Malcspring

Hey folks, Have been away for a while. A quick question. I am in the process of looking for some new insurance for my Picass and going through the usual online quotation sites (Compare the Market, Go Compare) etc they ask about any factory fitted alarms immobilisers. Thatcham approved or non. On the basis of this does anyone know if the C3 Picasso Blue HDI has one of these as a standard fit from the factory???? Thanks

Took the car back to he garage today and they managed to sort our problem out. They took the drivers seat out so that they could get in. There is a plastic air vent under the seat and their technician took it apart and there was a load of congealed milk in the vent. Obviously by using the ventilation system it was directing air through the vent thus making the pong even worse. Also luckily the carpets are protected with a plastic backing so stopping the milk soaking right through. Alls well that ends well.

Hey folks, We have a very serious problem since about 5/6 days ago my wonderful wife spilt a pint of milk and it rolled around under the drivers seat undetected for several days until it started to smell. Initially we didn't know what or where the smell was coming from, but when it got worse I had a good look around and found it. Some of it remained intact and resembled cottage cheese and the rest has soaked into the carpet directly under the drivers seat. We to say I was annoyed is something of an understatement. To begin with I mopped up the cheesy bits and had a go at wiping the carpet, but I knew it wasn't going to work. Even I know that the absolute worse thing to spill is milk. Had it been anything else then we would have been in with a chance or recovering the situation, but not this. So since it happened I have left my wife to deal with it. Well she has tried anything and everything to sort it. I knew that she wasn't going to have a prayer, but since she created the problem I would give her the opportunity of seeing things for herself. Well she went on a long journey on her own today and on her return said that she couldn't cope with the stench any longer, so she got straight onto our Citroen garage and it is booked in with their valaters tomorrow to see if they can do anything. She even beat me to the punch by saying that if the whole interior including seats have to come out and totally replace the carpet with a new one then so be it. Knowing what I know I did secretly think that worse case scenario that is what would have to happen. Not very good on a 5 month old car. Yes I am very, very, very brassed off.

Thanks Paul. Hopefully it will be a quick and easy fix.

We have just returned from a long trip and to be honest the journey home was a real mare. The dashboard on our new car rattled and buzzed all the way home. Down twisty A roads and motorway. Since we got our car 3-4 months ago it hasn't really had a chance to stretch it legs, but this recent journey gave it a real blast. In the preceding times it has been shortish journeys at slow to moderate speeds (around town) and it has buzzed and rattled, but at a vastly reduced volume, so I guess it hasn't bothered us that much. Both our old Xsara and C4 Picasso's had a buzzing from the offside interior A pillar plastic trim. Just one of those things that we grew to live with. It was rather fortuitous today that we got a call from the salesman who sold us the car to do a 3 month courtesy call and we told him about the problem. Obviously I am going to get in touch with the service dept next week and take it back so they can take a look. I assume it is going to be very trick trying to identify where it is coming from and could result in them having to take the dashboard out. Therefore I was wondering if there is a known problem with rattly C3 Picasso dashboards? Thanks alot folks. :)

That is great. Thanks loads Paul for the info and thanks loads to the forum. I am going to be a regular visitor here I can see it. :)

It certainly begs the question. I have been a loyal and committed customer of theirs for nearly 20 years and have bought 4 of their cars in this time, but recently I have been trying to find out a few technical queries and to be honest thank goodness I discovered the Citroen Owners Club forum otherwise I would have been utterly snookered. Citroen are not interested in replying to your queries unless it is to sell you another car, or failing that (I finally got an email response from their customer services earlier today saying that they couldn't help me and to get in touch with a Citroen dealer). Bloody hell. I only wanted to double check the paint code for my C3 before I collected my touch up pen. And don't get me started with the MyCitroen website. More of the same. Can we sell you this can we sell you that, when are you looking to change your car. I have only just changed my car, but after all this palaver I am considering whether I am going to get another Citroen when the time comes. It is an absolute nightmare trying to find out information about pretty much anything. Another thing I tried to find out was topping up the Ad Blue tank. It doesn't say anything in the car manual on how and where to do it. NO of course it doesn't because they want you to take it to a Citroen garage and charge you even more money for the privilege. Today I wanted to find out the type and grade of oil that goes in my car. Yet again nothing in the manual about this. Thank you John Douglas from the forum for giving me this info. I have now contacted a Citroen dealer and ordered a 1 litre bottle of the stuff, so Citroen you are not going to lose a sale to Ha****ds. Yes. That is a dirty word in these parts as well. Totally frustrated. Do Citroen think that everyone is an imbecile??? Sorry about my rant, but sometimes..... sometimes..... Arrrrgh!

