Slight juddering problem

[ElRey]

linstan3:

I think you're right. However, the only other place near me who specialises in Citroen is an independent garage. They're excellent. So, I think I'll take it to them, let them see if they can find the fault, and if it's just something like an engine mount, I'll let them carry out the work. If it turns out to be a clutch/gearbox issue I'll have to press my dealer again to get it done under warranty.

I just don't have the time or inclination to keep going back to the dealer every few weeks, and basically, they've looked at the car that many times, and refused to acknowledge the problem (apart from the mention of the flywheel), I can't see a way that they'd now admit there is a problem, and that they'd missed it all this time.

It's not just the refusal to acknowledge the fault that annoys me, but their patronising attitude towards me....Grrrrr!

[OZZY]

please help!
i've got a dsport 110hdi and i'ts running like a 2cv at times (on 3 cylinders) it's in the dealers at the minute and they can't find anything wrong with it!!! there computer is not showing any faults and they have done over 30 miles in it without as much as a fart!....typical!
i've had this problem intermitently for 6 months ,and it's doing my nut! there's got to be a problem because in town traffic the economy is dire! the trip computer reads 29.7mpg, average speed17mph (rush hour traffic) approx 15 miles round trip in the week , the dealer tells me this is acceptable in heavy traffic.............his he having a laugh? there is something wrong !!!!!!!!!

[ElRey]

Hmmm, sounds all too familiar. Take the car to the dealers, they plug it in to a laptop and it says there's nothing wrong. Whatever happened to proper mechanics that could diagnose faults properly...even if the laptop says 'No'?!

OZZY: Could be a dodgy injector?

I had a Xsara HDI a few years ago, and it used to sometimes run with a lack of power intermittently...turned out to be a leaking injector.

[OZZY]

thanks for reply m8,
numerous options put to them ,but if the misfire does'nt appear at the time they are clueless! having read an earlier thread ,there could be a problem with the particulate filter blocking,because of too much urban rush hour motoring ,therefore causing the engine to run too rich and burning more fuel ,hence poor fuel consumption?could this also cause the misfire problem?................and to add insult to injury ,the useless tossers at bristol street motors in nottingham have just informed me that my dsport has been damaged by a dickhead in a van ,who just pissed off without stopping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! while it was parked on the road outside their garage! apparrently it's a minor scuff on the front bumper . W*****S.............after all this i feel like just handing it back !

[ElRey]

Well, to rule out the particulate filter theory.....get the car warmed up, and then take it for a good fast, pretty hard drive down a motorway, and change down gears a couple of times and get plenty of revs going. This should get the particulate filter hot, and hopefully make it burn off any muck that could be in there. The filters do need to get hot to be effective and not get clogged up (so I believe). I'm not sure it would cause poor fuel consumption though.

If the car runs better after a good run, then you know it's the filter. If not, likely to be an injector problem, or, another thought could be a dodgy air mass meter? A dodgy AMM could cause that '3 cylinder' feeling, and poor mpg. AMM faults probably wouldn't show up on a fault code scan either.

Sorry to hear that your car has got damaged, on top of everything else, Im not surprised you feel like handing it back!

Mine is booked in with an independent Citroen specialist next week. They're going to take it for a good drive with me and offer their diagnosis.....fingers crossed!

[ollie73]

really cant belive the problems you are having with your ds3s and the service you are getting from the dealers! i would have parked the car outside the dealership with a big notice in the window dont buy 1 off these!!! i bought a new l200 pick up about 2 years ago and had similar problems! had the same with the dealer did not want too know till i parked a croos their enterance and locked it:-) and told them i will move it when they fix it! so they did it turned out that it need all new injectors at the cost of 3 grand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and the engine remaped which took 4 hours on a lap top! also it when i put super market fuel in it the problem was much worse than if i put shell diesel in it! hope you get your ds3s sorted. o i sold the truck after it was fixed i only owned it 7 months!!!!!

[ZACK]

till i parked a croos their enterance and locked it:-) and told them i will move it when they fix it

Lmao Nice One !

[rockyoreilly]

Ive got the 1.6 hdi 90bhp
Me and the mrs are both feeling a shudder between thirf and forth
trip to the dealer i think

[Kenjikojo]

I am thinking of buying a DS3 110 HDI Dsport and I am reading this thread with great interest. First of all people on this forum should start a list of good and bad dealers to use or stay away from. Of course people need to be honest and not exaggerate but I have found in other forums that I use, it can really make dealers get their act together. Power to teh people and all that.

Is there a Particulate filter bypass mod available for these diesel cars or a racing version. I used to remap cars and I know that for some cars you can get a DPF racing versions (aftermarket part of course).

Forums can sometimes scare people who are thinking of buying as most people only get onto a forum to post problems, so its also a good thing if members can post positive things too.

[ZACK]

Is there a Particulate filter bypass mod available for these diesel cars

Hi And Welcome,

Yeah There Is,

When You Take It Off You Can Program The ECU By Using A Lexia Tool To Disable The DPF.

Then Ofcourse You Can Re-Map It =D

[ElRey]

Well, as you will all see from the date of my first post on this thread, I have been complaining to the dealer since last August about juddering, clunking/thumping at gear changes, rattling when switching the engine off, not being able to get car in gear etc etc.

All this time the dealer has been telling me that there's nothing wrong with the car. Anyway, after much persistence from me, Citroen UK sent a technical trouble shooter to look at my car. We went on a test drive, and without any prompting from me, he agreed that there are problems ,and his verdict is that it needs a new clutch, flywheel and 3 engine mounts.

