hertsnminds

Then you will have to remove the pollen filter as all air entering the car passes through that first. If you want dirty air at outside temperatures you have to open the windows. Ian Black 55 VTR+

But with ESP and ABS the car does what it needs to so you can keep your foot on the pedals and just steer where you want the car to go. There was an item on 5th Gear last night about Police drivers being retrained to learn how to drive cars with ESP as the old techniques needed updating. Ian Black VTR+

With the climate control in manual mode (A/C off) you only have control over fan speed and which vents the air is blown out of. If you change the temp settings in this mode doesn't this act just like a hot/cold control in a non climate control car, that is pass the air over part of the engine cooling system to heat it or not to keep it the same as the outside air? Ian Black 55 VTR+

Well we know the backlight on the rev counter can be orange or red but I would imagine making a mod would depend upon the method used to backlight the display. Ian Black 55 VTR+

Rather than just a retest how about trying to give people some advanced driving skills at the same time. Or even better tell them how the things like ESP and ABS should be used. In normal driving conditions most people would never know what difference all of the safety devices make to driving. Ian Black 55 VTR+

Yes you can turn the sound off by putting the car into reverse gear. Not sure if it comes on again when you reach a certain speed. Ian Black 55 VTR+

That's all about the car making sure it can start rather than letting you listen to the radio. If you leave lights or other eletrics on when the engine is off the car will go into economy mode (try to save the battery from going flat). The next time you start the engine economy mode is turned off so you can use all of the toys. Ian Black 55 VTR+

According to the VOSA recalls database between Jan 1992 and Dec 2005 the Honda Civic had 8 recalls, the Citroen BX had 1. http://www.vosa.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/default.asp I think it is down to specific vehicles, not manufacturers or models. There is also a trade off between expectations and what the car delivers. I found out more about car electrics with my first car, a Vauxhall Chevette, than any other I have owned. My Fiat barchetta had a few little niggles but I could forgive them as I enjoyed driving it so much and the car made me smile every time I looked at it. I have owned 3 Citroen, A BX GTi, Pluriel and my current car a C4 VTR+. The BX had a few electrical gremlins but was a great car, the Pluriel was a great concept but I had one of the leaky ones. So far the C4 has been the best of the bunch with only an intermittant cruise control fault. I like to go for something different or innovative when I change car so whilst I don't have manufacturer loyalty, as long as Citroen are innovative I will stick with them. Ian Black 55 VTR+

The thing you find these days is that service manuals and documentation get circulated in electronic formats (Acrobat documents on CD's) and these somehow find there way onto sites like eBay (even though they are dealer use only). So you might have more luck looking on eBay for an official Citroen Workshop Manual rather than waiting on Haynes to produce a cut down version of the same thing. Ian Black 55 VTR+

This is where internet forums and owners clubs can come into their own as you will be able to find out within 24 hours if ALL of any car have the same issue. And if you don't have any other owners in your area you can always go and look at every used C4 your local dealers have for sale and see if they do ALL have the same issues. Ian Black 55 VTR+

You don't need ABS to simulate ABS. Instead of stamping hard on the brake (the ABS technique) just pump the brake pedal, OK an ABS computer can do this faster than a person but you will still get a simlar effect. Ian Black 55 VTR+

Yes they are expensive about £9 for a pack of 2. They can last anything from 1 to 3 months depending on how often you use them. I find they are good for masking smelly exhaust fumes, rape seed pollen and cow bottom smells. Once my cartridges seem to have finished my partner sticks them in the air vents of her Fiesta. At the moment they seem to be like ink cartridges were when the bubble jet printers first came out. I am sure someone will find a way to refill used cartridges. There must be a way to replace the smell soaked sponge in the middle and if someone can do that for about £2 a go they would be on to a winner. Ian Black 55 VTR+

Just put my 3rd air freshener in today. So far I have tried Ylang Bambou, Menthe Musc and just put in Ambre Santal. Didn't like the Menthe Musc but the Ylang Bambou was nice enough. If someone doesn't know what to get you for a birthday or Christmas pressie the refills are a good idea for the list. Ian Black 55 VTR+

As with most things a lot of the frustrations come from poor communications and managing expectations. If your car is booked in on a certain day you are usually taking some time off work to get to and from the dealer (like waiting in for the gas man or any technician) and if they don't turn up or can't fix the issue you feel you have wasted your time. If you are told a part will arrive in the next week and it takes more than 3 then you get annoyed. If you were contacted when the part was supposed to be delivered and told why it had been delayed then it would help. Citroen dealers are not the only people who fail on managing expectations it is just a human trait. Where they do sometimes fail is keeping the customer informed of what is happening. The last time I was at a dealer they told me my car would be ready as soon as it had been cleaned. What they did not tell me was there was 1 person cleaning cars and he had at least 3 others to do before he got to mine. So I was expecting a 20 minute wait instead of the hour I was sat there. What should have been a good thing, getting my car cleaned turned out to get very frustrating as I sat there thinking what is taking so long. Ian Black 55 VTR+

