1st Apr 2005, 06:02

My C5 also had numerous problems, and at 2 years 10 months old, but 84000 miles on the clock Citroen weren't interested even though the suspension was so hard it became unstable in crosswinds or bumpy roads. My solution was to get rid, even then the Citroen dealer offered less for a trade in against a new C4, than a car supermarket did against a second hand Mitsubishi. Guess what I'm now driving, Ah so.

8th Jun 2005, 06:25

I changed the 180k Xantia for... another Xantia! Its the last of the HDi 110 SX estates and I filled up south of Nantes (France) then drove to Knutsford (Cheshire) and the tank is showing half full still.

It handles and goes better than my trusty 1.9TD steeds, but the suspension is a little harder with the bigger tyres.

Great to drive and very stable at 120 mph on the Autobahn.

21st Jul 2005, 11:58

I originally wrote this story about the C5.

10 months have passed, 7 since the last repair, there is still 2 months warranty left on the vehicle and the whole central locking has failed. The car now opens itself or refuses to unlock.

Citroen have dropped the value of my car against trade in by £2600. It was purchased 10 months ago at 6600. they have now stated that I have done over the warranty mileage therefore I will have to pay for repairs myself. Pretty disgusting. As far as I am concerned this is a safety issue and trading standards will be informed.

I am now trying to get Citroen to pay for the repair, In the meamtime I am looking for another make of vehicle. (Not CITROEN). I would advise the public to stay away from this make of car.

My vehicle is now parked on the road, I am praying that the car is hit by another vehicle or someone steals it.

6th Nov 2005, 23:58

Do not go near the C5 unless you have little regard for safety, apart from the numerous lock problems encountered here my C5 estate has the habit of shuting down its engine at speed - goodbye power steering, goodbye power brakes.

14th Nov 2005, 16:20

I am not disputing the safety aspects of the engine conking out at speed, but it is not correct you lose all steering and brakes if this happens.

You just lose all the power assistance (or servo assistance) in the case of the brakes). You can still steer and brake, but without the assistance.

In fact, UK law demands a road going vehicle has a mechanical link between the steering wheel and the front wheels, and the brake pedal and the brakes.

14th Mar 2006, 06:48

Quite right, to the last person to comment, about letting everyone who comes to the showroom know about rotten service. Just a hint though - before you attend at the dealers premises and block the entrance, alert the local press, the more local the better. Tell them to bring a photographer and what you intend doing. I guarantee you won't have to wait long before someone agrees to sort the problem for you. However, you must get them to agree to sort it in front of the journalist. Be ready to present a written account of your problems together with any other papers to the journalist.

19th Mar 2006, 08:42

Citroen C5 2.0 Diesel Exclusive.

My C5 is a year old and has covered less than 12,000 miles. Whilst on holiday in France recently, after a cold night, the brakes were almost non-existent in the morning. (I assume that there was no servo assistance at all.) It came as quite a shock! Fortunately, I had used the brakes before I arrived at the local, quite busy, crossroads.

On this, the first occasion that the brake failure happened, there was also a subsequent massive loss of engine power, which continued after brake function was restored. The engine sounded OK – no warning lights were displayed – but engine power fell to approximately half the normal level.

I drove the car for about 10 miles and parked in a supermarket car park for about 40 minutes. On restarting, both brakes and engine were functioning normally!

It now seems that the brake servo is inoperative for first two or three stops when the weather is cold and the car has been standing overnight. The vehicle is almost impossible to stop and this fault is potentially very dangerous.

It has been reported to Citroen Manchester. The vehicle has been into the garage for rectification, but the problem still exists. No fault was detected!

The problem is still occurring.

28th May 2006, 16:49

I wrote 4 sagas about the C5 HDI, I then purchased a Skoda Superb 1.9TDI. I have to say that I have had the car since December and it was the best choice I have ever made.

I have only had one problem which was the brake warning light, a wire had come lose. They were quick to fix it and with a positive / professional attitude. I'm looking forward to buying my next Skoda.

I will be writing a review on it.

Before I leave this story, 2 friends of mine had C5's, they both sold their cars a few weeks after me selling mine.

STAY AWAY.

8th Nov 2006, 06:05

Why is it that the vast majority of comments here are from bitter people? One person has managed to complain 4 times about the same car!!

I've had my 2002 110HDi Estate for just over a year now, and covered 23,000 miles and the only problems I've had are my fault (pulled the end off the wiper stalk messing up the computer select button, and broke the drivers window button, both easy to sort)

The car has now done over 137,000 miles, returns at least 45MPG, and is absolutely brilliant cruising at 80-90 (French Autoroutes), try doing Toulouse to Calais in 8 hours and still having fuel left and not feeling shattered. You won't do that in many cars!)

We recently hired a brand new VW Passat TDi Estate, it was noisier, significantly smaller inside, an less frugal. To be honest, after the C5, it was disappointing, but there'll plenty of Passat owners that wouldn't even consider a Citroen to possibly be better than their beloved VW.

All in all, my family and I love the C5, and will definitely have another.

9th Dec 2006, 19:40

It seems that more than the car needs help!

13th Dec 2006, 09:02

I bought a C5 2.0 HDI from a well know car dealer in Derby. What a brilliant car. Mind you, the con rod went through the bottom of the engine, (costing £2800) and now the gear box needs a few cogs replacing. (costing £??). As I took out an RAC warranty when I bought it, I'm not too worried. Hopefully since its virtually new now, there isn't much more that can go wrong with it? Can there? But apart from that, it's a very comfortable drive. PS. I was going to buy an Audi A8, but my wife liked the cup holder in the back seat of the C5. She's not usually wrong.

22nd Mar 2007, 09:17

I've owned my 2001 C5 HDi 110 SX hatcback for 18 months and I have had no major problems. The car has done 110k miles and cost me £3k a year and a half ago.

In that time I've replaced the rear pads, disks and cambelt as service items - and that's it. Just fill it, drive it and wash it. Oh yes, and the windscreen washer motor clogged up, but cost nothing to fix.

I get 45 mpg (55 on a long run) and my family ride in comfort and safety.

I had a string of 10 diesel Xantias and still run a 2000 year model HDi Xantia 110 for hauling logs (I use it like a 4x4) and trash to the tip. It is still good at 140k miles and fairly quick, looks a bit battered now bit it only cost a few hundred quid a couple of years ago and it owes me nothing.

I note that lots of the horror stories on here relate to new cars and dealers. I've never bought a new one and my C5 (at 97k when we bought it) is the lowest mileage Citroen I've ever bought. That's my rule one, don't buy new.

Rule two is don't buy petrol versions. In the past I owned two BX 1.4 litre (carbs), ZX 1.4 litre (carb) and BX 16v (injected), all were OK, but all broke down, usually with silly things like ignition packs and low tension wiring faults.

Rule three is to learn about the cars and find a good local, independent expert to maintain it.

My multiple diesel purchases have proved themselves to be more robust. Mind you, the 16v BX was worth the pain - it flew.