Citroen C3 1.4 SX Reviews

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Latest Reviews

“most unreliable car I have ever owned”

★★☆☆☆

written by LaineyHarvey1951 on 16/10/2014

I have had my car three years it's an auto and to be fair it's a dream to drive...when it's not in the garage being fixed. So far to date I have spent well over £2000 putting faults right and at this very moment it is in the garage and they have discovered it needs a new BSI unit. The car isn't worth the money as I know the shock absorbers need replacing. It's a shame because I love this car to drive but the unreliability is shocking. There has been fault after fault. The longest I have gone without any work is 4 months. Shocking car for constant break down.

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“Waste of money”

★☆☆☆☆

written by sunshinelollypops1 on 19/02/2014

Within a couple of weeks of purchasing the starter motor died, the head gasket went and the engine cuts out several times a day.

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“BRILLIANT little car”

★★★★★

written by on 04/02/2014

My Citroen C3 Xs 1.4 was an economical choice after writing off my Peugeot 306XSi and I thought I'd find the adjustment hard. But its nippy enough without getting me into trouble, VERY cheap to run & insure, came with all sorts of extras (CD player, electric windows, ABS brakes, airbags, front arm rests) that usually cost more. Its been one of my most reliable cars to date and I am surprised by the other negative comments on here. The only dislike I have is that the rear seats don't fold flat or level with the boot space so this can be a nuisance if you are transporting larger objects. I got mine a day before its 3rd birthday and have never regretted it. I thought I'd keep it a year or two until my insurance record was better but ended up not wanting to give it up!

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“Five years, one battery and one set of tyres.”

★★★★☆

written by easyroller73 on 24/06/2012

Five years and 40,000 miles of trouble free transport, no major faults or horror stories, no problems at all but it is boring as are most second cars. Serviced once a year and fuel tank refilled once a month, the grandmother I'm married to loved it!

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“Once 1 thing goes wrong it triggers off more problems.”

★★★★☆

written by on 08/06/2012

Citroen C3 SX Auto. Bought mine new in 2003 and had problems with the onboard computer within weeks. Actually met my brother in law at dealers when I took my car in for checkup and he was there with same problem - his citroen was 6 months older than mine! This seriously put doubt in my mind about my 'perfect little car!' Good points: - roomy for a small car, nippy both about town and on motorway, nice looking and fairly comfortable. I particularly liked the head room as I'm tall and the arm rests to stop my shoulders from aching. Bad points: - the windscreen shape is bad because when pulling out onto main road the columns block/restrict your view of oncoming traffic so you have to move back and forwards to get a proper clear view, so this is a bad design. All seemed well until about 4 years ago when I got locked inside at home and couldn't open the doors to get out. Had to climb into back seat and flag a passing neighbour down to hand my key out so he could open the doors to get me out! Scarey stuff. Funny how things start to go wrong just after the warranty runs out! To date, she's gone through 4 batteries! Other day door locks starting acting up again so took her up to Kwik Fit only to be told 'this car is a death trap!' If anything hit me I would not get out! Got the AA to recover it to a Citroen dealer repair place so am without it until Wednesday next by earliest. Thing is NONE of the warning lights alerted me to any of the problems so that tells me the onboard computer is unreliable! Citroen really needs to get their checks done and watch what they put into the cars before they kill somebody! Over past 2 years one thing after another has gone wrong besides the electrics and it's cost me a total of £1.200 in repairs so far. I will never consider another Citroen again.

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Rogerborg's Comment

Written on: 19/10/2013

I had the Deadlock of Death too, after my battery ran low. The doors deadlocked solid and only the driver's door could be opened, from the outside.

Despite the chirpy confidence of the local auto-electric specialist, it wasn't a fuse or the child lock relay (which is a pig to find), it was a busted BSI board that would have cost £500+ to replace. In the event, I just put 12V down the wires to pop the locks open, removed the central locking fuse, and am now looking forward to the day when I can justify scrapping the dreadful little deathtrap.

