A Leak Underneath Car - Am I Safe To Drive?

[lp2103]

Hi.

I noticed Friday that something is leaking under the car - under bonnet to drivers side - it was dark when i noticed and was out for the day yesterday so left a cup under the car - managed to get a drop and its a brown fluid - a little oily.

Going to hopefully get it into garage tomorrow where i bought it from as i took out the extended warranty - garage is a good 20minute motorway drive, there is no warning lights on the car at the minute - will i be safe driving it?

Ive described the liquid to a family member and they seem to think the brake fluid could be leaking...

 

 

[Johndouglas]

It could be brake fluid. But it may also be power steering fluid or even coolant that needs being renewed. If you are loosing brake fluid the reservoir which is usually attached to the bulkhead under the bonnet will be showing a lower level of fluid.

[lp2103]

ok, thanks for that :)

worrying about it and clueless when it comes to under bonnet stuff - fingers crossed it gets me to garage..

problem after problem..

[paul.h]

I suspect it is probably engine oil and you could check the colour (and smell since all the fluids have their own smell) against the oil level dipstick. You have an oil level check on your car so if the level fell too low the car would give a warning, but if it is just a slight drip it would take years for this to happen. In our first C3 with the 1.4 75 bhp petrol engine, the engine oil never seemed to get dirty and stayed a golden brown colour.

 

Brake fluid is a pale yellow/golden colour and will mix with water - if you have some on your fingers and rub them under a tap it will easily rinse off whereas oil usually requires hand cleaner. If the brake fluid level in the reservoir drops there will be a warning but make sure the brakes seem to work normally and the pedal does not go down lower than normal - you could also try pushing down hard on the pedal and seeing if the leak occurs - if it does you would be best not to use the car.

 

The coolant anti freeze used by Citroen is a pale yellow colour and again mixes with water and can have a bit of a curry smell. Check the anti freeze level in the tank under the bonnet is not low. page 114 of your handbook shows the location of the tank. If the car gives a high temperature warning when using it you should stop the car and switch it off. The C3 does not have a temperature gauge so you could watch the temperature, only a blue light that goes off as the engine warms up - I checked ours and it was at about 50°C.

 

The power steering uses an electric motor so there should not be any oil leaks from this. Another possibility is a leak from the air conditioning which also has oil in it.

 

Our 2010 1.4 95 bhp petrol C3 had an oil leak from the back of the engine when we collected it - so much for Citroen's checks. It has a solenoid in the oil pump with a cable that comes out of the back of the engine block and the seal at the block was leaking. It needed a new solenoid to fix it although the seal is a separate part. The 75 bhp engine does not have one of these so if your engine is this one it may simply be a drain plug seal that needs replacing.

 

If you have not been able to do anything with the radio problem mention that whilst you are there.

[lp2103]

Just seen your comment, took it to where i bought the car from this morning - they advised it was an oil leak and mentioned something about head gasket and engine and advise me to take it to a Citroen garage for the repair as they have tools to make the job easier. I took it to Citroen and explained to them, ive had to leave the car there and waiting to hear from them now.Originally couldnt get my in until Wednesday but told them i need use of the car so hopefully i'll have more info and car back by end of day..

[paul.h]

The 1.4 petrol engine is known to sometimes leak oil from the driver's end of the head gasket but I would have thought by now Citroen would have sorted it. Good luck with the repairs. At least using a Citroen garage the job should be done properly and using Citroen parts. The warranty was well worth having.

[lp2103]

Just had call from Citroen garage - head gasket needs to be replaced, and theyre doing timing belt too..

Thank god for the extended warranty otherwise i would have been nearly £700 down, i can only claim head gasket back though, timing belt price was reasonable so i dont mind..

Apparently the garage doesnt have an account with RAC Warranty so i have to pay then claim money back..

Fingers crossed i'll have car back tomorrow..

[paul.h]

To replace the head gasket the timing belt needs to be removed so in theory you should only need to pay for the belt. The belt tensioner/pulley should also be replaced and usually the water pump but to include these there would be a slight labour charge as well as the parts cost. However, your car has probably not done many miles so the pump is probably still ok for some time.

 

One advantage of you paying and then claiming back is that you will get a Citroen guarantee of 12 months for their work and parts, whereas with the warranty it would be until it runs out. I would keep a copy of the receipt just in case but Citroen usually keep a record of work done on a car on their computer system.

[lp2103]

ahhh wasnt aware of that - thank you.

Picked car up this evening so fingers crossed alls ok - noticed on receipt when i got back home that the timing belt isnt on there so no idea if belts been done - they advised it needed to be changed yesterday and i agreed - just hope i have no probs claiming money back from warranty.

[paul.h]

Over the next few days I would check the coolant anti freeze level in the tank under the bonnet (the coolant is drained out before removing the cylinder head to replace the gasket). When refilling, sometimes any air pockets take a bit of time to clear and the level may drop a bit. Our 2003 C3 was difficult to get the air out when refilling with coolant (I did not have the recommended filling tools) but after a couple of days the level did not fall any more.

 

It would be worth phoning them up to see if the timing belt was replaced.

[lp2103]

Hiya Paul.

I'm back for help and advice :(

been sooooo busy over last few days ive not had time to ring citroen garage about the timing belt - i have more probs..

Roughly 20min motorway drive too and from work - since having the head gasket done ive noticed that after a journey theres a noise coming from under the bonnet sounds like a metal clicking/clanking nouse.. i sit in car for 10mins once i pull up at work and thats how ive heard it - its doing it daily and after each commute - any ideas?

