citroen c5 sx 2.2 hdi review

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Average Ratings
Performance	6.9/10
Practicality	7.5/10
Reliability	5.1/10
Value for Money	6.4/10
Reviewer Rating	5.6/10
Overall Rating	5.4/10

57% Recommended8 out of 14 Reviews

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- Dale.'s review
- 35 Comments
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expert review of Citroen C5 SX 2.2 HDi

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Review 14 of 14

By Dale. on 17th Jul 2003

Dale.'s Ratings
Performance	10/10
Practicality	10/10
Reliability	8/10
Value for money	10/10
Overall value	9/10
Dale.'s recommendation

Good Points

Value for money
Performance / ride / handling
Equipment fit

Bad Points

Water runs from tailgate iinto boot when it is wet
Some reliability problems.

General Comments

My Citroen C5 was purchased in June 2002 at nine months old, 5,900 miles ( probably an ex Citroen UK management car), and it has just had its 25000 mile service ( £163 ) albeit early at 23500 miles.

Problems have been limited to :
1) A failure of the ignition system aerial that detects the security chip in the key ring, preventing the car starting. This was rectified next day by the dealer.
2) A recurring "Anti-Pollution" fault warning. The manual says this indicates a serious engine fault, which was unfortunate as at the time we were on our way on holiday with a car and top-box load of luggage, bicycles etc. The problem was only solved after 4 seperate visits to the dealer, each of between 3 days and 2 weeks. However each visit was covered by a hire car ( Vectras, Mondeo, Bora ) each of which made us want our C5 back! At least it reduced my mileage in the C5 to only 18K for this year.
3) The drivers seat side bolster foam has split where the frame mounting for the arm rest presses on the back of it. The foam is to be replaced under warranty.

Many early C5 owners complained of banging noises from the back axle. This is not a problem I have had, however when I collected my car after its service I was told a new back axle is to be fitted as an improvement modification. At least Citroen have seen the need to introduce this mod fleet wide, not just on those cars which have been complained about.

In terms of everyday running, the C5 is hard to fault. Performance is terrific, particularly acceleration when overtaking, and whilst fuel consumption at 40 mpg falls somewhat short of the declared 44 mpg combined figure, it does better my previous smaller/lighter 1.6 petrol-engined car by 10 mpg over the same routes. Provided the reliability does not deteriorate from here, I anticipate remaining very happy with the car.

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35 Comments on Review by Dale. for Citroen C5 SX 2.2 HDi

vmitchell on 13th Aug 2004

Regarding the warning: anti pollution management fault. I have a 2001 C5 HPI which has the same fault. It has been into the garage now 4 times and the fault still reappears. I would be very grateful if the person that wrote this review could advise how the garage eliminated this fault.
The mechanic working on my car has been in contact with citroen direct and they are still unable to fix it. Car going back to garage again next week!
blister on 1st Sep 2004

Same Anti-pollution fault with loss of engine power for next 250km while returning from hollidays. After few days fault disappeared from screen.
rossted on 19th Nov 2004

I had the same problem with my 2004 vtr 2.2 hdi. I just unplugged the sensor on the fuel filter and that seemed to cure it. Probably not the best way to cure a fault but it worked better than than citroen remedy. i.e. 2 weeks in the dealer.
rodneysmith on 16th Jul 2005

Rodney Smith Leics

I have had the same anti pollution problem on three occasions. They have all lasted about 48hours and then disappeared without any action on my part. They had no affect on performance. The interval between each occasion was up to a year. The problem seemed to occur when I had filled to capacity with fuel, so I have since refrained from totally filling and never had a further problem!!!!!
tombeer77 on 4th Aug 2005

what was the solution to the anti pollution fault?????
same problem in france and citroen are stuck for answers?

