Russethouse Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Just a heads up...For several weeks I have been hearing an intermittent 'swooshing' noise when I turned a corner, but apart from that the car was running fine...next the demisters started to be and less effective and finally on New Years Eve I depressed the clutch and got a boot full of water :-(Apparently the Citroen has valves which let the water from the 'gutters' through, but these can get jammed shut due to dirty water or debris , this causes the water to fill up and get into the fan unit.....We took the car to the local Citroen main agent who on collection said they had another 3 similar incidence this week, and they'd already had one when we took ours in, just be aware .....The garage removed the valves so hopefully we won't have a repeat.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Russet, in the spirit of being positive on the forum, perhaps you should have suggested that owners of these waterbabies should carry a spare pair of wellies in wet weather!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pip24 Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Hi Russet , Thanks for the tip i bought a C4 Picasso 5 weeks ago so I will look out for the swooshing and invest in some new wellies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederick Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 R H is not the only one that is having car problems in these weather conditions we have to suffer at the moment . I have just got my car back from the garage after water got in the electrics. I have a diesel and thought I would be better off than most in the wet . The garage was starting to dry out another car just in when I collected mine .... Lesson learned 4 or 5 inches of water may not look much to drive through and you may even manage to do it ok.... Its well after when the damp gets in the electrics things go wrong and you have to get your wallet out .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Could save a lot of expense..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbie Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 [quote user="Frederick"]R H is not the only one that is having car problems in these weather conditions we have to suffer at the moment . I have just got my car back from the garage after water got in the electrics. I have a diesel and thought I would be better off than most in the wet . The garage was starting to dry out another car just in when I collected mine .... Lesson learned 4 or 5 inches of water may not look much to drive through and you may even manage to do it ok.... Its well after when the damp gets in the electrics things go wrong and you have to get your wallet out ....[/quote]The main danger with diesel cars in floods is that you suck water into the engine. I had a friend who completely wrecked his engine on a Citroen Xantia because he didn't realise the air intake hose was low down in the car. One deepish puddle and the car was a writeoff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted January 12, 2014 Author Share Posted January 12, 2014 [quote user="pip24"]Hi Russet , Thanks for the tip i bought a C4 Picasso 5 weeks ago so I will look out for the swooshing and invest in some new wellies.[/quote]Pip, Next tme you have any work done on your car. It may be worth asking the mechanics to remove the valves which apparently just lets the water straight through and has no nasty ramifications...I have to say the 'swooshing' started well before the current spell of wet weather, the recent deluges have just made it worse....As it was over £500 to put right, it's worth being aware... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Not just you folk - if you fr-google "C4 Infiltration d'eau" you'll even find a video!Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pip24 Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 How muuuuuuuuuch!£500 sounds an awful lot of money for eliminating the problem. The suggested wellies seem a far cheaper option!The U tube tip was also helpful in case it happens to me. The car is75% of the time in the garage so it doesn't get much debris on it to block up the drain points, so fingers crossed.One thing about the car that I dont like is that there is no temperature gauge ? Its the only car that I have had with no temp gauge. Although I feel sure it will notify me if it overheats, I dont think it will tell me if the thermostat is stuck open and I am running cold all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted January 12, 2014 Author Share Posted January 12, 2014 Had to have a new fan unit, then there was the fitting...shall I go on...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 I doubt I've paid a total of £500 to garages in my entire life never mind for one job !Another item to add to an already very very long list of reasons to NOT buy a French car [;-)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted January 12, 2014 Author Share Posted January 12, 2014 We have always had Citroens, well pretty much, we have them serviced etc and have been pleased. This car has a lot to recommend it for us......after hiring a car last week I was happy to get back to the huge screen and visibility of the Picasso, even though it contributes toward the problem.....Now we know we'll just have to keep an eye on it I guess.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 [quote user="AnOther"]I doubt I've paid a total of £500 to garages in my entire life never mind for one job ![/quote]Obviously never owned a 1996 2.00 TDI Passat like mine then. A suggested. 2-3K euros spend at the annual service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulT Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 To quote SC:'Obviously never owned a 1996 2.00 TDI Passat like mine then. A suggested. 2-3K euros spend at the annual service.'Ah, this is where Bangernomics comes in to play - and I suppose a 1996 car falls in to that category......Buy a roadworthy banger cheaply and if something goes wrong bin it (or stick it on eBay and scrap cars have a value) and buy another Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 [quote user="PaulT"]1996 car falls in to that category......[/quote]Yerse, but it was just as crappy in 2007 (electric handbrake, computer), 2008, I'm paying now- ( radiator), 2009 (electric handbrake again, frequent limp mode), 2010/11/12 handbrake mechanicals, d m flywheel, turbo - hey you're not looking for a banger at the moment are you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Whoops, just noticed I put 1996 in first post, should have been 2006. Freudian slip or what?Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulT Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 What's 10 years.On the basis it is a 2006 car and the problems you have had rather dents the VW reputation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomoss Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 This is making me feel my current 1994 car is really old.