9th Sep 2003, 02:05
I bought a C5 Exclusive Estate in June this year, from a main dealer in Somerset. With over 5K off the normal new price, and only 17 miles on the clock, I was looking for the catch straight away. I checked the comments on this site and had my doubts as to whether this would be a good car. There again, having driven a Vauxhall Vectra for 3 years, anything after that would be better (i.e. more comfortable, and a lot quieter).
Faults so far include:
1. The Antipollution Fault warning keeps coming up on the display. Sensor replaced by dealer, fault still there.
2. The Airbag warning came up on the display a couple of times. This was described as a 'glitch'. Really?
3. At one point, I was driving at approx 50mph when suddenly all dials on the dashboard went to zero, then back up again after a second or so. So far, the dealer has been unable to explain.
Anyway. apart from its quirky nature I think it is the best car I have driven for years for comfort and style, with lots of usable features. The only place Citroen have gone wrong with the C5 is the wiring. I'm sure that many of the faults mentioned here, and by other writers, are due to the matrix wiring used in the C5. After all, a floating voltage within this type of wiring harness can cause all sorts of misleading signals, giving rise to spurious errors and faults. If Citroen sorted out this, their car would score very highly.
25th Sep 2006, 08:51
Hi everyone.
I've just bought a C5 Exclusive 2.0 HDi Estate (2002 model year) for private hire work to replace my trusty Mk 2 Mondeo TD.
Only owned it for 2 weeks, but here's my list of praises and gripes:
1. Glass tailgate: Not opening. No idea if switch/relay fault or whatever.
2. Radio reception: Awful! Loses signal whilst still in broadcast area.
3. Very bad lumpy idle. Engine vibration when driving.? injector issues. Awaiting diagnostic.
4. Brake squeal, seeping OSR suspension, binding OSF wheel.
5. Comfort. Excellent
6. Ride. Very good/excellent
7. Brakes. Feather-light operation. Very good.
8. Interior. Roomy. Passengers love it.
9. Overall - great for the purpose, but issues noted on a 4 year old 72000 mile example ought not to be there! My 'retired' 346,000 mile Mondeo has far fewer issues.
23rd Oct 2006, 15:10
It seems to me looking at this site that Citroens possibly inflict more problems on their owners that other makes. Just scanning down the list of frowny face icons gives a crude, but clear negative reckoning, and one that's enough to frighten me away from buying one. I'm left wondering why buyers of citroens do so, when they could choose a marque with a better reputation for quality.
A relative of mine buys Citroens, and always seems to be forking out for some technical problem or other. I think he perhaps simply does not realise that it's no longer 1973 and it just doesn't have to be like this any more. Or maybe the plus points you all point to - ride quality, curious design, the resilience of the engine unit itself, are enough to generate loyalty.
24th May 2008, 07:48
Having read the previous comments, as a retired heavy equipment mechanic makes me wonder why I cannot find workshop manual at any price.C5 Hdi it would certainly put my mind at ease knowing that as a part pensioner I would not be held to ransom because of a simple problem. I have only a 2001,and I can't understand the total secrecy or I would not have bought Citroen. if anyone has one, whitch I doubt.I would be happy to buy a copy of same. budtimber.
15th Oct 2008, 18:16
Bought my C5 LX 02 reg from main dealer in Brentford (London) 2 years ago. Car had done just 41k miles and now is 67k.
Problems so far were:
- Airbag warning light activated at least in 10 occasions. Called dealer and they told me if the light eventually comes off I should not worry. Not really impressed with their response considering airbag is supposed to be a life saving device.
- Rear brakes started to make an unbearable noise. Brake pads were not worn away but I still had to change them to sort the noise out (200 quid).
- Rear left door locked itself and could no longer be opened. Had to change the lock and cost me 170 quid
- Antipollution indicator light has come on and off a couple of times. Problem sorted when car was restarted the morning after.
- Suspension appears to have a life of its own. Even when I switched the car off a couple of times the suspension carried on lifting and lowering the car for more than 15 minutes. Passers by even stopped and looked at the car in amusement!!.
- Air blower stopped working on speeds 1 to 3. It just works on max. speed. Citroen would charge me 200 quid for this (one fifth of what the car is worth)
- Oil level indicator and warning sound activate when I take corners at relatively high speed. Dealer has no idea of what may be causing this.
- The most recent problem is that the speedo stopped working. I was told sorting this out may cost between 200 and 350 quids. I think I will not fix it and pay the 60 quid speeding fine instead.
The car is really comfortable for the family but I will never buy another Citroen due to all these reliability issues.
22nd Nov 2002, 08:03
Do I have a Friday afternoon C5 or are they all like this?
Since buying my C5 new in March 2002, I've had no end of trouble. Being brief, the Sat Nav never registers more that 3 satellites and constantly mislocates me. The indicator stopped working. The comp2000 (control stalks to you and me) were changed, but the second one makes a grinding noise (the main dealer didn't spot that...). The new item was greased, but still grinds (no, they still didn't notice this second time round...). So another one is on order. The radio looses the preset stations when you play the CD. New radio on order. The indexing mirror would lock up. This was changed. It no longer locks up, but still does not reindex properly every time. The rear wiper would often slip (the little drive spigot would not engage properly). This was 'fixed'. However, now it doesn't work at all (a 'lazy motor'). New one on order. Passenger electric seat would not move on two occasions (actually only ever used four times!). Sometimes the car will not let me in, or will not let me lock up. Both remote controls tried on several occasions. You have to stand around like an idiot guarding your car for ten minutes until eventually it works. A handful of times the computer has locked up and rebooted whilst driving (controls stop functioning, and screen goes blank for a minute or two. When it reappears, everything is reset). The radio has very poor reception. The ASR/ESP has shown a warning light that the dealer had to 'reset'. The over-speed indicator has twice gone into crazy mode - telling me every minute or so that I have exceeded my preset speed.
Is this par for the course, or am I just unlucky?