Igloo_Vindaloo

The light interior of our C3 seemed so nice 5 years ago. Now the seats are filthy and anything I do to try to clean them just makes them looks worse. So any recommendations for inexpensive seat covers that fit the C3 well? Cheers, Tim

I was under the impression you were only allowed to have one rear fog lamp (to avoid confusion with brake lights). Did this rule change in the last few years?

No - the next service is a pretty minor one, I plan on tackling it myself with the help of my local friendly independent Citrogen specialist (and Mr Haynes). Cheers for the idea, though.

Hi My C3 is coming up to it's 4th birthday and as a special present Citroen suggest I fork out for an inspection to keep the anti-corrosion warranty valid. Any idea how much this is likely to cost? And whether it's worth it? i.e. Is there any likelihood of needing to claim? And is there any chance of them actually paying in that event? or Would it affect the resale value? (Not that I'm planning to sell it in the next year or two.) Cheers

Sorry to hear about your central locking troubles. We've had central locking troubles of our own, but not that particular noise. Just like a complete failure to centrally lock or unlock at random. Seems like a software fault as turning it off and on again seems to clear the fault. At least so far... :blink: Cheers

Sorry to hear about your radio hassles. When I put in a CD changer I had to take the car into a Citroen dealer to get the car to recognise it and for it to work at all. Isn't it amazing in this day and age that you can buy a new car without a radio. My friends were amazed my old basic model Metro came without a radio and that was 20 years ago!

And all the sudden the weather's turned cold? Coincidence? In the bad old days I'd say the fuel was waxing, but all fuel should be fine for these temperatures (assuming you're in the UK and the temperature hasn't fallen below -4C). Or too much veg oil in the tank? :P

I prefer the happy medium - my local independent Citroen specialist*, where I got the car from. *Oh yes Sir - we specialise in everything! Tim

Good to hear you're getting better performance and economy now. But was the engine fully run in before you added the ZX1? I would expect the performance and economy to improve during the first few thousand miles. Cheers Tim

Hi Probably a bit late, but it is possible to convert the C3 speedo to read out in km instead of miles and very simple too. Though I can't remember the exact method, I think it involves holding down the right-hand button on the speedo panel while it is on the total mileage (or kilometerage!) display. I'm sure if you search on these forums you'll find it. Cheers Tim

What do main dealers charge per hour these days? Is it even more than the £40 my independent Citroen specialist charge? And they offer free collection and delivery and maybe even a courtesy car. Though you can hire these for ~£25/day anyway, so that can be a bit of a false economy.

I would always advise against speeding. But particularly on the section of the M4 J14-18 through Wiltshire, where cameras calculate your average speed through this section. If it is more than 79mph, you get a £60 fine and 3pt on your license. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-...1565657,00.html Having seen how many accidents this has reduced ( http://www.safetycameraswiltshire.co.uk/pub.asp ) - and probably saved a couple of people's lives in the year it has been operating, I am sure this will spread to other parts of the country. And no bad thing. Just think of all the accidents, fuel and CO2 we would save if no-one drove at more than 70mph...

I noticed today that the passenger side window doesn't go all the way. (Nor does my passenger, often :() Last time I had this was on my Mini, where the window mechanism had rusted through inside the otherwise sound door. Hope that's not the case here... Any better ideas?

It seems to me that Citroens are consistently among the most fuel efficient cars in their class - thanks to the combination of technology and light-weight bodies. I'm sure the latter also contributes to people's perception of poor build quality. I also like Citroen because they don't make any SUVs. But having seem Citroen's idea of customer service I wouldn't recommend people buy a new one and risk having to deal with main dealers, or worse still their head office.

My wife had a similar thing soon after getting our C3 last Feb. It was the alternator that had burnt out. Took ages to get a replacement and the car was off the road for a month just after getting it. And Citroen's "customer service" were appallingly unhelpful - to the point I would never recommend anyone buy a Citroen under warranty. Stupid thing is we'd just traded in our old 306 partly because it's alternator had failed! Good luck!

I seem to remember pushing screwdrivers in behind the sides of the tray to release a couple of lugs. The multi-changer itself was a bit of a fiddle to fit, but you need to get a Citroen dealer to 'enable' it to be switched in when you press SRC. While you're at it, you might want to think whether you are likely to want any other features enabling at the same time - e.g. if you might get an iPod, or if you want to fit a hands-free phone (not sure about that). It wasn't too difficult, although they may have changed things since my 03 model.

I fill my C3 to the 1st pump cutoff. I usually get about 40 litres in. I get approx 115 miles before the 1st light goes out. This one varies most. Then 105 miles between each of the next 4 lights on the fuel gauge. The last light goes out much sooner (~45 miles) But I don't know how much fuel is left in, as I haven't run it dry (and don't intend to!) That's an average of 581 miles/tank, which actually averages 65mpg. :D

Should be - even if has been serviced by a non-main dealer (subject to certain terms I don't remember). But check it has less than 60,000 miles on it. Mine didn't, but the dealer kindly gave me a 12 month warranty from a 3rd party with it. I needed it for a new alternator less than 2 weeks later...

Sounds like it could be the worst of both worlds - the fuel economy and price of the VTR and the handling and ride of the C3!

There was condensation in one of mine when I collected it 2nd hand last year. The garage tried to tell me it was left over from a particularly thorough valet! They replaced the unit for me a few weeks later under warranty. Tim

Nope - but what fuel have you got in? If you haven't filled up for ages (or fill up at tiny places with no turnover) you could still have 'summer fuel' in, which doesn't start as well in the cold. Nor does vegetable oil B) But I haven't tried that (yet). Cheers

I'm fairly sure my 2003 1.4HDi LX (8v) does not have a computer. Unless anyone knows different - I'd be delighted to hear! Edit: forgot the not! :lol:

But mine doesn't have air conditioning. I do live in the UK :lol:

'fraid not. Well I'm glad I've not, really :lol: The alternator failed in my HDi soon after I got it, but re-connecting the battery didn't help. Dont' you have problems with the radio code after you disconnect the battery? Cheers

I've got a 8v 1.4HDi. On a typical run its temperature guage jumps from 0 to 2 after about 3 miles and usually reaches half-way (3 bars) eventually. But often it will cruise on 2 bars, especially with the heating on or if you're not working the engine hard. I've never had a car that takes so long to warm up. Guess that's the price you pay for having an efficient engine! Does anyone know if the screen demist uses electrical heating? It seems to clear very quickly even when the engine is stone cold. I used to tell the missus off for putting the blower on full when the engine was cold, because all it used to do (on our old Pugs) was to blow more cold air over the screen, causing more condensation. But the C3 seems much better. Of course, we won't be able to test it in anger until (if) it actually gets properly cold this 'winter'. Cheers