2009 Citroen C3 Confort 1.4i petrol from Finland

Summary:

The kind of car that takes you everywhere

Faults:

Cylinder head gasket problems: the gasket tends to burn, which can cause oil to mix with the coolant or cause excessive consumption.

The timing belt requires special attention to its preventive maintenance.

The temperature gauge suddenly shoots up to maximum and the cooling fan kicks on at full speed. This is usually related to a faulty temperature sensor or thermostat.

The message "Anti-pollution System Malfunction" often appears. It is a common alert that usually appears on the dashboard, often related to faults in the ignition coil, spark plugs, or oxygen sensors.

General Comments:

The C3 is a city car, quite comfortable for being very small (although the seats are somewhat hard), it has very good interior space and surprisingly great maneuverability.

It meets all the requirements of a low-cost city car; it's basic but has everything (air conditioning, power windows, airbags), it handles well and is very economical, even though it's a gasoline car, it consumes approximately 6 liters per 100 km.

Inside, the accessories aren't beautiful, but they're very well made. I never had a problem with them; the only issue was a water leak from the rear door after a heavy rain, nothing more.

The 1.4 engine, while not exceptionally fast, is quite agile and even performs well on the highway, where it consumes less fuel than in city driving. Being a gasoline engine, overtaking is no problem; it's clearly a car that doesn't impede traffic. Most importantly, it's absolutely reliable, built in an era when PSA engines were truly durable.

I bought it new and sold it with almost 200,000 km on it; in my case, I can only speak highly of it. It's an inexpensive, fuel-efficient car, easy to repair, with few problems and readily available spare parts.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 8th May, 2026

2009 Citroen C3 1.6 petrol from South Africa

Summary:

Nice car with lots of features, but also with problems

Faults:

Tow bar caused light fault error. This was due to some dirt getting onto a micro switch in the trailer plug that I had no knowledge of, and was not warned about in the handbook.

Smoke coming from air vents while driving in peak time traffic. Been told it was the clutch burning from being used used in traffic. This caused the burning to be pulled into the aircon filter. The Citroen service manager told me that I must not use the clutch in slow moving traffic. How am I suppose to drive at 10/15 KM/h without using the clutch? Was told if I do, the maintenance and warranty cover would not cover this. A problem I never had before with other cars.

General Comments:

The car feels bigger then what it feels.

I found the car not to be as steadfast on the road as any of the previous cars when cornering.

The car feels loose on the road when driving at high speeds.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 23rd January, 2010