Questions Of A New C4 Owner

[ut99]

I've recently picked up a 2012 C4 1.6HDi, and have a few 'getting to know you' type questions about it.

 

1 This is my first diesel car, I've noticed under acceleration you can hear the whistling of the turbo, as expected, but also a rasping sound, it's not particularly loud or harsh but is noticeable. It this normal (the 'rasp', not the whistling)?

 

2 Under the bonnet there are two foam blocks at the rear (windscreen side) left and right side. These have been mangled by someone and get wet to the touch after it rains. Again, should I be overly concerned? I will probably be replacing these anyway, but is there anything else I need to look out for in relation to this area? Will post a picture of this later.

 

3 I'm tempted to buy some sports/performance/boy racer pedals for the car. Can anyone recommend any?

 

4 Any suggestions for getting DAB radio? Looking to pay around £50 so can't afford the proper Citroen system upgrade. My current best plan is a portable DAB stereo into the AUX input, I'm not sure whether the reception will be good enough but will give it a try as the portable radios are with budget.

[ut99]

Oh, and another one:

 

5 Electric handbrake. As far as I can tell this only activates automatically when hill-holding or parking. When stopped at lights, etc. do most people just hold the car on the brake or manually engage the handbrake? Then do you manually disengage it or use the automatic release? I know using the handbrake is better in case of a rear end collision, but does the auto-release mechanism wear out at all?

[paul.h]

1. Our C4 does not make a rasping sound and is fairly quiet. We had a 2011 model and there was a vibration which the dealer fixed by using a tie wrap on the engine air intake nozzle so it did not move about as much. Maybe there is an air leak somewhere.

 

2. In the corners of the bonnet/scuttle you need to make sure there is no build up of leaves or other debris, maybe the previous owner has moved the foam to do this. Check the bonnet for any paint bubbling since the Citroen fix is a new bonnet under warranty.

 

3. Never tried different pedals - if you do then the insurer will need to be told since it will be a modification and if you did not tell them they may not pay out.

 

4. If you replace the radio with another Citroen one it might need coding to the car. If a non Citroen one some of the features on the car may not work such as steering wheel controls and the car may not recognise the new one. Our 2015 C5 has a dab radio and the fascia is just like on your car.

 

5. Never tried an electric handbrake but the thought of one would put me off. Also gives problems if you need to work on the rear brakes.

[ut99]

1. Our C4 does not make a rasping sound and is fairly quiet. We had a 2011 model and there was a vibration which the dealer fixed by using a tie wrap on the engine air intake nozzle so it did not move about as much. Maybe there is an air leak somewhere.

 

2. In the corners of the bonnet/scuttle you need to make sure there is no build up of leaves or other debris, maybe the previous owner has moved the foam to do this. Check the bonnet for any paint bubbling since the Citroen fix is a new bonnet under warranty.

 

3. Never tried different pedals - if you do then the insurer will need to be told since it will be a modification and if you did not tell them they may not pay out.

 

4. If you replace the radio with another Citroen one it might need coding to the car. If a non Citroen one some of the features on the car may not work such as steering wheel controls and the car may not recognise the new one. Our 2015 C5 has a dab radio and the fascia is just like on your car.

 

5. Never tried an electric handbrake but the thought of one would put me off. Also gives problems if you need to work on the rear brakes.

 

Many thanks for the reply.

 

1. I will have to look in to this noise then. Aside from this the engine is pretty quiet for a diesel. I test drove a couple of C4s before buying this one, but I couldn't say if they made this noise or not as I didn't really listen out for it. it's not something that obvious and I only noticed it on mine after driving it for a while.

 

2. The bonnet corners are leaf free. I think the foam was pulled off to replace the pollen filter. There are some spots of rust underneath the front lip of the bonnet. Would this constitute warranty replacement, given that the car is 5 yrs old and I'm the 4th owner?

 

3. Good point on the insurance, may not bother then.

 

4. I'd like to retain the steering controls, replacing with the Citroen radio but with DAB out of a newer car's a good option, will look into the costs of that.

 

5. I quite like the electric handbrake now I'm used to it, the hill holder's nice and makes the centre console a lot neater and more spacious, but good point on the rear brake issue.

[Rookie2]

The renault electric handbrake comes on automatically when the engine is switched off. Other than that, when you pull up at lights etc you have to manually apply the handbrake. I can just imagine people throwing the auto handbrake away if it applied every time you came to a stop in a line of stop start traffic.. Have you tried the Mercedes brake ? what a nightmare.

I dont think there is too much wear on the auto brakes, my missus has a Megane that she has driven for about 2 years trouble free with the handbrake, I should imagine the pug/citroen system is similar.

[ut99]

The renault electric handbrake comes on automatically when the engine is switched off. Other than that, when you pull up at lights etc you have to manually apply the handbrake. I can just imagine people throwing the auto handbrake away if it applied every time you came to a stop in a line of stop start traffic.. Have you tried the Mercedes brake ? what a nightmare.

I dont think there is too much wear on the auto brakes, my missus has a Megane that she has driven for about 2 years trouble free with the handbrake, I should imagine the pug/citroen system is similar.

