paul.h

If it was black smoke it could be an egr valve problem or fueling problem. The times I have had white smoke, once was head gasket failure and it was steam from the coolant getting in to the cylinders (so check your coolant level), the other time in a petrol Saab it was the turbo had failed and the cloud of white smoke surrounded the car. If it is the turbo and you continue to use the car, the turbo could break up and put metal bits in to the engine and ruin it, so as well as a turbo the engine would need rebuilding or replacing.

I had read the MOT manual was meant to be revised in Feb this year to include the diesel exhaust cat and dpf checks. But the one that is still on-line has an issue date of April 2013 and Fourth edition 2011.

You can see the MOT testers guide on line on a gov.uk site. http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/htdocs/m4i00000001.htm A quick look did not find anything on emissions warning messages causing a fail - but there are for the air bag and abs lights.

You can read/print (mouse right click works well) the handbook on the service.citroen site, documentation de bord, select language and then your car. The Picasso one starts from 2005 but most of it will be relevant. http://service.citroen.com/ddb/

Welcome to the forum. I did a google search on Pluriel wind noise and did not find anything apart from one that needed a repair and in the Parkers review for the Pluriel they only say: Getting the roof down couldn't be easier - the canvas rolls back at the twist of a knob and it's comparatively quiet for a convertible with little noise at moderate speed. However, on the motorway with the roof down things can start to get noisy. So I would be tempted to go back to the dealer and question it in case something is wrong and maybe ask for a test drive in another as a comparison.

Welcome to the forum. Your experience is useful in helping to prevent this problem.

I have never used the email alerts so I do not know if they work, maybe somebody else will help with this. With the manual gear change, maybe the cables need adjusting, maybe there is wear in the bushes at the gear lever end or the ball joints at the gearbox end of the cables. But, if all is well now then I guess you are not going to do anything yet.

Have you got it showing the instantaneous reading which will change as the accerator pedal is used ? Use the button on the end of the wiper stalk to see.

Welcome to the forum. You would think the sensor that is telling the car there is something wrong would be identified by a fault code or out of normal range by its live data - if not then there would not be a problem. If you can get the fault list and codes from the garage and put them on here it may help with replies. One thought to consider, was the upstream lambda sensor (oxygen sensor) that was installed done by a Citroen dealer using a Citroen part or a pattern part since pattern ones may not always work well ? The sensor wiring should also be checked for damage, it is well clear of the exhaust and the electrical connector is ok. On live data you should be able to see it switching about quite a bit. If the catalyst is working then the downstream lambda sensor should be showing a steady reading. Other things could include a temperature sensor fault, air flow meter fault - measured by a pressure sensor on the inlet manifold, maybe an overfuelling fault (injector), blocked air filter, air leak after the air flow meter, throttle body needs cleaning, egr valve needs a clean.

Is it now running but still with the misfire ? If it is an ignition problem it could be the ignition coil cassette but first it would be worthwhile removing (and maybe replacing) all the spark plugs and seeing if they are all the same light brown colour at the tips. Any that are not may show a problem with that cylinder - spark plug fault (could swap the plug to another cylinder to see if the problem moves with the plug), low compression due to a valve problem (try a compression test), ignition coil problem. It could also be a fuel problem such as a temperature sensor fault, blocked air filter, air leak, injector/carburettor fault.

You may be right about it being a software problem. To see if it does it in daylight, covering the light sensor up may help - usually this is in the middle top of the windscreen. I assume this is the front foglights. It is normal they should only work when then engine is running and the lights are on, sidelights or headlights. To confuse things, on page 80 of your handbook it also says if using auto lighting, when this auto switches off, the sidelights and foglights remain on until switched off using the foglight switch. On our C4 the foglights can be used as cornering lights, so if the lights are on and the steering is turned at low speed, the foglight at the side of the car in which it is being turned will come on until the steering wheel is straightened again. This is set via the radio menu button, configuration and vehicle parameters. You could see if this has been set on your car and then switch it off to see if it makes a difference - see page 84 of your handbook. It may also be worthwhile having a look/joining on the Picasso forum and there is a link to it on the home page.

Welcome to the forum. Citroen seem to think the glove box is somewhere to keep all the fuses and maybe a pair of gloves, the ones on our C4 and C5 are also small and not of any great use either.

Over the next few days I would check the coolant anti freeze level in the tank under the bonnet (the coolant is drained out before removing the cylinder head to replace the gasket). When refilling, sometimes any air pockets take a bit of time to clear and the level may drop a bit. Our 2003 C3 was difficult to get the air out when refilling with coolant (I did not have the recommended filling tools) but after a couple of days the level did not fall any more. It would be worth phoning them up to see if the timing belt was replaced.

If you are paying, then probably a Citroen dealer using the correct diagnostic equipment may be the best option. Anything other than a dealer type Lexia may not be up to the job. The service manager may also give a clue what could be wrong before agreeing to the check. At the same time it will also be able to check the door locking and you could order any parts. If they are faults caused by the previous mechanic and you are now incurring extra costs, then it may have been cost effective to use a Citroen garage for the service.

