1996 Citroen Xantia LX Estate 1.9 turbo diesel

Summary:

Comfy, fuel conscious but a money-pit

Faults:

Leaky rear Boot 50000 miles. Dealer "repair" (£170) didn't work. Home repair (£0) did!

Rear Height adjuster 80000 miles (£184)

Front Spheres 81000 miles (£180)

Stupid plastic clutch clip 82000 miles (£196)

Plastic roll bar clip at back 70000 miles (£70)

Major service (£450)

General Comments:

A comfy car, great engine.

Too costly to service and repair.

Every fault is a mortgage cost.

Won't buy another Citroen.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 15th June, 2001

26th Jul 2001, 07:35

How did you fix the leak? Mine's the same.

10th Jul 2003, 12:48

Can you let me know how you managed to stop the tailgate from leaking...I'm curious..

25th Sep 2003, 14:58

Citroen dealers in Britain are well known for the extortionate prices they charge- try going to a Citroen specialist (I had one and got all 4 spheres done for £175).

5th Dec 2005, 05:03

I'm 20 and am running a 1996 Xantia SX, and I find it quite cheap to maintain just like the ZX, piece of advice "know your car", as the other poster reveals, going to dealers is your funeral, they charge a fortune and don't have a clue, not the cars fault I may add.

If your going to buy a hydrualic car then I suggest you read up about it. I have learned how to repair Citroens by doing it myself instead of being ripped off by dealers.

1996 Citroen Xantia VSX 1.9 turbo diesel

Summary:

Very comfortable earlier on, but going down hill rapidly

Faults:

Electric mirror thermometer.

Rear boot lock (multiple times).

Radiator corroded through.

Internal matrix currently weeping.

Front VSX suspension solenoid failed (nice hard ride when this happened)

The most hungry car for tyres I've owned.

Sun roof letting in water as Citroen in their wisdom assumed that cars are never parked pointing up hill (the drain for the sun roof is only at the front!)

Rear suspension cylinder leak requiring a replacement.

Central locking mechanism in the driver's door replaced.

General Comments:

Hissing of the steering when turning the corner was initially annoying.

Again, parking the car with it's nose uphill results in the tailgate storing up any recent rain and then carefully channeling this into the hatchback boot space when opened.

The rear seatbelt disappeared into the seat when trying to fasten them.. and is the main reason the wife won't let me buy another one!

Some days I feel like I'm driving a bouncy.

Thankfully I took out a warranty that paid for most of the problems.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 6th April, 2001

3rd Sep 2006, 17:23

Having owned 37 cars over the past twenty odd years I place my 1995 Xantia Diesel as the joint second best car I have owned, the best being a Volvo 440 (owned for two years). I have owned the Xantia for almost five years and apart from the usual electrical bits and pieces failing I cannot not really fault it, at present it is on 199,000 miles and still completes the daily commute of 60 miles. Yes it is an acquired taste, but a nice taste I feel let down by rather uncomfortable front seats. Still no sign of rust after 10 years of living outside thanks to the galvanised body and no rips in the driver's seat either. Economy is good too around 52 mpg with a mixture of motorway and town use. Overall I cannot complain about the service this car has given, along with cheap insurance costs compared to British cars, I hope to buy one the last HDI models when this one expires, and that may even knock the Volvo off the top spot.

1996 Citroen Xantia LX Estate 1.9 turno diesel

Summary:

Steer clear of floods!

Faults:

Don't take a Xantia anywhere near a flood, I had to drive through about 1.5ft of water during the floods in October 2000, I raised the suspension to it's max, but because the air intake is so low it sucked water into the air filter which then bent a con-rod causing the engine to seize. Cost nearly £3000 to replace! Other cars were going through fine.

Not very economical, about 44mpg and I don't drive hard.

Loads of space and excellent ride quality.

Radio reception is very poor.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 2nd March, 2001

30th Jun 2002, 10:44

I would just like to warn people with the New Citroen C5 that this is also a problem with the C5. The cost of the repair though, will be substantially higher. I went through about 4" of water at a slow speed and My car sucked up water when every other car on the road went through just fine.

11th Oct 2010, 14:41

I drove my Xantia LX 1.8 through a river in Wales in high suspension. The Mercedes in front of me gave up with a stuttering engine, and I carried on as if there was no water at all.