CITROEN C5 road test reports and car reviews

Citroen C5 HDi LX 110bhp 2001

Upon buying this car in 2004 (2nd owner), I was initially quite pleased with it. It drove well and was a great spacious car for the family. However, after owning the car for less than 3 months, the oil sensor started to go off every time the car was started, the warning lamp for the water level also came on and the central display monitor, steering wheel controls for radio etc all stopped working. It was taken to a Citroen main dealer who reset one of the computers. Literally 2 days out of warranty, the cylinder head went, swiftly followed by the crank shaft, the hydrolastic pump and many other faults occurred. The car now has had to have one of the 5 computers reset yet again as the accelerator pedal was to the floor and it was impossible to drive, the suspension still has a mind of it’s own and raises and lowers when it feels like it even when parked, the alternator has been replaced and yet the car still now has flickering headlights and central display unit. Oh and the immobiliser turns off when it feels like it, and sometimes it can take over 30 mins to get the car to recognise the key. It is yet again going to have to go back to a main dealer for repairs etc, and quite frankly, I only still have the car as I can not afford to get rid of it, but upon working out the amount spent on repairs etc I have calculated I have spent more than was originally paid for the car. (It does have/has had other faults too, non locking door, leaking window, diesel leak which 3 garages can not locate, seized callipers, exhaust damaged due to speed bumps.....the list goes on) To cap it all tonight I read the health review on here, and noticed that myself and the children have been feeling ill for a while - headaches, flu like symptoms, fatigue etc, and am now wondering if even thought the car is regularly serviced, we have a similar problem?)

Citroen C5 2.0 VTR+ 2008

Loads of space and much more robust than previous Citroen’s. Engine is a strong performer with easy 45mpg. But, all the controls are so lifeless you really need to readjust after driving another car and the suspension is so soft it floats up and down constantly on the motorway making my wife and daughter sea sick. Definitely need to try before you buy.

Citroen C5 2001

I have found this car to be the most comfortable car ever, and has never actually failed to get me from A to B, however, the faults I am experiencing seem to be common. Cold starting problems, car loses power and trips to limp mode, will not change gear. Switch off, restart, Traffic Master speaks, and off we go again. Problem seems to be getting worse now, also, cruising happily on motorway, start up an incline, bump into limp mode again, stop and restart...ok. Have read a lot of reports in forums, but no answers really. The ECU has shown, anti-pollution fault, and automatic gear box fault more often. I hate main dealers and can’t afford to go there, once was charged £96 for a fuse!! When it falls apart I would like a car that has NO ENGINE MANAGEMENT COMPUTER, as I had the same anti-pollution fault problems with a Peugeot 307, the only brand new car I ever bought and biggest mistake ever. Dealership was abominable, and I gave up after 6 months of hell and got rid of it.

Citroen C5 vtr 2005

This car , bought second hand, developed a hunting problem when cruising. Also, slight cutting out at start from lights, junctions etc... Then one day, the engine revs wound themselves up tp full and stayed at 6000 rpm while I had the ignition key in my hand! This was accompanied by copious amounts of acrid white smoke. I stalled the car in gear to stop it, and it turned out the ecu had gone doolally... The oil pot, (pollution control) valve was left open, and the engine mearly sucked all the oil out and ran on this. Cute trick but a little disconcerting. I shudder to think of the consequences had the wife been driving!

Citroen C5 2.2 Hdi exclusive Automatic 2005

Well where do I start, This is my third C5 and this purchase was an automatic 2.2 Hdi. Apart from the usual electronic faults I have become the victim of a car that Citroen UK and its Dealers cannot fix. Yes that is right they have admitted there is a problem but they do not know what is causing it and cannot fix it. What is it doing wrong _ On cold mornings predominately I start the car place the gears selector in reverse or drive, press the accelerator and hey presto the car will not move or moves at a pace on par with a tortoise. after about 20 -45 secs warm up the car is back to normal. In the summer the problem seems to go on vacation. Citroen haveadmitted to the problem existing and have been trying to fix it for 2 years and 3 months. I think I have been very reasonable even when I had the car to drive; but now I have started rejection procedures which I threatened in March 2006 but was talked around and out of it as they said not to worry as they would fix it, thats a promise (some promise). Is there any body else out there with the same problem. If so would you contact me @ barriep1@hotmail.com. Other than this problem I have a great love of the C5 as a very good towing vehicle but a purchase of a new C5 now seems well away from even a possibility at the moment as why buy a car that the manufacturer cannot fix when it goes wrong and dangerously wrong to put my life at risk.

Responses to this review

I purchased my 2.2 C5 Auto second hand with 60000 miles on it and it wouldn’t start at the dealers site. It had to be jump started. When driving home for the first time I could not go over 2000 rpm and top speed about 60mph and it said I had a pollution sensor fault. It also had a diary with it that the previous owner had updated with weird faults like windows going down when the wipers were switched on etc. I took it to my local private garage mechanic and he serviced it and discovered a sensor on the engine (something to do with the air control I think) that was cracked. Replaced that and all the faults went away. The Citroen dealer could not resolve that issue according to the diary! The solution to the window issue was to lower the window to the bottom and then remove and replace the battery. The previous owner had just removed the battery and that fixed it for a while but I think the computer was confused - John Kent from Northamptonshire

Citroen C5 2.0 HDi Exclusive 2007

This is a big car and perfect for a large family. It’s excellent at coping with long trips - both the car itself and the passengers arrive in a very good condition. You get a lot of car for your money and it copes well both about town and on the motorway. It is perhaps a little unexciting and that is why I think it will be mostly used by company car drivers. Not the most luxurious of cars but inexpensive to run and reliable.