thanks
vmitchell on 2nd Sep 2005

The solution to the anti polution problem involved a replacement Lambda Sensor - this was carried out under warranty last August. Since then I have not had any problems until 2 days ago when the warning sign re-appeared. My car is in the garage at present, have just been informed that the downstream sensor needs replacing and the sensor replaced last year was upstream. I can see this is going to end up costing me a lot of money. I also have another warning (missing tyre pressure sensor) that is also being checked at present. I also have the problem of water dripping into the boot. Recently I had 2 new tyres fitted to the front, which obviously I had the wheels balanced, and what I problem I am having with this. I have taken my car back 4 times for them to rebalance the wheels and still have vibration on steering wheel and under my seat which I find totally unacceptable. I am told that this is the best I can do and seems OK to them. As you know the ride C5 is an extremely smooth and any vibration is very apparant.
rodneysmith on 6th Sep 2005

I have had exactly the same problem at 65 mph and have learnt to live with it.

Rodney Smith
rickhough on 28th Sep 2005

I have recently bought a 2001 C5 HDi SX for £3000. I get a slight vibration that lasts from 65 to 70 mph then goes. Apart from that the car (97k miles) is a dream to drive and everything works fine. I got 65mpg on a long run (I can get 75mpg from my 2001 Xantia estate, same engine).

The 2.2 engine has a particle filter and this requires changing around 70,000 miles I believe and there is an Eolys fluid reservoir in the fuel tank. This fluid raises the temperature of the combustion process thereby burning up the soot particles.

The fluid usually requires topping up at the same time the filter is changed. Maybe this is why you are getting warnings on your 2.2?

This type of engine is ultra low emmission and becomes mandatory in 2007. PSA are well ahead of the game when it comes to diesels and that's why Ford partnered with them to build the new Jag/Landrover/Volvo V6 diesel.
vmitchell on 28th Sep 2005

Yet another problem with my HDI. I initially thought my exhaust box had gone, citroen thought this highly unlikely on a car that had only done 47,000 miles and suggested they had a look at it. The problem is much worse than an exhaust box replacement. I am told that it is the pipe that goes from the exhaust to the catalytic converter and the cat would have to be replaced at a total cost of around £1200 - what a shock! They also informed me that this was the first C5 they had come across that had this problem. I approaced another garage who specialises in citroens and hopefully they tell me they can get a repair kit to cure the problem, but at present I am still waiting for the part to arrive. The citroen main dealer told me there was no such part!! I will add another comment when my car has been repaired as this information could be of interest to other C5 owners.
vmitchell on 14th Oct 2005

Update on my car. My car has finally been repaired. The Citroen main dealer advised I would require a new Catalyst at £1200. A local garage who specialises in Citroen's was able to have a piece of pipe made up through an exhaust specialist to repair my car. The total cost including fitting was £62.00. I was definitely correct in doubting Citroen Sportif, had I not of done I would be £1150 worse off.
If anyone requires any information on this please contact me and I will be glad to help.
russmngt on 21st Dec 2005

My car is 4 years old and has only done 29,000 miles. I have had the anti-pollution fault occurring a number of times and it used to go away after 48 hours. It comes on when accelerating uphill. It has now gone solid and the garage say that the fault code shows that the turbo pressure is too high and that a new turbo will cost £1100. I have also had the Comms 2000 unit replaced 3 times and the brakes have been a problem with squealing. Citroen are not interested in my problem as the car is out of warranty, even though turbos should last 150,000 miles. I would not recommend Citroen to anyone.
kamdealwis on 19th Feb 2006

V Mitchell on 14 Oct 2005 said that the local Citroen garage sorted out the Anti Pollution warning problem.
kamdealwis on 20th Feb 2006

I have the same problem as Mitchell re the anti pollution warning. Please can you let me know how exactly the problem was dealt with. Thanks
vmitchell on 21st Feb 2006

