Hi all
Car: C3 Aircross 1.2 petrol 40,000 miles age = 2018
Apologies in advance for the long post. Hopefully someone can give me some advice. ...
A while ago we had the dreaded engine oil warming. We purchased the car second hand so had no contact from Citroen regarding potential timing belt issues.
Anyway we had to wait a month before our local Citroen dealer could look at it. We were told it would need a new timing belt etc. but due to its age/mileage Citroen would supply the parts for free but we had to pay for labour. Waited over 3 months for parts but the job was eventually completed.
Almost immediately after we got the car back we started getting warnings about low oil level. Topped up a couple of times and put it down to the belt absorbing oil or similar.
After the 3rd warning (in approx. 2 weeks) we took it back to Citroen. They checked it over, couldn't find any issues, they filled it up with oil themselves and sent us on our way.
Another couple of weeks on and the problem was still there. Back to Citroen and now after a week without any news we're told we need a new engine due to damage to pistons etc. and the dealer is contacting Citroen to see about more good will for a replacement!.
I doubt I'll get any answers from Citroen so thought I'd ask on here:
I'm no expert but assume that the timing belt issues have lead to the damage to the engine, is that a reasonable assumption?
How long would it take for damage to the pistons to result in needing a new engine? (Could this have happened over 2 - 4 weeks)?
Should Citroen have checked the engine for damage when they found out that the timing belt had disintegrated?
I try and give everyone the benefit of the doubt but I just feel that this is Citroen trying to avoid any further cost to themselves as there's a distinct lack of feedback from the dealer and the wording we've now received certainly leans towards us footing the bill.
Anyway, thanks for reading if you managed to get this far.
C3 Aircross timing belt to engine damage
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Juan Sheet
- Posts: 1149
- Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2021 4:59 pm
The oil pressure warning is a serious fault and with this engine specifically, should raise red flags. Because of the belt in oil system, the original timing belt has been found to be sub-standard. It tends to break up and shred - this debris leading to clogging of the oil filter and elsewhere throughout the engine and turbo.
There are videos I think I posted where you can see the mechanics pulling vast amounts of debris out of the oil strainer at the bottom of the engine. If this gets too bad, it will obviously lead to oil starvation and consequently affect the engine lubrication (or lack of more precisely), triggering the engine oil warning.
In worst case scenarios and if travelling at speed say on a motorway, this can lead to catastrophic engine failure. If the timing belt has disintegrated, then of course it will damage the engine components / rods etc,. and will likely be beyond economic repair, so may require a new engine.
The timing belt service has therefore been reduced to about 60k miles, but more importantly visual checks of the condition of the belt are supposed to be carried out at each service. The timing belt will be replaced with a newer version and then the next change is more like the usual 100k mile+ mileage.
They do know about this, but if the car is not serviced at Citroen, then an independent will very likely be unaware of these servicing requirements and checks, which can mean that any goodwill from Citroen may be reduced on the basis that the official servicing routines and checks were not undertaken. Although legally you can have your car serviced where you like, for any warranty to be honoured, those services must be at the recommended mileage or annually and be undertaken to the manufacturer's recommendations.
So it will depend very much on the vehicle age, mileage, and servicing history / evidence of service work undertaken if not at a franchised dealership.
There are videos I think I posted where you can see the mechanics pulling vast amounts of debris out of the oil strainer at the bottom of the engine. If this gets too bad, it will obviously lead to oil starvation and consequently affect the engine lubrication (or lack of more precisely), triggering the engine oil warning.
In worst case scenarios and if travelling at speed say on a motorway, this can lead to catastrophic engine failure. If the timing belt has disintegrated, then of course it will damage the engine components / rods etc,. and will likely be beyond economic repair, so may require a new engine.
The timing belt service has therefore been reduced to about 60k miles, but more importantly visual checks of the condition of the belt are supposed to be carried out at each service. The timing belt will be replaced with a newer version and then the next change is more like the usual 100k mile+ mileage.
They do know about this, but if the car is not serviced at Citroen, then an independent will very likely be unaware of these servicing requirements and checks, which can mean that any goodwill from Citroen may be reduced on the basis that the official servicing routines and checks were not undertaken. Although legally you can have your car serviced where you like, for any warranty to be honoured, those services must be at the recommended mileage or annually and be undertaken to the manufacturer's recommendations.
So it will depend very much on the vehicle age, mileage, and servicing history / evidence of service work undertaken if not at a franchised dealership.
