Sensodrive fan club

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addo
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Post by addo »

There's a lightly used A-M Cygnet for sale, does CVT count as automagic? You get bragging rights to say your wife's car is an Aston-Martin, it has a chain driven camshaft thus no belts to break, plus it's not a manual so she's happy...
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Re: Sensodrive fan club

Post by CitroJim »

I'd be interested to know what a modern CVT is like. The only ones I have known are the old DAF variomatics...

I presume they've got a bit more competent since?
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Re: Sensodrive fan club

Post by Northern_Mike »

addo wrote:There's a lightly used A-M Cygnet for sale, does CVT count as automagic? You get bragging rights to say your wife's car is an Aston-Martin, it has a chain driven camshaft thus no belts to break, plus it's not a manual so she's happy...
The day I go and buy a tarted-up Yaris, you can have me sectioned.
Last edited by Northern_Mike on 09 Dec 2014, 23:28, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Sensodrive fan club

Post by Northern_Mike »

CitroJim wrote:I'd be interested to know what a modern CVT is like. The only ones I have known are the old DAF variomatics...

I presume they've got a bit more competent since?
My dad's Jazz has a CVT. It's very nice to drive. The odd sensation of more speed with no rise in revs eventually goes away..
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Re: Sensodrive fan club

Post by daviemck2006 »

I had a 52 reg punto 1.2 sporting with a cvt for a while. My daughter had a 52 plate 1.2 elx at the same time. Ok mine was 16v with 80 bhp hers was a 8v with 60 hp. Hers was slow and not particularly economical, the cvt 16v on the other hand was brilliant. I loved it. It was a bit strange floor the throttle, instant 6000 rpm and it ran rings around many a so called faster car. The response was instant. And as a bonus it was only about 3 mpg less than the 8v manual. I bought it at auction a motability direct at 3 years old and sold 8 months later with 40k on it for more than I paid, so can't comment about long term reliability but it was a Fix It Again Tomorrow!
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Re: Sensodrive fan club

Post by charentejohn »

Some more info sites for sensodrive, for anyone with future problems, so hardly anybody I am sure :)
http://jimbutterworth.co.uk/5autobox.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.eurocarcare.net/faults.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; gearbox is about half way down the page
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Re: Sensodrive fan club

Post by Northern_Mike »

It would be simple enough for someone to create a sticky with the sensodrive links on. There's not really that much to say on them apart from to avoid them is there?
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Re: Sensodrive fan club

Post by daviemck2006 »

I would say more than avoid them, but avoid them is enough!
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Re: Sensodrive fan club

Post by Jodyone »

I had a C4 Picasso recently as a courtesy car. It was a diesel, agonisingly slow, (way slower than my HDi 90 Xantia which actually was quite spry); autobox was operated by a flimsy lever about 2 o'clock behind the steering wheel; and whenever it changed gear, the car lurched so much I thought i was going to hit my head on the windscreen and my coffee spilt. Was this sensodrive? If so I hate it
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Re: Sensodrive fan club

Post by charentejohn »

Ah, I see. Because I asked for this to be sensodrive only it has turned into an F1 for/against, sensodrive is rubbish thread (not a very technical argument) just to lock up the thread ?
A friend (classic car fan) keeps saying he never bothers with fourms as they are 'just knitting circles'. I always, and still do, maintain this forum is not, usually skilled and helpful advice from people with actual experience.

The best suggestion is for this to be edited to senso only comments and made a sticky. Sensodrive and it's derivatives are here to stay and it may be as well to create a place for advice and repair suggestions, can someone do this please ? You can leave this thread to wander off into the distance but just extract relevant bits to start the sticky ?
The avoid them comments can stay I guess but well defined reasons would help.

The links I found suggest sensodrive has a bad press due to poor garages rather than bad design. I have mentioned before that local garages in France don't see a problem, probably because they understand the boxes and how to fix them as they see a lot. They may be rubbish ( I personally am not convinced of that) but that is like saying a well designed house built by cowboy builder's is a bad house.

