CCC8

I just traded our C8 for C4 Picasso. The C8 was misting quite badly and was hard to clear, particularly on the morning school run. The clearscreen setting cleared some but not all. A year ago it worked as it should. I put it down to heavy rain combined with a bad seal at the top of the windscreen - some drips were rolling down the inside of the screen and I could feel damp were the headlining joined the windscreen however Paul's mention of anti-freeze odour rings familiar. It started last November after a routine service so I put it down to a spillage or similar at the shop but it persisted to the point where I was reluctant to leave our toddler strapped and sleeping in the driveway with the blower on. The "white noise" of the car would put her over and allowed her an hours sleep but I became wary of the odour. The heater would blow - stop briefly - blow and I thought it may have been self regulating to reach or maintain a temperature. The backlight for the heating settings panel also worked intermittently meaning I couldn't always see the heating info at night. I used microfibre cloths to help clear the screen which was fine in daylight but come night time it caused dazzle problems with oncoming traffic. The car was regulary serviced but the pollen filter wasn't replaced. Prior to the odour and intermittent blowing the heater was capable of dealing with the misting caused by wet mats/prams/bikes and kids drinks spills. BTW I didn't trade in on this issue alone. Hopefully I won't encounter the problem this time round but if I do my first suspect will be the cabin heater.

Name: Citroen C4 Picasso (2014) Date Added: 27 January 2018 - 03:22 PM Owner: CCC8 Short Description: Exclusive+. It's space age. Reg should read NCC 1701 A

You are right. Signature added indicating a 2006 C8 2.0 HDi. I have just returned from a short 6 mile journey and the fan was blowing quite consistently. I'm beginning to wonder if it is meant to go on and off once a cabin temperature is achieved, just to maintain that particular temperature? The short jouney on a cold evening meant the temperature was not reached and therefore the motor did not go into intermittent mode? I will monitor for a while and hope that is the case. Hopefully I have triggered a post early before a period of observation and there is nowt wrong after all. I will update after 5 days and a belated read in the relevant section of the handbook! Cheers Paul for the signature advice.

Another MOT at end of November. Tempus fugit and all that. Half decent Yokohamas on the front need replacing as they have worn on the outside edge after 11k miles even though I'm a wee bit regular when it comes to checking tyre pressures. No knocking or steering issues are noticable at this stage so Im wondering if the C8 is just hard on front tyres? Ah well, money will sort it out, however..........the heater fan is blowing intermittently. On high setting its loud and reassuring but then it stops for a second or two before resuming. Does the same when aircon is on. I have not changed my heater/aircon habits and this hasn't happened before so I don't think it is meant to work that way? Started around 2 weeks ago. I doubt its going to get better on its own. I am not sure where to begin looking for the source of the fault and I will gratefully accept any suggestions that might steer me in the right direction (no, I can't keep it switched off, the kids will freeze and I won't be able to see through the steamy windows!). Thanks for reading. *crosses fingers and hopes for an easy and cheap fix.........

Thank you

You suggested that the noise is active while the engine is switched off. Hence, it cannot be any engine moving part like belts etc..!! View attached file for location.. Flew throughout the MOT. Mechanic suggests the whine IS coming from the heater but he doesn't think it's broken, it's meant to make that noise. When I suggested that there is no need for the heater to kick in when weather is warmer he said that it's required to blow heat into the rear compartment when I switch on the rear heater. I'm not so sure however the heat is working and there seems to be nothing else wrong at this stage.

Thank you for such prompt replies. I had the timing belt etc changed just several weeks ago. The noise doesn't change with engine speed and is barely audible when on the move. The water heater in the YouTube clip is the same noise my car makes. Short journey on a cold morning means it's still working when I arrive home. I will observe over the next wee while and confirm or otherwise. Thank you again.

Our morning school run is approximately 1 mile return. By the time I get home and switch off the ignition there is a high pitched whining noise coming from the front of the car. I've pulled the bonnet but can't source it. It happens at various times of the day. No message appearing in the dash to indicate a fault. Brakes work as normal and I've pumped the pedal to no avail (I was thinking some kind of hydraulic or vacuum issue). It started a fortnight ago and is now happening frequently. I'm not sure if there's any connection but just today I've noticed a bit of "kangarooing" on acceleration. It's a similar jerkiness to an old 1960s Lambretta (restored) I rode and that proved to be a carburettor problem? I'm booked in with my mechanic on Friday (25/11/16) to check a few things prior to MOT on Monday. If anyone has any ideas what is causing the noise and/or jerky acceleration I would grateful if you would tell me as it would allow me to have it sorted prior to the test. Thanks for reading.

Update: car back from Citroen. They have checked it and report there's nothing wrong with it. Their fault reader reports no faults. They will only be able to fix it if I can reproduce the fault in their presence. Sods Law- everything worked fine when they tested. Inspection cost £85.

Update: The non-locking passenger door has been been fixed. Turns out the dealer I bought from knew what was wrong with it when I went back to him. He said he knew it needed a particular part. I left it with him to fix and bit my lip when wanting to ask how he knew. Just as well my 5 yr old daughter found the problem! The Windows started to behave erratically, going down smoothly but not closing without several button presses or having to use the Windows own switch rather than the drivers control panel. The near side passenger door bounced open on closing and would only close after several attempts, during one episode at the school pick up my girl got soaked as the rain blew in. Dealer said it was caused by a stone in the runner channel that his mechanic removed however it's happened again and on inspection I can find no debris? Coincidentally the car alarm has sounded twice now in my presence so I know that no one has tried to gain entry. The dealer booked an appointment for the car at Belfast Citroen. I left it in with them this morning (Mon 3/10/16) to diagnose. During the booking in stage chit chat I mentioned that I would like to try a BSI reset but preferred to wait until the 3 month warranty period had expired so as not to invalidate it. The guy booking it in (Thomas) told me not to even bother as "...it's impossible to do without our Citroen software. I don't care what you're reading, it's impossible to do without our Citroen software". I backed off, left the car for diagnosis and hopefully repair. The dealer was to pick it up and pay the bill later this evening however it's 9.30pm? I'll further update tomorrow I hope and if I have receipts I will cost the work. Hi BlueC8. Hope the makeover is progressing as planned and the investment was a sound one. For what it's worth ours has been great other than the niggly things. It has the room we need, chairs turn around for rainy day in car picnics and it's reasonably economical. The sound system looks a wee bit dated but sounds great so no complaints there..

