ericc4

I had my 1.6HDiVTR+ serviced at a big Citroen garage in Gata/Alicante, Spain last week. It was the first main service which I elected to have early at 10,000 miles and 18 months. It cost €150 (about £105) I got back to my apartment and two hours later when loading the car for the journey home (via Bilbao) I decided to check the oil level. Lo and behold the end of the dipstick was missing. I went back to the garage who obviously did not admit that they knew anything about it (other than that it is a common problem!). They confirmed with a new dipstick from the store that the broken part was stuck in the tube. They said it would do no harm, even if it fell into the sump and that I could bring the car in to have it removed and given a replacement dipstick. (The one they got from the store to test was of a clear, rather than yellow, plastic or nylon with a red measuring section). I told them I had to drive to Bilbao that evening so I’d have to get it sorted out back in UK. I was told it would be a warranty matter. I’ve booked the car into my local Citroen agent for tomorrow (24/10) The guy at the garage was very non committal about it being a warranty matter. I made it plain to him that it had better be or it will be a Small Claims Court Sale of Goods Act matter. From information I have seen on this site and what I was told in Spain the dipstick is clearly not “fit for purpose”. Indeed the person who thought that plastic was a suitable material for this purpose must him/herself be a “dipstick”.

Has no-one threatened Citroen (in fact it has to be the vendor) with a Small Claims Court action? There is enough evidence on this site that there is a design fault and that the glove box arrangement is "not fit for purpose" as defined in the Sale of Goods Act. I'm certain that a) any such action would succeed and :blink: that Citroen would not contest the matter. I'm even more sure that such action would deal with the bits of dipstick end floating in the sump that many owners of the 1.6HDi engine have!

My car is a 1.6HDi VTR+ and at 10,000 I had my first service (early as I don't think 20,000 on the same oil is a great idea and also it "only" costs £100 in Spain - still a rip-off for what is little more than an oil change) I then drove the next day from Alicante to Bilbao to catch the ferry and about 20 miles befre Bilbao the depollution warning appeared. The car ran normally. I stopped at the next petrol station and filled up and checked the handbook which said I should take car to a Citroen agent urgently. Whe I re started the warning was still on. I got to the ferry and had about four hours to wait for loading. When I restarted to board the ferry there was no longer any warning. It has not re-appeared since. I wonder whether it is a coincidence that the car had just been serviced (when, incidentally, I later discovered that the end of the dipstick had broken off in its tube) - My next message will deal with that.