citrophile

Thanks Paul, that does make sense as I didn't see any Exclusive Plus info in the C4 hatchback brochure either. If I thought about it more logically then I should have realised you're more likely to fit dog guards in a C4 Picasso....!!

I thought Triple QX was a EuroCarParts brand as they seem to have loads of different stuff on their shelves with that name??

Hi, not an answer to your dog guard I'm afraid but what is the difference between the Exclusive and the Exclusive Plus. I ask because my wife is looking at getting a new C4 as there seem to be some good deals from Citroen at the moment for new 15 plate cars. Cheers Rob

Probably one to walk away from. There's loads of quite decent C5's around and you could probably pick up a Mk2 for less than £800 if you look around. I don't worry too much about mileage with the diesel's as they are renowned for doing very high mileages. Mine has done 240k and runs better than my wife's 100k 1.6. More relevant is the electrics and suspension system as that's generally where most of your money on repairs and parts would go in my experience. Although to be fair I'm pretty handy on mechanicals!!

If none of the sensors front or back are working then I would suspect a control issue rather than water in the sensors. Not sure if the control box might have got a soaking, I'm afraid I have no idea where it might be located. On the lexia issue, this relates to the front sensors software getting corrupted when you try and diagnose them. The solution is to actually use the Peugeot software for the 405/406 as essentially they are the same mechanicals and electrics as the C5. I did this on mine and they were then fine. All other functions are fine with lexia..!!!!

The trip computer will just tell you what the current status of various functions is. Some, like the door locking are not set within the trip computer. Paul is correct. To set the auto locking you need to press and HOLD the lock button until the display indicates that auto locking is turned on/off. Press and hold toggles this function on and off. Rob

Bear in mind also that there are lots of variants of the instrument clusters depending on the model and equipment fitted. Just look in the owners handbook and you'll see what I mean. For example some panels have oil temperature gauges so you will need to have a car with an oil temperature sensor otherwise it won't work, or even worse, might throw up an error.

Temperature sensor is behind the small grille on the dash just above and to the right of the passenger glovebox. Although there are independent left and right hand temperature controls there is only one sensor!!

Hi Mike The driver and passenger flaps are independent of each other so it is unlikely that they will both have failed at the same time. I would think it more likely to be an electrical fault so a full BSI reset is probably a good starting point as would be a check of the connectors to the motors and any fuses. You could also check to make sure the heater matrix is getting hot. You can get at the pipes if you partially remove the trim cover underneath the glove box. Make sure the engine has warmed up and then check if the pipes are hot. Be careful though as there is no regulator valve so the pipes will have engine coolant temperature water in them around 120 degrees C as it is a pressurised system. If after the above there's no change then you will need to start checking individual motors. Firstly, with engine running and on one side only adjust the temperature to Hi and then down to Lo, you should hear the motor whirring a little as it moves the flap. Do this a couple of times each side. Failing that then you may need to think about a more disruptive investigation involving glovebox removal and motor removals. Dash removal is really a last resort and really only when you're absolutely sure nothing else can fix it, although it's not as bad as you think. Cheers Rob

Hi Tampenny Can you confirm which model and engine you have. If it's a 2004 facelift then I suspect you have the 2.0HDI 136BHP engine, not the 2.2 which was on series 1 C5's. In my experience turbo cleaners won't clean off large build ups of carbon and on the 2 turbos I have replaced recently (1.6HDI & 2.0HDI) ther variable geometry vanes inside the turbo were not clogged with carbon and moved quite freely even after 100k & 160k miles respectively. It's more likely to be the external actuator. The inter cooler should be easy to check if it has a leak, just place it in a bucket of water and see where the bubbles come out. It might have obvious damage when you take it out but if not then should be possible to repair with metal type filler. Rob

Hi Howard Would be also worth checking the lower ball joints too as just did mine as they were clunking badly and it did affect the cornering, bit like sudden oversteer feeling like back end stepping out. Once done, no clunking and much sharper feel from front end. Mind you, the ball joints were absolutely knackered, so not surprising. Check for worn bushes on the rear suspension arms too as I think they can be a problem on C5's too. Rob

Ah yes Paul, I think you're right as I remember seeing that unit when I removed my dash to replace the heater/ aircon unit.

I had a similar problem a few years ago in the days when I still had my C5 serviced at the dealer. I spoke to the main mechanic chappy (who I always found to be spot on with stuff) and he said that occasionally you do get a slight draught from behind the steering column and it is to do with the position of the aircon/heater unit and how it controls airflow. Apparently it isn't a problem on left hand drive cars because the glove box is in the way. Essentially he said that Citroen were aware of it but it was not considered a "fault" so nothing was being done about it. In my experience it didn't happen that often so I wasn't overly bothered.