Thanks John. Appreciate your help. :)

Hey folks. Can someone point me to what type/grade/kind of oil this engine needs, so I can get a bottle, so I can top it up if needs be? Thanks

Thanks alot for your help Paul. Gives me some pointers for when I do it.

We have just done 1100 miles in our new C3 Picass diesel and I was contemplating giving it an oil and filter change (not a manufacturers requirement), but a good friend of mine who has a C3 Picass diesel as well as previously owning many diesel cars said it would be a good idea. Obviously being a new engine it is getting close to being run in and all the swarf and rough edges from the internal components will be swimming around. That was until I contacted a Citroen main dealer for a price for an oil and filter change. They quoted me £160. I thought, blimey all I want to do is have fresh oil and a new filter. I wasn't looking for a blooming service. Suffice to say I am re considering now. I don't want to do it myself (although I am more than capable) as it will invalidate the warranty. We are only planning on doing maybe 6/7000 miles this year, so it isn't what you would call high mileage. I has really surprised me how the main dealers can get away with charging such high prices. If I remember correctly the government outlawed the practice of main dealers ripping customers off with servicing charges a few years ago. Now you can have your car serviced anywhere as long as they follow the correct procedures as laid out by the manufacturer and use official parts. I may end up going down that route. Watch this space.

Thanks for your input chaps. I'll make an appointment for an oil and filter change soon. Keeps everything sweet. :D

Hey folks, New member alert!!!! I have already posted a few times in other areas of the forum, but thought it was high time I introduced myself. Well I am a lover of Citroen's (obviously) having previously owned 3 and we bought one for my mum a few years ago, so in reality it is 4. We bought a pre registered (65 plate) C3 Picasso Blue HDI with 14 miles on the clock in between Christmas and New Year after our C4 Picass went bonk. Loving the new car and it is coming up for it's first 1000 miles. A good friend of mine who owns a C3 Picass himself as well as lots of diesel cars in the past has recommended that we take it for a oil change as it is a new engine and all the metal fragments from the engine will be swirling around. To my mind it kind of makes sense to have this oil flushed out and some fresh put in. What does everybody else think?

Thanks for your help John. I would have been searching until the cows come home otherwise. :D

Have just been out to the car again to have another look. There is a 4 digit code "EWPB". Could that be it? Thanks

Hey folks, Really gutted. We have had our C3 Picasso for about 3 months and recently the drivers door has been scraped slightly along the bottom edge, so I was looking at getting a touch up pen to repair it before the rust sets in. Thing is We bought it from one dealer and on the sales invoice it shows it as Polar White, but today I went to a different Citroen garage to order the new pen. I gave him the reg number and he looked it up or their database and it is showing as a different white. I ordered it and came away, but it was still nagging away at me, so I called them back just to clarify that they had got it right. I just want to make sure in my own mind that it is the correct shade, so I have been hunting around on the net all afternoon trying to find out how I can find the paint code on the vin plate on the b pillar. I have found a couple of potential numbers, but I don't know if they are correct. Hopefully someone on here will be able to point me in the right direction.

Thanks for the heads up Paul. Beats me why the secrecy? After all it is no different to adding any other liquid to the car. Oh well.

Hey folks. New member here although we have had 5 Citroen's over the years, so we love the brand. I have a question regarding the adblue on our new C3 Picasso. We have only had it for 3 months and have currently done around 800 miles in it. I know that the adblue will require topping up at some point. The thing is that I am struggling to find out where to do it. The instruction manual is rubbish and the Mycitroen website is even worse. What is it with Citroen? They really don't want you to do it yourself. They seem to say take it to a Citroen dealer and they can do it. Well I DON'T want to take it to a Citroen dealer. I am more then capable of doing it myself. Surely it is no different to putting any other liquid in? Diesel, Oil, Coolant, Screenwash. It is really irritating when Citroen seem to treat you like an idiot. And as far as Mycitroen is concerned. Well, I wish I hadn't bothered with that. It appears to be nothing more than a way of screwing even more money out of you. Citroen are certainly not endearing themselves in my opinion. Well sorry for my little rant, but if someone can point me in the direction of how to do the adblue I would be eternally grateful. Thanks Malc