 

Yeh that's the same as the Citroen, handbrake comes on when engine switched off, and also for a few seconds when stopped on an incline. It releases automatically when you start driving. Does your missus usually apply the handbrake when stopped at traffic lights/junctions/etc? Does she release it on the switch or let it do it automatically when she moves off?

Edited February 28, 2017 by ut99

[Rookie2]

Yes, she lets the car release it automatically. Once or twice she has had a warning that the parking brake has a fault, but placing the car on level ground and pulling the emergency release in the boot floor resets it nicely. Not sure what the citroen emergency release is but it has to have one  by law.

 

cheers

[ut99]

Yes, she lets the car release it automatically. Once or twice she has had a warning that the parking brake has a fault, but placing the car on level ground and pulling the emergency release in the boot floor resets it nicely. Not sure what the citroen emergency release is but it has to have one  by law.

 

cheers

 

Cool, thanks.

[paul.h]

I think in the handbook for the electric handbrake it mentions it does not work if the battery voltage is low, so something to be aware of.

 

On the bonnet, it is aluminium so it should not rust - you can check it with a magnet which will only stick to steel. You could try a Citroen dealer to see if it can be replaced. The original problem was supposed to be a bad batch of bonnets that were not treated properly so the paint would bubble - on ours it did it at the V at the front.

 

There seems to be another problem with the bonnets, our 2015 C4 was serviced today and there is a recall and something can split. The receptionist was not sure of the details but something has been ordered to stick on the bonnet but ours has not yet split, whatever that is. It can not be a safety recall since we only found out about it by taking it to be serviced at a Citroen dealer.

 

If you get a used Citroen radio it will not work properly in your car unless it is coded to your car by a diagnostic.

 

I do not think the foam needs removing to do the pollen filter, just a short section of the fibre panel at the driver's end of the bulkhead.

[paul.h]

We had the bonnet recall done today. It involves putting grease filled stickers around the hook on the bonnet where it joins the bonnet. This is to prevent corrosion if the paintwork splits. The dealer said about 3% of bonnets recalled have been replaced so it is hoped the stickers will prevent too many needing to be replaced. At a guess, if not done and it corrodes, the hook could come off and the bonnet fly open.

[Brian P]

Paul.

 

Is this the only model and year for this recall you mention in your post or is the link below a different problem to the bonnet?

 

https://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/searches/expand.asp?uniqueID=765D700C4EEA4E8E8025804F003C0EAE&freeText=Blank&tx=0.684669

Edited March 12, 2017 by Brian P

[ut99]

Hi, thanks for the info on the bonnet recall, I will contact the main dealer. The bonnet is aluminium, there is some flaking paint and bubbling on the underside front lip, over about a 3 inch x 1/4inch section.

 

On the other points, 

 

1. As well as the rasping/hissing noise I started noticing a diesel smell in the cabin, from what I've read this is probably leaking injector seal(s), so the car is booked in to have that fixed.

 

2. I've taken some images of the damaged foam blocks. They still seem to be doing their job but will try to get new ones from the dealer.

 

 

[Brian P]

Normally if an injector seal has blown you get a quick phut-phut noise which could be your hissing noise.

While all the plastic housings etc is removed you might as well get all of them done at the same time.

 

All for the sake of a £1.50 approx copper washer!

[ut99]

Normally if an injector seal has blown you get a quick phut-phut noise which could be your hissing noise.

While all the plastic housings etc is removed you might as well get all of them done at the same time.

 

All for the sake of a £1.50 approx copper washer!

 

Yeh, I'm pretty sure that's the problem haven't had a chance to take the engine cover off to see exactly how many are leaking. I've read conflicting advice about whether to get all 4 changed or not. On the one hand it makes sense as preventative maintenance, on the other hand why replace ones that are sealing well? Also if the injectors are stuck they could be damaged during removal. The garage I've booked it in to says they will have the injector checked and refurbed before refitting as they can be stretched/bent during removal, something many garages don't do apparently.

[paul.h]

The link to the bonnet problem in post 11 is the one we have recently had done. We have now had a letter from Citroen / Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency saying it needs to be done so they are contacting owners. They have given it operation reference NUH, the same as in the link so it covers 2015 C4s as well as ones in the link. Our VIN is ***FY504*** so is within the range in the link.

[Routemaster1]

 

The renault electric handbrake comes on automatically when the engine is switched off. Other than that, when you pull up at lights etc you have to manually apply the handbrake. I can just imagine people throwing the auto handbrake away if it applied every time you came to a stop in a line of stop start traffic.. Have you tried the Mercedes brake ? what a nightmare.

I dont think there is too much wear on the auto brakes, my missus has a Megane that she has driven for about 2 years trouble free with the handbrake, I should imagine the pug/citroen system is similar.

 

Yeh that's the same as the Citroen, handbrake comes on when engine switched off, and also for a few seconds when stopped on an incline. It releases automatically when you start driving. Does your missus usually apply the handbrake when stopped at traffic lights/junctions/etc? Does she release it on the switch or let it do it automatically when she moves off?

 

No, the electronic handbrake does not apply on an incline. It is the service brake which is held on by the ABS system.