paul.h

For the braking, the first thing would be to clean the brakes by removing the pads and cleaning off all the dirt that builds up so the pads/calipers/pistons are free to move easily. Whilst the pads are off also check the disc runout - how much sideways movement there is as the wheel is turned, to see if it is still with the limits. The front pads have friction material 13 mm thick when new and the rear ones 11 mm and need replacing if down to 3 mm but I clean our brakes every 1 or 2 years depending on how many miles have been done. Depending on how you drive/brake, I have found front pads can last about 50k miles so wearing about 1 mm each 5k miles and rear ones can last longer. So this might suggest your front pads were new about 20k miles ago and maybe they have not been cleaned since then. Did Halfords measure the brake disc thickness to see if they were worn to the minimum ? Did Halfords check for wear in the front lower suspension arm bushes ? The track rod - is it an inner one or the one at the wheel end of the steering rack that is worn ? Does the rear bearing give a whining noise as you drive along which gets louder as you go faster ? This is usually when people have them replaced as they become aware of a problem. Did Halfords say it needed replacing ? There is still the egr valve check for the vibration as the engine warms up.

Could the mechanic fit the belt where the car is now ?

There are a few different part numbers for the alternator drive belt so you need to use your car VIN to get the right one. As well as the belt the tensioner (if you have air con) and crank shaft pulley need to be checked since they can also need replacing. I replaced this belt on our C3 last year and the belt was £30 from Citroen. For the C4 the procedure is similar to the C3. The C3 has air conditioning so it was easy to fit, just needing the tensioner to be pivoted and locked in the off position (as well as the drive roller for the water pump since it is a 1.4 vti engine) so the belt could be removed and replaced. If your car does not have air con the tension is adjusted by adjusting a bolt on the alternator after slackening the alternator pivot bolts. The procedures for your car suggest the driver's side front wheel and wheel arch liner should be removed, I had to do this but did it at the same time as cleaning the front brakes so was not too much more effort. The book time to replace the belt is about 30 minutes. I have put your car details from an earlier topic as your signature to save you needing to mention it every time you start a new topic.

First time this has been reported on here. The hydraulic pipe part no. seems to be 5270VG but this should be checked using your VIN. I suspect it will only be available from a dealer since a search did not come up with any. It is supposed to take about an hour to replace so the bill could be around £200 at a dealer.

Depending on the engine, the thermostat should start to open between 80 and 90°C, so the radiator top hose should not start to get warm until the engine is hot. If the hose warms up as the engine warms up then the thermostat needs replacing.

The Chinese are taking over the world. Most things you buy are from China so they accumulate a lot of cash and industries around the world disappear so you have to go to them for things. This money is now being invested in the rest of the world and increasing even more the amount of cash they will get.

I do not know if these need clearing with a diagnostic but your Citroen specialist/garage should know and should have the diagnostic equipment to clear the fault codes. Some do not clear such as air bag ones, I think, without a diagnostic but I do not know about the ones you have. If you have a volt meter you could check the battery is fully charged, just in case the one put on is not. Also sometimes odd electrical problems can occur if the battery is disconnected too quickly so the bsi does not have time to shutdown but you would think your specialist/garage would know about this. Also the pump needs a diagnostic to set the suspension to pressurize it before it is put back on the wheels. If you get the fault codes it could be there are some faults that need fixing. I have edited your profile with your car details as your signature to help others and save you mentioning it every time you start a new topic. If you can add the engine and year it will help further.

This must be what a garage would do then so maybe the 4 to 5 hours is a lot less for a garage. That is probably how the Wakefield company can do the job at such a good price. Maybe the garage being used by LesleyF has not done the job before on a C5 so have allowed quite a few hours (days).

The book times in the Citroen service box manual vary a bit on the exact model but seem to be about 4 hours for normal suspension and about 5 hours for hydractive suspension, including the tracking. Then even with 2 people doing it on a drive/garage floor, I think your 5 hours is good going.

Welcome to the forum. It might not be the pump, it could be the pressure sensor, a fuel leak, a blocked fuel filter, if you have an in tank pump it could be that, the fuel tank could be empty, etc.

Welcome to the forum. I do not know why it is costing so much unless you are getting a new steering rack from Citroen and then at most it would be a few hours to do. If you are having the existing one reconditioned then the above cost of about £360 seems to be the going rate - presumably this could be a few days if your rack is being sent away for repair. I would be cancelling the job and saving the money and get it done somewhere else.

Welcome to the forum. Is the seat moved electrically ?

I hope this is the end of your problems for now but well done for your persistance in getting it sorted. If the vacuum pipe was split and not done whilst replacing the clutch, then if ever there are running problems it is worth looking for splits elsewhere in case the pipe is deteriorating. Depending on how the nearside drive shaft was removed when doing the clutch, the track rod end might have been disconnected then so the hub could have been moved, I wonder if they damaged it ?

