seefive

Hi Is this a pre-"facelift" model with the din size radio and an oval button either side? If so, it's pretty easy. Around the 2 buttons (locking and night driving panel light) there are covers which can be prised off with a screwdriver. Then you have 2 torx headed screws to undo, and the radio slides out. Can you give me some information on the MP3 unit? I have an aftermarket radio which plays MP3 discs, but the remote controls and display screen don't work with it. Thanks

The main dealer won't charge you a fortune. There are 2 cars in my household, both bought second hand with only one key. I bought keys for both of them Rover 100 (metro) - £110 inc programming Citroen C5 - £80 inc programming. And the C5 key is far more sophisticated - opes /closes the windows, sends warning to the car display when battery is low etc.. Not worth "shopping around" in this case. Check the prices by all means, but I think you'll find the dealer the best option, and the least hassle. Cheers

Various posts on this site really . If you browse around the problems and fixes, there are plenty of tales of woe on the 2.2's - premature snapped cambelts, limp home problems leading to multiple fruitless trips to the dealer. etc And those fap filters are expensive to replace! It's a buyer's market out there in used car land. £3k will get you a pretty decent 04 plate car/estate/whatever, if you do the research. Better than pouring money into the old Citroen, I'd say. If you want to stay with Citroen , it seems the pre-facelift (04) 2.0 hdi is a lot more reliable, or the non-HPI petrol. as you say,it's your decision.

I'd grab the £1,000 and run! 2.2 diesels are money pits, and the cutting out problem could be one of those problems nobody can fix.

Bumper off to change a sidelight?? No way. I have changed the offside bulb with no problem, and watched the nearside being changed in the garage ( car was in for engine diagnostics and the bulb had just blown) Both 5 minute jobs, no need to remove the bumper and take out the headlamp unit.

Didn't work on my C5 - CANBUS adaptor required, but worth a try on the C3

Well, it took a while, but I did get my (parts) costs back on the AA warranty. They weren't impressed with me claiming 2 weeks after the contract started, sighting a "franchise clause" forbidding claims in the first month. But I stood my ground, telling them that this clause wouldn't stand up in court, and they backed down and paid. Can't be bad!

Service light normally comes on when something's wrong, not when a service is due. This can be something as mundane as topping up the washer bottle. It clears as soon as you've rectified whatever it's trying to tell you.

I asume this is the first time you've installed a radio in a Citroen? Modern Citroens use CANBUS technolgy to send signals from the car's ECU to the radio. This will make it come on and off with the ignition, and also supply a permanent feed when the ignition is off. You would need to get an adaptor fitted to make this happen - probably about £50 fitted in a good car audio specialist. Alternativley, you may find (as in the C5) switching the sidelights on gives you a permanent feed if you want to use the radio/tv whilst parked.

Don't worry Techbod, I'm clueless about anything more complicated than pushing bottons!

The procedure described above will eliminate the spanner on the mileometer and reset the service counter. It won't extinguish the service light. You need to page through the lcd screen till you get to "control check" then hold in the button to see what's wrong. (I'm speaking from experience of an 02 car, but I suspect this hasn't changed) Cheers

I've seen several references on this site to some kind of pulley which affects the variable valve timing, causing problems when it goes wrong. May be worth a try?

When mine blew, they (Kwikfit) cut the pipe behind the cat and fitted a repair pipe and back box. That was 2 years ago and it's been fine. Didn't cost anything like £450.

Hello I've posted a few times before about the misfire on my petrol C5. (Not HPI) Well, the car's just flown through the 3rd MOT in my tenure (I'm the second owner) and with autumn just around the corner - season of mists and mellow misfires - I have to make a decision, and would welcome any suggestions. I've had the car coming up to three years, and this is the problem which has been annoying me for all that time. I'm losing the mental battle to ignore it. Cold engine starts fine idles smoothly for about a minute, the starts missing as the temp guage gets between the 2 blue markers. If I'm driving along at this point, not noticeable. If the engine returns to idle, very noticeable. This can occasionally result in "cat fault" message and flashing engine light. Very occasionally the car goes into safe mode Restarting cures that. Fault changes to "Anti Pollution" and the engine light goes on solid some time later, then it clears within a day. As soon as the engine's warm, it's fine. Warm engine if the temp guage is between the blue lines, slightly rough idle on start up, then smoothes out within 30seconds. Hot engine starts fine with smooth idle. Occasionally, cold or warm immediately kicks like a mule , fault lights on, can't get it under control until it's fully warmed up In 2007 I had new coil pack, no difference , then coolant temp sensor , no difference, both at a main dealer. A non-Citroen garage reckons it's either a sticking valve, or injector. I've tried 3 different injector cleaners. Greased lightning - no effect RedEx - made things worse Tesco - made things a lot worse. The fact that I'm getting a reaction makes me think it's fuel-related. Both garages that have run diagnostics indicate the problem is in no 2 cylinder ( that's second from the right as you stand in fort of the car - right?). Is it worth risking a new injector - is this a DIY job, and how difficult? The car is 6 years old with 115k on the clock, so I don't have much room to move financially. Any advice gratefully received Thanks

no problem. http://www.miracledrywash.com/testimonials.htm

Definitely doesn't scratch. The softness of the cloth and the slippery consistency of the polish means nothing damaging comes into contact with the paintwork. The polish encapsulates the dirt and transfers it to the cloth, whilst maintaining a barrier between cloth and car. A sponge on water, which is a much thinner fluid, is far more damaging. It grinds the dirt particles against the paintwork, causing swirl patterns.

