Citroen C3 / C5 Aircross Forums

I would like anyone that is thinking of wasting their hard earned money on a c5 aircross please please please don’t do it citroen themselves are a disgrace of a company.

My problem started February this year when my 19 plate c5 aircross engine failed after doing 54000 miles because of a will knowing issue (of course they don’t tell you this when buying the car tho) because of the wet belt going causing damage to the engine that can’t be repaired and you need to get a brand new engine fitted. Apparently to Arnold Clark manger we were dealing with told us that Arnold garages up and down the country is full of citron c5 with the same problem and it’s all down to the wet belt failing in he’s words wet belts shouldn’t be put into these cars whatsoever.

We contacted citroen with this information and they said that they accept it was down to their wet belt that caused the damage but there willnt be paying for the new engine because the car warranty had ran out in December (typical) what I find remarkable even though they have said they know it’s down to the wet belt so now we have been going back and forth for months and nothing getting resolved in my honest opinion all c5 should be recalled at this rate.

Now it’s September and we still haven’t resolved the problem we are still paying 500 pounds per month for a car that hasn’t been used since February we also had to cancelled our family holiday this year to pay for a second car just to get back and forward to work it’s causing us stress money problems but they don’t care and for me I would never again in my life get a other citroen.

So in all stay well clear of citroens the company is disgrace

I can understand your frustration to vent this out in public, but there's nothing inherently wrong with the C5 Aircross whatsoever. It is the EB2 1.2 engines with Wet belt systems that are the issue and these are also used in Fords and loads of other vehicles and marques.

I agree it's a terrible design, but with manufacturers pushed by governments that pay too much heed to eco warriors and climate change evangelists, they are forcing them to make engines smaller, lighter, more compact and of course still deliver the same sort of power whilst reducing emissions all the time - so they have to come up with fuel efficient engines like this that run on 3 cylinders and run hotter and faster.

This is another reason why many EB2 petrol engines have an earlier timing belt replacement of about 62k miles - but they must still be checked regularly at each annual service (which is the requirement). These engines also have explicit oil specification requirements because of the wet belt system. So correct oil grade and specs are crucial, as well as annual changing.

If you don't have it main dealer serviced, then an independent garage is not going to have the information or updating requirements to undertake the required checks - they'll just do a basic service. This is where any issues with the belt condition would be checked as it's easy to do visually without any dismantling.

Had the belt been picked up as deteriorating at annual servicing, it would of been changed and you likely wouldn't have had this issue.

Citroen, will only likely intervene if the car has been serviced on time and to the required standards that their dealers undertake. If this is not the case then they are not at liberty to compensate you as they can't be responsible if previous or current owners decide to have it serviced elsewhere.

Sorry that this is not what you want to hear, but this is no reason to bad name the C5 Aircross in general. All cars have their issues and Ford have only just caved into a recall for their wet belt vehicles after class action in the USA and now extending the recalls to the UK. But is took years to do....

So it's the specific engine, not the vehicle to be fair.

Sorry to hear about this situation, but the only thing I can suggest is that if you have documentary evidence of servicing that has been undertaken to the required standards and at least annually, you may have some case as the belt isn't due to be changed as I said until about 62k miles.

Well said, Juan.