Incurable Problem: Part 2

[cmcternan]

I seemed to spark off some what of a debate with my last posting!

 

As previously said, the climate control is up and running. After checking various aspects of the cruise control and finding that they appear to be working, the mechanic thinks it is the ECU which controls the cruise control that has failed.

 

In my mind this is a serious fault, and I'm begining to think that I've been too easy going with the garage. I have got a courtesy car (all be it a Citroen Picasso!!) but does any one else agree that it should not have taken nearly 4 weeks to get this far.

 

I appreciate the garage has other jobs to attend to, but surely a car which has been there for that length of time should get top priority?

 

I'm not slagging the Citroen mechanics but I'm worried that my car is only getting work done on it when all the other jobs are finished.

 

Another issue is that the garage is over 30 miles away from where I live.

 

All these things keep playing on my mind. I'm fed up driving what handles like a Transit van. I just want my C4 back!!!

[Johndouglas]

Local Cit dealer took three & a half weeks to sort my broken on/off knob on the radio. Admittedly, they didn't have the car - just the unit.

[Rob555]

I had the same fault with my cruise control they done all the updates but it still played up . Since the control switch on the steering coloum has been changed it has been working O/k. If you live in the South of England book it into Hidsons of Rainham Kent, they will fix it.

[hertsnminds]

My car had the cruise control fault from new (Dec 05).

 

When I reported it at the 1500 mile inspection I was told just to see if it happened again (as it was an intermittant fault and could not be made to happen in front of a mechanic).

 

When the car went in for some recall work in April I mentioned the fault again and was told a software patch had been installed and this should cure the fault. This did seem to lessen the frequency of the fault but it was still there.

 

At the cars 12500 mile service I mentioned the fault again and the clutch sensor was replaced. So far I have not had the problem since, but it has taken 9 months and had to be reported at least 3 times.

 

It depends when Citroen become aware of a fault and how to fix it and also when a dealer becomes aware that there is a common fault and knows how to fix it. You may have read in another posting by KFK that Citroen dealers have to do a lot of fault finding work for themselves at their own expense. A major advantage of a forum such as this is that all owners and dealers can share experiences and information can be gathered and passed on much faster than a large corporation such as Citroen can operate.

 

I would let your dealer know how other owners had the problem fixed and check they have already tried these options (software updates and clutch sensor).

 

Ian

Black 55 VTR+

[Z3M Roadster]

My cruise failed within 5 minutes of taking delivery of the car. All of the dealers I have taken the car to have said they cannot replicate the fault and there are no fault codes logged. I have suggested that the clutch sensor is probably the fault but to date they have still done nothing.

 

I have really given up with the 4 citroen dealers I have visited, all have offered extremely poor customer service and have never fixed a problem on its first visit.

 

To top it all my car went to Motorsales in Harlow for the 6th time yesterday to try and cure the problem with the juddering steering wheel at motorway speeds (as if the wheels aren't balanced). The response was, the mechanic can see there is something wrong but doesn't know what and effectively there is nothing they can do. I certainly will never be choosing a Citroen from my company car list ever again. I always heard and read that Citroens were unreliable and poorly put together but thought the C4 might be different, unfortunately not.

[hertsnminds]

there are no fault codes logged

 

If the SERVICE light has come on and you have the SPEED CONTROL SENSOR FAILURE message on the main radio display then a fault has been logged.

 

Sounds like you have some really unhelpful dealers in your area but there are at least 3 people on this forum who can give you contact details for dealers who are able to resolve the cruise control issue. Maybe you should get your garage to call the dealers who know.

 

Ian

Black 55 VTR+

[Z3M Roadster]

Yup, says "Speed Control Fault," the dealers still say they can't replicate the problem, although I keep telling them to set the cruise and repeatedly pause it, another case of the dealer not listening. They also keep telling me that there are no errors logged.

[welshys90]

my dealer in glasgow ive only ever had 3 faults and i taken the car in and they were all done within 2 hours and they gave me a full tank of petrol for my inconvience ive never ever had any serious problems with my C4 either, the problems were one side of the back seat split wouldnt come down, the JBL stereo wouldnt go above 15 and a tyre was runnin lean which in case is my fault really

[iannez]

every one i've done with a speed ctrl fault it has always been the roller switch. if you roll it to cruise ctrl and then try to roll it a little bit further it should put the fault on.

[hertsnminds]

the dealers still say they can't replicate the problem

 

My dealer could not replicate the problem and they never even tried to, they just tried to fix it and having fitted a new clutch sensor it seems they have.

 

There is a software download that is speicifc to cruise control failure issued by Citroen so ALL Citroen dealers have access to it and should have knowledge of it's existance.

 

There must also be records at Citroen for at least 3 clutch sensor replacements under warranty to fix a cruise control issue.

 

If all 4 of these dealers (do they belong to the same chain?) still will not do anything about your cars fault I would start talking to them about visits from all the motoring and consumer issues journalists you can name.

 

Ian

Black 55 VTR+