1995 Citroen Xantia SX 1.9 turbo diesel

Summary:

Bottomless money pit

Faults:

Where do I start?

Leaking windscreen, causing water damage to the wiring under passenger front carpet.

Faulty alarm, now immobilised. Over £300 to repair, not fixed, not worth the money.

Heater resister blown 3 times in 3 months.

Remote central locking stopped working. Still not functioning.

Suspension spheres re-gassed twice in 3 years.

Alternator replaced after 1st month of owning.

Timing belt replaced twice in 3 years, the second time because of a bolt shearing on the engine mounting bracket.

Boot solenoid erratic.

Rapid clicking coming from fuse box under steering wheel, since I first bought the car.

And finally, indicator arm stuck in right turn, happened tonight, (Good Friday!) looks like another expensive job, it won't click either up or down.

There have been other faults, but can't think of them right now.

General Comments:

My previous xantia, 1.9 TD SX, same age and same spec as this one, was an absolute dream, not a fault to be found. It was written off when I was hit in the offside rear (by a car doing 30 MPH!) causing the boot to fold into the fuel filler tube, split the fuel tank and rippling the roof.

And so I had no hesitation to buy another xantia, but I have had nothing but expensive problems since day one.

The average spend each visit to the mechanic is about £250, and its second hand value is about £2000, that's if I could get someone gullable enough to buy it, what with all the outstanding faults!!

This is a truly bad example of a car, but I will think twice before choosing Citroen again.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 29th March, 2002

11th Oct 2007, 06:01

'Rapid clicking coming from fuse box under steering wheel, since I first bought the car.'...'Heater resister blown 3 times in 3 months.' A link maybe?

'Suspension spheres re-gassed twice in 3 years.' Re-gassing is a cheap alternative to buying new spheres and so will need replacing/re-gassing sooner than if you had replaced the whole sphere.

'Timing belt replaced twice in 3 years, the second time because of a bolt shearing on the engine mounting bracket.' Was the mechanic who fitted the first timing belt too heavy handed? I assume it was a tensioner mounting bracket you were talking about.

'indicator arm stuck in right turn' Common fault that comes with age, or so I was told when it happened to mine. Easy to do DIY and wasn`t expensive.

'Remote central locking stopped working.' There is a fault with the older models where the wiring is to short, so the connector pulls out of the door lock. Check this first.

'Leaking windscreen, causing water damage to the wiring under passenger front carpet.' Caused my sunroof not to work, but there is a manual close system with key under a hatch in the roof buy the sunroof (Great idea), with which I was able to close the sunroof, before I got home and found out what the problem was. The leak is also a common problem, but can be sealed before it causes problems if you know about it, which now you do ;). And to those who say that the rising suspension is a gimmick, try driving round Eastern Europe, on farm tracks or through deep flooded roads without it. Also in the max height position you can get to park where others can`t, which can save a lot of driving round looking for a parking place.

11th Oct 2007, 06:07

PS Take the alarms fuse out and throw it away, unless you like being woken up in the middle of the night for no reason.

1995 Citroen Xantia SX 1.9 turbo diesel

Summary:

Comfortable, economical family estate

Faults:

A slight leak on the hydraulic pump, this causes the STOP light to come on when the LHM fluid gets a bit low. I need to top it up once a year. The first time the light came on, I took it to the agent who charged £25 for inspecting the hydraulic system, this was discounted from this final bill if any work needed doing.

The spheres needed replacing at the 90,000 mile service because I was told that the front suspension had seized. However when I looked under the bonnet the spheres looked like the original ones and were still covered in dirt from the road. I should have questioned what exactly had they done for £320.

The boot and rear footwell flooded every time it rained. It comes in through the seal around the rear window wiper shaft. I discovered this by removing the rear door lining and getting the wife to hose pipe the car. I found someone had drilled additional holes in the door to try and fix the problem. To stop water getting into the boot, remove the wiper arm and any nuts and washers on the shaft. Then lift the rubber seal so you can get the nozzle of a silicon gun under it and fill around the seal, this is a bit tricky because the seal goes over the window which makes it difficult to get to the top of the seal. Then replace all the nuts, washers and wiper arm and hope it does not rain for a few hours whilst the silicon sets.

The ABS failure warning light had a spell of coming on for no apparent reason whilst driving along, then going out again a few miles later. It did this regularly all summer, however it has not done this for a few weeks.

The fuel pump as started making some funny croaking noises, but nothing has failed yet.

I lost a door mirror, the agency wanted £101 for the mirror and £40 for fitting, plus VAT. I got a new one from a specialist in Stockport and fitted it myself for £49.

The battery needed replacing last winter. I bought a new one and fitted it, however the radio wanted a code.

The agent charged £5 to tell me the code.

General Comments:

The remote controls for the radio sometimes play up, and change channel, instead of increasing volume, and mute comes on by itself.

The reception on the radio is poor although the tape player is excellent and the six speakers sound great.

Overall the car is comfortable, roomy and plenty of space in the boot for the dog.

Fuel economy is good for a car of its size.

Acceleration is good once the turbo kicks in around 2000 revs.

Road handling is good although it chews the front tyres off quickly if you drive it hard.

Servicing is cheap if you don't pay the agency prices. I get the oil and filter changed every 6000 miles at a local garage and change the air filter myself every six months (it's only 4 screws and takes 2 minutes). I have changed the fuel filter once.

I have been pleased with the car although the suspension problems have let it down.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 18th January, 2002

18th Jan 2002, 11:01

<< The spheres needed replacing at the 90,000 mile service because I was told that the front suspension had seized. However when I looked under the bonnet the spheres looked like the original ones and were still covered in dirt from the road. I should have questioned what exactly had they done for £320. >>

This might possibly be because the garage you took it to repressurised the original spheres as opposed to replacing them with new ones.

Given that brand new spheres are far more desirable and reliable, and only cost about £25 each, the garage should really have fitted new ones (repressurised spheres are notoriously troublesome).

I actually managed to change 4 spheres on a Citroen XM - a bit tricky, but saved me about £180.

19th Jan 2002, 11:48

Your agent is a crook. I agree with the precedent comment, spheres may be refilled with nitrogen without being changed if the elastic membrane in the spheres is not damaged. Spheres are refilled or changed at about 60K miles so 90K is not bad. In France this operation (in your car there are 5 or 7 spheres, hydroactive I or II) costs about 100£. You should change the fuel filter a little more often, every 20K-30K (depending on fuel quality)

Joël France

8th Feb 2002, 11:46

Thank you for telling me about the spheres. My Xantia has just done 61,000 miles. While the suspension still works OK I will have them checked at the 70,000 mile service.

7th Nov 2002, 01:59

Hi, Spheres can be bought new from Euro car parts who have shops in:- Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Chessington, East London, Glasgow, Leeds in fact all over the UK. Price of new spheres for a Xantia are £18 or £11.99 for reconditioned.

Cheers.

John Burns.