Johndouglas

You've probably had the best quote you're likely to get if you've used drivethedeal. I used them quite a few years ago and they do a very smooth piece of business. But why not approach a Citroen dealer, tell them the quote you've had and ask them if they can match it. After all, the brokers deal through dealers.

What repair? Has the radiator been out or emptied?

What happens at MOT time about retro fitted Xenons? I thought a car fitted with them also had to have self-levelling and washers fitted.

I haven't done my C5 yet but at three years old, I'll be trying it soon. The Xsara we have has a similar engine to the C5 and that is also without a drain tap on the rad. I just remove the bottom hose until it's drained. After filling, I use the bleed valve to expel the air.

Thanks - just as soon as the weather improves!

Can't be! Mine squeals and they are still on the originals. Trouble is, they don't always squeal. Sometimes they go for weeks without a sound.

Remove the battery cover. There's two plastic clips at the rear of it. It's a tight fit to get at the rear of the lamps without removing the battery, but if you look to the rear of the light unit, you'll see four raised circles. The largest is the dipped beam. The slightly smaller one along side it is the main beam and the even smaller one above the dipped beam is the side light. I haven't removed mine (yet) but I expect it will turn slightly and pull out.

About £10

Yes it would. Citroen recommend Total Quartz 7000 which is semi, and 9000 which is fully synth. If I were leaving the oil for it's full stretch, I would certainly use the full synth. The sump plug on the 2 litre can be found at the back of the sump. On the 1.6, it'sa on the bottom of the sump. It's easy to find and remove --------------- once you've got the undertray removed. That takes some time. Also to give yourself sufficient room, you'll need the car on ramps.

I had this trouble on our Xsara. Five minutes after starting the engine, the system beeped and the warning light came on, stayed on for several minutes, then went off. A change of sender unit solved the problem.

I haven't tried removing the glass, but looking in my 'French Haynes', it seems that if you 'fish' behind the bottom left corner of the mirror, there's a large circlip surrounding a number of lugs. Maybe if you open the circlip, the mirror is released.

You didn't say how many miles your C5 has done. The problem you have is the result of the advanced technology that makes modern diesel engines cleaner. Saving the planet comes at a price.

Look here:- https://secure.gsfcarparts.com/shop/results.asp But I think you'll only find it in 1 litre and 20 litre lots.

Having too much LHM in the reservoir won't make any difference to the performance of the suspension. All it will do is perhaps make a mess if it overflows. The level is about right if you can just touch the surface of the LHM with your longest finger.

You don't need to go to a dealer to buy LHM. GSF or Eurocarspares both stock good quality stuff. The LHM in your car should look bright green - if it looks like drinking chocolate it's way past it's change time. To do the job properly the tank should be removed, the filters in the tank should be cleaned, the system filled with hydraflush and the car used for a 1000 miles before removing the hydraflush, recleaning the filters and filling with new LHM. See here:- https://secure.gsfcarparts.com/shop/results.asp

Not so on my C5. Mine has same engine as yours but with six speed box. I too like to keep accurate consumption figures and several times I've done the 1300 mile run from Malaga to London. At first I noted down the number of litres taken on at each fuel stop and then at journey's end, divided litres into miles. I quickly realized that my calculations agreed almost exactly with the computer. As did the distances agree with Microsoft Autoroute programme. The last few runs have given me averages of 46mpg, 43mpg, 42mpg and 27.5mpg. The last figure is low because of caravan towing, and the other variations are speed and load related.

Depending upon the age of your C5 - around either 75K or 100K - a message will come on the screen saying that the fluid needs topping up and also the particle filter needs cleaning/changing. Until then, no worries about it.

I have in the past driven on a motorway with the cruise set at 55mph and 35 miles later acheived 60mpg on the computer. But my average mpg is more or less inline with yours. On two recent trips from London to Malaga I recorded a 45mpg and a 42.7mpg (but with a well-loaded estate car)

How did you decide/who told you that your alternator wasn't working? It sounds to me as though you've replaced a good alternator with another one.

I think you ought to email Citroen UK via this link and let them know what happened:- http://www.citroen.co.uk/contact/contact.asp Please tell us the outcome.

Having now got a C5, but have had a 2.1 Xantia in the past, I would say that the C5 speedo/odometer is more correct than the Xant. I always took the Xantia to be about 5% over whereas the C5 almost agrees with satnav and mileage agrees with Microsoft autoroute. And yes, the outside temperature is read from the nipple on the nearside mirror. The nipple is replaceable after removing the mirrow.

Maybe yours isn't the original. AFAIK all HDi's have the damped pulley.

I had a 2.1 Xantia for seven years and it had a Lucas EPIC pump.

Worst scenario could be head gasket blowing.

I replaced with these:- http://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/product.p...at=0&page=1 I found them only slightly better. Note that if your Xantia is earlier than 1998 you'll need H1 bulbs. 1998 and later use H7