mlkey

SOLVED :unsure: Thanks for the reply. Had the switch out and found moisture trapped between the connector and the base of the switch. Cleaned it all and applied WD40, good as new :) Thanks.

Hi, I have just collected an 04 plate C5 2.0i 16v auto SX. I spent a good hour checking it over before I purchased it, everything seemed fine. Today I have noticed that when unlocking the car with the keyfob, or when opening the drivers door, the tailgate pops open. I have searched the forum, but can only find this fault relating to the estate version. Being as the hatchback does not have the dropglass, I am assuming that it also does not have the offending switch. I have tried disconnecting the battery and reconnecting it, but the problem returned within a minute or two. I would be grateful for any suggestions. Thanks.

Thanks CL, will check that when the weather is a little better..

Is a fairly common problem, the water gets into the airbox, and sometimes sucked past the filter. Check your MAF sensor, on the pipe coming off the top of the filter housing with a multiplug. I had the self same issue, got a new one from ebay, worked like a dream since. Also drilled a 10mm hole in the bottom of the cone on the dirty side of the filter housing to allow the water to drain should it pick any more up... Hope that helps.

I have the exact same issue currently. I was leaning towards replacing engine mounts, would be interested to hear opinions please. Normally occurs only at lowish RPM, usually when accelerating out of a junction / roundabout. Lifting off the throttle slightly normally stops it. Noticed it happens more readily when the car is fully loaded with people / luggage.

Cheers..

What did you have to have done to fix this? I have the same fault... :unsure:

Coastline is a very helpful guy, helped me out loads when I had to do my head gasket! Hope you got it sorted :lol:

As far as I know, once you put some fuel in, turn ignition on but do not start. Wait 10 seconds, then turn ignition off. Do this three times, then it should start pretty quickly. This causes the pump in the fuel tank to prime everything through ready. A word of warning: Not sure if you are aware, the high pressure fuel pump bearings are lubricated by diesel under pressure, so if get to the point you run out of fuel, then the bearings take a pounding in the few seconds it takes for the engine to stop turning. You will get away with this a few times, but will greatly accelerate the wear on the pump, which is a costly purchase.

Sure is, you can purchase a coolant tester. It will tell you how much protection the coolant has and when it should be replaced. I am sure there is a fancy name for them (maybe Propylene Glycol Tester/Hydrometer), but a quick search on ebay for "coolant tester" shows many from about £4.00 + postage - money well spent. All coolants are ethylene glycol based, it is the corrosion inhibitor that is different. In the long life stuff, they use organic acids to protect from corrosion rather than silicates, phosphates and borates in the shorter life alternatives.

The small radiator is the intercooler for the turbo, is air to air, no fluids involved there. As for the draining, I did what you mentioned previously, which was remove the bottom hose connection. I also did it from above and did not remove the engine tray, it worked fine.. If you do pull the bottom hose, be sure not to damage the O ring seal, and also make sure the wire spring clip locates correctly when refitting.

The additional heater was an option in rear of vehicle, hence the "chauffage", as the standard arrangement means the back has what ever the front is set too. The extra unit allows for independant settings.

Re the cooling fan, be sure to turn off the Air con while doing the coolant, as this will cause the fans to run constantly.

While distilled water is better than tap water, one of the functions of the coolant is to inhibit corrosion etc. By using tap water, it will be perfectly ok, providing you use the correct mix, which I believe to be 50/50 or 1:1. At worst, using tap water may shorten the life of the coolant, but providing you put the correct mix in, and check it yearly for its effectiveness, you will not have an issue. In terms of the quantity, the DW10 and the DW12 engines are basically the same, except for a few mm on bore and stroke. Given the DW10 (2.0L) coolant capacity is 10.7 litres, I would suggest you add 5 or 6 litres of coolant. Be sure to flush the system through with a hose pipe before refilling to ensure all old coolant is gone, paying particular attention to the heater matrix.

I purchased a 5L can of the red stuff (5 year long life) from Halfords. If you use the long life, you must make sure all traces of old coolant are gone, as they will dramatically shorten the life of any organic coolant.

Not entirely sure, but the 2.0L HDI is about 10 litres, so would think the 2.2 will be at least that, perhaps a little more.

