Citroen - 2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles

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Mon 20 Oct 2008 22:23
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - mark17
Hi all.

I bought my Citroen C8 2.0 HDI LX on the 1st May this year - 5 months ago.
Last week at 61,500 odd miles the cambelt snapped on the motorway. I had the car towed to a main dealer where they were 99% sure of cambelt failure but they would have to remove the engine to see for sure.

2 days and £750 later I was informed that the cambelt had indeed snapped and that, because they could not get the diesel injectors out, a new engine would have to be fitted at a cost of £5986.52

I contacted the customer complaints dept at the car retailer where I bought the vehicle and they informed me that my 3 month warranty had expired and unfortunately they would not be able to help me.
On top of that my comrehensive mechanical breakdown insurance that I was sold when I purchased my C8 would not pay for the damaged engine at all - just the first £1000 which is almost the amount I have paid to the main dealer.

Citroen recomend that the cambelt on the 2.0 HDI diesel unit is changed at 100.000 miles - a procedure that involves engine removal to complete!

I bought this vehicle in good faith and after 3,700 miles and 5 months I am faced with a huge bill now in excess of £6,000.

Has anyone else found themselves in a similair position?
Any advice or information would be much appreciated - cheers.
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Mon 20 Oct 2008 23:03
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - Rattle
I am sure trading standards would have a lot to say about this. I am sure traders have to offer a 6 month warranty too. I would take them to court (seek legal advice first).

Is this every 100k 6 years, 100k 10 years etc for the belt changed?
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Mon 20 Oct 2008 23:20
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - Alby Back
So sorry to hear of your problem Mark. That is a serious amount of money v the value of your car. If you fail to get further help I would start investigating recon engines and getting the work done at an indy. Got to be a heap cheaper than your current quote. If it was my car I would also look to get rid of it ASAP. Sounds like a ticking financial bomb.

Hope you get something sorted soon.
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Mon 20 Oct 2008 23:28
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - steve
Did you buy from a Citroen main dealer and has the car got a full Citroen service history?
Were you told when you bought the "comprehensive mechanical warranty" that it only covered the first £1000?
As above - call Trading Standards office - they will guide you through the process. I am pretty sure that you should be entitled to have the car repaired by the seller.
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Mon 20 Oct 2008 23:33
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - Screwloose
Mark

It's very unusual for an HDi to just snap it's belt; the underlying cause should be investigated. Was there a rattling from the crank pulley? When had you last checked the oil and water levels? Is the mileage genuine?

How can it take two days to check the cam belt? Just plug in a scanner and crank it; no fuel-rail pressure and no signal from the cam sensor is pretty conclusive! A total lack of compression is a bit of a give-away too!

So the injectors are stuck - what a surprise on an HDi... Their solution is to replace the whole engine...!!! Have they no Coke?

Get this car [or at least the engine] away from these clueless boys and take it to an engineer. Head off; new valves/cam - or maybe just a few rockers - and a new belt and all the trimmings.

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Tue 21 Oct 2008 13:34
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - ArgieBee
The premature cambelt / timing belt snapping on 2003-2005 diesel C8, 807 and Ulysse mpvs seems to be quite common. If you search the eurovan2.com, fiatforum.com, reviewcentre.com, citroen-owners-club.co.uk and various French car forums then you will find numerous topics on it. The rumour is that it is caused by water coming off the windscreen and being directed towards the cambelt which freezes in the cold and weakens the belt. Peugeot and Citroen even released a new part to redivert the water and redesigned the whole thing from the 2006 models onwards.

Maybe you can get in touch with "Pam C8" on the citroen-owners-club.co.uk:
www.citroen-owners-club.co.uk/citroen/index.php?sh...2

and fill in a form for VOSA. The manufacturers rarely help unless you are just out of warranty with a FSH with a dealer, so getting them to admit to the problem via VOSA might help and also maybe save a life.

Almost everyone has the injectors problem as well, which often means a new engine or cylinder head. Some garages have managed to get them out e.g.
uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=2008072510...4

Using Coca Cola, as screwloose says, has proved successful for some people. I guess the mild phosporic acid can dissolve the corrosion. If you can find a garage with experience of this problem then there is some chance you will get the injectors out.

I hope this helps.
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Tue 21 Oct 2008 14:34
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - AlastairM
Found this on a Consumer rights website:

So, over the last week or so I've been swatting up on the Sale of Goods Act and it seems that I am entitled to ask the garage to repair the vehicle or to refund me. It's a bit mind boggling but I think I do know my rights now. Turns out that up until 6 months after the sale of the vehicle, it's up to the dealer to prove that the fault wasn't there when he sold it to me. Can't really see how he would do that so that must be a good thing. It's called the "Reversed Burden of Proof".

Does this assist or not. Sure soemone more up on things will be along shortly and clarify it for you.
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Tue 21 Oct 2008 14:49
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - Mapmaker
Any fault arising within 6 months of purchase of second hand goods by an individual is presumed to have been there at the time of sale; it is up to the vendor to prove otherwise.


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Tue 21 Oct 2008 14:55
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - Lud
As so often on matters of this sort, Screwloose is the man to listen to. He has harsh words for the OP's garage, richly deserved.

£750 to find out that the cambelt has snapped before its time? Can't get the injectors out? New engine for six large? Holy excrement Batman, let's take the Batmobile out of this glass palace and to that tidy shed round the corner...

Edited by Lud on 21/10/2008 at 14:56

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Tue 21 Oct 2008 14:59
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - boxsterboy
This thread and the links are interesting reading ... to the owner of a 5-year/42,000 old C8. I suggested to my garage that the timing belt might need changing as it is 5 years old, and they said, no, only neded at 100,000 miles.

