Climate Control Problem On New Car

[C4VTS]

Just had a call from Citroen dealer I was due to pick up ex-demo C4 VTS from, tomorrow which I have paid deposit on.

 

The climate control only blows cold air on the passenger side but hot always on drivers side. The car needs a part to fix this, but dealer and Citroen cannot give a date for a replacement part to fix this. Does anyone know what this part might be, and has anyone else had this fault?

 

Should I reject the car, or take it as is and wait for the part to be in stock which could take weeks/months according to the salesman?

 

I really want this car as it has leather seats which is difficult to find on a C4, and I have spent a long time looking, so I am a bit pished off to say the least.

 

Is there anything else I can do to get this fixed quicker, or should I get another C4 that will not have the leather (which I want)?

[jryan]

If i were you i would wait out until the part arrives. I would keep harrassing them and try your hand at getting some complimentry things as compensation etc.

[kfk]

Just had a call from Citroen dealer I was due to pick up ex-demo C4 VTS from, tomorrow which I have paid deposit on.

 

The climate control only blows cold air on the passenger side but hot always on drivers side. The car needs a part to fix this, but dealer and Citroen cannot give a date for a replacement part to fix this. Does anyone know what this part might be, and has anyone else had this fault?

 

Should I reject the car, or take it as is and wait for the part to be in stock which could take weeks/months according to the salesman?

 

I really want this car as it has leather seats which is difficult to find on a C4, and I have spent a long time looking, so I am a bit pished off to say the least.

 

Is there anything else I can do to get this fixed quicker, or should I get another C4 that will not have the leather (which I want)?

Is funny how when a dealer supplies a car, thats faulty everyone says how bad the dealer is, slap them on the wrists etc etc.......

 

When they call you to tell you its got a problem and they want to fix it before you take delivery......there also wrong, this time for doing there job properly!!!

 

I can understand your dissatisfaction at the vehicle not being ready for you to collect, but would also point out its better at this stage than pack up on sunday after you have taken delivery.

 

There seems little point in changing your mind on the car you have chosen as your heart is now set on it and any thing else would be second best.

 

I might add at this point we had a C4 that was doing as you described and it was caused by someone having disconnected the battery and not reinitialising the airconditioning.......i would assume that they have done this.

[C4VTS]

Is funny how when a dealer supplies a car, thats faulty  everyone says how bad the dealer is, slap them on the wrists etc etc.......

 

When they call you to tell you its got a problem and they want to fix it before you take delivery......there also wrong, this time for doing there job properly!!!

 

I can understand your dissatisfaction at the vehicle not being ready for you to collect, but would also point out its better at this stage than pack up on sunday after you have taken delivery.

 

There seems little point in changing your mind on the car you have chosen as your heart is now set on it and any thing else would be second best.

 

I might add at this point we had a C4 that was doing as you described and it was caused by someone having disconnected the battery and not reinitialising the airconditioning.......i would assume that they have done this.

Did I say the dealer was bad ? I think not!

 

So you think I should wait weeks/months for the part before taking delivery?

 

Salesman thinks I should reject the car !

 

I have only spoken to salesman who is not at all technical, and therefore has not been able to tell me exactly what has been done, but I get the impression car has been stripped down but not 100% certain. I will ask tomorrow if aircon has been re-initialised.

 

 

Thanks.

 

Any other ideas greatfully received.

[Ciaran2903]

If the climate control can be turned off, could you not receive the car and wait until the part arives?

Just means you would have to drive with the windows down the whole time though!

[C4VTS]

If the climate control can be turned off, could you not receive the car and wait until the part arives?

Just means you would have to drive with the windows down the whole time though!

Thanks

 

I think this is what my head is telling me to do !!!

 

I cannot find this spec/mileage car for same price anywhere else, and I have searched the whole of UK, so I think I must have this car, and suffer until it can be fixed !

 

Still has 2 year Citroen UK manufacturers warranty.

 

Does anyone else agree?

