Citroen C5, which was produced since 2008 - is a French car with German accuracy, according to advertising. The body is well protected from corrosion, durable paintwork, protection by electroplating. Rust can be found on such cars is very rare. Is that chrome on the oldest copies begins to climb.
As with any car, there are some drawbacks, usually after 5 years of operation, the windows on the front doors may stop working, because by this time the roller in the mechanism is worn out, or the cable flies. In general, if this happened, then the new node will have to pay 180 euros, some owners in order to save buy non-original rollers, cables and guides, all this costs about 50 euros. Over time, the doors begin to creak due to the fact that the hinges and stops-stops are rapidly wearing out, so they must be periodically self-lubricated from time to time.
You also need to lubricate the hood lock so that the cable does not suddenly break or the plastic lever does not break. There are cases, the sensors PDC stop working. On cars produced in the earliest years, contacts disappeared, after which the climate control unit was buggy. Even in the Citroen C5 in the winter, slush can get through the front bumper and get the electric motor of the fan that cools the radiator. This can lead to overheating of the motor if the fan stops working suddenly. For prevention, it is necessary to drown something with these holes in the front bumper.
Motors
The most popular engine in the Citroen C5 is the 1.6-liter gasoline Prince engine, which was created jointly by BMW and PSA. By the way, this engine is considered the most problematic. There is also a turbocharged version of this engine with direct injection, it first appeared in 2006 on the Mini Cooper C and showed itself not from the best side. Here is an unsuccessful design of the cylinder head, deposits and deposits on the valves and channels appear on it. Timing chain can stretch already at 60 000 km. run The drive sprocket on the crankshaft is fixed without a pin or key, and when the valve timing deviates from the norm, the electronics will turn off the turbine and the thrust will suddenly disappear.
The turbocharger is also not very reliable, after 120,000 km. the rotor can wear out a lot, after which it is necessary to repair the turbocharger, it costs 600 euros a new one. Also, the fuel pump here is too weak, it may jam the vacuum pump.
Therefore, from the turbocharged 1.6-liter engines it is better to refuse, and you can look at the atmospheric 1.6-liter engine with a capacity of 120 liters. with. Some troubles also happen in this engine, for example, after 100,000 km. it is already clear that the valve seals have worn out seriously, and the motor running in the mechanism that raises the valve is already failing for this run.
When buying a car with a Prince engine, you need to know that the less years a car has, the better. Because every year new problems are discovered and the manufacturer somehow tries to modernize its motors, for example, in 2010 they did a serious job of eliminating errors. The timing sprockets have become better fixed, improved the head of the block, the oil pump, the chain tensioner, and even the program in the electronic control unit of the motor. In 2013, there were also upgrades, therefore, the most safe motor is the motor of the ER6 series, on cars that were released after 2013.
There are other engines - French, they are already more reliable. For example, 25% of cars are equipped with an atmospheric 2-liter engine EW10, in general it is quite a good engine compared to German. There is also a 1.8-liter engine EW7, which is the same in design, but with a slightly smaller volume. These engines without any problems serve more than 250 000 km. Sometimes it happens that after 100,000 km. the engine mount pads break off, but they can be replaced for 50 euros. It also happens that flow at the valve cover gaskets.
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Every 60 000 km. need to change the timing belt and rollers. There is a more rare 3-liter engine, which can be found on only 2% of the cars of this model. It is the same in terms of reliability as other French engines, couplings with valves of the valve timing system are added to all the problems listed above. Couplings cost € 130 each, and valves cost € 100 each. But this will happen no earlier than 150,000 km. run
Diesel engines are also quite reliable, 15% of cars have a 2-liter diesel engine DW10, which is also installed on Ford cars. Usually, the Webasto heater creates problems if it suddenly fails after about 100,000 km. candle glow, the smoke from the exhaust pipe will be like a locomotive. You also need to keep more fuel in the tank, especially in winter, and prevent the arrow from dropping below the backup mark, because Webasto will turn off, and in order to turn it on again, you will need to go to the service and restart it programmatically.
If the car often drives around the city, especially if the trips are short, then after 80,000 km. The exhaust gas recirculation valve may be damaged. In addition, the diesel particulate filter may clog and you must also monitor the intake manifold flap. Also in the diesel engine, expensive Delphi injectors are installed, which will serve about 200,000 km., If you pour high-quality fuel. The motor itself will also easily serve about 300,000 km. The V6 diesel engine is not as attractive because it is more expensive to repair.
Transmissions
For gasoline engines with a volume of 1.8 and 2.0 liters are 5-speed manual boxes. And with the turbocharged 1.6, diesel 2 and 2.2 are 6-speed manual boxes. They are quite reliable and do not give cause for concern. But in these boxes a rather weak gear selection mechanism, which costs 170 euros, is not clearly switched over time, cables begin to wedge over time, so it is desirable to lubricate them once a year at the end of autumn. Oil in the box must be changed every 80,000 km. and then it will last a long time.
There is also a 6-speed robotic box EGS, it is installed in the Citroens C5 with atmospheric and diesel engines with a volume of 1.6 liters. This box as a whole is reliable, but during work sometimes tremors and dullness appear. The clutch is dry and serves at least 120,000 km. In order for the robot box to work normally, then it is desirable every 30,000 km. update the program in the control unit.