It's a bit fierce, either in or off, no speed control. Also quite heavy and pretty big to the extent that I had to jack the car up even higher just to get it under the ball joint with the sockets etc. Having said that, I'm glad I bought it as it certainly made the job easier. One of those tools that you will probably rarely use but when you need it you'll be thankful it's there. Rob

Yes, when I jacked the car up to take the wheel off and check the brakes, I noticed a lot of play in the ball joints. Did them both last weekend. One was so badly worn it looked like it might have pulled out of the socket without much effort. I bought the Clarke impact wrench and it made the job so much easier. One of those occasions when spending £60 for a tool was definitely worth it. Got them undone in seconds and don't think even a breaker bar and extension would have worked. Rob

I need to replace the front lower balljoints on my C5 and have ordered the special socket to undo them but seen lots of info that they are a bu99er to slacken off, involving huge amounts of brute force and potentially damaged tools (and knuckles!!). One suggestion I've seen is to use an impact wrench tool. What's the view on this? Seems like it could be an easier option and, if so, does anyone have a recommendaton for which one I buy. As it's probably going to get little use I don't want to spend a huge amount of cash on it, or get the wrong one. Rob

Welcome to the forum. Mk1 (2001-2005) and Mk2 (2005-2008), also known as facelift model, all came with hydractive suspension, not steel springs. Latest C5, known as X7 version has steel spring suspension, except for the top spec Exclusive models, which are hydractive suspension. So the VTR+ you saw would have had steel spring suspension so no wonder you thought ride was a bit harsh compared to what you were expecting. The hydractive system does give a great ride and is well suited to long motorway journeys and just wafts along.......I do over 120 miles a day on motorway and always happy with ride quality. I would certainly recommend a hydractive C5 and you should be able to get a very good spec exclusive Mk2 for less than £3k. In my view, unless you're strapped for cash, I would avoid the Mk1 as the facelift Mk2 is an improved car. Yes, you can get a V6 petrol but they are relatively rare. The 1.6 HDI diesel is underpowered in my view, especially the Mk1, but the Mk2 HDI engines do have more power. The 2.0 HDI diesel is definitely the most popular engine choice. I can't remember but I think the same engine is used in some of the diesel Rover 75's too. Hope that helps. Rob

I may be wrong on this, but didn't all C5's come with the wiring already installed for parking sensors and all that was required is to fit the sensors and tell the system via lexia that they are installed and it will then come up on the dash display. Would be worth checking under your rear bumper if there is any wiring with empty plugs. Rob

.......and with the latest political crusade against the very diesels that we were all encouraged to have a few years ago, and the likelihood that they will be subject to punitive tax regimes, who knows what our options might be...!!! Sad, very sad.........

Chap knocked on my door recently offering to buy the cat/Dpf off my 2005 C5 2.0 for £50 if I cut it off for him. He claims he wanted it to fit to his car but the fact he didn't want it removed as a complete section made me a bit suspicious of his motives. Anyone know what the scrap value of the cat/Dpf would be or what the value of the complete exhaust system might be? Rob

I seem to recall that there are settings within the lexia system which do allow you to change the gearbox type. Not had to do that myself but sure I seen it in one of the menus. As with lots of the lexia functions it's often a case of going into each menu and seeing what's there. One day I keep telling myself I'll go through every screen and menu option and document it and do screen prints but never seem to find the time..... Rob

Hi Jazzer Welcome to the forum. Sounds like an electrical system problem, possibly due to battery issues. The C5 can be very temperamental when the battery is disconnected and then reconnected too quickly. There is a specific (some would say "strange") sequence for reconnection of the battery on a C5 which allows all the various computers and control modules to wake up sensibly! Try this process (courtesy of John Douglas) CORRECT REBOOT PROCEDURE FOR BSI Put the driver's window down, lift the bonnet and ensure all equipment is switched off. Ensure all doors are closed and remove key from the ignition. Wait for 3 minutes, disconnect the vehicle battery and wait 15 seconds. Reconnect the vehicle battery, wait a further 10 seconds (do not open doors.). Switch on the side lights through the driver's window. Switch on the ignition and check system's functionality. Hold lock button on key down for 10 seconds. Remove key open & close door test central locking system. Start the engine and complete the system's check. Reset the clock and date. Failure to follow this procedure could result in incorrect operation of many BSI related items. Good luck, let us know how you get on. Rob

Looked into this yesterday and removed the centre console. Discovered (as often seems the case) that the C3 VTR has different bits to the other C3's and that the Haynes manual doesn't cover it (why do they always do that?) but managed to remove the centre console anyway without damage. Discovered that the Yaw sensor fitted looks nothing like the ones that come up when you search online but when I searched on the part number I saw an article which briefly mentioned the C5 too. Lucky me, I thought, I have a spare car still on the drive and, having already stripped out the centre console when removing the dashboard, access to the yaw sensor was easy. The C5 yaw sensor is identical to the C3 with same part number, fixings, connections etc so few minutes later, fitted in the C3, fire up the lexia and erase the fault codes and now it's all ticketty boo again and no problems. Wife happy again (which is my sole role in life!!!) Rob

Are you following the instructions in a car repair manual, such as Haynes. There are often bolts or fixings which aren't always obvious from just looking. When I took the dash out of my C5 there were some bolts behind the wiper motor mechanism which I would never have seen if I hadn't read it in a manual. Rob

My wife's C3 VTR has had an ESP/ASR fault (code C1310) and the dealer has advised that it is a faulty yaw sensor. Looking in the manual it is located under the centre console so should be easy to renew. Does anybody know what I can expect to pay for one at the dealers (or if I can get it anywhere else). Thanks Rob