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C4GP Self levelling suspension not coming up and I am limited to 5 mph |
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neilos
 
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   Member No: #209
Joined: Apr 05 2007Location: West London |
Well, it must be the season or something because guess what? Yep, my suspension has failed again! Sadly this time I'm not covered by warranty so it looks like I'll have to cough up for it out of my own pocket. It looks to me like its the offside airbag/spring that's failed this time. The car deflates on that side and I get the 'suspension fault' warning popping up on the dash. Sometimes it pumps itself back up when I get in the car and other times it doesn't for a much longer period. It exhibits the same symptoms as last time though. Anyhow, its booked into Citroen London West on Monday and I've spoken to them about the revised part number so I shan't be taking any guff about only being able to fit the old style one! Its also booked in for its 40K mile service. The initial price quoted was £426 but after a little look on the computer he saw that I've always used them and dropped the price down to £320 inclusive....about right I guess. If he hadn't dropped the price I would have taken it elsewhere anyway. Been an expensive month this one, what with new front discs and pads too! I may drop a line to CUK as when I took the car in the first time to sort the suspension out I did ask them to change both airbags. They said no as there was nothing wrong wit h the offside one and they don't do preventative maintenance under warranty. A bit annoying to say the least as it was fairly obvious the offside would die eventually. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!! Neil |
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BigJohnD
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  Member No: #82
Joined: Jan 22 2007Location: Hoylake |
Sorry to hear that Neil. I hope you can get fixed soon and cheaply. Right know there seem to be far too many GP Exclusive owners having issues with their rear suspension. It's got to be embarrassing for Citroën who have a history of terrific hydraulic and oleo-pneumatic suspension. So good that Rolls Royce license it. |
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Dave_Retired.
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 Member No: #1
Joined: Aug 07 2006Location: Northumberland |
It's a different design to the old systems though John which used metal spheres Progress it seems comes at a cost and lower reliability |
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willo8allthepies
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Hi all, my Grand Picasso right offside suspension air bag gave way Thursday night leaving my family and I at the side of the road. AA recovered the car to the local dealer in Northampton, bless them, where the car was due in next week anyway for a service and recall fix. Anyway, the car is about three and a half years old and done 30k so this seems like a premature failure to me, however the dealer is claiming this is 'normal wear' and therefore not covered by my extended warranty!? Any advice from folks, I have shelled out the £300 as I need my car back on the road, but I am not happy about this not being a warranty failure... Anyone had theirs done on warranty that I can point out to the (admittedly very pleasant) folk at Citroen UK? Apologies for rambling on, first post and not sure of ettiquette... |
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neilos
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Member No: #209
Joined: Apr 05 2007Location: West London |
Sorry but this is most DEFINITELY a warranty failure. The part is not a consumable and as such should be covered by the warranty. Its an integral part of the suspension. I had my first one done under warranty with no argument at all. No way should you be paying for this. Write a letter to CUK....many of us on here have had this done under warranty. I'd also think about changing dealer as that is completely out of order. Neil EDIT: £300 also seems a bit on the steep side anyway as the part should now cost about £60 with an hour or so labour on top. |
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bluehdi
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 Member No: #2617
Joined: Mar 02 2008Location: Essex |
Can I ask if your extended warranty is the official Citroen one or with another warranty company? It concerns me as GP Exclusive approaches 3 years old in April and I consider who to get an extended warranty from. This problem is really growing and I find it unbelievable that there is any issue of wear and tear here. Simply a component failure. |
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Kiwicake
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  Member No: #17370
Joined: Jan 16 2011Location: Budapest |
rencar wrote ... I find it unbelievable that there is any issue of wear and tear here. Simply a component failure. Well, I took a close look at this "component" myself before it was installed and I have to say I was shocked. It looks like a cheap pump for those inflatable toys you use in a pool -- soft rubber and plastic, that's all. Light-years from a good old coil spring. I will have to see, though, what advantages it offers on the motorway when the car is loaded with four passengers and some luggage. I have had my C4GP for four months only and have not driven it outside the city yet. I think it is one of the overcomplicated bits of this car that I could live without easily. @ willo8allthepies: I am sure that any defect of the suspension (or any other system) should be covered by normal warranty. An extended warranty sometimes only covers what we in Hungary call "main parts" of the car, i.e. basically the engine and the gearbox. I hope this is not the case with your car... Good luck and let us know 
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Dave_Retired.
