28th Jan 2012, 21:17
Yeah, ECO mode is a pain on my 2011 C3 Exclusive as well, but on my brother's 2010 C4 Picasso 2.0HDi EGS VTR+, it doesn't kick in for about 30 minutes, which is great.
I read your comment about the hand controls. I drive with them, and so does my brother. Mine has the indicator switch on, which meant the indicator stalk had to be taken off the car and sent away for it to be programmed, so obviously the previous Motability customer who had your Picasso had the same thing done. Now my brother hasn't the indicator switch, so there wouldn't be any electrical issues involved for whoever has his Picasso after him.
14th Feb 2012, 11:10
That makes sense. I wonder whether the dealers know this or not? Perhaps they hope the next owner won't notice, so the programming won't have to be changed back?
18th Sep 2012, 07:23
Latest update: just going for its annual service with nearly 32k miles on now. No further problems to report so far. Economy seems to hover around the 40-45 MPG mark.
21st Sep 2012, 06:20
Came back from service and needs front brake pads doing. Not too bad at 31k.
Forgot to mention minor annoyances...
Water pooling up in one of the back doors - it spills out when the door opens - which suggests the door seal is blocking the drain hole, but it looks fine, and is the same as the other side, which doesn't have a problem.
Also had a blocked drain under the wheel arches that I had to clear out, and a few annoying rattles from around the dash when the sun is shining!
27th Jun 2013, 05:01
Update at 40k miles:
We've had to replace the radiator cooling fan, as the old one self destructed rather noisily. We also replaced the switch on the rear boot release a while ago, as that fell to bits in our hands - apparently that's a common fault. However it was easy and quite cheap to fix. Of greater concern is that the injector seals need replacing, as at least one appears to be leaking. This might be a bigger job than it first appears, should the injectors be stuck in the cylinder head or damaged by the leaking combustion gases. This may be associated with the sludging up of these 1.6 HDI engines (a known weakness) and subsequent turbo destruction that it causes, so that's in the back of our mind too.
The self levelling rear suspension appears to be adjusting itself more than seems necessary. This might be a hint that it's within weeks or months of failing again, as I remember it behaving like this before it failed last time. Trouble is, the supplier of the suspension air bags has gone bust, so for the last few months, supplies have completely dried up, so much so that Citroën have deleted the feature from the current range.
Some people say there is a limited stock of parts again, but I'm not sure I want to replace this component every 20k miles or so. So, I'm considering converting the air bags to regular coil springs - in fact I may have to if I can't get hold of the air bags anyway. This isn't a simple option either, as the insurance company might take a dim view of this kind of modification - it's hard to say. Even if they are OK about it, it's extra hassle when it's time to renew and shop around for a better deal. I'm beginning to wonder why we don't didn't buy one of the cheaper, simpler VTR+ models now, instead of being lured in by the extras gadgets on the Exclusive.
Also, the EGS clutch appears to be juddering more and more when the car is cold. Not a good sign. Some people claim that the clutch, flywheel and actuator rarely last more than 40-50k miles, so we may be due a big bill on this too.
What to do? The car is worth less and less by the day, and the actual + potential bills are starting to stack up. Our time with this car may be nearing an end.
16th Jan 2012, 03:41
I agree Economy Mode is a major pain. No other manufacturers inflict it on their customers, so why do Citroën still insist upon it?
I find it especially annoying when you try to do something like close an electric window, or use the power fold mirrors. Why do I have to turn the engine on to do that?
I wish it were also possible to adjust the delay timings on the interior lights. Other manufacturers seem to give you 5-10 minutes before they switch off automatically. Citroën give you about 30-60 seconds, if that. It should be user configurable, after all, it is my battery is it not?