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Alison Jones
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Sat Dec 16, 2023 10:04 am
Happened to me,
Drove only 12442 miles after purchase and previous service from Stellantis & You - then had oil changed - only to suffer with cambelt breaking down, blocking the oil pick up and causing catastrophic damage to the car
Citroen Customer Care UK - have not offered any help to repair/replace or assist in any way
The reason is that we missed a service interval by 12 months - as we didnt really drive the car in the first year - however it was servided on time according to mileage
As me missed the 'duration' of service interval - Citroen are claiming customer negligence
For sure they legally have us - case closed for them
Bottom line - these 1.2 Puretech engines are fragile and all a ticking time bomb if a watchful eye is not kept
I would suggest you completely avoid the 1.2 Citroen C3 aircross - it is not a good product
Drove only 12442 miles after purchase and previous service from Stellantis & You - then had oil changed - only to suffer with cambelt breaking down, blocking the oil pick up and causing catastrophic damage to the car
Citroen Customer Care UK - have not offered any help to repair/replace or assist in any way
The reason is that we missed a service interval by 12 months - as we didnt really drive the car in the first year - however it was servided on time according to mileage
As me missed the 'duration' of service interval - Citroen are claiming customer negligence
For sure they legally have us - case closed for them
Bottom line - these 1.2 Puretech engines are fragile and all a ticking time bomb if a watchful eye is not kept
I would suggest you completely avoid the 1.2 Citroen C3 aircross - it is not a good product
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Juan Sheet
- Posts: 1149
- Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2021 4:59 pm
Hi, sorry to hear that and you are right - they have you over a barrel as they have changed all the servicing requirements now to Annual or the mileage. The key part is is Annual. So just because you don't do the mileage, you can't afford to miss the annual service interval.
I only sometimes do 2-3k miles a year, but still have to pay out for the annual service. If you don't keep to the schedules, you've had it as far as any warranty or good will goes. They would of probably checked the belt at the service interval for signs of failure / wear and recommended the change, so that will be their get out.
I only sometimes do 2-3k miles a year, but still have to pay out for the annual service. If you don't keep to the schedules, you've had it as far as any warranty or good will goes. They would of probably checked the belt at the service interval for signs of failure / wear and recommended the change, so that will be their get out.
I don't agree that the PureTech engines are not a good product; all motor engines have issues, and those issues largely depend on a number of factors/variables, mostly in the way they are used. In the case of the PureTech engines, the cambelt degredation is apparently more likely in very low annual mileage vehicles than in high mileage for some reason, which is why the annual service has become mandatory.Alison Jones wrote: ↑Sat Dec 16, 2023 11:04 am Happened to me,
Drove only 12442 miles after purchase and previous service from Stellantis & You - then had oil changed - only to suffer with cambelt breaking down, blocking the oil pick up and causing catastrophic damage to the car
Citroen Customer Care UK - have not offered any help to repair/replace or assist in any way
The reason is that we missed a service interval by 12 months - as we didnt really drive the car in the first year - however it was servided on time according to mileage
As me missed the 'duration' of service interval - Citroen are claiming customer negligence
For sure they legally have us - case closed for them
Bottom line - these 1.2 Puretech engines are fragile and all a ticking time bomb if a watchful eye is not kept
I would suggest you completely avoid the 1.2 Citroen C3 aircross - it is not a good product
However, in my experience (I am on my third Citroen with a PureTech engine), as long as they are looked after and serviced correctly they are very reliable. The ones that fail are usually a result of poor servicing, very low mileage per annum, and/or the wrong oil being used. There is a simple check the user can make on the condition of the cambelt, by looking at it through the oil filler cap access point. I believe there are photos available earlier in this or a similar thread illustrating this.
It's fair to say that mostly on these forums we only hear of bad experiences, but the number of those, relative to the number of PureTech engines in service across many brands, is very small, and certainly not enough to judge the complete avoidance of a model - I just think that's over-generalising and unwarranted. I sympathise with anyone suffering problems, but I believe those problems are no worse than those experienced by any other manuafacturer at times, and believe me, they can be even worse to deal with that Citroen.
Was C5 Aircross PureTech 130 S&S Flair, Tijuca Blue/Black Roof, Metropolitan Grey ambience
Now C5 Aircross Pureteh EAT8 S/S Shine+ Cumulus Grey/Black Roof, Metropolitan Grey ambience
Now C5 Aircross Pureteh EAT8 S/S Shine+ Cumulus Grey/Black Roof, Metropolitan Grey ambience
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Juan Sheet
- Posts: 1149
- Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2021 4:59 pm
Just to clarify my previous post, when I said annual service - this includes ALL later vehicles including diesels now moving to annual servicing, so nothing specifically to do with the cambelt issue on these EB2 engines. 
The actual timing belt replacement on most of these EB2 engines is 62k miles. After it has been changed this extends 120k miles.
The actual timing belt replacement on most of these EB2 engines is 62k miles. After it has been changed this extends 120k miles.