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Member No: #1
Joined: Aug 07 2006Location: Northumberland |
willo8allthepies wrote ... ...........Anyway, the car is about three and a half years old and done 30k so this seems like a premature failure to me, however the dealer is claiming this is 'normal wear' and therefore not covered by my extended warranty!? Any advice from folks........... Extended warranties are a grey area, there is a post from a member whose warranty would cover 'springs' (which is in effect what the airbags are) but not pneumatic suspension so he was told the airbags weren't covered. Your going to have to read the small print very carefully and possibly take legal advice on the actual wording |
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Phil
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  Member No: #406
Joined: Jun 16 2007Location: Stafford |
We had a car in last week and got a replacement airbag 5102GN next day on VOR order no problem. I have rechecked tonight and they have gone onto back order.. supplier estimated delivery date 21st Feb. Looks like they've had a sudden run on them, possibly weather related.. who knows. |
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jls483
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 Member No: #11966
Joined: Jan 05 2010Location: Salisbury |
I'm wondering if these suspension problems are a combination of at least two underlying problems. The bags are obviously an issue, but perhaps something else, perhaps in the "ECU", is going wrong as well (I say "ECU" rather than ECU to illustrate I haven't really got a clue what an ECU is). As I've already mentioned I've had both bags replaced, one of them twice, so I would hope they are now not an issue. The behaviour I am now getting is quite interesting and I hope it might help somebody to diagnose it and so speed me through my time at the dealers tomorrow. Nearly every morning the suspension on the driver side is down (I'm not certain about the passenger side). After some trial and error we now know the simplest routine to get things up and running is to unlock the car, put the key in the ignition, turn it to M (up), don't need to start, turn it off, get out of the car and then ... shut the door. The moment you shut the door the suspension starts groaning away and after about 15 seconds its at the right height and away you go. It does seem to more of a groan than when we first bought the car. Before I thought it was a quiet phhssh and up to height in a few seconds - but memory and observation have never been my strong point. The fact this behaviour is so predictable makes me think that the problem is now in something like a sensor or a control unit. John. |
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Kiwicake
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Member No: #17370
Joined: Jan 16 2011Location: Budapest |
Reading all these post about dead suspension air bags makes me feel I bought a bunch of [%*^#@!]. Then I think of all the C4GP's I meet in the streets and I convince myself that we are a small number compared to all of them. (Even though I may never be sure if they are not on their way to the workshop themselves to have an air bag replaced ) On a more serious note it would be nice to know if this part is really a consumable like a tyre that needs to be replaced say every three years... |
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Dave_Retired.
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Member No: #1
Joined: Aug 07 2006Location: Northumberland |
@Kiwicake - it only affects 'Exclusive' models, the rest of the C4GP range have conventional springs so are not affected so don't let us make a major issue on this. Steel springs can also break and degrade over time, as do shock absorbers. Maybe not as fast as the air bags fitted to early GP Exclusives, but they still fail. |
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jls483
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Member No: #11966
Joined: Jan 05 2010Location: Salisbury |
Just had a phone call from the dealer. They have been all over the suspension and they have found a tiny leak in a pipe that although small would explain why the suspension has gone down overnight. And ... £156 to fix this small hole. So I now suspect my car has/had three problems. 1. A dodgy air bag - now fixed. A leaking pipe - being fixed as we speak 3. A dodgy control unit that didn't sense I was about to use the car until I got, got out and shut the door. Not fixed. Hopefully with 1 and 2 fixed the suspension won't go down overnight and the fact that 3 is not fixed won't be a problem. Interestingly enough the dealer had another exclusive in with the same problem. John. |
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neilos
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Member No: #209
Joined: Apr 05 2007Location: West London |
Just got my car back too. Suspension fault was as expected, the rear spring which they changed for the new C5102GN. They actually only cherged me £47.07 plus VAT and labour so reasonably happy about that. I had the car in for its 40k service at the same time so the total spend today was £463.93. The service itself was £320 so the rear spring/bag including labour was £143.93 which I reckon is OK from a main dealer. At least I now have a gurantee on it for another year. I also asked the chap about the airbag not being a warranty covered item. He showed me the lastest bulletin from CUK and it did not mention that this is now not covered by the warranty. He also said that they are still doing them under warranty and will continue to so unless otherwise informed ........and thats at the largest Citroen Retail dealer in the country, owned by Citroen UK. SO to willo8allthepies.....try a different dealer!!!! I'll try to upload the final invoice when I get home. Neil |
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nlburk
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 Member No: #14676
Joined: Jul 19 2010Location: Winnersh |
neilos wrote ... I also asked the chap about the airbag not being a warranty covered item. He showed me the lastest bulletin from CUK and it did not mention that this is now not covered by the warranty. He also said that they are still doing them under warranty and will continue to so unless otherwise informed ........and thats at the largest Citroen Retail dealer in the country, owned by Citroen UK. Are they allowed to change what is covered in a warranty for people who already had the warranty? Or does that only apply to new warranty holders? |
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