Death Of A C4 - Turbo Failure But No Warning

[FraserH]

Hi folks, first post and all that...

 

I got a 2008 c4 Picasso 1.6hdi in mid December last year. 86k on the clock, pretty extensive service history, great price at £4.7k or so I though.....

 

It's now on 96k.

 

Last week it decided to lose power to the engine. No smoke, no noise, no warning lights, nothing. It just refused to go beyond about 30mph with any gusto. Limped it the last 2 miles to work, then got it towed to local garage.

 

Garage couldn't get diagnostic kit to speak to the car, and neither could their neighbouring garage. So off it got towed up to Arnold Clark, the dealer from whence it came.

 

They have diagnosed "a collapsed turbo which has put debris through the engine" and are suggesting £4-5k to replace both.

 

Am I missing something? Shouldn't there have been some kind of warning from the car? And is it likely to have done so much damage as to need the entire engine replaced?

[paul.h]

Welcome to the forum.

 

Did you get a 12 month warranty with the car ?

 

When turbos fail they can break up and put bits of metal through the engine and cause a lot of damage to the bores/pistons and possibly metal in the oil system which could damage the bearings. If the engine is stopped as soon as it goes though the damage may be prevented and the turbo rotor stay in one piece. When I had one go on a Saab petrol engine there was a large cloud of smoke so I stopped straight away - only needed a turbo, lambda sensor and catalyst. There had previously been smoke on start up and a bit on accelerating so that was a warning.

 

To check for debris in the engine would likely need the inlet manifold to be removed so I guess Arnold Clark will have done this. To check the extent of damage would require the cylinder head to be removed. If there is engine damage your best option (if it is not covered by a warranty) may be a second hand engine and a new turbo, but turbo failure on the 1.6 hdi is common so finding one may not be easy.

[FraserH]

No warranty, got a hugely uninspiring 60day warranty with it and despite pressing for a year they wouldn't be shifted due to the car being more than 3 years old.

 

I've got a local garage looking into sourcing me a secondhand or recon'd set up, as well as having stuck my requirements into 247parts, and see if I can get it going for less than the car actually cost me.

 

What I don't get though is the total lack of warning lights or messages at ANY point before, during or after.

[paul.h]

I have slightly altered the topic title to see if there are any more comments, others on here have had a turbo fail on different cars and they may have had something warning them of the failure.

 

For future reference, Citroen dealers give a 12 month warranty on their approved used cars but they may have slightly higher prices.

[FraserH]

thanks for that pau.

 

i bought the car from here:

 

http://www.arnoldclark.com/find-a-dealer-search/perth-citroen/ref/arnfa/

 

so is there a reason they wouldn't have given me a 12 month warranty, being a used citroen from a citroen dealer?

[Johndouglas]

I've always believed that main dealers when trading in cars over three years old handed them to the general car trade or put them through the auction.

[paul.h]

My local dealer has a few cars over 3 years old and our first C3 was 4  when we got it and had the 12 month warranty. I was considering a 4 year C4 2.0 hdi from them recently and that still came with the 12 month Citroen approved warranty.

 

I wonder if Arnold Clark are not a 'true' Citroen dealer and do not sell Citroen approved used cars. I quick look at the link does not show any warranty details. When we were looking at cars earlier, Evans Hallshaw Citroen branch in Hull would only provide a 3 month warranty unless you purchased one - that plus other extra costs like admin made their cars a lot more expensive than it first appears. Plus the price was fixed and they would not patch up any damage on the cars. Maybe these large companies have a different arrangement with Citroen and in reality only have the Citroen sign outside the premises. If you look on Citroen's site for used cars (which has details of the warranty), I think these large companies do not appear.

[coastline taxis]

im saying nothing other than get rid of it. Most waranty firms wont cover 1.6 hdis

[FraserH]

unfortunately i don't think that is going to be an affordable option.

 

i've tracked down possible engines from a breaker, but they are D4162T and TZJA codes from 2010 onwards.  Do these fit a 2008?

[paul.h]

Just tried a google search on those engine codes. The first is a Volvo one and the second a Ford one, hopefully somebody on here may be able to advise if they will fit a Citroen.