2002 Peugeot 406 GLX from UK and Ireland - Comments

Two factory recalls, one on boot lock, one on side impact air bag.

Front brake disks warping.

Drivers heated mirror not working.

Cd player jumping.

Faulty oil level indicator x 2.

Oil leak from new oil sensor.

Indicators not operating properly x 3.

Horn defective.

Rain sensor slow to operate.

Passenger window rattles.

Central locking either nothing locks or everything unlocks by itself x 2.

New alternator fitted.

If you ignore all of the faults that the car has had, then the car itself is quite economical, comfy and good to drive. The main problem arises when you need to get the repairs done. I would not buy another Peugeot, not just because of the fault's, as if they are not enough, but also because of the poor back up you get from the dealer/Peugeot.

Quote: "...because of the poor back up you get from the dealer/Peugeot."

Indeed. I have had my 406 for 2 years now, and the niggles (plenty, if mostly different to yours) would be easier to put up with if the service was better.

I have had my 406 for 4 years now, am completely satisfied and the niggles (very few) were easy put up, with the service, here in Greece. It's a hell of car. INDEED.

I still have my 1.8 petrol 406SV for 6,5 years 'till now, am completely satisfied and the very few niggles were easy put up, with the service, here in Greece. It's a hell of (A DRIVING PLEASURE) car!!...

P.S: Just from yesterday, the battery shows signs of death

:-( " poor lady, was only 6.5 years old" :-)

I agree with most of the above points from the original review.

I bought my Peugeot 406 1.4LS (2002 - Met Blue) second-hand from Car Giant (UK) in April 2006 and after just purchasing the car there have been a number of problems.

Their customer service and aftersales is appalling - some of their staff/technicians deny that the problems actually exist and try to fob you off! I would not recommend anyone buying from Car Giant.

The problems I had initially with the car were:

* Faulty horn switch (Right-side of steering wheel)

* Brake disc pad light on dashboard (This was apparently rectified by cleaning the sensor)?

* A noise coming from the exhaust (Rear) - particularly when reversing. This was resolved after having to wait for a fixing clamp which was missing, before collecting the car?

After driving the car for the last few months, it has also developed a few other problems and I have noticed the same ones as those posted above in the review:

* Once, I was driving on the motorway for some time and noticed that the clutch biting-point was becoming lower and lower. The next morning, the clutch pedal was stuck to the floor and we had to to pull it back up using force. Various mechanics said it could either be the hydraulic cylinders (Slave?) or an oil leak in the hydraulic system.

I have not experienced a problem to this degree since, but I have noticed that the clutch biting point is altered after driving long distances on the motorway. I have been advised by one mechanic to look for leaking oil from under the car and try 'pumping' (Depressing/releasing the clutch pedal) a few times if the problem happens again - this would push out any air bubbles in the clutch hydraulic system.

* The take-up from 1st to 2nd gear is very slow with a slight sluggish response while the car overcomes the initial drag. Apparently, this is a known problem with Peugeot 406's and is caused by the engine struggling to pull the weight of the heavy car body - even with the models that have a higher engine capacity.

** Recently the horn has completely stopped working on both sides of the steering wheel and has almost resulted in accidents; not being able to warn other drivers.

** I have also noticed that the clutch/brake are not responsive and it is taking longer to stop the car. In some emergency stop situations, the car has continued moving even after depressing the brake pedal fully almost causing an accident.

This coupled with the fact the horn does not work means that the car is dangerous to drive.

* The CD player skips/jumps on CD-Rs, but very rarely on manufactured/pressed CDs.

* The volume level of the stereo is supposed to increase as the engine noise increases however, I haven't noticed this and usually end up having to manually turn the volume up.

* The oil indicator has come on a few times - once a short while after topping up the oil. It hasn't come on since I asked my mechanic to top-up the oil for me.

* The low fuel warning indicator comes on too early (Just before the last marker on the gauge) even when there is sufficient petrol for a fairly long journey - this warning level/light is a manufacture preset I believe?

* I'm not sure that the estimated mileage possible with the current fuel level - displayed by the onboard computer - is accurate?

* The temperature reading given by the on-board computer of the outside temperature is way out as it often indicates the outside temp. is freezing or below freezing when it definitely is not?

* The auto-setting on the wiper doesn't function correctly and so often you cannot see with so much rain on the windscreen and have to do a manual wipe. As far as I'm aware, the Peugeot 406 does not have an interval wipe setting like other cars which is very annoying.

* Once when it was quite cold, the rear passenger window was stuck and I had to force it up slightly to close it as the electronic motor was struggling.

* The door key locks mostly now just keep turning round and round without opening the door/operating the central locking mechanism. So I now have to use the keypad buttons on the key-fob to operate the central locking mechanism to open the doors.

To sum up, the car seems to guzzle a lot of petrol, constantly have various problems occurring and is a potential death hazard. I doubt whether I will be purchasing another Peugeot again.

--

M. Joshi.

Regarding the previous comment:

When you observe that the biting level of the clutch changes, you have most likely a problem with the hydraulic cylinder and/or one of its gaskets, whitch is not air-tight any more. Have it checked.