1997 Citroen Xantia LX Estate 1.9 turbo diesel

Summary:

A second hand bargain

Faults:

Too early to say.

However the drivers side door has been welded at some stage apparently a common fault.

There's no service history, but the numbers on the clock are all in line.

There's some kind of oil leak from the sump / gearbox - could be the drive shaft oil seals or could be hydraulic fluid leaking from the tank.

Not as economical as expected, only does 30 mpg around town & 35 on a run.

Rear suspension sticks when inflated then returned back to normal height, cured when totally deflated & returned back to normal height.

Seems to burn oil, perhaps due to lack of servicing.

Goes like a rocket when driven hard, the turbo only kicks in at approx 2700 RPM.

The car's comfortable enough, however avoid the A/C version, the air-con works fine, however this drinks the diesel. I have not used this yet, but have heard this from 1 or 2 people.

General Comments:

Overall not a bad car for its size & weight.

I plan to tow a caravan, the tow weight is approx 1250-1300 Kgs, 50 - 100 Kgs over the limit.

3 diagonal lap belts is a very clever design.

Parts are cheap, however the dealers are pricey. Suggest people use a Citroen specialist rather than expensive dealers for repairs on cars 4 years +. It cost me £60.00 for a belt change, that's using a genuine Citroen belt.

Providing that nothing serious occurs & that I can sort the fuel consumption problem, I intend to keeping the car for 2/3 years.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 2nd July, 2001

26th Jul 2001, 02:36

I agree about the mpg. I expected around 40 in town but 30 is much nearer the mark which is similar to the 1600cc petrol driven Nissan I had previously which, incidentally, started first time everytime. I cannot say the same about my '96 Citroen LX TD when warm it is appalling and can take up to 4 minutes to start - will it - won't it, very embarrassing at the pumps!

7th Sep 2001, 06:19

Ref: fuel consumption, regularly use a injection cleaner. I was getting 36mpg before using some cleaner, now getting 45mpg.

S.T.P. is the best @ £5 approx. Injectors need cleaning or replacing @ 60.000 mile intervals.

Ref: poor starting, try new glow plugs and check that the relay unit is working properly.

25th Sep 2002, 04:00

Disagree that using the Aircon drinks fuel. I keep a log of my fuel consumption and reckon it is costs no more than 2 MPG.

30th Sep 2003, 13:43

I have a sx td 1996, overall very pleased with it, now done 170,000. only problems starting from cold, heater plugs seem fine as does general economy. so I think injector, s OK too.can't seem to solve the problem. any thoughts?.

1997 Citroen Xantia LX Estate 1.8

Summary:

Great car, shame about the leaks

Faults:

Water leaking into the rear footwells and underneath the rear seats.

General Comments:

Loved this car from day one for its air-conditioning, comfort, performance, reliability, good looks and boot space.

But now it may be a divorce: for the past 3-4 months I have noticed water seeping into the foot wells and beneath the rear seats.

Citroen said rear door (boot) membrane needed replacing - have charged me £130 for the privilege despite fact that this must be a design fault. Offered to clean and dry the carpets for another £240! I'm still not sure the fault is fixed. This could be the end of my affair with Citroen!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 20th April, 2001

20th Jun 2001, 14:36

I want to know where is your car made?

27th Jan 2002, 06:30

Had the same problem with leaks in my 1997 SX auto estate.

However, a membrane was replaced 12 months ago. Now problem free. You can dry it out with lots of newspapers in a few weeks. 144,000 miles and still going strong. A C5 looks like my next car.