Nowt back from the previous owner yet. Gear control cables installed yesterday at cost of £144 for labour. The cables were supplied by the dealer who ordered them thru Belfast Citroen. I called to collect but was early and saw the car at the stage with the lower dash stripped out. It seemed a pretty big job with another couple of hours to go. I'm gonna have a go at BSI reset because the n/s passenger door isn't locking and can be opened when car is locked ( triggers the alarm). Update to follow.

Timing belt, pulleys and water pump replaced. Coolant flushed and replaced. £78.18 for timing belt kit incl water pump, £3.25 for long life anti freeze, £180 for labour, VAT £53.27 and £319.58 total. Gear linkages control cables, fuel filter and brake fluid to be done around 23rd this month on the understanding that the dealer will pay my mechanic for the job (for linkages not brake fluid and filters). Will update then with costs. Just posted a note to the last registered owner whose contact details were on the new tax book I got. Informed him who I was and asked if he had any documents that he might let me have (SAE included) and any other history he wanted to pass on. I also updated him on work done and work planned with an offer of occasional updates on his old car (if he was interested!).

Thank you for such a comprehensive reply. I spoke in passing to the mechanic this morning who said "don't worry if it turns Ill replace it". When I leave the car in I will ask him to flush out the antifreeze and change the brake and clutch fluid. I did check both sides of the air filter and I think it must have been changed and the dealer didn't know or forgot to put it in the service book because it looks new. I have to call in with the dealer to collect a seat lever and will have him ask his mechanic if a dual mass flywheel was included with the new clutch. The mechanic I go to runs a tip top shop with a busy crew. I'll ask him to change the fuel filter to avoid any running problems and discuss your advice eolys fluid and pollen filter. During my brief conversation with him I asked if he could guesstimate a ballpark figure to which he replied "I can guarantee it will be under ten thousand pounds". Thank you again for taking the time to reply. I'm grateful for the guidance. . I will update the post after the maintenance is completed to include work done and just how much change I got from ten thousand pounds!. If there's anyone else out there who may be considering buying an older C8 battle bus it may help them budget appropriately or haggle a better bargain if, like mine there's not a comprehensive service history.

Hi, just got 2006 HDI 2.0 with70,000 miles from a small independent dealer. No recorded service history for 40,000 miles however he changed the oil and oil filter at purchase. I opened the air filter and it looks new and it's just had a new clutch. I have it booked in at my usual mechanic next week for a timing belt. Reading through the posts suggests I should change the water pump too. I bought it knowing I would have to spend a bit on servicing and with that in mind are they any other "don't delay" jobs I should consider for the C8 or any parts or fluids peculiar to this model and not referred to in the owners handbook that I should insist the mechanic use or avoid? It's a week away giving me time to visit a couple of local breakers should anyone suggest a parts swap whilst the patient is under? The car appears to be running ok, it's a 109hp engine which seems fine for the time being. Thank you for reading

Hi, Another family member due next month prompted a change from a Peugeot 407 SW so we have just bought a 10 yr old C8 SX HDI from a very local used car dealer in County Antrim. Had been considering an Espace but a 2k price difference and buying 2 miles from home for the Citroen versus 65 miles from home for the Espace made me opt for the Citroen on the grounds of convenience should we need to trigger the warranty. The local dealer has a reasonably good reputation and a 3 month warranty comes with the car. It was advertised as having a new clutch fitted. We took a reasonably long test drive noticing only a few cosmetic issues and a slack gear stick. On return to the pitch we haggled a deal dependent on fixing them. We picked up the car on a Friday evening and covered 200 miles over the weekend. It's just what we are looking for, roomy and red. I'm embarrassed to say that I never noticed a rattle at front right nor the fact that the plastic disc missing from the drivers seat was actually the seat riser lever! The gear stick was still slack after collection. I called with the dealer on Monday morning citing suspension and seating safety issues and the rattle was fixed the next day by fitting a new lower o/s bottom arm and a drop link (big stuff). Neither of us can source a seat riser lever at breakers or auction sites so he has ordered one from Citroen along with cables and rods to fix the gear selection/slack gear stick issue. The C8 is driving so much better now the suspension is sorted. I can't believe I didn't notice it in the test drive. I went over sleeping policemen and did the left and right full lock stuff and heard nowt compared to the awful noise the day after receipt? I've toured the breakers and sourced an umbrella holding parcel shelf, a drivers door seal, a little vent grille for the rear o/s temperature control pillar and been frustrated at not being able to source a cheap load cover from the auction sites for use when the rearmost seats are out. It will come I'm sure. This is our first Citroen. We have washed, vacuumed and cleaned it, tightened up loose fittings, tried out the various seating combinations androids been had a picnic in it. It's great, we love it. It's 10 years old with 70000 miles and had had one not very careful owner before being traded in to a large franchise who moved it on to the small dealer we bought from. I expect things will break now and then but with a socket set, a debit card and some pointers from those who have been there, seen it and done it we'll stay on the road...I hope.