Before buying my wife's sensodrive I read all the lurching, bounced off the windscreen warnings but this box is excellent. So seems we have the only one (there is another diesel I drove too), I would seriously invite anyone to visit and try it, not as described here at all.

Even if you don't create a senso sticky can you lock the thread please.
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Re: Sensodrive fan club

Post by daviemck2006 »

The comments I said about the sensodrive box are my own personal experience with a car I bought with the most comprehensive citroen then citroen specialist service history and serviced twice as often as citroen recommend and one owner from new. If any car should have been a good buy it should have been this one. When it refused to start, no warning at all I tried everything that the ultimate sensodrive guide on the c2 forum advised. Nothing worked. It was towed to a main citroen dealer who took five weeks to get it going and the final bill was well in excess of £1100. I sold the car at a huge loss as it was still slow, jerky and unresponsive, and I had no confidence in the car or the ability of Citroen to fix it. The amount of them that I have heard of breaking, and the amount of them I see for sale broken compared to the amount that would have been sold would suggest there is a design fault which makes them unreliable in general. There are always exceptions, and the fact your wife's one has been ok proves that. The fact that citroen quickly redesigned them as the egs for the c4 and newer c3 and have redesigned them again for the latest c4 to me proves they are suspect. I admit that I would never trust a sensodrive again, which is the original question, is due to my personal experience. I can also see why you think they are brilliant. If I were buying a brand new citroen, which I would never do, I would have no problem with the etg6 or whatever it's called box, but it would be subject to an extended test drive in stop start rush hour city driving. At the end of the day I do hope your wife's one continues to behave, and if you do buy another that it behaves also.
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Re: Sensodrive fan club

Post by Northern_Mike »

charentejohn wrote: I have mentioned before that local garages in France don't see a problem, probably because they understand the boxes and how to fix them as they see a lot.
Doesn't that tell you something?....
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Re: Sensodrive fan club

Post by Northern_Mike »

charentejohn wrote:Ah, I see. Because I asked for this to be sensodrive only it has turned into an F1 for/against, sensodrive is rubbish thread (not a very technical argument) just to lock up the thread ?
A friend (classic car fan) keeps saying he never bothers with fourms as they are 'just knitting circles'. I always, and still do, maintain this forum is not, usually skilled and helpful advice from people with actual experience.

The best suggestion is for this to be edited to senso only comments and made a sticky. Sensodrive and it's derivatives are here to stay and it may be as well to create a place for advice and repair suggestions, can someone do this please ? You can leave this thread to wander off into the distance but just extract relevant bits to start the sticky ?
The avoid them comments can stay I guess but well defined reasons would help.

The links I found suggest sensodrive has a bad press due to poor garages rather than bad design. I have mentioned before that local garages in France don't see a problem, probably because they understand the boxes and how to fix them as they see a lot. They may be rubbish ( I personally am not convinced of that) but that is like saying a well designed house built by cowboy builder's is a bad house.

Before buying my wife's sensodrive I read all the lurching, bounced off the windscreen warnings but this box is excellent. So seems we have the only one (there is another diesel I drove too), I would seriously invite anyone to visit and try it, not as described here at all.

Even if you don't create a senso sticky can you lock the thread please.
Seriously, get off your high horse. It's perfectly normal for thread drift to occur on the FCF. If you don't like it there are other more heavily moderated forums you might find more suitable.

You've had information, you've been told people's opinions and experiences of Sensodrive and other similar boxes from other manufacturers, including CVT types.
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Re: Sensodrive fan club

Post by daviemck2006 »

"Extract relevant bits to start the sticky" "the avoid them bits can stay I guess but we'll defined reasons would help"
Ok what are the relevant bits? Just the bits you agree on?
As said I have given well defined personal reasons.
"Poor garages rather than bad design" if the design was not bad they would not be near garages to find out if the garages are poor.
Answer? AVOID SENSODRIVE LIKE THE PLAUGE
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Re: Sensodrive fan club

Post by Northern_Mike »

daviemck2006 wrote:"Extract relevant bits to start the sticky" "the avoid them bits can stay I guess but well defined reasons would help"
Ok what are the relevant bits? Just the bits you agree on?
That does appear to be the case.
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