Thai seems to be a common topic regarding the timing belt. There was a recall with a batch of Citreon C3 Aircross vehicles where the belt degrades & causes high oil pressure issues.
This happened to my daughter back in December & still waiting for this to be fixed. Citreon confirmed a ‘premature failure of the timing belt & needs to be changed. But now refusing to do under warranty as the first service is missing (my daughter bought from Cinch), despite my daughter following recommended service intervals since purchased in 2022 ( 2 x services)
Citreon now want to charge an additional £480 to see if any other damage has occurred!
It’s ridiculous that they are taking advantage &
It’s not down to misuse….this is a failed component within the engine & trying to make my daughter pay & it’s totally unaffordable.
No help for a courtesy car has been offered despite constant requests….I’ve had to pay £200 to get the car recovered when the suddenly went into limp mode on a very busy bypass, that put my daughter in real danger, fortunately rescued by a passing police car almost instantly.
The whole thing infuriates me & wonder what others think?
This happened to my daughter back in December & still waiting for this to be fixed. Citreon confirmed a ‘premature failure of the timing belt & needs to be changed. But now refusing to do under warranty as the first service is missing (my daughter bought from Cinch), despite my daughter following recommended service intervals since purchased in 2022 ( 2 x services)
Citreon now want to charge an additional £480 to see if any other damage has occurred!
It’s ridiculous that they are taking advantage &
It’s not down to misuse….this is a failed component within the engine & trying to make my daughter pay & it’s totally unaffordable.
No help for a courtesy car has been offered despite constant requests….I’ve had to pay £200 to get the car recovered when the suddenly went into limp mode on a very busy bypass, that put my daughter in real danger, fortunately rescued by a passing police car almost instantly.
The whole thing infuriates me & wonder what others think?
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Juan Sheet
- Posts: 1149
- Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2021 4:59 pm
Your issue there and their cop-out will be the servicing.
These cars have to be serviced annually or within the upper mileage. I don't know which model EB2 engine she has, but in the case of the EB2ADT 110 or EB2ADTS 130, the servicing requirement is every 12,500 miles or annually. So if the first service is missing, and the difference between the next 2 services is 20,000 miles it has been exceeded again by 7,500 miles!
Without wanting to appear to defend them, this is because certain checks are made for the condition of the belt at each service and if it was noticed that there was debris from the oil drain or that the belt was starting to shred, it should of been picked up and the work undertaken for you.
It's the same if you have extended warranty - you absolutely must strictly stick to the servicing regimes or they can refuse warranty work. I hope they provide some sort of recompense if not the complete amount, considering these engines in some cases have had to be replaced - especially on a motorway or at speed when the oil is starved from the engine. It basically seizes abruptly.
These cars have to be serviced annually or within the upper mileage. I don't know which model EB2 engine she has, but in the case of the EB2ADT 110 or EB2ADTS 130, the servicing requirement is every 12,500 miles or annually. So if the first service is missing, and the difference between the next 2 services is 20,000 miles it has been exceeded again by 7,500 miles!
Without wanting to appear to defend them, this is because certain checks are made for the condition of the belt at each service and if it was noticed that there was debris from the oil drain or that the belt was starting to shred, it should of been picked up and the work undertaken for you.
It's the same if you have extended warranty - you absolutely must strictly stick to the servicing regimes or they can refuse warranty work. I hope they provide some sort of recompense if not the complete amount, considering these engines in some cases have had to be replaced - especially on a motorway or at speed when the oil is starved from the engine. It basically seizes abruptly.
Last edited by Juan Sheet on Thu Jan 25, 2024 11:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
Thank you Juan
Well the dealer has responded today & insisted that citreon will not contribute to the repair, even though they acknowledged the timing belt has suffered the premature failure - an also hit my daughter with a £4,200 bill.
I contacted Citreon & they said that the local had not provided a diagnostic report or even contacted them! I asked the dealer for the Diagnostic report (which they want £600 for) & refused to provide the information.
This is just ridiculous & don't know what to do? My daughter can't afford that bill, through no fault of her own.
Timing belt gets checked on major service after 4 years (replaced at 68,000) - shes only done 55,000 - they are saying wrong oil caused the issue, but it has been serviced at an approved garage!!
Well the dealer has responded today & insisted that citreon will not contribute to the repair, even though they acknowledged the timing belt has suffered the premature failure - an also hit my daughter with a £4,200 bill.
I contacted Citreon & they said that the local had not provided a diagnostic report or even contacted them! I asked the dealer for the Diagnostic report (which they want £600 for) & refused to provide the information.
This is just ridiculous & don't know what to do? My daughter can't afford that bill, through no fault of her own.
Timing belt gets checked on major service after 4 years (replaced at 68,000) - shes only done 55,000 - they are saying wrong oil caused the issue, but it has been serviced at an approved garage!!