There is a wiring diagram in the Haynes manual which shows the cigarette lighter socket as having 3 wires - 1 is the earth (green/yellow) and connects to the dash central earth point, 1 is a 12 volt supply from the dash fuse box from fuse F3 (5 amp) and is live when the ignition is on (yellow), 1 is from the bsi (green). The one from the bsi is likely to be for the light. To remove the lighter, first remove the facia lower centre panel, pull out the lighter element, release the internal tangs and push out the metal insert. To remove the lower centre panel, Haynes says to undo the 2 screws and remove the driver's foot rest from the base of the lower centre panel, remove the cigarette lighter element and undo the screw above the cigarette lighter aperture, withdraw the trim blank at the opposite side of the lighter and remove the hidden screw, undo the upper and lower screws from both sides of the panel, remove the stud type clip at both sides of the panel at the rear, remove the panel and undo the electrical connectors from the ashtray bulbholder and the lighter. It might be a bad earth (if you do not have a meter, test with a wire pushed down into the socket at the side of your sat nav plug and the other end against metal body work) or you might need a new socket if the light part of it is faulty - or you could just disconnect the wire from the bsi and not bother with a light on the socket. The accessory socket is shown as having only 2 wires, 1 is the earth (green /yellow) from the left rear earth point and the other is the 12 volt supply (beige) coming from the dash fuse box, fuse F5 10 amp and is live when the ignition is on.

Welcome to the forum. If you have a spare key try this in the ignition. In the key there is a chip that is detected at the ignition switch and through the car dash fusebox (Citroen call it a bsi) and ecu, allow the engine to run if the chip is the right one. There are many people who come up with this problem, some try fitting a new bsi/ecu/ignition switch and keys but it does not always work. Your best option is to let a Citroen dealer do a diagnostic check to find the fault. I would also contact the previous owner to see what they know about the fault since they may have tried to fix it before. I have edited the topic title a bit to help attract more replies.

There is nothing in this to penalise diesel cars over petrol cars, all cars are going to be taxed the same after the first year (unless costing £40k or more). The first year the amount is based on CO2 so the diesel cars will pay less for similar performance/size cars, being more efficient. I think the changes are nothing to do with protecting the environment, just trying to get more tax from car owners since the take has fallen in recent years since car CO2 emissions in the official tests have fallen. In the link below the changes are expected to increase tax income by nearly £1½b a year in 2020. The original link to the tax changes does not seem to work any more so here is a government one with part of it copied below https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vehicle-excise-duty/vehicle-excise-duty Who is likely to be affected Purchasers of cars first registered from 1 April 2017 onwards. General description of the measure This measure reforms Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for cars first registered from 1 April 2017 onwards. First Year Rates (FYRs) of VED will vary according to the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of the vehicle. A flat Standard Rate (SR) of £140 will apply in all subsequent years, except for zero-emission cars for which the SR will be £0. Cars with a list price above £40,000 will attract a supplement of £310 on their SR for the first 5 years in which a SR is paid. All cars first registered before 1 April 2017 will remain in the current VED system, which will not change. The new rates and bands for the post-2017 VED system are set out in the table below: New VED system - for cars registered from 2017 Emissions (g/CO2/km) First year rate Standard rate* CO2, 1st year, Subsequent years 0, £0, £0 1-50, £10, £140 51-75, £25, £140 76-90, £100, £140 91-100, £120, £140 101-110, £140, £140 111-130, £160, £140 131-150, £200, £140 151-170, £500, £140 171-190, £800, £140 191-225, £1200, £140 226-255, £1700, £140 over 255, £2000, £140 *cars over £40,000 pay £310 supplement for 5 years

if it did not make the noise before the clutch change then it is most likely something has not been put back or tightened up. Solid flywheel clutches do not make banging noises, I am sure you never heard any on your previous cars. Possibilities could include the plastic cover under the engine might have a fastener missing so it is loose, the air filter ducting might be loose, the engine/gearbox mounting at the back might be in poor condition/not tightened/bolt missing allowing the engine to rock forwards and backwards, the gearbox mounting might not be tightened up or in poor condition, there could be other things from under the engine that have not been tightened up after putting them back. This is the rear mounting, it has a bolt at each and the forked end fastens to a rubber bush on the engine - if a bolt was missing or the rubber bushes in poor condition the engine could rock a bit http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BIRTH-REAR-ANTI-ROLL-BAR-ENGINE-MOUNT-MOUNTING-OE-QUALITY-REPLACE-51878-/112057234888

When you lock it with the key how do you know the alarm is activated ? The immobiliser only needs the key to be in the ignition switch to be seen by the car, so when the key is not in the ignition the immobiliser is set. If you lock the car with the remote and then unlock it with the key, does the alarm then go off which would show using just the key does not set the alarm. On our C5 there is a plunger switch under the bonnet on the front panel. It is pushed by the bonnet as it is closed for the alarm and bonnet open message - if you can find the one on your car it could be its internal contact is in poor condition/dirty or its electrical connector pins are dirty or it has a wiring fault. It may be part 63397 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GENUINE-CITROEN-BONNET-LOCK-INTERRUPT-PART-NO-633927-FITS-VARIOUS-MODELS-/290965192094 To check if it is the switch that is the problem you could use a wire to bridge across its electrical connector and then try the alarm and see if the bonnet open message goes. To initialise the remote, it should be something like - put the key in the ignition and turn it so the dash lights up, then immediately press and hold the lock button on the remote until the doors lock.

