307 Hdi

Toon--soldier

just lookin for opinions on the 307 2.0 hdi rapier (110bhp version) and is there any faults to watch out for, im kinda edgey about the whole french car thing are they as bad as poeple say?

HashSlinging

Worst car on the road today, feels like it has a plastic suspension. Diesel engine is good rest vbad.

Moanin

My wife has a 2002 1.4HDI XS model with 112k from new on the clock and we haven't had an ounce of trouble with it,timing belt and water pump done at 100k.Its a very comfortable but hard ride.Very spacious also.
The XS has the extras of rain sensor wipers,air con, alloys, auto headlights.
From what I know the rapier is the UK model as there was only the XR,XS and XT here in Ireland.

quattro777

We've had 4 of them new in our family since 2005. Two 1.4 petrols, 2.0 HDI and a 1.6 HDI. No problems with any of them.

eljono

HashSlinging wrote: »

Worst car on the road today, feels like it has a plastic suspension. Diesel engine is good rest vbad.

Ok, I don't know where this opinion derives from but you obviously haven't driven a Hyundai Accent, Daewoo Lanos or Chrysler Neon if you think that is the case.
I used to drive a 307 as a company car and sadly miss it. I would class it as one of the most comfortable cars in it's class and I really don't get the plastic suspension comment. Also, the 1.4 16v petrol (90bhp) introduced in 2004 was a nice drive, much better than the weedy 8v (75bhp). But the 110HDi is the pick of the engines. Is it the 2.0l or the 1.6l you're looking at? And if it's a Rapier would I be right in assuming that it's a UK car?

Toon--soldier

eljono wrote: »

Ok, I don't know where this opinion derives from but you obviously haven't driven a Hyundai Accent, Daewoo Lanos or Chrysler Neon if you think that is the case.
I used to drive a 307 as a company car and sadly miss it. I would class it as one of the most comfortable cars in it's class and I really don't get the plastic suspension comment. Also, the 1.4 16v petrol (90bhp) introduced in 2004 was a nice drive, much better than the weedy 8v (75bhp). But the 110HDi is the pick of the engines. Is it the 2.0l or the 1.6l you're looking at? And if it's a Rapier would I be right in assuming that it's a UK car?

Thanks for the help its the 2.0 im lookin at basically i wanted a tdi golf but the 307 is way cheaper and provides as good spec if not better for less money, your right its a uk car would plan to vrt it when the new rules come in

JohnW

Ive driven a 307HDI and had no problems (major anyway) with it. A few things to look out for.....
Suspension drop links might be a bit dodgey, I went through 2 sets (under warranty). Manufacturer claims they are the same ones used for 1.4 petrol engine and just cant handle the extra weight of the diesel engine. Turbo lag is a bit bad, but once you get used to it you hardly notice it. Great car, brilliant handling, great performance. Switched to a 2.0 A4 (petrol) after it and was a little sad to see it go

groupb

My sister had one and loved it and it gave her no problems. She traded it for an A3 which she did'nt keep long because she said it was inferior to the peugeot.

GERMAN ROCKS

great car. imo the best car in its class. looks a stunner. the engines are bullet proof

E92

307s are sh1t for reliability. Not all French cars are as bad as their reputation would have you believe like the Citroen Xantia which is meant to be very reliable but the 307 is a heap along with the Laguna II and Mégane II.

Look at this page. Says it all really.

But for those who don't want to read it, I've decided to quote the important bits:

Bad: Quality, reliability and annoying failures.


Shocking 4th from Bottom of 100 models for reliability in Auto Express 2002 survey. Petrol models average for breakdowns and faults but poor for problems; diesels average for breakdowns bur poor for problems and faults in 2003 Which survey. 3rd from bottom out of 137 models in 2003 Top Gear survey. 307 3rd bottom model in 2004 JD Power Customer Satisfaction Survey. Clutch failures increasingly common. Came 20th = from bottom in 2005 JD Power/What Car Survey of 23,000 cars reg Sep 2002 to Aug 2003 with satisfaction score of 75.4%.
What to Watch Out For

Problems include total power failures, total (Multiplex) electrical failures, trip computer failures, service indicator failures, poor starting, brake pedals falling off, steering column stalk malfunctions, splits in seat covers, rattles, screen leaks, cracked screens, complaints of poor ride quality even on 1.6 and 1.4HDI versions.

ECU problem with HDIs causes flat spots and hesitation. A permanent cure seems to be slow in coming through.

