Hi Frank,
My 1.6 diesel is checked cold and it uses virtually no coolant between services, I keep it at the max level.

When hot obviously the level rises about an inch or so above the max mark and drops back to max when cold.

Obviously the coolant is going somewhere, its a sealed system so there is not a overflow pipe like on older cars.

Hate to say it have you considered maybe the coolant is escaping via the cylinder head, have you checked the dipstick or had a look in the filler cap for evidence.

Hope its not to serious and you make it home OK.

Regards

 

This is in my handbook:
Coolant level
The coolant level should be close
to the "MAX" mark but should never
exceed it.
Fluid specification
The coolant must conform to the
manufacturer's recommendations.
The cooling fan may start after
switching off the engine: take care
with articles and clothing that might
be caught by the fan blades.
When the engine is warm, the temperature of
the coolant is regulated by the fan.
In addition, as the cooling system is pressurised,
wait at least one hour after switching off the
engine before carrying out any work.
To avoid any risk of scalding, unscrew the cap
by two turns to allow the pressure to drop. When
the pressure has dropped, remove the cap and
top up the level.

 

Thank you both, off to get coolant shortly and have bitten the bullet and booked a ferry home from Caen which is only 20 miles away from here - another £400...

 

HiFrank,

I always use the Caen route, plenty of space on either of those ferry's for your DS and caravan.

It will be the M27 & M3 then, night or day time crossing,

What a stress for you, hope your journey goes OK.

Any idea what the problem is.

Regards

 

No idea at all, I can't see where it's going but it is definitely disappearing somewhere - I have 5L in the boot, have just topped it up on the Ferry so let's hope it gets us home for about 1am. Booked into Duxford first thing as they had some space to accommodate me, which is very good of them.

 

Got home at midnight with no issues, it had dropped to half way between minimum and bottom of the bottle - I am not sure if it's leaking to a specific level (i.e. a small hole in a pipe) that means it drops to a low level and stays there. Now sat at Duxford Motor Group waiting to be picked up by Mrs FB.

Driving back from Portsmouth last night I was marvelling at what a prodigious tow-car the DS4 is - the 2.0 engine was barely troubled by having a caravan on the back (even going up the South Downs I only needed 4th on 2 occasions at NSL) and our Bailey Pursuit sits rock-solid on the back, I think there is something about the centre of gravity for the car and caravan which make it sit so solidly. I'll be happy once this little issue is sorted!

 

Got your car back yet Frank, what was the problem.

 

They believe that somewhere around the coolant bottle, top and pipe into the system there is a small leak from hitch the coolant ultimately can evaporate from so that lot is being replaced today and the car will be pressure tested. I did wonder if it was the cap as when I check on Saturday there appeared to be a small amount of still moist residue outside the bottle on the road she half way up (where the maximum mark is), but the 'whoosh' as I started to release pressure was so large that I didn't think it would be letting by.

 

Car fixed, when they pulled it all to bits there was a little hole on the coolant bottle.

However, in the spirit of coming out in sympathy currently sat at the side of the road with my A2 waiting to be recovered - giving it beans coming out of a junction I've either a) blown a turbo hose or b) blown the turbo - hoping for the former but my luck suggests the latter - still it's cost me naff all in over 12 years apart from servicing, an alternator, battery and 3 glow plugs so I can't grumble.

 

Sorry to hear your car dramas continue.

 

Just an update on my A2, I had it recovered to The TT Shop who diagnosed that a bracket holding one of the turbo pipes had fractured - in 'booting' it i had put a lot of pressure on the pipe which must have been sufficient to force the fracture to split ripping the bracket away which pulled the hose off - all fixed and back to normal. One of those things on a car nearly 13 years old.

DS4 seems fine too, currently back in the caravan in Norfolk looking forward to the 24-hour 2CV race at SnettertonEdited by: Frank Bullitt

 

Well, spoke to soon - topped the coolant Saturday Morning as it was below the minimum but this could have been air that was left in the system so thought nothing more - got home yesterday and after an hour wandered past the car to the unmistakable smell of warm coolant, but as my drive is on an incline decided to take the car to work today and check it after a few hours - bobs your uncle, coolant back to half way between the minimum mark and the bottom of the bottle.

Back in on the 1st (until then I will keep an eye on it), the loss seems to have slowed a little but it's still huge and obvious.

There's no coolant dripping or evidence of it having been lost - no smell inside the car (which would suggest heater matrix) so no idea what it is.

I'm afraid I've lost faith in the car now, it's already put a sour end to one holiday and I'm at the point of being unconvinced for the next one (Holland in October). Sadly the only Citroën options use the 2.0HDi 'blue' and I do believe in lightning striking twice.

 

Frank after they found the little hole did they not pressure test the system like they said they would.

I did wonder how a hole appeared in the coolant bottle of a new car, was it a manufacturing flaw which gave up?