[barns]

if your heart is set on having it stick with it.The dealer will fix it in the end,why not try and get them to throw something in for the inconvenience,worth a try or is that the yorkshireman coming out of me........... :o

[Mat]

I cannot find this spec/mileage car for same price anywhere else, and I have searched the whole of UK,

If this is as good a deal as you think, then the salesman may well want it back to sell onto someone who wont knock him down as much, hence getting him more commision, once they fix the aircon.

[C4VTS]

I cannot find this spec/mileage car for same price anywhere else, and I have searched the whole of UK,

If this is as good a deal as you think, then the salesman may well want it back to sell onto someone who wont knock him down as much, hence getting him more commision, once they fix the aircon.

That is my suspicion !

 

I think the salesman knows I have got a great deal, and maybe he is trying to bottle out of the deal :D

 

I will push for all i can get !

[C4VTS]

It's the end of the month, and the salesman wants his commission !

 

 

Am I just too cynical?

[pork_pie]

I'd say go for the car if it has the spec you so wanted - namely leather seats which is rare for that medium hatch class.

 

Hope you werent expcted to pay more for the privilege.

 

Bit of an arse that the climate control dont work on both sides. Its up to the dealer to get this sorted during the PDI. Anyway arent other demo cars used as a source of spare parts - tell them to source it from another C4. Ha.

 

A few weeks wait for a part is not good enough. Bet you were told that the part in question was a "coded part". Great excuse.

 

Parts Bin? Parts vaginal diaphragm more like.

[IanHur]

The climate control problem seems to be a common fault; my C4 developed the problem when it was 6 months old.

The repair is a big job, it entails fitting a new heater box assy and to do this the dash board has to be removed and part of the bulk head under the bonnet, it’s a 2 day job.

I was not very happy at the prospect of the dash being removed on a brand new car but I was assured it would be OK as my car would be No6 to be done by my dealer.

I was also told the new heater box is not the same as the one that came out it's a different unit totally and I should not have the problem again.

[C4VTS]

The climate control problem seems to be a common fault; my C4 developed the problem when it was 6 months old.

The repair is a big job, it entails fitting a new heater box assy and to do this the dash board has to be removed and part of the bulk head under the bonnet, it’s a 2 day job.

So it could happen to anyone then, this climate problem.

 

In which case I could get another car and this fault could happen on that one.

 

I think I should just get this car, and wait for the parts.

 

I presume yours is ok now Ian ? How long did you wait for the part?

 

Thanks

[pork_pie]

C4VTS

 

What feedback did you get from the garage?

[IanHur]

Yes the car is fine.

I went into my dealer on a Sat morning to tell them about the problem, being cold on the passenger side and hot on the driver side they knew of the problem and showed me the info of the updated heater box on there computer.

They ordered the part on the Monday and rang me a day or so later to tell me it was in.

It was about a week later they done the job as they where busy with other work which was no problem to me as the car itself was OK.

Buy the car it will me fine.

[C4VTS]

Hi Ian,

 

I have left the car at the dealer for another week, and have shown them your post about the heater box.

 

The main concern from the dealer was that the part has been put on 'back order' and there has been occasions when it has been weeks for parts to arrive.

 

How long ago was it, that you had yours replaced?

 

I have told the salesman I still want to buy the car, and he has been very good so far in keeping me informed, and he hopes to find out more about the spares situation on monday.

[pork_pie]

Back order? Oh dear.

 

Had they put a "VOR" tag on it then youd have got the part in the next working day.

 

VOR = Vehicle off road.

 

As your car is still driveable, the status of the part order is a "back order".

 

Communication involving these bits and pieces between garage and customer can be better.

 

That could be anything from 2-6 weeks. A reason used is that a lot of these parts have to be ordered from France but the nation ain't exactly far away from us is it?. Another reason which I shall call an excuse is if the part is regarded as a "coded part" where the part is characteristic for that car alone e.g key fobs and transponder immobilisers.

 

There is a parts depot in Coventry however.........

 

I needed a new EGR valve on my C3 approximately 3 years ago.

 

The new part didn't fix the problem!!!!! 5 weeks well spent in waiting!