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“Once 1 thing goes wrong it triggers off more problems.”

★★★★☆

written by on 03/06/2012

Citroen C3 SX Auto. Bought mine new in 2003 and had problems with the onboard computer within weeks. Actually met my brother in law at dealers when I took my car in for checkup and he was there with same problem - his citroen was 6 months older than mine! This seriously put doubt in my mind about my 'perfect little car!' Good points: - roomy for a small car, nippy both about town and on motorway, nice looking and fairly comfortable. I particularly liked the head room as I'm tall and the arm rests to stop my shoulders from aching. Bad points: - the windscreen shape is bad because when pulling out onto main road the columns block/restrict your view of oncoming traffic so you have to move back and forwards to get a proper clear view, so this is a bad design. All seemed well until about 4 years ago when I got locked inside at home and couldn't open the doors to get out. Had to climb into back seat and flag a passing neighbour down to hand my key out so he could open the doors to get me out! Scarey stuff. Funny how things start to go wrong just after the warranty runs out! To date, she's gone through 4 batteries! Other day door locks starting acting up again so took her up to Kwik Fit only to be told 'this car is a death trap!' If anything hit me I would not get out! Got the AA to recover it to a Citroen dealer repair place so am without it until Wednesday next by earliest. Thing is NONE of the warning lights alerted me to any of the problems so that tells me the onboard computer is unreliable! Citroen really needs to get their checks done and watch what they put into the cars before they kill somebody! Over past 2 years one thing after another has gone wrong besides the electrics and it's cost me a total of £1.200 in repairs so far. I will never consider another Citroen again.

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“Shocking, maybe the newer ones are better.......”

★☆☆☆☆

written by Siennagoldmgf on 30/05/2012

My partner wanted a economical car and had her heart set on a C3, huge mistake. It's a 2002, where do you start? Central locking sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. Ditto the radio. Ditto the speedo. Power steering just stops working when it feels like it. As for performance, it might be economical but it's slow, slow, slowwwwwwwww. Need to go into 2nd for any slight hill, into first on corners where any other car will cruise round in third. Foot almost to the floor to get away in first or reverse. It's been to the garage several times, checked over by the RAC and no one can find a fault. It's horrible to drive, don't even think about overtaking unless you have a mile of clear road, certainly don't use it for a journey of any distance,you'll regret it. My advice? Take the bus or use a bicycle until you find a decent car, it will be much more pleasurable!!!

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Noseleg's Response to Siennagoldmgf's Review

Written on: 21/09/2012

Hi try cleaning the EGR valve I did mine and the car goes like a bat out of hell now .....well it certainly improved it.

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“I love my Citroen C3”

★★★★★

written by MaureenBR on 29/09/2011

Had 9yrs from new. Just had new tyres, brake discs/pad.

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“Horrendous Experience. Will Never Buy Another Citroen!!”

★☆☆☆☆

written by kws77 on 15/06/2011

Citroen C3 1.4 SX Automatic - 02 Plate (2002) --------------------------- This must be one of the worst cars I have ever come across. Even more it is in my posession, but at least i can relay the horrible issues with the car and try to make sure I stop as many people as possible buying one of these. Bought from a dealer in March 2010. In that time it has had the following problems. Head Gasket completely replaced - oil in the collant tank is an alarming site and a warning of this!!!. Fan replaced as motor failed. This caused massive overheating in the engine. The coolant got so hot it blew the connection hose off of it's tank and then smoke billowed from under the bonnet. Temperature guage stuck shut. Electric Heated rear screen does not work - never has. Has been checked - apparently all the elements are OK, the fuse is OK, so dealer has no clue. Worst is yet to come. The gearbox has a fault where at random times the car jolts, you hear a

