jonfish

A little water (deionised preferably) will be OK to stop the warning (did this myself) but coolants also contain corrosion inhibitors and different types may not be compatible with each other.

Snap! 24000 miles 1.6 HDi 110 on way to work this am screeching and smoking RAC towed to dealer - yet to hear what they've got to say. I NEVER ride the clutch and this happens. Not a happy bunny.

One of mine just shredded after two years. Up till then I hadn't noticed any deterioration in performance. So two years looks a reasonable life. Front only pair £39.99 from Halfords today. Strangely they didn't have the rear. Halfords own branding - not necessarily good news, true but look identical to the OE down to the Made In Gemany and code numbers stamped on. £40 not bad considering I would normally replace after one year and cheap considering how much I also spent on tyres today.

A pipe connected to the turbo has a hole in it due to rubbing on a bracket. OK to drive. Pipe on order for fitting next week.

Well it's going to the dealers tomorrow so we'll see. Thanks for the input.

Just coming up to 2 years of C4 ownership. Was going to report and all's well - well more or less - then a weird whooshing noise in the cabin starts on Friday as you touch the accelerator. It dies away after about 1.5 seconds at the same revs. Louder if you floor it but still dies away. Seems to be coming from ventilation system maybe the windscreen vents. No setting of the ventilation system makes any difference that I can tell ie. fan off, a/c off, screen demist on/off, fan max, temperature, auto anything. Doesn't do it when engine isn't under load ie. rev with clutch disengaged. Any ideas anyone ?

Surely leather seats should stand up to reasonable wear and tear. Given the price of this option on top of the standard car I would say Citroen should repair this FOC or at least offer some good will £££. I don't think wearing bog standard jeans is unreasonable. Is there anything in writing in any literature about the care of the seats that mentions the clothes you can't wear ??

I also had a focus with Quickclear windscreen and it was superb as you say. The one thing I really miss. I find that modern cars are very well sealed and the windows do mist up more. Makes sense re. pollution filter etc. I suppose. The focus did steam up sometimes and the Quickclear was useful for this even though it was supposed to be for ice really. My C4 mists up very quickly anytime I switch the auto/climate off - that is mid journey not just at start up -even if I direct the air to the screen only and also even in screen blast mode without a/c. (You can switch the a/c off after switching the screen blaster on.) However, 15 minutes does seems excessive. With warp a/c powered screen blast mist goes very quickly for me. Auto Express 17/23 Jan issue were reviewing some anti misting products. "Comma ProVision Fog Clear Gel" came out best but I haven't used so can't say. Might be worth a try.

The washers / biros analogy is pretty close, but this morning at a recorded -3C I got from the front passenger door the most extraordinary sound like a a couple of sparrows having a karoke party. When the car had warmed it returned to the normal intermittent rattle. Maybe it's the subzero temperature warning alarm. I did wonder if you should get an audible warning for this. Do other peoples doors freeze shut ? I noticed the black velvet-like seals get wet then freeze sticking to the door frame paint work. Is this supposed to happen ? Has anyone used any products to help stop this ? I remember there used to be some kind of silicone release product advertised.

I totally agree with Wozza's comments. I'm lucky enough to have the "Black/Orange Mesh 3D X-Ray" fabric which I think is probably the classiest seat fabric I've seen on any car. I know it has now been discontinued. The centre armrest is soft black vinyl to look like leather. The general ambience is I think very good. The mirrors move but not by a lot. Only two things slightly marr the interior I think. The fabric round the door armrest / window switches is very susceptible to muck and it's a shame that the vents at the sides aren't surrounded by the same rather nice patterned plastic as the centre vents / display. I think the interior of the latest Golf is nothing like as classy as my C4 or the previous Golf for that matter.

Just a historical aside. My dad had a Rover SD1 about 25 years ago. It had a seat belt warning light (just one light for all seats). Come to think of it, it probably only had belts in the front. Not sure. There were sensors in the seats. There were also rattles in the doors. Probably Citroen ripped both those ideas from BL :( . One thing I do remember about that car was there was a warning light for any exterior bulb failing. Probably just worked on good old Ohm's Law and a couple of diodes. With all this fancy multiplexing I wonder why they don't have that now. Perhaps an annoying bleep would persuade people to actually check their lights sometimes. Bah!

When I ordered my old focus I specifically requested they didn't put a sticker in the rear window but they did anyway. It always irritated me but only because it obscured the rear vision. It was at the top and it created a blind spot which I found annoying on hilly stretches of road. On the C4 (hatch) the sticker is at the bottom centre of the screen and it doesn't cause a problem. In fact it blocks out headlamps of cars behind in traffic nicely. Together with the autodimming rear mirror I am hardly ever dazzled from behind. Now, if only I could get something to block out the brake and fog lights of lazy idiots stopped in front I'd be happy.

Ignore the above foolishness.

Where's the button for time travel on the C4 ? Don't tell me it's only on the coupe. The time is now23:58 15/12/06.

A well looked after but relatively high mileage Yaris with full Toyota dealer service history from new. What ? They're made in France - honest.

