[Frank Bullitt]

Quite, it's just ironic that a part that worked flawlessly for two years has been replaced by another one that's also goosed.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

 

[Caramac55]

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.

 

[Frank Bullitt]

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!

 

[Frank Bullitt]

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.

 

[ady t]

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

 

[Frank Bullitt]

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!)

 

[ady t]

any luck yet or still hunting the leak

 

[Frank Bullitt]

We think so, I was going to update when I knew so!

To cut a long story short, there is a special procedure for removing air from the cooling system of the 2.0HDi blue which the technicians weren't aware of, so initially they fitted the pipework and bottle, followed the usual procedure and believed it was job done - unfortunately it appears to be more involved than that and there is a section in the workshop manual covering it; this required a set of steps to be followed and the aid of a vacuum pump (which they had to obtain) to remove all air from the system. This does make sense because after it was fixed the first time I have been 'losing' coolant but the pressure has been there when I've losened the cap implying the air is not getting in.

Duxford have extensively tested it and the level is constant, we are going to Birmingham this weekend which is a bigger test to make sure it's fine.

So if anyone needs any part of the coolant system replacing be aware it's not a simple job to fix! Needless to say Duxford have dealt with it without any issues for me and I would heartily recommend their persistence (if not the Mirage courtesy car you get) which I might have mentioned to them before and they might have noted here!

If the coolant is spot on that's faith restored in the car for towing the caravan to Holland for October half term.

 

[Nicdog]

Interesting and glad to hear that it seems to be resolved.
Is the understanding that there was an air pocket in the coolant system somewhere which had to be purged via the vacuum pump?
A pocket of air trapped somewhere, able to be compressed or released back into the coolant bottle after running for some time ??
A tricky one, for sure. Good luck. �

 

[Frank Bullitt]

That's basically the size of it, yes, there is the opportunity for air to be trapped. Some of it had come out but when they were using the equipment more was coming out - this is seemingly unique to the 2.0HDi 'blue'. I assume it's down to some none-return valve of some sort.

 

[vexorg]

Sounds like nonsense if they need a vacuum pump. Some good old pipe squeezing should work

Over time it should self bleed if the level is dropping

 

[Guyon]

Glad its fixed Frank, well fingers crossed, oh for the simple cars of my youth.

Thinking about it maybe not,fiddling with the choke on a frosty morning, trying not to flood the engine,blocked jets on the carb noooooo.

 

[Nicdog]

Ha ha yes. And the patch of oil that always appeared underneath.
We are definitely better off now. Just with less understanding and patience. Cars are now mobile computers and we rely on them more than ever.

 

[Frank Bullitt]

In theory it should self-bleed but seemingly you can't get it all naturally which does seem odd but that's why it needed to be vacuumed out.

My first car, a 205, had a choke - funny how it was 'normal'!

 

[Frank Bullitt]

Guess whose going back in the garage ‘Ž

Utterly and completely fed up now.

 

[Guyon]

Any news about your car Frank, there have been no new posts.

I am beginning to wonder if you had topped yourself in frustration.

 

[Frank Bullitt]

There will be a proper update for this shortly but suffice to say I am not very happy with the car - it looks like we might need to cancel the holiday in half term to Holland, there is a 100% refund on the ferry but need to check on the campsite.

At least I have a courtesy C3 (the new one) which is a lovely little thing

 

[Nicdog]

Oh, really sorry to hear that.
I'm sure the dealership is as keen as you are to resolve the problem as it benefits no one, in its current state.

 

[Guyon]

Its been a while since your last post Frank, have you got your car back yet?

 

[Frank Bullitt]

It has been a while, pretty much 12 weeks from start to finish

To cut a long story short the cylinder head gasket had gone - the garage believe this was as a result of a coolant leak from the bottle but looking back through my posts here it was holding coolant in France when the engine was off but I don't think we will ever get to the bottom of ""˜how' it ""˜why' - once diagnosed it took nearly a mo th to resolve for a variety of reasons the main one being that Citroën approved replacement under warranty so each point requires a hoop to be jumped through by Duxford who were, as always, excellent. The biggest frustration was the time it took for the replacement gasket to arrive and we eventually cancelled our trip to Holland although Duxford did manage to get agreement just before we were due to set off on a hire car also being paid for but Mrs FB was fed up by then, the ferry could be cancelled with money returned and the holiday site agreed to hold the booking as a credit.

Also on a positive we had their demonstration C3 which was excellent if a little gutless in 82bhp format.

Unfortunately this and some nagging small issues (such as the car ""˜stumbling' at full throttle at 2000rpm which still happens on occasions) has meant we lost faith in the car. Would it be okay as we head towards next summer and holidays, possibly, but it's brought one holiday to an early end at a significant cost and meant that another has been cancelled and frankly I am not willing to take the risk. Sadly all PSA cars that can tow the caravan have the same engine and I'm sorry, but the engine temperature light illuminated for 3 seconds then 5-6 seconds hundreds of miles later equating to a head gasket being lunched is, whichever way you look at it, dreadful.

I picked up our new car on Friday, yes I have lost a frightening sum of money but as I drove the DS4 Home the week before the decision was made - thankfully Mrs FB agreed although she is even more bitter about the money than I am. Looking forward to many miles in our new (to us) 2015 VW Passat 2.0TDi GT Estate, similar age and mileage.

I genuinely hope that the next buyer has a trouble-free time with the DS4, the coolant stayed level and true for the whole of the last week (why that should be a cause for celebration probably explains my frustration more than anything)

Obviously I've enjoyed being on the forum and to be honest am pretty gutted to feel that we've had to leave a brand which both Mrs FB and I have always held dear - I will still be a contributor as hopefully 4 years of ownership will help others.

Onwards and upwards and thank you all for your help.