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“purchased this car after i had my ford focus 2003...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 06/05/2011

purchased this car after i had my ford focus 2003 wrote off in an accident. This is the strangest CAR i have ever owned. one day runs like a dream, next day its a french nightmare!! AGHH!! so far the romote central locking has worked - then not worked - then worked! ive been lock out of the car, ive been unable to start it. Had engine man light MIL come on several times - RAC cant find problem. This car is a nice to drive car, but its a nightmare. i will never buy another french car again. have had peugeot, renault and citroen - they are all RUBISH!!! ALL HAD PROBLEM AFTER PROBLEM, OK IF YOUR RICH AND WONT TO THROW MONEY AT YOUR LOCAL GARAGE.

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Guest's Comment

Written on: 13/06/2011

I have the same problem but it only happens around my house. I have been told it is most likely an RF signal from a house alarm, baby monitor or something similar. Two houses opposite me have new babies - coincidence? Parked my car round the corner over the weekend and guess what? It is fine. going to see how I get on for the rest of the week.

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Guest's Comment

Written on: 11/07/2011

Re my Guest review and a RF signal. I found out that a set of electronic gates across road had developed a fault. These have been fixed and I no longer have a problem with my C3 central locking.

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Guest's Comment

Written on: 16/06/2011

Absolutely right. The C3 is a nightmare car. Horrendous experience.

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“Brought my c3 second hand in october 2010 great car...”

★★★★☆

written by on 19/02/2011

Brought my c3 second hand in october 2010 great car had everything i wanted then 2 weeks ago the engine light came on and started misfiring! took it to a garage who spoke to citreon it is a known fault that when the water jets brake it leaks over cylinder 4 of the fuel injector which it then corrodes and breaks!!! the garage put new jets in and changed the way the piping went so it is no longer over the fuel injector, i did have to replace cylinder 4 though and they did show it me! just to let people know as i have read a lot of reviews about the engine light coming on and people and garages dont know why! hope this helps cost me approx £180 to get repaired but i still love my car just a shame citroen made a cock up on the design!

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Tashajayne's Comment

Written on: 10/03/2011

Did this solve your problem? Just wondered as my c3 seems to be displaying the same error!!

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Rogerborg's Comment

Written on: 19/10/2013

It's not from the washers, it's water leaking from the bonnet through the washer nozzle hole - there's no sealing grommet on it. I had an injector go that way, and the replacement is currently on its way out too. It's a £20 part and an hour's labour, but it's definitely a design flaw.

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Guest's Comment

Written on: 01/08/2011

I have just had the same problem. I was on holiday in France the week before last and the light went on. The Citroen garage in Granville could find where the fault was but did say it must be the fuel injection. Fifteen minutes after it was reset the light went on again. I drove the car back to the UK - carefully. The Citroen garage in Horsham gave me the same explanation. It seems to be a design fault which has been modified. Shame Citroen does not seem to have warned motorists about it. I had to have all four injectors replaced. So over £550 of damaged caused by a £9 part. Not funny and not impressed. The car had been brilliant up to then but acceleration now seems to be better.

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“I purchased a C3 December 2008, I have never had a...”

★★★☆☆

written by on 11/12/2010

I purchased a C3 December 2008, I have never had a major problem until the last week or so. The engine light appeared on my dasboard, sometimes it stays on, sometimes it is flashing and then not there at all for a small time of a journey. My car has started shuddering and cutting out I took it to a local garage who advised the car has mis-firing cylinders and other faults all connected to the one problem, I then called Citroen garage who advised that they were fully booked the day I was requesting to take it to them to be looked at and then advised me it was a known problem for C3's engine light etc to come on during bad weather (i.e snow and coldness) so near christmas I am at my wits ends, no help at all from Citroen.

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“I have owned my car a 1.4i SX automatic for 6 years, &...”