Hi I guess most people are aware of the "dry car cleaning" products sold on the shopping channels? The demo shows a dirty car being brought to a miraculous shiny finish with no water, just a spray of the wonder stuff (£20 pus p and p) and a wipe with a cloth. Yeah I thought it was nonsense too, until I noticed the consistency of the stuff was suspiciously like the household cleaners you get in supermarkets (Mr Sheen, Pledge Multi Surface etc - £1 a tin) I tried using Pledge on the car and - wow- it really works. If you read the can, it says it's good (and safe) for metal and glass. Using a Micro fibre cloth, I can clean (and effectively polish) the whole car in about 20 minutes . It will do the alloy wheels, but I prefer to use a kitchen degreaser - again, the same as alloy wheel cleaner, but substantially cheaper. A £1 can lasts about 4 cleans. I'm still using the same cloth, which I wash under the tap when I've finished. I've been using this for a year and a half now, and no ill effects on the paintwork. My car is Wicked Red, which comes up beautifully, courtesy of Johnson and Johnson! It seems to stay cleaner longer too. I believe high-end car rental companies use this method for cleaning their exotic cars, as water and detergeants do too much damage Anyone want to buy a bucket and sponge??

It's fairly easy to get out - just put a thin bladed screwdriver under the centre bottom part of the smooth plastc surround and prise it up. This is where the plastic lug is that secures the surround. Squeeze the surround so the top and bottom come closer and pull it clear. Careful not to break the trafficmaster light connection. The display is secured with 2 screws. I used a bit of blue tack on the end of the screwdriver to hold them when I came to put it back. From memory, I think it's just a a multiplug connection. I only took mine out to replace 2 bulbs. Could be that's your problem?

Hi Isn't it strange how a boring topic like tyres can become, well, interesting?? Here's my contribution. I run on Goodyear Eagles 195/65 15v which I bought in April 07 for £48 inc VAT per tyre, fitted balanced and new valve. Unit price is regardless of quantity, but I bought 4. I've done 20k miles on them, and there is still a fair amount of rubber above the wear markers, slightly less on the front. Wear is even on all tyres. What struck me about the Goodyears is the balance. I had Dunlops before, fitted at the same place, by the same fitter, and he coudn't get them to run smoothly. The Goodyears balanced spot on with a tiny weight. As for performance, they are fine, although I don't race around "burning rubber". On the odd occasion when I've had to stop quickly, there's been no problem. I use a small retailer called Just Tyres, but their parent is Valuetyres, and you can order from their website, pay and select your nearest fitting centre. The place I go to do a first class job, tightening the bolts with a torque wrench . I can thoroughly recommend the tyres and the retailer.

This from Nexxia.co.uk.... IGNI-GEN Modern vehicles that have Canbus Systems, do not have an ignition switched feed to the car radio. If installing a new radio, this can cause problems for the radio to work properly. This device can be fitted to create an ignition feed where one doesn't exist through sensing the Canbus signals from the vehicle. Price £18.99 All prices include VAT

Not that simple! I tried every combination of the red and yellow - crossed, straight and merged. I got a permanent feed effect every time. When I spoke to a car radio installer, he advised I needed a "Can Buster" to communicate with the car's ECU.

Hi I fitted an aftermarket unit (Sony), but never got it to come on and off with the ignition - that requires specialist , and expensive additional kit that goes into the ISO connection line. The permanent feed actually switches off after a couple of minutes anyway, so no danger of draining the battery. Switching on and off manually is no problem really. Connection to dashboard display and remote controls is more additional cost. Reckon on around £150 for extras if you want to totally replicate the functionality of the original, and check the radio you buy will do everything you want it to - some don't have remote connectivity. You will of course gain MP3 disc compatability and ipod connectivity, which can be an advantage. Good luck

Agreed Since diesel is now an outrageous 12% dearer than petrol, I'm more convinced than ever that petrol is the better option Less maintenance hassle, more reliable and not much difference on fuel cost. I get 38 mpg on a motorway run in my 2 litre petrol. I've heard of auto diesels doing less than that. You pays your money...

Same thing happened to me. It was the resistor pack - £50 plus £50 labour at main dealer. Very common fault - dealer should have the part in stock. Hope this helps.

The simplest way to find out which unit you have is to remove it and read the label. Prise off the curved trims either side of the radio and undo the torx screws, then simply pull it forward. You can remove it completely without worrying about the code - it's hard coded to your car. It's probably made by Clarion, but I don't know what the sat nav upgrade path is. I'm certain you can't get colour without changing the whole dash and installing the larger display I can tell you that I use a Navman and it works fine. Depending on the weather it can take a few minutes to get a GPS fix, but once connected it never loses the signal. I've done journeys of 200 miles with no problems. I have a power socket extension lead from the rear outlet running under the carpet and inside the door surround trim, delivering a socket connection on top of the dashboard, so I can connect with no unsightly trailing wires. I have the unit on the bottom right hand corner of the screen, so it's easy to reach For £100 ish you get a decent size colour screen, multiple display options, and no need for irritating voice prompts - you just turn her down and listen to the radio unhindered. Personally I wouldn't consider the Citroen monochrome version..