French Electrics !?!?!?!?!

ninty9er

My mom has a 02 Xsara, bought SH private last yr 29k on the clock.

Recently the stereo has refused to turn off and today the right indicator started flashing for no reason and only goes off when the ignition is off or the left is engaged. Is there a way to fix this without going to main dealer.

Has anybody else had similar experiences. We had a problem with the airbag light too and it cost nearly €300 to "have it fixed". We found out afterwards that all that was wrong was a loose connection between the side airbag and the dash, what a rip off:eek:

Wolverine_1999

Well I tell ya, those French ha. The Renaults are just as bad...

Sounds like another "loose" connection for both problems.. Ask Renault, I'd say this isn't the first time it's happened.

I've have a look around in the mean time..

Henry Ford III

Go see a good auto spark.

Electrics are a weak point in all French cars. An achilles heel.

colm_mcm

Achilles heel would suggest that the rest of the car was invincible..........

Sparky

i changed the radio in my 206 last month, then for a few days only in the morning after i put my key in the ignition a small machine gun type sound would be heard, then the alarm a week later went haywire, i couldnt see the problem really as the radio was a straight ISO swap.
Needless to say the whole thing got sorted.

ninty9er

Between the CD Player, the airbag, the indicator and main dealer service the parents have decided to get fixed and get rid, and go for a 03 Corolla or Focus, It was a deal in te first place so 13 months and 7.5k won't have devalued it much. The cost was what put them off a corolla or focus in the first place but now they see what i meant by long term value

NO MORE FRENCH CARS ON OUR DRIVEWAY!!!!!!!

ninty9er

Thanks for the advice btw

colm_mcm

and the good news is that the C4 is even more complicated!

Henry Ford III

colm_mcm wrote:

and the good news is that the C4 is even more complicated!

...and named after an explosive :eek:

Sparky

Henry Ford III wrote:

...and named after an explosive :eek:

Well in the good nature of laughter, it would be a godsend if the electrics did not work, because if they did for the C4, there would defiantly be no french car in the driveway afterwards.

junkyard

www.videobomb.com/posts/show/1212

lomb

oeugeot are better than renault or citroen but not by much. they are all basically rubbish. id stick with german or jap metal. u cant beat the german stuff for feel and u cant beat jap for great engines. both have great engineering imho.

Interceptor

lomb wrote:

peugeot renault citroen rubbish. german or jap great.

That about sums up most peoples opinions, however everyones experience is different and I have had unreliable Mercs and brutal jap stuff too - I had a 1.8 Avensis on loan for two weeks and nearly went back to public transport rather than drive it - it refused to stay in reverse and got all confused when it was forced around a corner. I do have some lovely Italian cars - mmm feel the quality...

For electrical probelms in ANY car it needs to go to a specialist - I saw a '04 Mondeo which had been 'rewired' recently and it was a deathtrap - someone bought it at auction, could'nt get it to start and friendly local mechanic tried to bypass most of the engine management by hardwiring it - crazy.

'cptr

ninty9er

Update: got the car to an auto spark today, it will have to go to the main dealer as it's a central computer problem. I'll update on the price of the "checkup"

lomb

from honest john--What's Bad
Nondescript looks of 5-door and coupe. Instrument bezel can reflect in screen. Only two three-point rear seatbelts. Model for model, lacks the equipment of equivalent Astras. Depreciates more quickly than class average. ECU problems starting to be reported. Quite a few complaints about inaccurate fuel gauges. Complaints about autobox electronic actuation faults on both 1.6 auto and HDI 110 auto which Citroen dealers are unable to cure. Spate of conrod failures on 1997 -1998 R and S reg 1.9 XUTD diesels: too many to attribute merely to running with low oil levels. Seems only to affect cars built from April 1997 with DHY (not DHX) serial number engines. On HDIs, rubber cushioned timing belt pulley needs replacing at same time as timing belt (60k - 70k miles) otherwise can separate. Xsara to be replaced by C4 in 2004. In June 2001 Citroen was rated by Motor Warranty Direct as Britain's 3rd worst out of 22 marques for warranty claims. Citroens generally had average warranty repair costs in 2003 Warranty Direct Reliability index (index 99.84 v/s lowest 31.93). Link:- www.reliabilityindex.co.uk 1998-2000 diesels rated average for brekadowns and problems, poor for faults; 2001-2003 petrol rated average for breakdowns and faults, poor for problems in 2003 Which survey. Excessive wear of rear discs and pads not uncommon.

maidhc

In their favour though the Berlingo vans seem to be tough little things. I know a few lads who swear by them.

Guy:Incognito

It's all about personal experience. My 93 fully loaded safrane works perfectly. Every electric in the car is spot on: electric heated seats, all interior and exterior lights, digital air con, sunroof/mirrors/windows etc. Also the clio I bought in 00 and sold to the mother is also perfet, as is my cousins clio and my godfatehrs successionon 21's and lagunas.

So all in all, I'm a renault fan as they have given me no problems. I suppose a fault would be annoying tho, doubt it would put me off buying another Renault.

ninty9er

OK so the car has been to the Citroen dealer. The module that was broken/damaged/i don't know cost €127 and 30 mins labour and VAT cost €56, Car's perfect now, but it's still gotta go cos of the plate

Never again... well never say never, but u get the drift