★★★★★

written by on 01/10/2010

I have owned my car a 1.4i SX automatic for 6 years, & have covered 102,000 miles, I have done all the servicing myself for the last 4 years & have never had any problems with the electrical system or anything else for that matter. I do all the servicing myself & have replaced the brake discs, pads, spark plugs, filters etc at the approved intervals, all have been sourced from Ebay. The car has several rattles which are to be expected from a well used vehicle. I glue the ends of the roof strips down every 2 years ago with impact glue, the silly plastic trays in the boot were thrown away 5 years ago. The automatic gear box has a crisp change & I get 40mpg on a run. As for the interior plastic panels which used to rattle, I found that forcing blue tack under them cured the problem. It's not the best built car in the world but in my opinion as a cheap run around this car cannot be beaten for value for money.

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Lillylumps's Comment

Written on: 05/02/2014

I agree. Mine has been amazing and its done 133,000 miles with no problems at nearly 11years old. A bit plasticky inside but there are lots of features you didn't get in 2003 that were included at budget prices like CD player, air conditioning, electric front windows, RDS radio, ABS and PAS etc etc. Love it!

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“This seems to be an ongoing problem with the C3 from...”

★★★☆☆

written by on 28/09/2010

This seems to be an ongoing problem with the C3 from 2004, apart from all the common things like headlights and coils going, it also has a problem with over heating and the possibility of actualy catching fire.
ive had a ticking noise on mine that i was told was a sticky injector and the garage basicaly wanted and open ended cheque book to fix, went to a second garage who told me that it was the exhaust inlet manifold gasket, so i took it to them for further investigation, 3 hours of stripping away the layers of plastic from the engine im now told that i need a new ENGINE!!! the cylinder head has basicaly melted away with heat and they are suprised it hasnt caught fire already, this could cost upwards of £2k.

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“I bought my C3 about 3 years ago with 30,000 miles on...”

★★☆☆☆

written by on 04/08/2010

I bought my C3 about 3 years ago with 30,000 miles on it. Within a week the engine management light came on- took it to the dealer who found no problems with it.... for the next year the light randomly came on then disappeared. This light sparodically lights up, but no garage has ever been able to pin point why this is. I have had numerous further trips to the garage for collapsed suspension, fuel injection issues, oil sump problems, water pump disintegrating and causing near disasterous timing belt damage... I know every car has wear and tear issues but this is now beyind a joke. Its cost me £1,700 in the last 2 months with what appear to be common faults! I would not recommend this car- its a disaster..

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“i've had the same problem as the last person that...”

★★★☆☆

written by on 18/07/2010

i've had the same problem as the last person that reviewed with my C3 - not long after i bought it 2nd hand the engine light came on - got it checked - nothing wrong got it taken off it came back on and the procedure was repeated. Started juddering then cut out - called out RAC said it was coil - replaced the coil took off engine light next time i started car light came back on - got it checked couldn't find a problem light turned off. Short time later light back on - advised to forget about it as car driving ok! Front spring went on drivers side got it fixed 3 weeks later other one went - this is in additional to the splutterings going on from the engine - car then conked out big style on long journey in bad weather - RAC called out replaced the coil car fine - drove home - light comes on and car starts juddering - taken to dealers needs new coil ??? said it was because whenever the coil is replaced the plugs should be too! That done - big bill - light off - drive off - light on. Taken back - no problem apparently its ok light off - shortly after light back on - i give up the light is still on the car isn't juddering and the citroen dealer has closed down nearest 30 odd miles away so in any event i'm stuck. In addition to this i have had continuous problems with the headlights going - they go alternately and with monotonous regularity usually every 3 months first one side then the other.