I had both the downstream and upstream Lamda sensors replaced. Unfortunately this week I have had the same anti pollution warning again, but this time shut down the power whilst I was on the motorway. After pulling over and turning engine off for a few minutes I continued my journey, but the fault kept re-ocurring. Then for a week everything was OK, until yesterday and it happened again. Today it is back in the garage and so far I have been told that there is another Lamda sensor!! I think after this I am going to call it a day with my C5 as much as I like it in other ways - drive comfort etc. Sorry I am not able to help more. I will add a comment again when I get my car back from the garage
kamdealwis on 23rd Feb 2006

I took my C5 to another garage and he showed me the error code as it being the unit on top of the plugs. Unlike before, there is no single HT lead to each plug with a built in supressor. It is one big unit fitting on top of all 4 plugs and this is faulty causing misfire. The unit is approx. £100. Not sure what to do now cause the misfire is not apparent.
vmitchell on 23rd Feb 2006

My car is still in the garage and they are not sure what the problem is. Apparently there is a fuel pressure problem. The garage are awaiting on information from Citroen, although I do not think they have any answers. Any other information from anyone else with these problems would be greatly appreciated.
vmitchell on 2nd Mar 2006

It's now 2nd of March and my car is still in the garage, it has now been there for 7 working days. They advised that several faults were showing up, but were unable to identify the exact problem. The mechanic advised me after a couple of days that the car completely shut down and was undrivable. One of the faults was said to be the fuel pressure pump, which they have replaced. Unfotunately on testing the car, they found that as soon as you accelerated with any power that the anti pollution warning lights re-appeared. The garage advised that Citroen have no idea what the problem is!!, so hence I still have no car. I am just about to draft a letter to the Managing Director of Citroen UK, Slough (Zavier Duchemin), I'm not sure if it will help, but worth a try. I would like to hear from any other C5 owners that have experienced any of the problems that I have had. I am sure if many of us got together we would have a better chance of getting Citroen to own up to the problems they have with these cars. By the way my C5 is the HPI.
kamdealwis on 6th Mar 2006

I got my error message reset and no problems so far. The following is from a friend who had a C3. The car was bought new but during the warranty the starter motor was replaced twice and various other repairs took place. At which point she got fed up and took legal advice. She wrote off to the same guy you had mentioned at Citroen's and told him that the car was not fit for purpose. She was eyeing a colleague's Meriva for £7000 and Citroen took the C3 back after 2 years and gave her £7000 as requested. So there is a pointer.
troman on 5th Jun 2006

I could also do with some help as my 2.0 C5 hpi is coming up with two errors on the dash board, and then going into a crazy limp home mode not allowing the car to go over 2000rpm. How annoying especially on the motorway.
My first error message is anti-pollution fault, the second is esp/asr engine fault. If anyone has any advice other than drive my C5 into a lake I would love to hear it, cheers guys.
ejsnapp on 7th Jun 2006

Dear wmitchell, have you replaced particle filter? How much was it? or is your problem solved now?
So, what is really required to do, if you have "Anti-Pollution" fault warning. I just got older C5 with this warning and I'd appreciate if you can give me rigt instruction, how to solve this asap. thank you. ej.
ejsnapp on 8th Jun 2006

I need to stress, that I have the "Anti-Pollution" fault warning (+ stop&service lamp control) only before I start up the engine. (just when I activate electronics, computers...) So, do you have it also, could that be normal? While driving, there is no error or fault warning like this. Do you think, I should go to the Citroen garage for diag and repairing of this? Thank you
vmitchell on 21st Jun 2006

I got my car back from the garage finally after 9 weeks with a bill for £800. They had to replace the fuel pump, filter and the HPI injection pump. As you have probably read in my recent comments, I have had many sensors previously replaced. 2 days after I got my car back from the garage I gave up and have now sold it. Although I loved the car it has been nothing but trouble and only done 52,000 miles
monolith on 9th Jul 2006

