C5 – 3.0 L V6 Reliability

[lancia58]

I considering buying an automatic 3.0L C5 ( make year 2006-2008 )( keeping my Xantia ) any pros or cons for that car ? I heard that he steering may be problematic, is that true? Any problems with the gear ?

Thanks
Zohar

[vibes]

I bought one a year ago. It has done 188 000kms now (had about 176 when I bought it). Things I have (had to get) repaired/changed are the coils, VVT-solenoids, rear door lock and rear strut bearings. All in all it has been a very expensive year, still to come are gearbox oil and timing belt change, those damned air con flaps and upper brake light.

But still. A very nice car to drive, I'm still in love with it

[Stempy]

Bought one recently and had a few issues with it, mainly electronic BIS related. It's an 02 but only has 22.5k miles on it so has age related decay rather than mileage related, but having said that is is in very good nick. Still has two original tyres which I must get changed soon as they are quite perished. I think if you get one and you are a home mechanic you will want to get a Lexia if you don't already have one, I have one on my shopping list.

Very nice to drive but perhaps not quite as nice as the V6 Xantia which I had previously. I think it's not a car you would want to rely on as everyday transport without a lot of TLC but I bought mine as a kind of project car and will spend the coming weeks and months sorting all the little niggles and service requirements. It only gets used at weekends so mileage should remain low. When I'm happy that everything is up to scratch then it will be used for a bit of continental cruising

I think it really depends on how well it's been looked after. The engine and gearbox are pretty reliable if well looked after, but gearboxes tend to get neglected as far as oil replacement goes then suffer at higher mileages as a result.

[Mandrake]

From what I've read the main point of failure of the ES9J4S used in the C5 is the pencil coils, which are quite prone to failing especially the original factory types... the same could be said of many modern cars using pencil coils though, and they're not hard to replace.

Another issue is the complex (compared to the ES9J4) cat and oxygen sensor system - two pre-cats each with upstream and downstream oxygen sensors and then a large unmonitored cat in the combined exhaust.

A number of people seem to have had problems with the pre-cats failing and then finding that after market pre-cats are often not up to snuff and start setting emissions faults soon after, with genuine factory pre-cats eye wateringly expensive.

Other than that it looks like a very nice engine with some nice improvements over the ES9J4.

The gearbox is the exact same 4HP20 used in the Xantia V6, so all the same proviso's apply - "sealed for life" but if the owners actually believed that and never changed the oil chances are its nearly shagged by 100k miles. With regular oil changes they seem to be able to do a lot more than that.

Unfortunately all of the 4HP20's in the C5 are of the type that has a level plug instead of a dipstick which makes checking the oil level and doing an oil change a right PITA compared to the early Xantia boxes like mine with a dipstick where the job is a doodle by comparison. The difficulty of doing the oil changes probably means that its more likely the previous owners haven't done any...

[Ben82]

Won't a 2006-2008 C5 V6 be the ES9A engine with the AM6 6 speed autobox?
EDIT: just found one and looked it up, even a 2005 one will have the ES9A and AM6 ( VIN: 76605051 )

[addo]

I think you would be brave to own it in Israel. Parts prices and availability, would be the main worries.

[Stempy]

Won't a 2006-2008 C5 V6 be the ES9A engine with the AM6 6 speed autobox?
EDIT: just found one and looked it up, even a 2005 one will have the ES9A and AM6 ( VIN: 76605051 )

Were those available in the UK as I don't think I've ever seen one here.

[Ben82]

Won't a 2006-2008 C5 V6 be the ES9A engine with the AM6 6 speed autobox?
EDIT: just found one and looked it up, even a 2005 one will have the ES9A and AM6 ( VIN: 76605051 )

Were those available in the UK as I don't think I've ever seen one here.

Possibly not, my interest in Citroen only came about after owning my one in Sweden. Have only been able to see the 2.7HDI V6 on eBay, so maybe you're right.

We seem to get most of them over in Sweden, Mk1 V6s can be bought with a ML5 gearbox too.

[Mandrake]

Very nice to drive but perhaps not quite as nice as the V6 Xantia which I had previously.

In what way ?

Ride/handling ? Character ? Performance ?

I'm curious to know, not having ever driven a C5...

[Stempy]

Well, to me the ride isn't quite a supple and I'm not keen on the fly by wire throttle response. Handling is quite good for a big lump and similar to the Xantia, for my driving style at least. It may be that the ride and throttle response will improve with a bit of fettling and there may even be faults logged that I don't know about, but I will have to wait until I'm Lexia'd up to find out.

It has a few niggly electronic faults which all seem to be BIS related, again the Lexia might reveal all. I guess all these things could be described as 'character'.

There's certainly no lack in the performance department but until I get some new tyres I'm not going to push too hard.

It has a full Citroen service history but no receipts to show exactly what's been changed. As mentioned it still has two original 11 year old tyres, I suspect the plugs are original too. I've put in a request to Citroen UK to see if they have a service record as the dealer who looked after it haven't returned any of my enquiries. Main concern is the cam belt as it's supposed to be replaced after 10 years regardless of the particularly low miles. A job which fills me with dread.

I'll also drain the gearbox oil, a job I'm familiar with as my Xantia was fitted with the later dipstickless box and I must have done the job three or four times. Probably why it was still performing very nicely at 130k miles.

Anyway, I think I've hijacked the thread here, I'll no doubt be posting my findings as I run through all the jobs that need doing. Windscreen washer pump next. Manual says remove the front bumper but I'll see if I can find another way in.

[Ben82]

Stempy: You can get the Cambelt changed by the stealers for about £300-£350 (without water pump, and auxbelt):
http://info.citroen.co.uk/finance-and-s ... e-repairs/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Obviously you can venture into doing it yourself for less (probably including the water pump and sparkies). But at least you can weigh the pros and cons there

[Stempy]

I had the cam belt replaced on my V6 Xantia by the stealers and got a bill for £800! That was with the full set of tensioner, rollers and water pump though, even so it made me wince.

I have a set of plugs ready to fit myself when I get time to take of the manifold to do the job. I'm wondering whether it's worth fitting three new coils while I'm under there, then I'd have three existing known go ones for the front bank in case they fail at any point.

[lancia58]

Hi Addo

There are a lot of C5s in Israel although you are right very few 3.0 V6. Most of the parts ( not the big ones ) I get out of eBay at least for my Xantia. I have a very good mechanics ( not authorized ) that does a good job in a very reasonable prices. For instance replacing timing belt ( only labor ) is around £60 and a Gates set belt and tensioner is around £60. One of the big benefits that cars are not getting rusted because of the climate, where I live in a rainy winter there are no more than 20 rain days, it may be snowing once every 50 years. Xantias are getting very rare here I can estimate no more than a 150 survived, most are in a poor condition. There are two Activas , I got the chance to buy 1997 intact one for £1200 but I thought maintainability will be impossible.

Thank you all for your advices
Zohar

[hattershaun]

In the UK, the C5 3.0 V6 used a 6 speed auto gearbox from late 2004 to 2008.
This coincided with the launch of C5 II, I.e. the facelift version from Autumn 2004.
It's the same gearbox as used in many other Citroens with both petrol & diesel engines, C6, C8, C4, C4 Picasso, made by Aisin Warner.

I've driven several C5 V6 3.0 with this gearbox, & owned one for a while, a good improvement over the 4 speed box for power delivery and smoothness.

[centurus2400]

Stempy -I'm certain you'll have to remove the bumper to get at the washer reservoir, it's tucked up out of the way and is otherwise pretty inaccessible.
It's actually a fairly easy job but another pair of hands to help support the bumper is a good idea.