New C5 Owner - Driving And Ride Characteristics And Switches

[lrochfort]

Hello all,

 

I'm newly the owner of a 2003 C5 Estate 2.0 HDi (110bhp) manual, with 140k on the clock.

 

I'm happy with the car because it has had a new cambelt, waterpump, clutch and flywheel at 100k and recently new intercooler pipe, discs and pads and new tyres all round.

 

 

I do have some questions though:

 

1) The accelerator pedal seems quite heavy and resistant. Getting the car rolling requires a fair bit of pressure on the right foot, not high revs, just a good prod.

 

2) Likewise 1st and 2nd seem like rolling gears, the car only really starts moving in 3rd. I don't know that I'd like to try a fast right turn in a gap in traffic for instance.

 

3) What should the ride be like? It's smooth, but I feel things like joints in the road. It seems firmer and more sensitive to bumps and dents in the road than a BX from (old) memory.

 

4) What does the button on the end of the wiper stick do?

 

5) The suspension height buttons in the boot don't work. Is this likely an easy fix?

 

 

Thanks all!

[paul.h]

Easy ones first.

 

5. This button (only one provided) works only when the engine is off and the tailgate is open. Need to hold the top/bottom of the switch in and stops when the switch is released. Car returns to normal height when the tailgate is closed, any open doors are closed, the rear screen is closed, the engine is started.

 

4. The wiper switch end button changes the trip computer screen on short pushes and when held in will reset it back to 0 miles. Screens are current instantaneous mpg, average mpg since last reset, miles since last reset, distance left to fuel tank empty at current mpg - this changes as driving style changes.

 

3. The ride should be smooth but if too firm it may need the suspension fluid changing or possibly a sphere(s) needs changing.

 

2. The previous owner may have been a sedate driver and the car may have adapted to this. In time it will learn your style but a battery disconnection/reconnection may speed this up. However, when setting off, unlike a petrol, diesels need to be put into first unless above about 10mph. Maybe wait a few days before looking for any possible faults. 0-62 mph is supposed to be 11.6 seconds so should not be too slow (90 bhp one is 13.5 so good job you did not get one of these). It is worth checking the brakes are not binding by seeing if it easily runs down a slope.

 

1. The pedal does require a constant push on it and you will get used to it but check there are no mats under the pedal stopping it going down. On a motorway it is easy to let the pedal up gradually and lose speed without realising.

[Porsche430]

Here goes - 

 

1 - I'm not 100% sure if it is fly by wire or not. It's either a sticky pedal or sticky throttle body. Each easy to inspect.

 

2 - Fix number one and check again.

 

3 - They have firmed up over the years to make sure they don't just float about the road like the Citroen's of old. I take it you have "hydro pneumatic" suspension?

 

4 - Changed the trip computer read out. The button is still present regardless of if the car has it fitted or not.

 

5 - Only operated as Paul H says. If still not working, usually a new switch required.

[coastline taxis]

look at ur display above the stereo is it sort of a thin oblong display or more of a square if its the 1st then u need to chage it in order to make sense of the button on the end of the stalk.

 

remove your whole air filter then look under the big black box on the right and youl see the throttle pot, youle see the accelerator cable going into it. check for anything fouling this if nothing is then pull the clip on the cable and either push the black plastic part of the cable in or out to adjust the pedal to ur requirement. replace the clip then cover the lot in wd40.

 

And just a daft one you have got the car set to the right ride height. depending on spec lvl it will either be displayed to the right of the speed or on the display above the stereo

[lrochfort]

Thank you all for your replies.

 

I've taken a look at the car and found the following:

 

1) The accelerator pedal is a good inch or more below the brake pedal, with a lot of upwards play. Hopefully I can adjust the cable at the pot as coastline suggests and this will help with pulling away etc.

 

2) The car doesn't lack for power once in 3rd and rolling, so hopefully point 1 will fix this.

 

3) I'm going to let the car get used to me and see how things improve. If not, I'll search on here for the ecu reset procedure.

 

4) I have the el cheapo car unfortunately!! I guess this means the switch does nothing for me?

 

5) I tried as paul.h suggested and nothing happens. I'll try a continuity test on the switch to see if it's duff and if so order a new one.  Any pointers for parts?

 

 

I'll report back with my findings once I've had time with the car.