I used to do pressure testing in my engineering days, if there was a leak it would have highlighted a problem somewhere in the system as you are aware.

As a matter of interest did it use any coolant at all prior to the problem arising on your holiday.

 

It's a good question and I honestly don't know if they did do a pressure test - however, when I removed the cap (some 4 hours after stopping the engine) there was still plenty of pressure in there, there was also air in it somewhere as this bubbled to the top.

I've not been aware of using coolant but to be honest I can't say I check that often either - our drive is on an incline so it's not always easy. However if it wasn't for the momentary engine temperature warnings I would be none the wiser as I've still never had the coolant level warning coming on so I don't know how long it had been low or using coolant for.

Honestly at a loss to see what it could be.

 

I don't think your system was drained completely so the bubbles wouldn't be a air lock from re filling the system. Bubbles of air are a indication of a head gasket issue although as you probably know that indication would be accompanied with a light coloured steam from the exhaust. Have you had a look for any steam.

 

No steam, plus the front of the caravan was dry after towing it this weekend. I've checked the oil and it's clean too.

 

As you say it seems all the obviouse have been checked out, hope the garage get it sorted for your next holiday.

As you say it spoils ownership because you no longer trust the vehicle.

I would become obsessive and keep checking the coolant level, but hopefully you are more chilled than me lol.

 

Sadly I do have a bit of OCD!

Anyone want to guess what the problem is?

Looks to me like a leak on the return pipe from the radiator - the pipe is new, the bottle is new and the cap is new!

Checked it last Tuesday (it had gone down), topped it up then checked again on Thursday (no discernible loss after four 15 mile trips) then again this Tuesday after about 150 miles over the weekend, the level in the picture is what was left so it is undoubtably using less than before but it's defiantly going...

It's at the garage now - hopefully back after the weekend - third time lucky? As a 40th birthday present (it's Saturday if you were wondering) I've got the exclusive use of a Mitsubishi Mirage which nails the coffin of the 'there's no such thing as a bad car anymore' argument - they are revolting.

 

Oh dear. Sorry to hear that your coolant problems continue.
It does sound like a series of pressure tests are needed to test and isolate areas of the cooling system.
Also remember, just because a new part is used it does not mean it is flawless or free of defect. Spare parts come off the exact same manufacturing lines as the parts used in the cars.

 

Quite, it's just ironic that a part that worked flawlessly for two years has been replaced by another one that's also goosed.

Hopefully when this is repaired/ replaced that will be the end of it.

 

It's at the garage now - hopefully back after the weekend - third time lucky? As a 40th birthday present (it's Saturday if you were wondering) I've got the exclusive use of a Mitsubishi Mirage which nails the coffin of the 'there's no such thing as a bad car anymore' argument - they are revolting.

Ahh the dreaded Mirage, I have my car in at Duxfords at the moment (will have been there 2 weeks on Monday), since I bought the DS4 I think I have driven the Mirage more, Did you end up with the white mirage (old and basic model). I've had that one in the past but I have the gun metal grey one at the mo (more toys in this one) and a bit more sound deadening, still can't get used to the thrum of the 3 cylinder engine though.

 

I've got a black one, it's got loads of goodies but they don't save it from being a nasty little car - I've had the basic one before which is even worse. They don't seem to have any redeeming features at all apart from they are economical. For pure comedy value tap your knuckles on the fuel filler flap...quality... what frustrates me most is the design brief was 'that'll do' at every level.

They went through a phase of not having them stickered up, at least people know it's not my car!

 

The saga continues.

It's not a leak at the bottle, I'm wondering if the liquid above is a retained 'dribble' from when I topped it up a few days before. They couldn't get the car to lose coolant so asked if I was okay if the technician who lives a distance away took the car home and then brought it back, which of course I was. He checked the coolant when he got home, not a drop was lost but when he got back to the garage the following day there had been a discernible loss. There's no sign or trace of coolant anywhere although I am convinced you can smell it when the car is warm and parked up.

The good news is they can see it has an issue, the bad news is it needs to be found and until then I'm in the Mirage - my greatest issue at the moment is my caravan needs a service late September and it needs to get there so I will either need my car or a vehicle with a towbar.

 

heater metric is more than likely the place to look to start with .. feel both footwell's to feel if its damp . or where pipes lead into bulkhead . had a issue like this with a ford focus took ages to trace it (until winter when car windows seam to steam up all the time ) and your be shocked how much water the carpets can soak up with out showing its wet

 

I agree and suggested it when it was in before - the carpets aren't wet at all but whilst it's losing coolant it's not huge quantities so this wouldn't surprise me - my suspicion is there is a small leak there and am wondering if the lack of coolant loss in the evening (when I doubt the heating would be required) yet loss in the morning (when I suspect it would) is a sign of this; I'm calling them today to see what they've discovered (or not!)