I had a look at the fuse lists in a 2008 C8 handbook and it does not list one for the rear fog lights. So if it is a fuse it would have to be a maxi fuse but then it would likely also affect other things. If the C8 is wired similar to the C5 shown in the C5 Haynes manual, then the rear fog lights have a relay in the bsi dash fuse box and I think these are not able to be replaced easily. If the switch is being used correctly and it does not have a towbar, then it could be the relay, wiring or possibly the switch. If the switch, then this is part of the comms 2000 switch unit under the steering wheel so the complete unit may need replacing.

Does the car have a towbar since some sockets have a fog light cut off switch ? This is a plunger in the socket which is pushed in as the trailer plug is connected. the plunger can get stuck and the connection at the back of it can get dirty/corroded.

Steering wheel shaking whilst braking is usually due to the brakes, possibly one of the 4 brake discs being badly worn or warped or the brakes needing a clean so the calipers/pads are free to move as the brakes are applied. it could also be a sign of wear in the suspension or maybe different tyres on opposite sides of the car. If you felt the brake pedal vibrate then that would be the abs working. When were the brakes last serviced ? I suspect this is nothing to do with the vibration when not moving as the engine warms up.

Welcome to the forum. As I understand, there are 2 problems. 1. The outside temperature is not showing - this is likely to be the temperature probe on the bottom of one of the door mirrors needs replacing or maybe there is a fault with its wiring. I do not think it will not be related to the other problem. To replace the probe the mirror probably needs removing. 2. You are getting messages the dpf is blocking up. The garage has possibly not done a full diagnostic check but has suggested putting a new bag of the additive in ( some Citroens it comes in a bag that is swapped over, others it is topped up from a bottle). The additive normally lasts about 70k miles unless it has leaked out of the bag, which has often been reported before on the C3 Picasso so could well be the cause of the problem. It might also be something else. This is copied from the C3 Common Problems topic and includes costs - about £120 for the additive/bag and possibly a similar amount for the labour and diagnostic to tell the car it has been replaced, so you do not get messages saying the level is low before the expected mileage at about 70k miles. It is not a 2 day job and the book time should be less than 1 hour including the diagnostic. I suspect your garage is trying to fob you off. 26. Leakage of eolys fluid - red goo drips on the floor. This appears to be a common problem and needs the fluid bag replacing since the original can deteriorate. Cost about £120. See this topic http://www.citroen-o...ys-fluid-leaks/ I suspect you have already decided you will be better taking the car to a Citroen dealer, who should know what they are doing and I would go along with that. At least this way it should be sorted first time. I do not know how long a warranty you got when you bought the car, but if the dpf did not block up after the first time and then went for a year before it happened again, I would suspect the garage is not responsible for the dpf problem now and if so I would not waste your time bothering with them.

Are you sure it is a pipe and not insulation around the wiring. I vaguely remember it breaking up on our old C3 but did not bother replacing it. It can get soaked with oil as the filter is changed. The petrol engine is known for oil leaks from an oilway in the head gasket at the left end as you look at it from the front. There is a rubber seal in the gasket that can perish and to sort it if it is bad, the head gasket needs replacing. Other possibilites for an oil leak include the sump drain plug if the washer on it is not replaced (less than £1 from a dealer) on oil changing, the oil filter itself if the top is not torqued up enough (might be 25Nm, it tells you on the top) or the oil filter top seal is not renewed or put on properly. It should be possible though to trace an oil leak. If the engine is using oil and not leaking it, then this could be the head gasket again or wear in the engine. Look for oil in the coolant expansion tank and smoke from the exhaust when accelerating, especially after going down a hill without using the accelerator and also on first start up in the morning. If the oil use is due to wear and is not great then most people would live with it. I edited post 3 since you last posted so you may want to look at it again.

It should tell you in your Warranty and Maintenance handbook. When we had a 2003 C3 1.4 petrol 75bhp, I used Castrol Magnatec 5w30 A1 which was to the right oil spec. Supermarkets and Halfords sell it so it is not too expensive and being a full synthetic helps with the 2 year / 20k mile service interval if you risk going that long. It also never went black between oil changes. Before I started servicing it the Citroen dealer used Mobil formula P 5w30. The Comma oil link suggests a 5w40 oil for that C3, so a bit different to the handbook and dealer but for our current cars it comes up with the same specs as the handbooks. If you want to use a Total oil you should pick the full synthetic which I think is 9000.

Could be an earth problem. Does the socket light up with the lights on, showing a connection with the lights. I would first pull the socket out and check its connections, then if you have a meter you could check its earth - probably the outside of the socket is earthed via the wiring so use a meter on resistance between the outside of the socket and the car bodywork as a first check to see if the earth is good - you could also try a temporary earth wire here to test the socket/sat nav/lights.