Automatic / Semi-Atomatic Gearbox

[Yelseeb]

I purchased my C4 1.6e-HDi 90 AIRDRM VTR+ETG6Diesel Automatic in April this year. I eventually got round to contacting a Citroen garage as I experienced throttle snatch in 1st and 2nd gears and there was what I call clutch drag as it went up through the gears. They gave it a road test yesterday and said the semi-automatic gearbox performed as expected and you could only get smooth gear change with a fully automatic box. I thought I had purchased an automatic not a semi-automatic gear box.

Any advice? 

[paul.h]

Welcome to the forum.

 

What year is the car ? 

 

I have not driven an ETG gearbox car but a quick search on reviews suggests the gear change may not be smooth such as this one

http://www.whatcar.com/car-reviews/citroen/c4-picasso-mpv/1-6-e-hdi-90-vtr-etg6-5dr/summary/67257

with the following comment:

We’d stick with the manual gearbox, even though it hasn’t got a very nice gearshift. The ETG6 semi-automatic ’box is more efficient in terms of emissions and economy, but it’s slow and jerky, so best avoided unless you must have a two-pedal car.

 

You could ask the dealer for a test drive in another car to see if that one is also jerky and also if there have been any software updates which may help.

[Yelseeb]

Thanks for your reply.

I bought it April this year.

I've written to the supplier questioning why they supplied a semi automatic when I ordered an automatic.

There has been a suggestion that Citroen don't build an automatic gearbox for the C4 diesel but I can't confirm this.

 

The Citroen engineer who road tested it yesterday couldn't find any fault as it was a semi automatic and that was the first time I knew that.

[paul.h]

You can download a C4 sales brochure here and see the options for gear boxes http://info.citroen.co.uk/contact-us/request-a-brochure/

 

The latest brochure is dated September 2015 and only lists an EAT6 auto gearbox which is probably the latest name for your ETG6 one. A full auto is not listed. In a 12/2013 C4 brochure they had an EGS 6 speed semi auto box but also a 4 speed full auto but only on a petrol car. So it looks as if full auto gearboxes are no longer available, probably since they use more fuel than the semi auto ones.

 

In the new brochure it has changed a bit from previous ones with a lot of extra pages of not much, but it took a long time to download. The available colours are not that exciting - 2 whites, 3 greys, black, blue and red - silver is not there any more so maybe the days of many cars on the road being silver will end soon.

[Yelseeb]

Thanks Paul - that is very useful information.

Looks like my suspicion that they didn't build a fully automatic box for the ETG6 diesel is true. I will just have to learn to drive the one I've got.

The chap who did the road test said to slightly lift off the throttle when it changes gear but that has not been the way I drive. I had a Tiptronic automatic box in my previous car and I think that spoiled me for anything else.

Thanks again

[paul.h]

On further checking it looks as if the new EAT6 gearbox is a full auto with a torque converter, the following is in this linked review https://www.first4auto.com/ds-3-boosts-efficiency-with-new-eat6-auto-box/

:

The improvements in fuel consumption have been achieved by reducing internal frictions after optimising the clutch discs and adjusting the oil pump flow based on the engine load. The company’s engineers have also taken the opportunity to redesign the hydraulic distributor to make it possible to use a smaller oil pump.

DS also point out that drivers of the new model will notice the enhanced driveability. This has been possible because of a new compact torque converter, efficient operation at lower engine speeds and a wider gear-ratio for improved pick-up, plus lower revs at higher vehicle speeds.

The EAT6 gearbox was available early this year so it is possible your car was one of the last with the ETG6 gearbox and that if you had ordered a full auto you should have got the EAT6 one. Other reviews indicate the gearchange on the EAT6 is 40% quicker and therefore smoother than the previous ones. So maybe you do have something to question your dealer about and a look at any paperwork when the car was ordered might help.

[Yelseeb]

Thanks Paul

 

I've written to the supplier and asked for an explanation. I'll let you know if what they say.