I was told that was a coded part.

 

And another thing - I needed a new key fob for my Xsara as I was supplied with just one when I was presented the vehicle in Feb 04.

 

The part took 9 months to arrive.

 

Make sure the communication regarding this part that is required is crystal clear otherwise lose the car and think of another model but I understand the leather being a factor that makes decisions like that very difficult.

 

Great feature to have. My ex demo 1 has leather and I pulled out the stops to ensure the car was mine because of this feature (never had a car with it) . Unfortunately when you come to sell it - you will get nothing back but the novelty for having it is nice.

 

That's all it is though - a novelty.

[C4VTS]

Hi pork_pie

 

Thanks for the info !

 

I will ask the dealer to put a VOR tag on the part, if they are not already reading this !

 

I drive 20,000 miles per year, and all my journeys are long distance, so need a diesel, and need a comfortable car with nice leather seats and climate control that works!

 

Fortunately my Audi A4 climate is great, but working overtime in the current 30 degrees heatwave.

 

I want the C4, but not much more i can do at this stage.

[pork_pie]

Hi mate. No worries.

 

Understand what you mean about the leather. I do a lot of motorway driving and its great. I miss not having cruise control on my car but I refuse to pay for a retrofit of £580 when it costs £195 as a factory fitted option

 

I don't think I could go without Leather now lol so long as someone else has paid for it however or if its standard lol.

 

I wish you luck getting them to change it to VOR. THey may say to you that its been done but you will know if they did that or not by the amount of time youve had to wait.

 

But hold on, you've put money on a car thats already with them so the onus is on them to get it sorted pretty quick.

 

That EGR part I was talking about was apparently put to VOR but I still ended up waiting over a month.

 

Did you part ex your Audi with Citroen? THey dont offer much in px.

How much did you get for it? 180k miles was it?

 

Yeah theres not much you can do but hope for some good news on Monday.

 

Rather you than me!!!!

[Mat]

I don't think I could go without Leather now lol so long as someone else has paid for it however or if its standard lol.

What's so great about leather ?

[pork_pie]

They are comfortable to sit on.

[Mat]

Not if you're wearing shorts

[wozza]

My dads last car had leather after he got it the words never again came into mind the number of times i got in to drive it during summer and the bloody thing was red hot. then in the winter its frigging freezing no thanks will take cloth myself. Even though leather is nice its just when its hot its awful and when its cold its awful as well.

 

And porkie mate get rid of the damn 1 series i dont care how reliable it is you know you want a C4 HDI. :D

[IanHur]

My heater box was changed about 3 months ago, there did not seem to be a problem getting the part for my car at the time.

But don't forget I said the problem was a common fault, how many C4 have been sold with the old type heater box; chances are all will need replacing.

It's about supply and demand; the new cars on the production line require the new box plus the cars they have already sold.

The demand is there the supply is probably struggling to keep up.

Why don't you have the car as It Is and return It when the part arrives, the only problem there, I see, I suppose It's the wrong time of the year to have hot air coming from the heater.

[pork_pie]

"And porkie mate get rid of the damn 1 series i dont care how reliable it is you know you want a C4 HDI. "

 

Mr Moderator.

 

LOL

 

I think the C4 - especially the your coupe is a cracking car.

 

Something different and fresh. I laugh at Focus and Pug drivers as much as you do when your bombing past a stranded 3 series driver. To be honest, I do the same too. LOL.

 

I would buy one today at Citroen Manchester which is just down the road from the both of us. A nice 1.6 Hdi VTR+ 5dr in silver with a few extras and still get change from £16k which is sensible money for a car.

 

I am guaranteed a good deal as I was a regular customer.

 

But I can't be doing with the teething problems - it made ownership hellish. The car will be in the dealership within the first week. Then when I take the car for a problem, I will have to return a few weeks (rather than days) when the part arrives. Then there are the recalls, software upgrades.

 

It's happened to all 5 of me past citroens - even the used buys.

 

Because of these quirks, I miss my Citroens especially the C3 (bloody awful)and the Xsara Estate.