C3 Pluriel, With A Different Gearbox?

[bidderman1969]

hi all, have recently got a C3 Pluriel, however, it seems to have a different gearbox to other semi auto's I've seen,

 

this is inside, 

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t198/bidderman1969/6A08B0D7-A208-41CE-B9FF-F2438913979C_zpszz1b4zwp.jpg

 

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t198/bidderman1969/5AC19810-F9E0-42ED-A0AE-80275AD1B852_zpsdudlysh7.jpg

 

others i have seen have been like a side-stepped gearshift, and this one doesn't even seem to appear in the handbook, so its a bit worrying!

 

i bought it with an alleged gearbox fault, now i ran it today and it seemed to change up and down fine with the paddle shifts, and then i tried it with the stick shift up and down, and that seemed ok, and i tried it in full auto mode, and one time only, it made a beep on down change, and the "auto" word flashed on the dash display, but still downshifted fine, is that identifying a problem?  could it be just a gearbox oil change needed? we even floored it and it shot down 2 gears and off it flew, so i thought that might have made it show up a problem if there was one?

 

just wondering if the previous owners didn't know how to use the car properly, or this button, because doesn't illuminate, they might have thought it didn't work properly?

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t198/bidderman1969/6491515A-127E-4516-88B5-5C5E203E6D00_zpsl31k2rtn.jpg

[bidderman1969]

very quiet here isn't it?

[paul.h]

Welcome to the forum.

 

There are very few Pluriel owners on the forum and there are sites that specialise in just one model which are often worth looking at, whereas on this one all Citroens are covered with the C5 being the most popular.

 

Sorry I can not help with your query though since I have always had manual gearbox cars.

[chrisnn]

Ok, some education required here. What you have seen on other cars is a full automatic gearbox, with torque converter and Steptronic transmission that allows manual changes to be made. Its best to regard the system as a third type of transmission, and adapt to it.

 

That on the Pluriel is essentially a conventional gearbox and clutch, operated electrically. The Toyota Yaris has a similar arrangement.

 

The description you have given is correct. I would recommend that you avoid using 'Auto',unless the terrain is flat or motorway, as the system tends to hang on to a gear when going uphill, almost to the point of stalling on steeper hills before it changes down.

 

Also when approaching junction, be sure to change down via the stick or paddles in good time if it looks like a pause and go situation. If the car is in too high a gear, there will be a delay while the system changes down, which can be potentially a bit dangerous- you''l know exactly what I mean when it happens to you!  

 

Don't have a Pluriel any more, but its a good little car if time consuming to make the various conversions. Watch for the drips from the seals over the front windows. Don't fold the roof in cold weather, as the plastic roof is a bit stiff and the motor will struggle. There should be a quick guide 1/3 A4 booklet in  a dedicated holder in the rear parcel shelf IIRC - be sure to study this so you don't panic if something doesn't work.

 

Good luck with it.

[bidderman1969]

cheers for that chaps, on the runs I've done so far, the box has changed down very well in "full auto" mode, but it shouldn't "beep" at all should it?

one last thing for now, how is the gear lever removed in this car? and does the flashing "auto" word on the dash indicate a fault? and should it be picked up with an OBD reader? (and for quickness, where is the OBD port? lol), is "fully auto mode" only engaged by pushing that "auto" button by the gearstick?

[paul.h]

If you have the handbook it may include a list of possible problems indicated by the beeps. We had a 2003 C3 and when the battery was low or the fuel level low it would beep.

 

A low cost OBD reader would only give engine fault codes that can affect emissions. You would really need to use the Citroen Lexia diagnostic tool. Chinese copies to put on a lap top are available from ebay for up to £100 or you could go to a Citroen dealer or specialist. The OBD 16 pin socket will be in the glovebox behind a small panel that pulls off.

 

Looking in the parts diagrams, your gear lever is shown for TU5JP4 INJECTION AND GEARBOX MA PILOTE UNTIL RPO 10499 EXCEPT MULTIPLEXING ASSEMBLY CAN CAN. Nothing is shown holding the gear knob on and usually Citroen ones will pull off with a lot of effort whilst keeping your head out of the way. The cover under the lever looks to have 3 or 4 clips to hold it in place so this will also pull up. The complete gear lever assembly is held by 4 nuts and needs the central console removing to get to it. The parts diagrams are a free service if you register on service.citroen as another professional and a member of the Citroen Owners Club http://service.citroen.com/pages/index.jsp You may need to select your language first. Use your VIN (VIS) top left to find your car.

 

Handbooks can be seen on the service.citroen/ddb/ site but the earliest Pluriel one is 2007. It says if the snow flake and auto signs are flashing it indicates a gearbox fault.

[bidderman1969]

hi again, yes, there is no "snowflake" symbol coming up, so maybe it is something else.

 

think i will go down the route of renewing the gearbox oil, anyone know what exact type to get and how much it takes? 

[Bry]

 If its the auto then the whole part is as one the lever is in the control box and the whole is held together with long revits drilled these out to find how this worked, and the unit is activated by small micro swithches had to have this one replaced due to not getting reverse,  that was a real pain,  went well after this was replaced, 

cost of unit was approx 100 plus euros plus fitting

[Bry]

 If its the auto then the whole part is as one the lever is in the control box and the whole is held together with long revits drilled these out to find how this worked, and the unit is activated by small micro swithches had to have this one replaced due to not getting reverse,  that was a real pain,  went well after this was replaced, 

cost of unit was approx 100 plus euros plus fitting, the gear nobb can be removed for refitting on a new box