willyb

Hi there, Just thought I would give an update on where I am with this problem, see if it rings any bells. Eventually spoke to the Citroen Tech who did the work and he says the symtoms I describe have only once emerged in the "Citroen database " which he had searched, and the problem was rectified by replacing the pressure regulator but there was no guarantee that this would resolve things for me. Given the cost it I will not be doing this. Since the symtoms are so subtle: friends have said the car feels ok to them, I have decided to book it in at a local Citroen specialist for a second opinion, but prior to that , to give them something to go on, I have been driving the car to define what I feel the problem is and have concluded that: 1/ the car feels fine in Comfort mode with no issues but as I have driven the car in Sport for most of my ownership this might not be right. 2/in Sport the car feels different as one would expect, but although it corners flat with minimal roll it pitches fore and aft on an undulating road and this is the most unpleasant aspect. I believe this model Hydractive 111 plus has 7 spheres : 4 normal, 2 stiffness and 1 to control diving under breaking. Could there be something wrong with either the stiffness or anti dive spheres? Would this be worth investigating, and anyone know what replacement might entail? I will live with the car the way it is if I have to but ideally would like it fixed, any suggestions would be most welcome

Hi, Thanks for your reply, really appreciated. Picked the car up today but the service guy I've been dealing with was off so will speak to him Monday for further info. My invoice ( which was quite reasonable btw) says " pressure in system found incorrect at rear sphere, recommend replacement of pressure regulator before further diagnosis can take place" which means on what they v'e told me so far I need to spend circa £1400 before they can MAYBE tell me what the problem is! Presumably they think there is some issue with the PR which is why they are saying it needs to be replaced but the caveat that further diagnosis will be needed suggest they don't know if the PR is the root problem. I would like to think that the car could be rectified for the cost you are suggesting and I thank you for your work with that. I would not hesitate if I thought for sure that was the problem but I'm beginning to wonder if C know what they are doing here and I'm not prepared to bankroll their experimentation. Incidently queried the labour charge and was told it was because they had to depressurise the FULL system to install the part. At that point the gratutitous use of the word full had me shaking my head. Thanks for all your help so far: been really impressed by the knowledge here. PS How does the ride of the conventionally sprung versions of the C5 compare with my model? Would I miss it too mutch?

Hi, The report from Citroen is that there are no fault codes logged from the diagnostic check and the ride height checks out as normal. Have given them the ok to check the spheres as they suggest this could be the problem ( i'm still sure there is one!). Waiting to hear what they say. Well seems that Citroen have identified a faulty rear pressure regulator ( apparently my car has the most sophisticated version of the suspension ) and it costs over £800 pounds and approx £600 to fit !!!!! Very very dissappointing. The car has been very reliable so far with only a condenser needed, but if these are the sort of costs I might be looking at sadly it will have to go. I'm sad but its not sensible to spend £1500 plus on a car worth about £5k

Hi, Car going in to Citroen this week for them to have alook :will report back. Problem for me is that the car just does not feel the same, the ride quality has gone from the sublime to the unpleasant. Indeed I could not live with the fore and aft pitching that it now displays. Hopefully it can be fixed, its been best car I've had,and I've had a few.

Thanks for your replies, will try what you suggest. Can't believe I didnt put in the car data: its a 2009 exclusive 136 hp diesel with 36k. Btw it was a friend who noticed the car squatting when switched off, this was a couple of years ago I just assumed it was normal. Cheers

Hi I'm a new member looking for some advice so hope you will bear with me. Had the car for nearly 5 years and would have joined years ago but its been so good : apart from an aircon condenser, its been problem free. Anyway I'm sure I now have a problem with the suspension( Hydractive 3+). I'm pretty sure that the car used to drop down on the suspension when switching off after a run and rise again when restarted but it no longer does this and when parked up it definately looks higher, maybe more so at the front. Also it doesnt drive anything like the same: hard to describe but its like the suspension is hard and not rolling but pitching front to rear if that makes sense. Really nothing like my car and very unpleasant. My local garage( non Citroen) checked it over and its not reading any faults. They suggested its a dealer visit. Firstly is it OK to drive it -my garage didnt say not to? Any ideas ? I'd be very grateful. Many thanks Bill