's £690 for the pump but the labour and LDS etc were reasonable. The garage thought it was going to be £500 so they were supprised too at the cost.
Its not a common failing at all, quite unusual in fact.

They are quite certain its the pump?
The garage did seem to think it was a common fault but I do only have their word.
Apperently we were lucky there wasn't a fire as the pump was totally ruined. I'll try and get it before they chuck it away. Since I've bought the car I have used the suspension buttons quite a bit for various jobs and citerobics etc but It's designed to do this so I can't believe that that has caused it. The only thing they said was that it may be caused by another fault making it run more than it should (don't know if that's correct).
In a way its a shame it is under warranty, as I would be getting hold of a secondhand one and seeing if it really is at fault.
We thought of fitting a second hand one but the garage were not too keen in case it failed again, still hoping the warranty covers it though :roll:
What were the symptoms before it went, or did it just stop working?
The day before my wife said it (the car) was making a strange sound like the pump speeding up then slowing down when first started the morning it failed, I set it to low to fit some roofbars the following morning then raising to normal the rear stood up then it all stopped.
Current Car
C5 Estate VTR 1.6HDi 2005 S2

Previous French Cars
Pug 205 Gti 1.6 1985.
Xantia Estate LX 2000 90bhp HDi
Xsara Picasso VTX 1.6 HDi (92) 2007
Citroenmad
Posts: 8125
Joined: 04 Dec 2008, 22:08
Location: Northeast
My Cars: 07 Citroen C6 V6 HDi Exclusive - Red
07 Citroen C5 HDi VTR - Red
09 Citroen C3 1.4i VTR - Silver
01 Citroen Saxo 1.1i Forte - Mango Orange
93 Ford Mondeo 2.0i GLX
19 Hyundai i10
x 110

Re: Good job I love my C5.

Post by Citroenmad »

No, its not at all a common failing, there are cases of them doing so but its quite rare.

I use my suspension buttons a lot and have not had a problem, the pump is working a lot anyway to keep the car level.
Chris
07 Citroen C6 V6 HDi Exclusive - Red
07 Citroen C5 HDi VTR - Red
09 Citroen C3 1.4i VTR - Silver
01 Citroen Saxo 1.1i Forte - Mango Orange
.
93 Ford Mondeo 2.0i GLX
19 Hyundai i10
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