The more I compare press reviews to actually owning a car the more I am convinced you cannot review a car unless you drive it as your only vehicle for over 6 months. 2 or 3 days on an all expenses paid manufacturer jolly does not make you objective or give you all the experiences you need to review a car. It also depends what your expectations of the car are compared to your every day needs. I know when the Pluriel first came out the press were comparing it to other soft tops and saying it was not sporty enough, but that completely missed the point, the Pluriel was never supposed to be an MX-5 rival. I did try this a couple of years ago when I was an owner. We managed 1 meeting but sadly most of the owners on this forum were early adopters of the Pluriel and were the people having all the problems with the car. Glad to know there are some happy owners out there. However I had so many faults on my Pluriel that I would not have kept it after the warranty ran out, that's why I traded it in for a brand new C4 back in December. I have noticed a lot more Pluriel on the road recently so maybe now it the time to get the happy owners together. I set up a website and 2 forums on Yahoo back in 2004, but again not had much response. http://www.c3pluriel.org.uk/ http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/c3plurieluk/ http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/citroenc3pluriel/ Ian Black 55 VTR+

Probably 2 reasons for this; 1 modern air con does not run as long as the old types used to (they cut in and out by themselves now rather than being on or off) and 2 being a diesel the extra torque means you don't notice a loss in power as much as you would in a petrol. My partner drives a 1.25 Fiesta and even the air con in that doesn't seem to effect the power too much. Well at least I know that 800 miles is possible, but only having 5 gears might make it harder to achieve. Took my car until after the 1,500 mile service before it would even consider travelling anywhere at 1,000 revs in 5th. So I am sure mpg will only get better as I pile on the miles. Ian Black 55 VTR+

I make that just under 46mpg 50 Litres = 10.998 Gallons 1 Litre = 0.219969248 Gallons Ian Black 55 VTR+

Here's a good one for you... When I got my VTR+ spec C4 it didn't have the covered boot pocket. When I questioned this the dealer said they would order the part for me (December 05). Took the car in for the suspension recall (February 06) and asked when the part would be arriving as it had been over 5 weeks since it had been ordered. The parts department checked their records and said it had not arrived. Then they checked on the shelves and told me the part was sitting there. Someone had not moved a blue piece of paper to the correct folder. They said they could fit the part straight away. I waited for 45 minutes whilst the part was fitted...the service receptionist then called me over to tell me the part they have is the same as the part already on the car (an open, not closed, pocket). I went to the salesman who sold me the car and told him what had happened. He came with me to the service desk and between them they decided that the part I required was not available anymore. As the lady at the service desk handed me my keys back she said. "There you are all the work has been done for you" to which I replied "You haven't actually done anything" (apart from keep me hanging around for over an hour). The salesman and I then went out to the forecourt found another VTR+ spec car took the part off of that and put it into my car. You just can't make these things up, maybe we should collate all the stories and write a sit com set in a Citroen dealers, call it Carry On Citroen or something similar. Ian Black 55 VTR+

My 5 door 1.6HDi 110 Gives: 45-50mpg around town, 50-55mpg on the motorway and 55-60mpg on b-roads (about 60mph, 2,000 revs in 5th) From new the overall average was 50mpg which became 52mpg after about 6,000 miles. Now at 8,000 miles and the best average over about 100 miles has been 60mpg. I think the worst instant mpg reading has been about 17 when accelerating up a hill, this reaches 999 when coasting downhill or breaking so I don't take too much notice. Most miles from 1 tank of fuel has been 630. Ian Black 55 VTR+

I agree that the reversing light is next to useless on the 5 door but is in the same place on the Focus. In terms of comparison with a Focus I would think they have very similar engines as Ford and Citroen/Pug have had a joint development agreement on diesel engines for the last 6 years. My 1.6HDi (110) is giving similar MPG and is getting better with the miles, just reached 8,000. Best reading to date was an average 60mpg claiming close to 800 miles from 1 tank of fuel :blink:. Best actual was just over 630 miles from 1 tank. Ian Black 55 VTR+

Sounds like your Sensodrive system needs a software update. Many early C3 Sensodrive units had issues like yours and these were cured with software updates. Ask your dealer which revision of software your car has then ask them what the latest revision is. If you have the latest software then ask them to replace the Sensodrive system in your car. A car selecting gears it wants to and not letting you change out of reverse is very very dangerous. Ian Black 55 VTR+

You also have the added Citroen factor which means a car built at a particular time does not actually match the written specs, depending if all parts (including trim) were available as it went down the production line. Ian Black 55 VTR+

The thing with most cars is you just can't feel when something is wrong with the handling and by the time you can things are way out. The only car I have owned where you could tell almost instantly that the tyres were at the wrong pressures was a Fiat Barchetta. Communicated everything back to the driver really well. Ian Black 55 VTR+

Computers are the same as cars, a lot of development takes place after the product has been launched. You can also get a bunch of faulty componets running down the production line that will be the same as a car maker having to do a recall. I have used Mac's for over 20 years and only had a bad experience with a couple of new models. But I do agree that it is best to wait for Rev B of most kit. In terms of the PC/Mac debate they both do the same job it is very much personal preference, again just like buying a car. I usually tell people if you want to learn about computers buy a PC if you want to use a computer buy a Mac. Ian Black 55 VTR+

Overall since new the reading was 50mpg until the odometer went over 6,000 miles now it's up to 52mpg. A tank can vary between 56mpg (motorway driving) and 46mpg (town driving) which can be as much as 100 miles from the same amount of fuel. It can seem strange, like today started with 170 miles left in the tank (after a couple of days around town) went on a motorway run of about 60 miles and by the time I got back the reading was about the same (having increased to as much as 220 miles left during the journey). Ian Black 55 VTR+