Citroen C5 2006

I had a series of BX’s and Zantias. Loved them. Bought a Picasso, felt like cart, springs in the back. Tried a C4- little better. Now have a C5.VTR 138 hp. Great car!

Citroen C5 1600 hdi est 2005

After two Xantia’s, each covering 90,000 miles with no unexpected problems, the c5 hdi was obviously my next car. I purchased it from the same garage with 9,000 miles on the clock and less than 25,000 miles later and still within the 3 year warranty, the clutch explodes, well, I have not had a clutch go on a car for at least 35 years! Both dealer and Citroen reject there being a problem here, but according to Honest John’s website among others, it is an EU wide problem about which Citroen seem either unaware, or are just ignoring, I believe the latter! They say the fault is fair wear and tear and are not interested. Quoting me over £1200 for the job, which I got down to £950 after a lot of complaining, it’s not exactly a cheap repair. The clutch on this model is definitely under par. I love the car, but Citroen’s response is indefensible.

Citroen C5 Exclusive 2006

I had a previous 3 litre C5 which had a host of irritating problems - never major but things that simply shouldn’t go wrong plus scores of ghost faults where either there would be a warning message or something would stop working but there was really nothing wrong and most would simply go away. Performance at the top end was great but the automatic made low end acceleration nothing to write home about. Comfortable, full of gadgets and roomy yes but not very inspiring. When it needed a rear silencer box at £900+ I decided it was time to move on and after searching for a while cautiously bought the face lift model with a 2.2 litre diesel. What a difference! It’s like driving a completely different car. The diesel provides excellent low end acceleration and the loss at the top end is hardly ever an issue. The ride is better, the road holding so completely different that it is hard to believe it is the same suspension system. I’ve now driven around 20,000 miles in just over a year and had only one ghost fault and no erroneous error messages. The ride, the comfort, the space and the value for money - I am really pleased with this car. One significant downside is the difficulty in changing bulbs in the headlamps - I’ve ended up leaving it the garage - 1/2 hour labour bringing the cost of a side light to over £50!

Citroen C5 LX 2006

The C5 is a large, comfortable long distance tourer and in the 110 bhp diesel format is very economical. However it is not so good around town or on winding country roads. The cars bulk makes it difficult to manoeuvre and, without parking sensors, extremely difficult to judge where the rear is. The big let down is the electrics, especially the engine control system which continues to cause periods of irregular running in spite of being back to the dealer 5 times in less than 2 years. That said it has never let me down and the problems have mainly been annoying rather than serious, like the engine fan running on at full speed for 10 mins even when the engine temperatures are normal. Its pity is that these niggles detract from a reasonable car but why on earth did they make all the front lamp bulbs so difficult to change!!

Citroen C5 2.2 hdi estate-exclusive 2004

I have owned the car for two years, the engine is fantastic no problems, the ride is very comfotable, but over the last three months a few things started to go wrong. The boot interior lights , the button in the boot which raises the back of the car up and down, the rear wiper and then the tailgate opening button all stopped working. The back up power on the computer read empty . The car is out off warrenty. I thought this will cost me lots of money to put right, so I started to check the wiring myself. I found where the wires came from the car into the tailgate , in the top left hand corner covered in a flexible rubber tube. Three of these wires inside the tube were broken all in the same place. I repaired these and every thing now works, but I am sure more will break as the wire bends double everytime the tailgate is opened and closed. Citroen UK tell me they have not had any reports of this happening to any other C5 estates. I cannot believe this. If you have any of the above problems it maybe worth checking these wires. I would buy another C5 but I am disappointed with both by Citroen dealer and Citroen Uks lack of interest and response to my problem and solution.

Citroen C5 1600 diesel 110 hp 2005

A HEALTH warning for all owners of this model. Bought this car with 200 miles on the clock ex demonstrator my most recent of many faults was the so called environmentally friendly particle filter. It may be friendly to the environment but it is not very friendly to the driver.It is recommended that you replace this filter every 70.000 miles in the service book. I have had the car for two years with 28.000 on the clock now. It has been serviced regularly by the Citroen dealer I bought it from. Last service was 4000 miles ago when I had to have the gearbox rebuilt due to faulty parts but thats another story. Drive up to 100 miles a day to work. And put it down to my age feeling tired . irritated eyes , breathlessness, sore joints,stuffed nose, palpitations, and feeling really bad. Aged mid fifty. Then I started noticing the dashboard display was becoming discoloured and decided to check under the bonnet. Where I discovered that the turbo was covered in very heavy soot and after reving the engine and seeing the ammount of smoke that was coming back out of the turbo it was not hard to work out why the displays were stained and why I was feeling so bad as it was evident that fumes were coming in to the cab. This could have been a fatal situation. Took it back to the dealer and told them the whole story. It was with the dealer for two days the first day they had to order parts the second day they phoned to say it was ready. I enquired what had been wrong with it and the lady in the service dept replied that they had replaced the particle filter because it had become clogged by carbon build up and was stopping the exhaust fumes from getting out and that Citroen UK had a fault number against it so they were aware of it. I was completely shocked by this response surely if they knew about this fault it should have justified a recall. For such a thing to be advertised as environmentally friendly is a joke and Citroen need to come clean and admit these faults before there is a fatality. Got my car back with all the staining still in place. Looks like an old worn out car. Still waiting to find out the affects it has had on my health. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED have not got time to go through the rest of the faults.

Citroen C5 2.2 HDI 2007

Good on interior space, a smooth drive on the motorway but not the most exciting drive but it does the job.