I knew all along this problem wasn't 'a characteristic of the car' 'within tolerance' 'my driving style' or 'unique to the 99g'. Just a shame it's taken 9 months, around 10 dealer visits, letters to the dealer, Citroen UK and the finance company to actually get acknowledgement of the fault.

So, my advice to anyone who's having trouble getting a dealer to sort a problem is persist with it and don't give up. Don't be 'embarrassed' to keep mithering the dealer and repeatedly booking the car in. No point in getting angry with the dealer, but persistence is key. However, don't expect any help from Trading Standards or the finance company. They just offer generic advice and aren't prepared to actually use any teeth to get involved.

My car is at the dealers tomorrow and Weds for it's new clutch etc, so I hope I'll finally be able to start enjoying the car later this week!

[rzsio396]

Got me nearly new DS3 diesal 1.6 about 1 month ago. Drove to France for a race weekend adn then after returning the juddering started. It seemed when I was in a gear like 5th driving along as soon as I decallarate its judders then I have to change down to stop it. If i start to accelarate it judders. so alot of gear movments all of the time. really hard work in traffic. When the car is running and not moving its like sitting in a timble dryer or a diesel engine that has had a hard life for 30 years.
I have taken it to my local Citroen dealer and the tech sat in it, tunred it on and its started shaking. Straight away he said this is not rights. They took it in and put in on the computers. Nothing, Sent the data to Citroen technical UK, nothing so sent the data to France.
Spoken to them today and they are just getting permission to replace the timing belt as a start point. It seems no one knows what is causing this.
As they have admitted there is a problem and looks like my dealer might be trying to sort this out sytamaticly.
If this problem cant be resolved I am not sure where I go and what my rights will be as I would have a car bought from a dealership ok nearly new( had 4000) on the clock when I bought it so its all still under warrenty etc.
We will see what happens.
Shame as I really wanted a DS3 and hope this does not ruin it. When motorway driving in 5th car is ace and moves well and is smooth.
Rich S

[rzsio396]

well the car went in for the timing belt replacment today. Just had a call it made no change to the problems. Also it started getting a new problem this week. When driving all of a sudden there would be a loss/ stall of power then it would kick in. Does this randomly and in any gear.
Garage has had to go back to Citroen tech UK for advice who have said they dont know/ understand what is wrong and have now advised the garage to start striping the cylinder first to see. Has possibly ruined my weekend as I was on my way to an autocross meeting tomorrow for the weekend near Devon and was a chance to catch up with some old mates. This is an odd one Ciroen have no idea. but at least my delaership is trying to help. The next courtesy car that becomes available I have been told is mine. Hoping it arrives tonight.
Will keep you posted. Any one else having the same probs and what was any resolution?
Rich S
Having a tough ownership time with my DS3

[DS379]

I had the turbo loss problem on and off for a month, strangely I also found that after it happened each time I'd lose 90% of my coolant. At first it was thought to be a cheap fuel issue but could also have been something to do with a "knock sensor" or something. it finally turned out that my head gasket had blown. when they fixed the gasket they also changed my timing belt. All had been OK for 2 weeks and now I've had the power drop out twice. Coolant is fine so back to square one.

what bothers me most it that since all of this has happened I swear it's not as nippy as it used to be.

I feel really bad for recommending these cars to a lady at work, she now has some special DS3 with some floral print on the roof. she absolutely adores the car and is grinning from ear to ear just like I did before I found out how crap the car really is.

[nicksharp400]

i would just like to add a few words to this forum.
firstly i have a 110 bhp dsport and other than having major issues with the turbo lag everything else is fine. this is only a problem because i have just come out of a c2 code (125bhp petrol)
secondly im a diagnostic technician for a prestige brand so would like to stick up for the service department.
agreed you should never feel like you are being bullied, and you no your car better than anyone. and if there is a fault you will be the first to realise it.
it is very difficult to diagnose a fault if when you roadtest the car it does not fault. and if similar faults are happening across the range im sure citroen would want to find a remedy as soon as possible. after all they want your custom in the future.
as mechanics we dont have crystal balls and sometimes customers describing the fault in words can be very difficult/misleading.
yes the first thing we do is plug a laptop into the car because they are very helpful in diagnosing/finding faults. but as a diagnostic technician you very quickly realise that sometimes even the laptops can be very misleading.
as for your fault if there is no fault codes in the vehicle, the first thing i would have done is compression check, fuel pressure check at idle and under load. check injector leak off values, check air mass values etc(yes all done with a laptop).removing a gearbox is a major job and would be and in your case has been the last thing to do. customers need to understand that as the cars we drive around in get more and more complicated and so does fixing them. as for having to take your car in on several occasions that is ridiculous, your car should have been fixed within 3 visits at the most. we operate a first time fix policy! but obviously sometimes this cannot be the case.
i no this is a bit of a story. im not trying to defend the bullying tactics of your dealer, but you have to understand that sometimes your car will not be fixed first time. i think with the ds3 they have made a good looking car with a strong range of engines unfortunately it still has a citroen badge on the front and you will continue to get the poor citroen service from the service dept.peoples expectations for this car are huge and rightly so. but on a personal note i dont feel the citroen dealerships are offering the same high quality of service that we as a customer are expecting.
anyway i hope your car is sorted soon.
story over
discuss