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“I am at my wits end! Dec 2009 Citroen C3 stalling AA...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 03/05/2010

I am at my wits end! Dec 2009 Citroen C3 stalling AA thought it may be the coil but this didnt cure the problem.Taken to local garage who said it was the coil....but after replacing problem not solved, now i needed to have a new ECU! UNABLE TO AFFORD 700 POUNDS! Had ecu reformatted (£175)...still problem not solved COST (£285) Dispute with garage on going! Taken to Citroen main dealer who changed fuel injector 150 pounds..problem solved. No! last week stalling and juddering so called out AA who replaced the coil! 73 pounds. The next day the engine light came on....taken to Citroen who replaced coil with a Citroen one £180! Next day light came on again so its going back to Citroen again....but whats next and how much is it going to cost! Watch Dog I think

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Guest's Comment

Written on: 03/10/2011

Had similar issues my my 55 plate Citroen C3 SX. Shuddering, loss of power when pulling away and then what felt like a fuel injection so I shot forward. Only had the car 2 days and then engine management light came on. Solution is to have the Lambda sensor replaced. Costs around £200 but solved the issue. Has to be a certified Citroen part though as patented parts do no work. Apparently the garage replaced my sensor with a patented part only 3 months prior to my buying it. Five months on after replacing it with a certified part, sensor still ok and car runs like a dream.

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“We bought the car in February 2007 only a year old. It...”

★★☆☆☆

written by on 09/04/2010

We bought the car in February 2007 only a year old. It is now 4 years old with 40,000 miles and 2 services. The CENTRAL LOCKING ON THE KEY STOPPED WORKING. Lookers Liverpool said probably needs reprogramming £75+vat. That didnt work so they said we have to remove dash to check wiring £225+vat, no fault found there.Then they said BSI unit failed £300 +vat for part.Couldnt get that working then they needed a new key £125+vat.It is now working TOTAL COST £829.00.THE ONLY THING WRONG WITH IT WAS THE CENTRAL LOCKING WOULDNT WORK ON THE KEY BUT YOU CANT MANUALLY LOCK THE DOORS EASILY.

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Boggles's Comment

Written on: 07/11/2010

OK - the key thing is quite common. For whatever th reason it loses its code so this is what you do.
<br/>
<br/>1. Sit in the car with all doors closed and ignition off.
<br/>2. Keeping everything off and all doors closed put key in ignition, turn on ignition (don't start engine).
<br/>3. Press and hold the button on the key for 10 seconds.
<br/>4. Take key out of ignition and wait in car without opening doors for 1 minute.
<br/>5. Open doors and key should work.
<br/>
<br/>If it doesn't get the battery changed and repeat.

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Jacqueline087's Comment

Written on: 13/01/2011

My C3 key wouldnt unlock the doors by remote also and the main dealer said it would cost '50 to fix but as i had a spare i didnt get it recoded. Im glad now as the instructions here to recode it worked! Im amazed! Thank you.

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“I've had every problem imaginable;The electricals are...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 30/12/2009

I've had every problem imaginable;The electricals are absoultely terrible,with warning lights coming on now and then and garages unable to place a finger on it.In less than 2 yrs,I've changed ignition barrels & door locks,Injector,clutch plates,Break disks and pads,exhaust,Oil Sump,starter motor...Oh my,the List is endless!.Besides this,there are still many other problems/parts that need fixing.Am having alternator and radiator problems at the moment.
The C3 is a comfortable car(so you enjoy your wait for the AA) and it's econiomical on fuel,but thats about it.
The C3 is such a wrong car-but hey,thats my opinion!

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“I have had the fuel injectors replaced at the cost of...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 23/12/2009

I have had the fuel injectors replaced at the cost of 500.00 after owning the car for 8 months, now 5 months later the engine lost power and the engine warning light has come on , just waiting to find out what the problem is this time. The car is generally slugglish on a day to day basis and i wouldnt reconmend the car to anyone, worst car i have ever had.

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Exsausted C3 Owner's Comment

Written on: 09/12/2010

we have same prob,sluggish engine.we have been told by 2 garages engine no good,unbelievable only done 52,000 miles.had from new,nothing but trouble from the start.had new gearbox under warrenty and diesel leak[no explanation]was still under warrenty.

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