Auto Gearbox Clutch Problem

[gatekeeper179]

I have had my 2003 C5 2.0 HDI Auto Estate for two days now, and love it to bits, however, the fun is over and I now need help :(

 

The C5 is a work of art, it's got 70,000 on the clock and is as close to perfect as you can get for a car of this age.

I went out today to take some rubish to the tip, so far so good. On the way home (about 1 mile) I stopped at the local supermarket to pick up a few bits.

When I went to drive off, the revs went up to 2.5k and the car never moved. I checked I was in Reverse and nothing, just felt like the clutch was slipping badly.

 

I turned off the car and restarted, tried again in reverse and car moved but very slowly and revs where at 2.5k. I then put it in drive and it did the same thing.

Next I tried manual and in 1st gear high revs and nothing, in 2nd gear it moved but slipping alot.

 

I got her home and the service light came on (no warning lights or messages before that)

 

When I brought the car I did notice that the last owner had a problem with the gearbox (auto gearbox fault) and he took it to Citroen main dealer, his bill came to £200. All they did was check and replace gear oil and reset fault code. They said gearbox was ok and it was just a blip. (common term for...we dont have a clue).

 

I have a Lexia 3 which I had only just setup on my laptop yesterday, for the soul purpose of reseting any error codes in the future (24 hrs later and I get to use it).

 

I checked the car first to see if it would drive and it was still slipping like mad.

 

I ran Lexia 3 on her and it came up with 3 errors.

 

1. Radio aerial fault (someone had nicked the aerial)

2. Coolant gauge short error (coolant gauge stopped when I first went out today, but after I restarted the car it worked again fine)

3. Auto Gearbox error (clutch slipping/brakes) Brakes are fine, I checked.

 

Well number 3 was what I said, the clutch is slipping and about to go.

 

I reset the codes and turned the car off.

Laptop disconected I thought I would start the car up again just to make sure the service light had gone out. Yes light was now back to normal :)

 

Like you do, I just had to try her in drive for the last time....well bugger me....she works, yes folks, she works in drive and in manual.

 

I just had to go for a test run (I know, i'm sad lol)

 

I went for a good run on the back roads, lots of start/stops....no problem.

Quick spin down the motorway at 70mph and she dont miss a beat.

 

Gears are changing up and down the box as they should, but I still think 1st & 2nd gear are not as good as they should be....maybe a little bit of slipping or just slow to change up a gear.

 

Once I got home, I put Lexia 3 on and no faults or errors showing.

 

Something is not right here....is the clutch on the way out or do I have some gremlins in the electrics or sensors ???

 

Tomorrow I will do a system reboot (bsi or something its called) and see if that helps.

 

George

Edited April 6, 2014 by gatekeeper179

[gatekeeper179]

Just an update : I did the BSI Reset and have driven the car over 100 miles in the last two days. Lots of hill starts and back roads.

So far its running just fine and no errors showing up on the ECU.

 

I dont think the main clutch is on the way out, but belive its either the gearbox or electric connections from the gearbox to ECU.

 

I ran Lexia on a 10 mile run and all pressures etc where normal.

Gearbox Temp stayed at 60 (C or F ?) not sure if thats normal or not.

 

I will keep road testing to see if it happens again :)

 

George

[Parkesie]

Mystery fix. Sounds like the ecu just spat its dummy at something lord knows what though.

[gatekeeper179]

Its gone again :( on the way back from local shops and it goes again, just as I was entering a roundabout (not a good place to pack up).

I gave it a damn good rev and it moved enough for me to get into 3rd in manual, so was able to get it home ok.

 

Put Lexia on it and no errors at all show up.

 

Gearbox temp was at 80c as I left it on idle for about 10 mins.

 

Turned it all off and started her up again and its working fine again.

 

I have 3 or 4 errors that I cant clear, they have been on the car since I got it. Something to do with speed sensors not matching (real speed and engine speed I think,forgot to write them down)

 

I also have a small steering fulid leak from f/n/s ( where rubber pipe joins metal pipe) I dont think steering and gearbox share the same system, but could be wrong lol

 

Anyone got any ideas what I can do next ? (cant scrap it, only had it a week)

 

George

[coastline taxis]

auto boxes are complicated and very few people want to touch them it really is a specalist job. your options are

 

1 take car to specalist but it wont be cheap.

2 change gearbox.

3 Convert it to manual.

 

Sorry for the bad news.

[gatekeeper179]

auto boxes are complicated and very few people want to touch them it really is a specalist job. your options are

 

1 take car to specalist but it wont be cheap.

2 change gearbox.

3 Convert it to manual.

 

Sorry for the bad news.

 

Looks like it going to cost no matter what I do :(

Went for a test run today, working fine but when I stopped at traffic lights, it cut out.....

its never done that before...it started ok and no errors, so I'am thinking this thing has a major electric fault somewhere.

 

Now I remember why I never liked auto gearboxes....they cost to much to fix :)

[coastline taxis]

Was it bought of ebay or a garage

[gatekeeper179]

Was it bought of ebay or a garage

It was a private sale, sold as seen....worked fine when I got it, so its one was them things.

Have been told its the oil pump in the gearbox (Citroen dealer) will cost around £1100 to fix.

 

I can go to JTAutomatics in kent and have a new one fitted for £1500 which is what I might do (got to have a chat with the missus first lol) :)

 

I will have it fixed as its a great little car and dont want to scrap it or give it away at silly money

 

George

[qman3428]

My 2009 had a gearbox issue which sounds similar, I took it to the main dealer and they new what it was straight away and changed the engine bay fusebox. Now done another 100k miles and no repeat of the fault, so it just goes to show the fault may not be with the gearbox itself. My understanding of auto boxes is vague but I dont believe they have a clutch, just a series of brake bands which hold and release each gear which are selected by the oil pressure from the gearbox oil pump (large centrifugal device where a clutch would normally be). If it has an electrical fault changing the gearbox wont fix it, you really need someone who understands Citroen gearbox issues.

[gatekeeper179]

I had the electrics checked out and they are ok.

Car has now gone in for a complete gearbox rebuild.

Workshop ran tests on it and it showed up faults with bands slipping, causing clutch slip error to display on their test gear.

 

Once its all done, I will get a report on what was giving me all the hassle, so it might help others with the same problem.

 

George