[:(]I bought it nearly four years ago with 60k on the clock, and it's almost the most "modern" car I've ever had, as I bought my last new car in 1995. [URL=http://s857.photobucket.com/user/nomoss/media/Posted%20on%20Forums/ETrofeo2010_zpsd34c3773.jpg.html][IMG]http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/ab131/nomoss/Posted%20on%20Forums/ETrofeo2010_zpsd34c3773.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederick Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Most reliable we had was my wife's Volvo 360... After 14 years with only a snapped clutch cable to be replaced it failed the MOT due to rust in suspension leg mount . It went off to the fire service for them to practice cutting people out of crashed cars . Any value from scrap after into the Fire Service charity fund Its worth a thought if anybody has an old car to get rid of and you can drive it round to the fire station . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 [quote user="nomoss"]This is making me feel my current 1994 car is really old.[:(]I bought it nearly four years ago with 60k on the clock, and it's almost the most "modern" car I've ever had, as I bought my last new car in 1995. [/quote]Is that spleen? Lovely colour! My VW is in damp tarmac.Are they as unreliable as we are led to believe? One is supposed to have an Alfa before one dies and I confess to thinking about it.We've got a 13yr old Punto that we use most of the time and despite Fiat's reputation, it's a super little car, faults have been mostly restricted to poor bulb connections that cost £0 to fix. The cylinder head did fail last year and it's so easy to work on I did it myself. Its not much good for a 300 mile blast with five people, dog and luggage though......Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salty Sam Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 [quote user="Russethouse"]Just a heads up...For several weeks I have been hearing an intermittent 'swooshing' noise when I turned a corner, but apart from that the car was running fine...next the demisters started to be and less effective and finally on New Years Eve I depressed the clutch and got a boot full of water :-(Apparently the Citroen has valves which let the water from the 'gutters' through, but these can get jammed shut due to dirty water or debris , this causes the water to fill up and get into the fan unit.....We took the car to the local Citroen main agent who on collection said they had another 3 similar incidence this week, and they'd already had one when we took ours in, just be aware .....The garage removed the valves so hopefully we won't have a repeat....[/quote]Not limited to Citroen.The same problem can occur with some Renault models such as the Scenic. When it does happen the water runs down into the pollen filter housing, which also contains the AC relay switch, so once your feet get wet you're also saying goodbye to the AC system as it will soon fail due to the water ingress, followed closely by failure of the fan unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 [quote user="PaulT"]What's 10 years. On the basis it is a 2006 car and the problems you have had rather dents the VW reputation.[/quote]Yes its worrying, I have a 2002 Skoda diesel, got it at exactly 3 years old with 188000 miles on the clock, paid banger money for it and would happily throw it away if it was going to cost me any money, so far I have done another100000 miles in it and apart from a few oil and filter changes it has cost me less than £50 on unexpected repairs.Seeing how much the later cars bleed money from the owners I probably would spend money to keep it now that I would not have 10 years ago, I almost certainly would have replaced it before now but its just so reliable that I will keep it for another 10 years if it carries on, there certainly is no measurable deterioration of the mechanics, the bodywork or fuel consumption. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 [quote user="Frederick"]Most reliable we had was my wife's Volvo 360... After 14 years with only a snapped clutch cable to be replaced it failed the MOT due to rust in suspension leg mount . It went off to the fire service for them to practice cutting people out of crashed cars . Any value from scrap after into the Fire Service charity fund Its worth a thought if anybody has an old car to get rid of and you can drive it round to the fire station . . [/quote]When we came to France we bought a Toyota Picnic with 100kKM - funny looking thing, turned out it had been a taxi in Nantes, but it suited us with renovations going on.In 2007 it fell in a ditch and was written off. We did 275000 KM and aside from servicing, all it cost for a breakage was 12 euros.Not only that, even when it was oldish, the dealers treated us like royalty. That's a different story with VW too.Steveedit:corrected Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomoss Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 [quote user="SC"] Are they as unreliable as we are led to believe? One is supposed to have an Alfa before one dies and I confess to thinking about it. [/quote]Mine are not unreliable. Who led you to believe that? It's just another urban rumour, and I don't care because I now have a Sprint and a 33, plus two 33's for spares for not much more than loose change[:D]Alfa brought the reputation upon themselves in the 70's with the earlier models of their Alfasud range, built by ill trained yokels in their new factory in the south of Italy, and suffering from poor body finishing. I have seen examples with no paint at all on hidden interior surfaces of the bodywork http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Romeo_AlfasudEdit: They are prettier to my eyes than most recent, rather bulbous efforts at making small cars[URL=http://s857.photobucket.com/user/nomoss/media/Posted%20on%20Forums/CDAlfainwoods1990_zps7f96a1f1.jpg.html][IMG]http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/ab131/nomoss/Posted%20on%20Forums/CDAlfainwoods1990_zps7f96a1f1.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomoss Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 I don't think it is a good idea to remove the valves, especially for a dealer to do this.They are installed to allow water to drain from the fresh air plenum without allowing exhaust or road fumes to enter the car through the ventilation system.Similar drain valves are installed on most/many cars, and although their design or positioning on this car may not be ideal, periodic checking and, if necessary, cleaning, should be sufficient to ensure they work properly, without any need to remove them.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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