The most unreliable box is a 4-speed automatic AL4 / AT8, which was created in 1999 by Renault, this box was installed in cars with a 2-liter gasoline engine. Despite all the upgrades, this box is still prone to overheating and does not tolerate it well. But the pressure modulation valves are generally short-lived here - they already require replacement by 80,000 km. mileage, these valves cost 40 euros. If during the gear shift beats are felt, it means that it is time to change them. In order for the box to last longer - it is necessary to change the oil more often, thereby removing the wear products of the box components. And if there are shocks during switching, then the oil should be changed for sure.
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There are also Japanese 6-speed automatic transmissions that are installed in turbocharged 1.6-liter engines and in diesel engines. This is an automatic box AM6 / AT6 (aisin Warner TF-80SC / 81SC). She was already tested in practice in a Volvo V70 car back in 2001, she was also put on many other cars of famous brands. It is quite reliable and without service can last at least 250,000 km. The oil must be changed together with the filter once every 60,000 km. Then the tremors will not appear. Sometimes it happens that after 80 000 km. the gear selector stops working, which means that it is necessary to change the blocker relay, which costs 12 euros.
Suspension
The Citroen C5 uses the Hydractive 3+ suspension, it serves more than 150,000 km without problems. All suspension elements are quite reliable: the control unit rarely fails, its price is 600 euros, the high-pressure pump also does not break, but if it breaks, it will cost 1,000 euros., Elastic elements cost 100 euros. There are more than 7 of them, maybe they can serve even 200,000 km. And even longer is the membrane, which separates gas and liquid under high pressure.
But on cars produced before 2011, this suspension may fail after 60,000 km. - and the car will begin to cling to the bottom of the earth, while it will not be able to drive faster than 90 km / h. If you notice that the KYB hydropneumatic struts are leaking, it means that repairs will need to be made soon. The front struts cost 300 euros, and the rear ones cost 200 each. If the racks are OK, then you should check the pipelines, each tube costs 20 euros. It happens that in 4 years the tubes can leak due to rust or deformation. In most cases, there is a gap in the aluminum tubes, which are fed to the rear hydraulic cylinders.
After 2011, the racks and tubes were made more reliable, the main thing is not to pour a lot of liquid through it, because the excess will flow through the tank and through the seals of the racks. You also need to follow the steering gear, because in the rack and pinion mechanism after 100 000 km. mileage may cause leaks, and the power steering uses the same fluid as the hydraulics - they share a common tank. Liquid - LDS from Total.
In addition, after 100,000 km. it is necessary to monitor the suspension position sensors, they may show incorrect data, because the joints of these sensors begin to play, and this is not an accurate reading, each pull costs 8 euros. After the failure of one of the sensors, it will immediately be noticeable that something is wrong with the machine: it will snag nose or feed. The new sensor costs 35 euros. But if the position of the body jerky changes, then the valve in the hydraulic system, which costs 230 euros, has failed.
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Usually after 120,000 km. the parking brake mechanism fails, in order to find an emergency cable to unlock it is necessary to climb under the floor of the box, which is located in the armrest. In the basic configurations installed conventional suspension springs. In terms of longevity here, too, everything is about the same, the levers and other parts serve about the same as the parts on the hydraulics. After about 80,000 km. steering nozzles, pillars and stabilizer bushings need to be replaced, front arm silent blocks need to be replaced after 100,000 km. At the same run, it's time to change the ball bearings. Already after 120 000 km. Begin to make noise for the hub bearings and the rear and front, 50 euros are the front bearings, and the rear ones cost 70 euros.
In the secondary market, the Citroen C5 is getting cheaper pretty quickly, after 3 years the car is getting cheaper by half its original cost. It is sad for those who bought such a car new, but for those who will take this car in the secondary market - quite good. Reliability at Citroen C5 especially is not worse, than at Volkswagen Passat. But if we consider the 5-year-old cars, the Citroen will be cheaper by about 200,000 rubles. But the more reliable Toyota Camry of the same years will cost 300,000 rubles more.
But buying a Citroen C5 is better to immediately abandon the turbocharged 1.6-liter engines, and French automatic boxes. An excellent purchase will be a complete set with a 2-liter gasoline engine and manual gearbox. Also, diesel equipment can also be considered regardless of which box is installed in them.
Feel the ride on the Citroen C5
Dynamics of acceleration on the Citroen C5, even with a 2-liter engine is not particularly impressive, especially if you installed a 4-speed automatic transmission, which has a sports and manual modes. Box tupit slightly during switching, even nodding during acceleration. And already at a speed of 120 km / h the automatic transmission pulls normally.
But the car has excellent smoothness, even on a bad road, vibrations due to hydraulic suspension are not felt. Also in the car, good insulation, quiet suspension, the wind can not be heard up to 120 km / h, the engine can be heard only during rapid acceleration.
Handling in the Citroen C5 is not the same as on a four-wheel drive, the steering wheel has a rather low sensitivity, there are trajectory deviations, the response to the steering wheel is quite soft. But what kind of overclocking, such and control, these things in the car correspond. In general, a car for lovers of comfort and a quiet style of driving. With the service, too, there are no special problems, you just need every 15,000 km. Check LDS fluid level and check if racks are sweating. In a diesel 2-liter engine you just need every 150,000 km. clean the intake system, for this it will have to be removed and spent about 5 hours.