Edited February 10, 2015 by lrochfort

[coastline taxis]

look at ur display and either version should be altered as u push the stalk in. the basic one should switch between radio station and time/date. if nothing changes the prisr the the button of the end of the stalk and youl see a thin brass ring. soilder it where its broke trying to keep it as smoth as you can then reasemble it and the jobs done. are you anywhere near tyne and wear as ive got a few nulti displays and your more than welcome to one

[paul.h]

4. Is there any trip info on the screen since the button switches can become faulty ? A faulty switch can be repaired and a 1 line screen can be replaced with the one with the trip info and still work (I am sure coastline taxis has stated this in the past). See this from the Common Problems topic:

34. Trip computer does not work or does not display on the screen.

This could be due to damage in the switch at the end of the wiper stalk. A copper strip can break but it can be repaired, see http://www.citroen-o...itch#entry30402 and http://www.citroen-o...puter-question/

 

5. I usually get parts from my local Citroen dealer. They are often not much different in cost to other sources, they are the right bits and will fit the car and work. If you try a used part, it could have the same fault. 

The switch is likely to have 3 wires, a supply and an output for up and for down, so you could try linking the connector pins to see if the suspension works and prove the switch is the problem. The switch part no. is 6554K3 or 655484 or 6554EC and is £23/23/18 depending on its colour from citroencarparts.net.

 

1. A photo from our previous mark 1 C5 shows the pedal is a lot lower than the clutch/brake ones - so this is probably normal.

 

2. If your last car was a petrol, diesels can take a bit of getting used to, you should change up a gear at about 2000 to 2500 rpm and use the engine torque rather than power.

 

 

If you do visit coastline, your car may be a low mileage one compared to ones he looks after.

[lrochfort]

Thank you for offer, coastline, it's very generous of you, but I'm afraid I'm down in sunny Reading, so it's a tad far!

 

I have the most basic version of the display, which is just a narrow strip LCD. Am I right in taking what you say to mean that my display will only show radio or date/time and not any fuel consumption data?  It also happens that my car has a (terrible) 3rd party radio, so is it possible that the stalk switch doesn't do anything for that reason?

 

 

paul.h, there's no trip information at all. All I can get my display to do is switch between date/time and outside temperature.

 

I haven't had a chance to remove the suspension switch yet, but will try to do so at the weekend.

 

paul, I take your point about the accelerator pedal, but I've driven a few diesels and I think it could possibly still need adjustment.

 

 

I've also noticed that there a fair bit of vibration at idle that goes away when the engine is under any load or when applying revs. What rpm should the 2.0 HDi idle at? If it is idling a little low could that be the cause of the vibration and could it be related to accelerator pedal/pot adjustment if any is needed?

[paul.h]

I hope not, but vibration at idle could be a sign of the clutch dmf wearing, or possibly worn engine mountings. You could check if the air filter is blocked and if it smokes a bit then maybe a fuel injector or the egr valve is not right.

[lrochfort]

An update:

 

1)

 

The accelerator pedal now longer feels like a clutch! Previously it was very heavy and graunchy, likewise the car was very sluggish to respond particularly in 1st and 2nd; pulling away was quite dangerous if crossing traffic. It was also a good 1.5 to 2 inches below the brake pedal.

 

The fix was very simple, just running some 3-in-1 oil down the accelerator pedal cable and then adjusting the height so it was closer to the brake pedal height.

 

The process was as follows:

 

1) Disconnect the battery

2) Take the lid off the ECU housing which is top-right as you look at the engine when standing in front of the car. You might have to unclip the plastic cover over the top-right suspension sphere.

3) The ECU itself is the large square unit at the bottom left of the enclosure. Remove it undoing two torques screws.

4) Remove the fuse box at bottom-right of the enclosure by releasing two plastic clips at the front and back.

5) Undo the heavy duty mains supply lead at bottom centre by undoing the nut on top of it.

6) There is also a lightweight wire that connects via a plug to the top of the fuse unit. Unclip this.

7) The ECU and fusebox can then be placed above the ECU housing out of the way.

8) Underneath the ECU is the glow plug source. Undo the torques screw holding it down and remove it.

9) The ECU housing is held down by two or three bolts. Remove them and it should lift out.

10) The throttle cable can be seen attaching to a rotary potentiometer under the ECU housing.

11) Remove the clip holding in place.

12) Remove the cable from the bulkhead clips and hang from the bonnet.

13) Run 3-in-1 oil down it and leave for 5 minutes.

14) Reattach the cable to the pot. Move the whole cable in or out to adjust the pedal height.

15) Secure in place with the clip.

16) Reverse the ECU removal process and reattach the battery.

 

Important Note: After everything was back in place, my engine turned over but would not start. I noticed a yellow "key in door" symbol on the dash. If this happens to you, get out of the car and then lock and unlock it with the keyfob. This should re-register the key and allow you to start the engine.

 

When first starting the car, the ECU will have been reset and will have to re-learn the engine characteristics. Let it idle for a couple of minutes and then try to drive it briskly up through all the gears.

 

 

 

4) This was fixed as suggested by coastline.

 

5) Removing the boot suspension switch and testing the functions by shorting the contacts showed the suspension responded. Additionally, a continuity test with a multimeter showed the switch was duff. A replacement should fix this.