One Backroomer's list of problems:- "electronic service indicator counting down very very quickly, carpet coming adfift of the trim, exterior door rubbing strips coming adrift of the door, a breakdown whilst driving, steering lock/ignition key recall problem, glovebox release mechanism broken, horn intermittently not working, paint chipping on bonnet despite mainly slow speed driving, hatchback would not close until shut several times, rear seat velour stitching not finished, remote central locking intermittently not working, electronic oil level indicator reading empty despite being virtually full, etc."

Fault in indicator stalks very common on 307s from May 2001. Many owners force and break them. Free fix available in France from December 2002, in UK from January 2003 but by 2007 this had been withdrawn.

On early 2.0 HDIs, rubber cushioned timing belt pulley needs replacing at same time as timing belt (60k - 70k miles) otherwise can separate.

Odometer over-reading problem cured by dealer sofware upload via OBD2 port.

Clutch judder can develop on 2001/2002 diesels, caused by wear in internal damper of dual mass flywheel. Needs replacing with modified unit to solve the problem. Dual mass flywheel failure now common on early 2.0HDIs and the flywheels may last only 25,000 miles.

Older cars (2001/2002) may suffer water ingess to the ABS ECU and need a new ECU.

Problem of 1.6 and 2.0 16v diesels slipping into limp home mode put down to throttle butterflies sticking or their spindles wearing prematurely causing them to stick. The throttle position sensor identifies this and sends a message to the ECU to limit the engine to limp home mode.

Alternater belt tensioner bolt can snap off the block. Can develop a minor wiring harness fault that causes the heater fan resistors to fail.

End of plastic dipstick of 1.6 HDI engine can break and drop into sump requiring removal of sump to retrieve it.

'Whirring whine' from 1.4HDI may be failing timing belt tensioner, which is a roller bearing device like the idler pulley, but with a reddish rubber/nylon damper. Gates cambelt kits include this part. Wise also to replace waterpump which it driven by the timing belt

Damien360

E92, you are putting some serious amount of work into your threads lately. Even after that post which is close to a nail in the 307 coffin, you will still get the naysayers who will attack you on your facts.

klaus23

eljono wrote: »

I used to drive a 307 as a company car and sadly miss it. I would class it as one of the most comfortable cars in it's class and I really don't get the plastic suspension comment.

Ditto, I had one of these for work last year over six months and couldn't fault it. Great big comfortable seats, good ride comfort although not the greatest handling-wise, lots of bodyroll and a fair amount of understeer.

Not a slow car either. My old Mk2 Golf GTi 8-valve couldn't keep up with it.

One more thing. Quoting from Honest John is lazy. If you read enough of the 'reviews' on there, you'll spot lads complaining about consumables failing on cars, and most of the information on there is gathered from recall data avaliable elsewhere. Satisfaction surveys aren't a great barometer either, I know BMW owners who are paying for mechanic's kids college fees but are too proud to announce that their cars have inherent faults.

groupb

Is'nt that why people continue to buy vw's and audis?

HungryJoey

I always find it annoying when most people who don't agree with buying 307's or who constantly go on about them being crap, they never have driven or owned one. Saying that, it has gotten some of the worst results in the Top Gear survey for several years running, but also one of the biggest sellers in the UK too, which alot of surveys don't take into account.

Personally I think they are a lovely car, and would still drive one despite what honest john says. I know many people who drive them, with few complaints or problems.

E92

HungryJoey wrote: »

Saying that, it has gotten some of the worst results in the Top Gear survey for several years running, but also one of the biggest sellers in the UK too, which alot of surveys don't take into account.

They measure the faults per 1000 cars or something similar, so that's not an excuse.

No matter what survey you look at, the 307 does at best fairly badly in all of them.

Schism

Toon--soldier wrote: »

just lookin for opinions on the 307 2.0 hdi rapier (110bhp version) and is there any faults to watch out for, im kinda edgey about the whole french car thing are they as bad as poeple say?

There are four french cars in my household (three 406's and a C5) and there hasn't been much problems with any of them, just a matter of looking after them. All HDI's by the way

HungryJoey

E92 wrote: »

They measure the faults per 1000 cars or something similar, so that's not an excuse.

No matter what survey you look at, the 307 does at best fairly badly in all of them.

I wasn't aware of that, appologies.

It does score pretty bad in reliability surveys, but just I know of several people with them with 0 problems. Always the way, eh.