5th Mar 2007, 12:33

I bought my Pluriel in May 05 and I absolutely loved it until I drove it off the forecourt! I had overheating problems for weeks and they eventually discovered the thermostat had gone! Then, one night it was pouring down with rain and I went to open my car door and the handle came off in my hand. This happened twice. A hole then appeared in the drivers seat which got bigger and bigger so I had to have a new seat cover, the problems with the gear box, yes I've had those as well. I also had to have window trims re-fitted, the light in the boot has popped out and won't pop back in again, and I had to have some steering joint replaced. The seats look like someone has thrown blackcurrent juice all over them even though I haven't had a leak in the roof and no-one is allowed drinks in it! I'm embarrassed when anyone gets into my car. Well to top it all my roof went down on Friday night and wouldn't come back up again. I ended up dashing to the dealership as I don't have a garage and it was forecast for torrential rain that night. They took it in and I got a quote today for around £500 to get it back up. Well its gone at the weekend, whether its sold or burned in a car park it will be gone!

7th Mar 2007, 03:30

We bought our 1.6 Sensodrive Pluriel in November 2005. We've had 2 recalls (EMS software and accelerator pedal return) plus four other visits to 'reset' the car as it looses it's configuration and locks the boot. The last happened 10 days ago and then again this morning.

The cars great now under warranty, but in 2 years time in a rural garage in France? Non Merci Citroen...

12th Mar 2007, 07:05

We bought our Pluriel when it very first came out in 03. Since then we have had persistent leaking problems, upholstery staining and other minor irritations.

Our dealership said we were not maintaining the seals well enough because we were not lubricating them with Vaseline each time we took the roof off. They were unhelpful to say the least and basically implied that if we took the roof off, what did we expect?

Most irritating of all - now our warranty is up, we have to pay for each modification to the roof or seal replacement drive in a soaking car. They have totally washed their hands of us.

I want to get rid of it, but unless I spend several hundred pounds on getting it to a fit state I won't be able to sell it. I will also feel guilty off loading a lemon onto somebody else.

Not what I expected from a £15,000 new car!!!

23rd Apr 2007, 12:53

I bought a Pluriel in Sept 2005 (o4 reg) and since have had no end of problems, including leaking from above passenger door and a crack in the boot that when the garage fixed damaged the seal to the boot so that had to be fixed too! When the car was only 2yrs old the shock absorbers went!! Luckily it was all under warranty! Now I have 2 areas of paint 'cracking' and the dealership have told me its caused by bird pooh!!! Haven't heard that before. Told me it isn't covered on paint warranty and needs to go through the body shop. Costing lots of ££! Has anyone else had this problem with the paint? Or with bird pooh? I'd like to hear from you.

Dawn, Southport.

9th May 2007, 15:10

I have a c3 pluriel, 53 plate.

When I'm driving in heavy rain and stop in traffic then whisps of steam come from the bonnet.

My husband has checked the car over. I'm not losing any water so we have no idea where this is coming from.

It's got to the point now where I don't want to drive it.

Has anyone else had this problem?

10th May 2007, 06:40

When I'm driving in heavy rain and stop in traffic then whisps of steam come from the bonnet.

Of course it does. When the engine gets hot, the bonnet will heat up, and so when liquid (the rain) touches it it turns to steam. You'll only notice it when stopped because when moving it will be behind you before it has the chance to rise up in front of you.

If you've ever washed the car after a reasonable length journey, the same thing happens.

10th May 2007, 07:07

Don't worry about it.. Heat from the engine will cause the bonnet to get warm, then cold rain drops will cause the steam. Every car I've ever had does this. If you aint losing coolant then its no problem :-)

17th Jun 2007, 14:53

I did leave a comment last week, about my wife's Citroen Pluriel roof leak which I claimed to cure. Well, after the serious rainfall we had this week it worked!!!

The problem was water dripping onto the seats from the roof arch fasteners, leaving wet patches and stains. Reading the previous comments this seems to be a common problem with the roof to blame.

With my aeronautical background I don't just look at the obvious, I traced the source to the window seals on the arches, not the roof. The water drips onto what visually seems to be a good seal around the windows, but by capillary attraction seeps between the seal and the arch to its lowest point, then collects and drips through the arch fastener. The cure was simply an application of Vaseline between the seal and arch. I would think a suitable sealant would do the same job. I've got to say this fix certainly worked for me, but it may not be the answer to all the leaking experienced by others. Another thing I have done is coated all the rubber seals with silacon lubricant, to keep them subtle. My wife is happy, that makes me happy and we both love the Pluriel.

PS If this is a cure does saves you ££ by not visiting the dealer, please think of helping others to have the water you don't want. Please make a donation to Water-Aid.

26th Jun 2007, 07:42

I was driving my C3 Pluriel on motorway at 70 miles when the bonnet came off. I was lucky to join the emergency lane safely, but I`m still in shock. I would like to know if somebody else has had the same experience as me with this kind of car?

19th Aug 2007, 12:42

We purchased an 05 (Jan 06) plate C3 sensodrive and have experienced no problems until this week when we lost gear selection on the M1.

On investigation this is due to manufacturing fault with the clutch attenuator. It does not have enough grease inside the unit therefore it over heats (AUTO and snowflake sign flashes) let it cool down and you can be on your way (20 minutes-60 minutes) all parts changed on warranty. Citroen should recall and change this unit... We will be changing the car before the warranty runs out. Shame because I was really quite impressed with the little car!!!

7th Apr 2008, 08:36

I bought my C3 Pluriel in 03. BIG MISTAKE. My first car from new - and been back over 20 times to Citroen! I had all the leaky roof issues and recalls, but more dangerously, shortly after purchasing it my engine light started coming on and the car intermittently cuts out. It completely loses power - dangerous and not good in heavy traffic! Citroen kept resetting it and after several "near misses" it was fine - for a while. Then, a couple of months outside the warranty it started up again. Citroen reset it again. After some 12 visits later by the AA, following the fitting a of new catalytic converter, engine coils and throttle pedal (costing over £1000) it is still doing it! Twice this week in fact. I drive major motorways every day and have to take my life into my own hands as the car is so unreliable. Like the dealership, Citroen head office have been useless. I cannot afford to replace the car either. I have a huge file of correspondence between Citroen and me, which has led nowhere. Save you money and buy something else!