This comment is for the request by troman on 5th Jun 2006. I am thinking of buying a new car and looking through forums. I had the problem you mention about low revolts per minute and was unable to solve it during four months. I was unable to find a proper garage in London, at least no one could give me the answer to my question. After properly checking the engine with a computer I found out that the pressure in a rail was too high and because of that the protection system worked out. The problem appeared to be too minor despite all my fears. It related to some pressure relay. I have a Citroen Xantia 2.0 HDI but as the engines are similar it could probably be an answer. You can e-mail me to monolith1654@mail333.com and leave me your phone number (I do not like writing/typing) if you are unable to solve it and I can probably give you the address of the garage where my problem was so easily solved.
wilsonfok on 28th Jul 2006

I also have the same problems Troman is describing with anti-pollution fault, low disel additive warning & esp/asr fault. When esp/asr fault lights up the car cannot accelerate which is very dangerous. If monolith has a good garage who can resolve this please let me know as my local citroen dealer has not been able to!
Sydman on 12th Aug 2006

My C5 2.2 hdi sx, 51 reg, 44000 miles, has developed this anti pollution fault most often allied to esp fault. I tow a caravan, and when the fault occurs, which is often now, the car goes into limp home mode and if I have to go up a hill, I am reduced to 2nd gear and a prayer that I make it to the top. Without the caravan the fault still occurs, but I do not notice any effect on speed.
I took the car to a well respected garage that deals mainly with Citroens and the initial computer diagnosis was to replace a turbo sensor and solenoid, this was done but was not the answer, He took the car to a Citroen dealer because he thought their computers might be more sophisticated than his and although they have supposedly located other minor faults, they have not been the answer. They said they installed an extra vacuum to the turbo and had cured the problem, then returned the car to my mechanic but for some unknown reason removed the vacuum. He then installed this item but it has no effect also he tested it with a different air filter but to no avail. He returned the car to the Citroen for another week but they have now given up. I contacted Citroen UK by telephone but was told they could only help through a Citroen dealer and that I would have to pay while they tried different solutions but with no guarantee of a resolution.
My mechanic is still working on it but is at a loss as to what to do. I am now extremely worried as apart from a booked and paid for caravanning holiday which I will probably have to cancel, I may have to give up caravanning as how can I trade the car in with this fault in evidence.
Any help would be appreciated.
vmitchell on 14th Aug 2006

Unfortunately I am unable to give you any advice. I also contacted Citroen UK by email, letter and telephone who were extremely unhelpful. I addressed all correspondence to the MD, but never had a reply from him, always from the customer services department. Like yourself they were not interested as I did not take my car to a Citroen main dealership. I might add that the Citroen specialist I used knew more about the cars than the mechanics at the main dealers. Very sadly and reluctantly I sold the car after spending a fortune on repair, but I still was not confident that the problem would not re-occur. Sorry this is not much help. I wish you luck.
TomAr on 26th Aug 2006

Slightly different for my ESP/asr, antipollution fault. My 2002 78K C5 2.2 HDI diesel just dies!
It 'normally' happens at around 2500-2800rpm and generally on an incline although I've had it cut out at under 2000rpm and on level and downhill runs, in the past, too. As I say mine just dies, zilch! all you can do is coast to the side of the road, hit the hazard warning lamps, turn off the ignition and wait for 15 seconds. The car will then start (with the usual AP warning flashing on the screen) and it will pull away, no reduced power but having said that I'm always reluctant to rev it above 2000rpm for fear of it repeating its self. Some mornings it happens 4-6 times within 3 miles and then will run along fine for the rest of my journey. As with others I have had the occasional respite where it runs without a problem for up to a week until it happens again and like everyone else it is stumping my mechanic and the Citroen dealership mechanic. Its going in for yet another check on Tuesday. There previous diagnosis was that a £200 fuel solenoid was to blame but couldn't guarantee that the replacement would cure the problem, I don't mind paying for a repair but not for a 'change everything under the bonnet to see if it does the trick' repair!
itsmeagainalan on 12th Nov 2006

