2004 Citroen C5 HDI turbo diesel

Summary:

Really much worse than all other cars for the same price

Faults:

Cannot start the engine - sometimes it starts, sometimes not. It is something like an interruption in the fuel supply. Diagnostics cannot find the fault. When it starts occasionally, everything seems OK. When I stop the engine and try to start again in few minutes - the engine turns, but does not start. Sometimes it is possible to start in the N position of the transmission instead of P, and sometimes - conversely, P starts, N just turns the engine with no signs of fuel ignition. Of course, the legendary "Antipollution fault" appears usually after each start, and then disappears within 30 seconds. When driving smoothly, sometimes the warning "Automatic gear fault" appears and disappears, though nothing evidently bad is happening.

Some small interior details are designed badly. Any malfunction is not possible to repair easily.

General Comments:

When it goes, it is not bad - same as most cars running on the road. But its reliability with starting is a real headache. The same is true with its electronics - nobody can tell how to handle all kinds of "fault" indicators, nobody knows if these are real problems or just wrong warnings. The electronics are like a free style artist, nobody can control it or predict its actions. Meanwhile - this artist controls all vital functions of the car, like engine starting, power steering, automatic transmission etc.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 29th September, 2012

21st Feb 2013, 08:07

Funnily enough my granddaughter's 2003 BMW 318 automatic had the same problems, and the agents could not fix it! She virtually gave it away and now drives a Peugeot 206 (against all her friends' advice) and is completely happy!!! Goes to show doesn't it? This is in South Africa.

10th Jun 2022, 10:35

I wonder if that is not related? I mean maybe the car has a problem with the gear selector sensor, and then sometimes it "thinks" it is in neutral despite being in park, so it doesn't start. These kinds of issues should not be overlooked, sometimes it is all related. Hope you manage to solve it.