The bonnet also feels quite hot - ive checked coolant and level is fine..

Not had any warning lights on dash at all regarding temperature.

Cant believe the problems ive had since getting the car - lost two days pay, nearly £600 which warranty group still hasnt paid back.. Just dont know what to do and where i go from here...

I will ring the Citroen garage that did the work tomorrow and see what they can do..

[paul.h]

If you are using the air conditioning there will be a clunk every now and again as the air con refrigerant compressor clutch pulls in/out. As you look at the engine, the compressor is at the left end and low down on the front of the engine. You can test this to see if it is this by starting the engine, do not move the car, turn on the cabin blower, then switch on the air con. You should then hear a clunk as the compressor starts to work. The compressor cuts in/out to control the pressure of the refrigerant and this is normal. Usually I turn off the air con about a mile from the end of a journey, but keep the blower on, so the air con evaporator matrix (cooler) under the dash does not stay damp from condensation and thus help prevent the build up of smelly mould.

 

If it is not this then maybe there is something loose and you are right to take the car back.

[lp2103]

its rarely rare i have the air conditioning on - not used it since having the new gasket anyway..

ive just rang the dealer i got the car from and got customer services calling me back tomorrow - cant see them doing anything with it coming upto 6 months since i got the car..

will ring Citroen garage tomorrow and get booked in for my day off..

[paul.h]

It is a shame you are having these problems, motoring should not be like this - wasting all your time and money just to sort problems that should not happen, especially on a newish low mileage car. It makes you wonder what the previous owner did to it when they had the car.

[lp2103]

The carshop i got the car from phoned me this morning after receiving the complaint email i sent - they said i need to go back to Citroen garage and get them to take a look with them doing the previous work - i only went to Citroen originally as they told me to...

Rang Citroen and booked it in for tomorrow morning for a 15minute free consulatation - i know for sure somethings not right so work will be needed on it - but will i have to pay for this? with me only having the 'noises' since the head gasket was replaced.. Hope not!.

Soon as this as been fixed the cars going - back to Ford for me i think...

[Johndouglas]

back to Ford for me i think...

A shame to let your experiences put you off Citroen. I've owned them since 1990 and I've persuaded the rest of the family to follow suit. Really they are no worse than any other make.

[lp2103]

i know all cars can have issues - its just that this is the first one that ive had alot of problems with in such a short space of time...

if these hadnt happened im sure i would be happy with the car.. fingers crossed the 'noise' gets sorted tomorrow and garage know what it is..

it would cause alot of problems me actually changing the car so it is the last option

[paul.h]

I hope it is something very simple such as an exhaust heat shield that the Citroen garage had not tightened up and not a new problem.

 

If you do decide to replace the car, it may be better to go to a main dealer, it may cost a bit more but often main dealers get the better cars and provide a better warranty, not one that may be an add on with an insurance company. Over the last 9 years, my family has had 7 Citroens, 6 from the main dealer and one from an independant garage. The 6 have given no problems or were fixed without cost to us, but the 1 gave problems after the short warranty I would not have expected but cost me quite a bit to fix. All have been low mileage/age which does help. Before we started with Citroens, we used to buy older higher mileage cars but then I used to spend most of my spare time fixing them. However, taking all the costs into account, the newer cars did not cost any more over several years since the higher depreciation cost was not much different to the cost of repairs.

[lp2103]

Back to garage today and they couldnt find anything wrong - typical, the car didnt make the noise today when i got there...

Whilst the car was getting looked at i test drove another car (not Citroen) and ended up part exchanging the Citroen..

Shame things didnt go more smoothly for me, was a lovely car - prior to the problems..

Thank you very much for everything youve helped me with during these last few months - for now its bye from me...

[paul.h]

It is always the same with cars - when you decide to get rid of them they perform at their best. Good luck with the new car, what car are you getting ?

[lp2103]

gone back to a Ford Fiesta - always drove them up until me fancying a change and gettin the Citroen..

Ended up doing the part exchange yesterday, actually miss the C3 already and its only been 15hours..

I personally think that the previous owner hasnt looked after the car plus with the additional issues it just put me off..

It was used as a mobility car prior to me getting it.. So gettin a new car everything 3 years i suppose they can do what they want with it...

It may not be the case but its an option...

[Johndouglas]

It was used as a mobility car prior to me getting it..

My daughter bought a used Pug 306 mobility car fourteen years ago and she still has it. A great little car with years of life left in it.

[lp2103]

 

It was used as a mobility car prior to me getting it..

My daughter bought a used Pug 306 mobility car fourteen years ago and she still has it. A great little car with years of life left in it.

 

guess i was unlucky with mine.. i'm not putting the blame down to it been a mobility car..

[paul.h]

If you have time, perhaps you may give a brief report on the Fiesta since it is a car that C3 owners will consider for its replacement.

 

The 2010 C3 we now have had been a mobility car. Things sorted before collecting were a damaged wheel and wheels needing balancing but then I found an oil leak down the back of the engine (oil pump solenoid wire) and a small hole in a cv joint gaiter which should have been picked up in the dealer checks and the latter also at the MOT. Also a couple of bits under the bonnet were missing (may have been removed at a service) but it was easier just to buy and fit these myself. All these could have happened regardless of mobility but one thing a bit annoying, mobility do the MOT early so it is 3 months before the registration date, July instead of October. I only get to see the car every few weeks but so far it seems ok.