I have a Citroen C5 2.0 on a 51 plate. It has got an anti pollution fault, and my garage changed the turbo vacuum pump and the turbo exhaust flow sensor (located just before the air filter). Now my car will go over 2000 revs no problem, and I have had no errors since.
colin asndrew on 15th Nov 2006

I have had a C5 2.2 hdi exclusive for the past 3 years and in general terms have been pleased with the overall performance and comfort. The car has done 54000 miles and is superb on the motorway.
The main complaint I have is that bits of internal trim have a habit of falling off because they are only stud fitted and rainwater leaks into the boot when you lift the tailgate. Otherwise it's very reliable and good value for money. I love the engine performance with bags of torque and for such a big car I think it is quite economical at around 40 mpg.
bruce riches on 5th Feb 2007

Had the same antipollution fault occuring on the display, then also esp/asr not working etc. Then the warnings kept on, and there was no power over 2000rpm.

The fault was cured by replacing the air flow meter, situated in the air filter housing, (cost about £100 from main dealers). Why this piece also made the esp/asr warning come on I have no idea, but on fitting the new sensor the esp fault went at once, and after driving 5 miles, and then stopping the car. And restarting it the anti pollution display went off and full power is now available again.
The displays and car have behaved since. The best £100 I have spent on the car.
mikekill on 8th Mar 2007

I have a Citroen C5 HDI SX 2001. This morning I got the engine management warning and the anti pollution fault warning. I called out the RAC, who informed me it was a problem with the turbo dump bypass solenoid. The car, according to the RAC diagnosis, is in 'limp' mode, but the power is only slightly affected, with no restriction on revs. It will be going into the garage in the next week or so. I'll tell you how I get on.
johnnie99 on 15th May 2007

I've just had a similar episode with my 51 plate 2.2 C5 estate. Normal motoring and then on acceleration, the esr fault and the antipollution fault message appeared. Slight drop in power but nothing dramatic. the car was drivable and I took in to the citroen garage for a diagnostic. There advice was that the fuel system was contaminated with metal and that the entire system plus turbo and cat were shot.... £4000. This surprised me as honestly the car didn't feel that bad. After reading the posts I now have doubts over the garage... Any comments?
marvyn on 19th Feb 2008

I had the same problem with anti pollution fault which it just showed when I'm driving my car, first fault shows catalyst then when I turn off the engine, anti pollution appeared, does it affect the whole fuel system when I added additives for cleaning the fuel injection system? I'm using c5 2-0 petrol engine - 2004 model. For sure I need to be ready on my budget again once I move my car to the dealer.
Paul sussex on 28th Feb 2008

I have been getting this problem on my 03 2.2.HDI estate for some months now - first ESR lights and then anti pollution message and engine goes in to limp home. I usually pull in and switch the engine off for a few minutes and then restart - the ESR warning light has gone out and I have full revs again but still the anti pollution message but no loss in performance. Invariably the warning goes out after a couple of days and I'm back to square one.... until the next time which can be a few thousand miles later. My car is going in for an MOT and 62000 mile service to a fantastic independent Citroen specialist on the 11th March and if sorted I will report back. I think, bearing mind that the problem started in the 50 - 60 thousand mile band that it is something to do with the particulate filter.
felman on 28th Mar 2008

Need help please,
i seem to have to the same problem as you guys,.
It started about 10 months ago, Anti pollution lights coming on.
Took it to the garage, the chap top up the fluid, said it would or could get me through another 100, 000 mile or could go again tom. A chance i was willing to take.
10 Months on, i have the problem back, but with added ESP/ASR malfunction. The car loses power over 2000 revs,
I have had a full service, top up of fluid, new air flow meter, new turbo something... and still the car wont work.
But i have noticed if i drive the car, use the accelerator for 4 seconds, lift off, and accelerate again, i dont get any problems.
I have done this for over 3 weeks, so the problem only happens when i have the accelerator at a steady pace. And it never happens when the car is below 50mph.
Can you guys try the accelerator trick and let me know how you get on, or any ideas how i can solve the problem
Thanks

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