2003 Citroen C2 VTR 1.6 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

A disapointing replacement for the Saxo VTR

Faults:

Alarm goes off constantly.

CD changer intermittently stops working.

Noisy Brakes.

Battery is unreliable.

Oil level indicator is very unreliable.

Satelite navigation system constantly stops working.

In-Dash phone occasionally stops working.

The car has been known to lock occupants inside.

Volume control stopped working.

Error messages constantly appear on the computer.

General Comments:

This is a very good looking car, unfortunately it does have serious reliability issues. The car, and the unfortunate people who own one, are also let down greatly by the service from Citroen UK and its Dealerships.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 17th August, 2004

17th Aug 2004, 14:14

It seems the french haven't mastered reliability in electronics just yet! Citroens, Peugeots, Renault... I hear so many stories of electrical gremlins in these vehicles! Shame, the styling is great, but the inside story seems grim.

8th Sep 2004, 08:33

Gearbox very noisy and unreliable.

6th Sep 2005, 05:46

I am sorry I find no problem with my c2 vtr 2003 model, I think people are just to fussy these days what do you want for the money, they are a lovely little car better than the saxo by far.

15th Nov 2005, 07:42

I don't think it's fussy to expect a car to work when you pay 12K plus for it. The endless problems I had with mine were very real, it still puts a smile on my face when I remember that I don't own it anymore!

16th Nov 2005, 01:52

Please don't tell me you paid £12,000 for it!

2003 Citroen C2 VTR 1.6 petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

A Citroen let down due to its reliability I've seen

Faults:

Alarm going off after arming.

Rear brakes grinding when reversing-sticking on while driving.

Clutch actuator faulty, been replaced, but still sometimes faulty.

Unable to engage drive when setting off from traffic lights until around 3000-4500 revs.

Faulty light display- air bag warning (lighting), auto gearbox fault (lighting), fuel display (going off.)

The alarm needed to be re-wired due to faults with locking.

Paint work on boot lid rubbed away on hard rubber (Glass window)

Hand brake released on a slight hill climb after brakes cooled down after driving-lucky escape due too missing an house by around 4 inch's and blocked a main road for 40 minutes until I was found to move it.

I mainly use the car for motorway driving and have found that the drivers seat has started to wear badly. I've not found the dealership to be very helpful with my problems as they don't seem to be getting to the bottom of the problems with my car as the keep reacuring.

General Comments:

Nice looking, nippy around town car which can be bags of fun at times, while its running without any faults.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 7th August, 2004

15th Jan 2010, 11:32

I have to agree with the first comment. I had a similar problem start happening recently where the car slipped into 'snow mode' and wouldn't go into gear. This was when going down from 5th to 4th at speed e.g. braking on the slip road when coming off the motorway, or breaking heavily at speed.

It turned out to be a problem with the actuator, but I have been hard pressed to find much information about it on the Internet.

Hopefully it will stop doing it now!

5th Mar 2010, 05:05

My Sensodrive 1.4 Furio C2 had problem with gears sticking, over revving with very little pressure on the gas. I took it in, they charged me nearly £1000 for replacing gear and clutch actuator.

The week after, the same problem occurred, and have lived with it until 2 days ago when the clutch burnt out due to its over revving again whilst on the motorway. The warranty is only out by 3 months from the work carried out from the last time, but they are wanting me to pay another 650 to fix it yet again! Citroen are not much help, even though the car has always gone there for services and MOT. Is in the middle of an investigation, but doesn't look hopeful.

Wouldn't buy Sensodrive again.

12th May 2012, 06:53

I have owned a C2 VTR (53 reg) since new, brilliant car. Until recently, when it cost me £1500 to put it through an MoT.

It's been well looked after by a dealer and serviced regularly, which isn't cheap. Then the Sensodrive clutch gave up; ANOTHER £1500 later, I've been told it's still not right, and it'll cost EVEN MORE! It's barely done 50k, so beware folks. It was a great car, fun to drive, and not bad to maintain.

Now it's cost me more to own than it's actually worth. Don't think I'd buy Citroën again.

T Harmer, Southampton.