Mmm. It's happens a lot in slow moving traffic which I suppose makes sense. I used to dread it in the summer when other cars had their windows open! Still it's better than a lot of that noise the youffs are in to :angry: But it still happens now - OK probably the warmest November on record. Often happens when I'm parking up. I tend to let the engine tick over for a few seconds as I take my belt off etc. before shutting off and the fan will start up. The noise makes me cringe especially if it's late at night in case it wakes the neighbours! Sounds like I'll just have to get used to it, though they don't all seem to be as bad from these posts.

Does anyone with the 1.6HDI 110 engine consider the engine cooling fan to be excessively noisy ? When it cuts in, mine seems much louder than any car I've previously known. That's from inside the car. When stood outside it's ridiculous. I've had people comment and seen pesdestrians turn to look. It doesn't sound broken or mechanically on the verge of self destruction just loud. Been the same as long as I can remember. Mentioned to dealer at 12500mile service but they didn't say anything when the car was returned to me. Is it just me ?

I had the hazards come on once but can't remember the exact circumstances. Don't think speed was too high. Deceleration however was. I remember the engine stalled as I was engine braking as much as possible. ESP was one of the main reasons I forked out for the VTR+ although so far I haven't seen any ESP light flash. It would be nice to know it was working but otherwise I'm quite happy never to see it thanks ! My old focus had traction only and quite often it would kick in pulling out of junctions in the wet. Other than that I tend to be quite respectful of Newton's laws of motion and the tyres / road surface friction pair. I understand switching the ESP off is to allow you to spin the wheels to help get out of deep snow. I don't want to put that to the test either. Off topic but does anyone know the capacity of the 1.6 HDi 110 coolant system ?

Mmm. Interesting. My 1.6 110 HDi (15 months old) also did this on the way to the airport (stress I don't need) last week. I stopped briefly, the log said pollution reduction system fault or something similar and the same thing happened on restarting the engine. There was no effect on driving characteristics. Car parked up for nearly a week, and on the way home yesterday ~ 35 miles mostly M way and some hills, nothing at all. Wondering whether to bother gonig to dealer or not. Will if it happens again I think. (saw 2 C4's in French France with panoramic glass roof option one silver hatch the other scott yellow coupe which looked particularly good although the Provence setting did help.)

1) First day of ownership, read the manual "DON'T scratch off" 2) 1500 mile sevice. Handed over keys and they scratched it off infront of me. So I suppost it is OK to scratch off and memorise.

anyone who doesn't use indicators (esp. at roundabouts); anyone who drives with fog lights on when not appropriate (esp. in rain); anyone showing blue lights except emergency vehicles; anyone who can't be bothered clearing snow from their windows except for about 1 square foot before setting off; Anyone who can't drive in snow or appears to have no clue about Newton's Laws of Motion. anyone who runs out of fuel and causes traffic jam chaos; anyone who doesn't use their hand brake but sits blinding me with their foot on the brake pedal then rolls back towards me if on an incline; anyone who drives a brand new expensive convertable with the top up when it's fantastic sunny weather; anyone who slows to < 5mph below the speed limit when there's a speed camera; anyone who doesn't drive to the speed limit when it is safe to do so; anyone using their mobile phone unless in total stationary long term traffic jam (esp. in stop start traffic if they are behind me); anyone drinking a mug of tea at the wheel while driving; anyone who doesn't acknowledge you when you do them a favour like let them out; anyone who queues blocking up obvious roads or across junctions esp. yellow hash boxes when there is nothing to be gained by them but it stops other people moving; Oh I think that's about it--- stressful day!

Another two penneth. After my original type focus, I was quite happy to sacrifice some handling finesse for improved ride comfort because 1) I am now an old git (as in my hatch kind of reminds me of a GS!) and 2) the potholes just get worse. What I was originally most disappointed about compared with the test drive was the poor ride. I put this down to the 17" wheels on my car compared with maybe 15" on test car. Low profile tyres really are sheer vanity..... So I was a bit miffed that both the ride AND the handling were WORSE than the focus. Now after new rear shocks I would say the ride is better than the focus and the handling improved though still not as good. Of course as others have said in this thread a big lump of a diesel in the front doesn't make for totally fair comparison with a petrol.

I too had an old type focus (petrol 1.6) and now have C4 VTR+ 110 HDi hatch. Although my C4 is now much improved and I like the car very much, (see earlier in this thread) the focus beat it hands down for throwing round corners. I don't believe it's anything to do with ESP or any other electronic aids, just basic ability. For me one of plus points of the C4 is the ESP which I would never switch off - I've seen what it can do. I wish we knew which was the "best" combination of kfk's multitude of types of springs and dampers etc. and could get Citroen to fit them under warranty. Maybe if you complain enough.

From delivery my rear shocks groaned in stop start traffic. They greased them and said they might improve which they did. However I was always disappointed with the ride (and a little with the handling) compared with my old style focus and the test drive C4 which I put down to daft 17" alloys on my car. At the 1 year / 12500 mile service I asked them to look at a knocking noise at the back thinking it was the exhuast. They replaced the rear shocks (only I think) and the ride and I think the handling is and remains significantly better (2500miles 2.5 months). Nothing significant at the front just the odd strange clonk when setting off turning quite sharply down steep hill. It would be nice to have the new shocks at the front as well incase they make a difference.

Eventually they will bring back the birch. If there is no paint off you could ask "Dent Devils" to take a look before you put it through your insurance. No experience myself but they seem to have a pretty good repution. Dent Devils