If this is it https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Citroen+c3+Pluriel+boot+cover&hl=en-GB&rlz=1T4DKUK_enGB242GB242&tbm=isch&imgil=RkbVp7fgfNVZ1M%253A%253Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fencrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com%252Fimages%253Fq%253Dtbn%253AANd9GcRUIoOwLjtjYaTdINCju7gaJ4psAGD00PhQUDsMZyoJfp8TP9F8%253B300%253B225%253BmSnkC9NyL-OAsM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.ebay.co.uk%25252Fitm%25252FCITROEN-C3-PLURIEL-ROOF-DOWN-COVER-Spider-Kit-Boot-Cover-%25252F200945393713&source=iu&usg=__SLi-gyqm8KdAlNQUZ6codLQW6Pw%3D&sa=X&ei=B9AxU8ibEI2DhQfok4HwCg&ved=0CDoQ9QEwAQ#facrc=_&imgrc=RkbVp7fgfNVZ1M%253A%3BmSnkC9NyL-OAsM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fi.ebayimg.com%252Ft%252FCITROEN-C3-PLURIEL-ROOF-DOWN-COVER-Spider-Kit-Boot-Cover-%252F00%252Fs%252FMTIwMFgxNjAw%252F%2524T2eC16h%252C!yUE9s6NGYcnBR7BCUhNpg~~60_35.JPG%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.ebay.co.uk%252Fitm%252FCITROEN-C3-PLURIEL-ROOF-DOWN-COVER-Spider-Kit-Boot-Cover-%252F200945393713%3B300%3B225 then the parts nos I gave I believe are the same items. If not you can add a link by highlighting the web address of the right picture, then on it do a mouse right click, copy, then in the post do a right click and then paste.

Welcome to the forum. If I have found the right part (boot floor shown being used on page 98 of the handbook) it could be Citroen part no. 7568JZ (£95) and possibly the larger part 7568KE (£180). These will be from a Citroen dealer but if you use your car VIN you will get the correct parts. These prices are from the Citroencarparts.net site. There is one on ebay here but you need to check it is the right part http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-Citroen-C3-Pluriel-Boot-Carpet-7568KE-/171239776785

Welcome to the forum. My experience of Citroens over the last 9 years are they are good, reliable cars. Most of the posts you will read on here though are people with problems to sort out, rarely does somebody post about how good their car is. There is also a Picaso forum which will be worth you joining and there is a link to it on the home page.

Just wondering if the seal failed early due to all the rust on the shaft - if this is the cause, keeping it greased up could be a way of preventing it. Maybe others with this problem could have a look. Pity a new seal is not available (Citroen do not show one on the parts diagram), then the old one could be poked out and replaced - did this once on a BL car.

Another question - does the air bag light work when the ignition is first turned on and then go off, showing the bulb is ok ? If there is a fault with the air bag system there is a chance it would not work in the event of a crash and this could also affect an insurance claim. Also worth checking the engine oil level is correct (this will show on the dash but if too low or too high it may need adjusting) and the coolant level - just trying to think of other things that your mechanic will have touched in case the problem is not to do with the air bag system.

This must be one of your easier fixes. Hopefully not too much of the weight has been lost that the wheel needs rebalancing.

Start with the front wheels pointing forward and the steering wheel central so when the new rack is connected up to the steering column the steering wheel will not need adjusting. Once the rack is replaced I would take it straight to a garage for the tracking to be set up. I replaced one on a Saab once (also used a recon one but not too sure of its quality) and measured the track rods ends location/no of turns to remove/etc but once moving the car seemed to steer all over the place and metal drain covers in the wet were awful. I used a tyre place but found the adjustment was not done equally on both sides so had to make some adjustments again.

A quick look at the parts diagrams for the 16 inch wheels it does not list a 205 width tyre (only 195/55 R16) but there is a 205/45 R17 tyre but this wheel is 7 inches wide (7 J17) and the 16 inch wheel is 6 inches wide (6 J16). This could possibly indicate the wider tyre may not catch the wheel arches but the 16 inch wheel may not be wide enough for a 205 tyre. However, I am not an expert on wheels and tyres so I could be completely wrong.

To replace the head gasket the timing belt needs to be removed so in theory you should only need to pay for the belt. The belt tensioner/pulley should also be replaced and usually the water pump but to include these there would be a slight labour charge as well as the parts cost. However, your car has probably not done many miles so the pump is probably still ok for some time. One advantage of you paying and then claiming back is that you will get a Citroen guarantee of 12 months for their work and parts, whereas with the warranty it would be until it runs out. I would keep a copy of the receipt just in case but Citroen usually keep a record of work done on a car on their computer system.

The Haynes wiring diagram showing the dash locking switch shows it has a green/yellow earth wire and 3 wires from the dash fusebox (bsi) - a white one and an orange one are shown going to diodes in the switch so probably the red lights, a white one numbered 625 being the switch wire and using the switch simply puts this to the earth wire. If you can access the switch connector, you could identify this wire and connect across it to the earth one and thus see if the car locks indicating a switch fault. Haynes shows to remove the switch, lever up its plastic surround and then use screwdrivers top and bottom of the switch to lever it out.

The bleed nipples in the centre at the front and at the rear are to drain the lds fluid out. Using the front one will drain the front and using the rear one will drain the rear. If the car is not on axle stands, the weight on the suspension will push the fluid out as the struts are compressed but at the same time the car will drop on to the rubber bump stops leaving just a few inches ground clearance.