The engine tray comes off very easily, 4 10mm bolts and a few quick release fixings (flat blade screwdriver required). You also need a header tank to bleed the coolant system properly. Release the spring clip from the bottom hose connection, and wriggle it out of the radiator gently, suggest you let all the coolant come out. Replace the hose and insert spring clip when done. Find an old plastic squash bottle, and cut the bottom off, I used some insulation tape around the cap end to pack it out to fit the top of the expansion tank. Put your antigel in, and then continue with water until the squash bottle is close to full too. Ensure you have some plenty of water ready, as it will go down quite quick when you run the engine. Start it up, and let it idle. First, remove the bleed cap on the hose by the bulkhead, and keep it open until you have a clear stream of water, with no bubbles, then replace cap. Don't over tighten as they split easy. Then remove the cap from the valve on the thermostat housing and do the same, all the time, ensuring the header bottle is pretty full. Then let the thing run until the fan cuts in. You will find some coolant may rise up and spill from the header during the process. Once complete, switch off and remove the header bottle, be careful, it will be hot. Replace expansion bottle cap and allow to cool. If the level is too high when cold, easiest way is to let a bit out through the bleed valve when its under pressure, don't do it cold as you will let air back in. Not sure 3 litres is enough? Will be fine in summer, but the system holds around 10 litres if I recall, so that will only be around a 30% mix, not really enough for the winter months. Hope that helps.

Agreed. You should buy a motor you like the feel of on a test drive. Get some models in mind, do your homework on the internet before you buy, then get to looking for a good one. At the end of the day, all manufacturers have issues with their cars, admittedly some are apparently worse than others. I work for a luxury car maker in the UK, their motors cost around £70k new, and even they screw up. People are now forcing buy backs over the issues with EGR valves... they all get it wrong. I got my C5 18 months ago, it is an 02 plate and had 82k on the clock. Now it has 124k, so far had to replace a head gasket and the MAF. I look at the mileage and think thats not bad. The car has never failed me, even with the head gasket going, is nice and comfy, and economical. It has more than saved me double the repair bills in fuel savings, so I am happy. Would I buy another? Yes, without hesitation. If you buy a second hand motor, you always have that element of "buyer beware", although you will get some peace of mind getting something from a dealer rather than private. Good luck with your hunt. ;)

You just can't make this stuff up!

White smoke is normally indicative of coolant being burnt, was it definately a very light colour? EGR faults normally cause a dark sooty smoke. If you had it replaced and still have an issue, suggest you check your coolant level as a starter, also check oil via dipstick for any white muck. Might be it just needs a good spirited drive to clear it all out, the EGR really messes up the inlet manifold and valves, took me ages to get mine clean when my head gasket went. As an aside, I run mine on Shell V power diesel, and get no smoke apart from a slight trace if I have been in heavy slow traffic a long time, then it is only minimal and for a few sesconds. Maybe put a couple of tanks of that through with some diesel injector cleaner, start with the cheap stuff. Hope that helps.

I have the exact same fault, still trying to trace the critter. Seems worse on cold days, get the airbag fault and service light on first start. Switch off and restart after a couple of minutes, and it normally goes away. On hotter days (like today), does not put the warning up at all. I have checked all the earths etc, now considering changing the battery connections, they are the quick release ones, and can be turned on the terminals with relative ease, also has some corrosion on them.. Will be interested if you find this little issue before I do. Oh, on mine, its the passenger airbag its flagging..

Common misconception about these valve caps... The original poster said the top of the cap had come off, leaving just the threaded body... a classic symptom of overtightening, which probably goes back to the last person that changed the coolant on his car! These caps do not need to be mega tight, just done up until they start to pinch, then a further 1/8 of a turn for good measure. If you use metal, there is every chance the same attitude to tightening will result in stripped threads on the hose or thermostat housing.

Excellent!!!

I had exactly the same issue, except with the passenger window, which allowed me to test it on the passenger door switch. On mine, it was dirty contacts in the switchpack on the drivers door. Remove it, strip it (clips together), and clean the contacts on the PCB and rubber pad with some electrical cleaner and cotton buds. Worked for me, and has been fine for about 12 months, since I done it. Only thing that bugs me is the fact it is not working on your keyfob, does suggest something else.. wiring / motor etc.

The smell is caused by mold growing inside the air con, living off moisture which collects when the ac has been running. Best to remove pollen filter as mentioned in above post, then use a cleaning agent to spray into the pollen filter space, all over the matrix inside. then run the fan to circulate it through the system. You can get a special treatment from somewhere like Halfrauds, or use a mutli surface kitchen cleaner spray (which is what i did), just be sure it does not contain anything like bleach! Once its clean, you can prevent further occurences by running the heater on full heat once a month or so for 15 minutes. It dries the system out and the mold does not get the chance to get a hold.