I think I will go back to them and get them to change it and fit the rain-water run-off shield too!
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Wed 22 Oct 2008 22:59
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - mark17
Hi and many thanks to you all for taking the time to read my thread and help me out.

This is what appears on the official job sheet given to me by Citroen this morning:-

"Suspect cam belt has snapped - requires engine removing in order to remove cylinder head to find out better as to how much damage has been done. Possible will need new injectors + head or a full new engine"

The dealer (where I bought the car) rang me today to say they had been given permission to collect the car & engine from Citroen and take it to their workshop for further investigation.

They then later rang & offered to fit a reconditioned engine at a cost of approx £2,000 and would be asking the mechanical breakdown insurance for half the cost and wanted to split the other half with me. No mention of the £750 odd bill to Citroen for initial engine removal.

Obviously I refused and informed them that I would be seeking legal advice regarding the Sales of Goods act and the Reverse Burden of Proof legislation mentioned yesterday by Rattle, AlastairM & Mapmaker - many thanks for pointing me in the right direction with that one guys.

The dealer then went on to say that there are usually 4 stages in this type of dispute:-

1...Dealer offers full repair of all faulty components
2...Dealer offers replacement vehicle up to original vehicle price
3...Offer of partial refund
4...Offer of full refund

Surprisingly the lady I have been dealing with has been very helpful and very sympathetic and said that she didn't blame me for seeking legal advice and that they would do all they could to reach a satisfactory conclusion to this problem.

I have been offered a courtesy car but declined just in case it implied by taking the car it would mean I was agreeing to the repairs and that's not going to happen.

Speaking to my brief on Monday morning at 10:30 for information and guidance and will hopefully all be sorted soon (!)

Will keep you all up to date on developments.

Once again many thanks to all who took the time to offer advice.
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Wed 22 Oct 2008 23:11
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - 1400ted
Oh dear, your not having a courtesy car means I can't have the beautiful old Escort that I lent you back then ?
Dad.
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Thu 23 Oct 2008 00:01
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - mark17
Have you had a look at that PamC8 link mentioned above yet?
Very interesting reading
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Fri 24 Oct 2008 10:38
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - ArgieBee
Also have a look at:
www.eurovan2.com/forum/eurovan2-general/5969-cam-b...l
and
www.eurovan2.com/forum/eurovan2-general/7279-cambe...l
and
www.eurovan2.com/forum/eurovan2-general/6866-ev2-c...l
and
www.reviewcentre.com/review173061.html
and
www.reviewcentre.com/reviews85450.html
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Fri 24 Oct 2008 11:41
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - pd
If you initially took it to a different garage than you bought it from the selling garage is under no obligation to cover any costs incurred there unless they refused to look at it. It sounds as if they have looked at it afterwards.

Under the sale of goods act you must give the seller an opportunity to repair, replace or whatever as they see fit BEFORE you do anything else or take it to a 3rd party. Unless they have agreed that you shoudl take it to a 3rd party and agreed the work and costs they are under no obligation to cover these costs.

To be honest 5 months after sale a half/half deal doesn't sound that unreasonable if the warranty will cover the £1000.
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Sat 25 Oct 2008 18:05
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - mark17
I agree with you, but I only acted on the sellers instructions from the start. It was thier idea to have the vehicle taken to Citroen and when they quoted £6,000 for a new engine the seller decided to take the vehicle back to thier workshop.


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Mon 27 Oct 2008 11:20
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - macscouse
Hiya Mark,
Just been pointed to your email by another "victim" .. at the last count I had been contacted by 22 owners of the C8/Ulysse/807 trio all with the same problem.
My Ulysse belt snapped at 70k and took most of the top end of the engine with it.
The other reply that says this is unusual obviously doesnt know too much about this car !
The cause is water infiltration in the engine comprtment that sits in and around the cam belt and cam cover and sits there until the heat of the engine dissipates the excess. Obviously the metal content of the cam belt will degrade , rust and thereby cause premature failure.
Citroen have refunded 100% of one claim , as have Fiat and Peugeot have actuatlly designed a small drip tray that fits on the top of the cam cover which collects and extraneous water ... the cost of tehis piece ?? .. @ £30 .. damn sight better than a £6k engine.
Citoen have now reduced the recommended mileage for cam belt change..I wonder why !
I commenced legal action against Fiat but had to give up due to escalating costs.
The procedure for you , and every other owner of this vehicle who,s sufferd the same is as follows:
1) Report the matter as a Customer concern to the manufacturer and obtain a refernce number.
2) Contact VOSA and report the failure .. they have actually accepted the case as a manufacturing/design failre likely to cause severe injury or death.
3) Contact Trading Standards .. all theat crap about taking it back to garage is unneccessary. Unless you can prove they had pripr knowledge of the liklihood of failure you dont have a case.
4) Contact as many other motoring magazines or programmes such as Top Gear as you can .. this is a blatent whitewash job which has cost us motorists a huge amount of monye in both repair bills and loss of value.

I had to sell my £25,000 , 4 year old car for £1500 !

Good luck and keep me informed of any progress .. If you need any more info . just let me know .. I have tons !!
Cheers,
Pete
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Mon 27 Oct 2008 15:51
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - Screwloose
The other reply that says this is unusual obviously doesnt know too much about this
car !


Too right - and "Don't want to know" is a large part of it. I'll happily stand by my original comment though:-
"It's very unusual for an HDi to just snap it's belt; the underlying cause should be investigated."


It's also the injectors that won't come out - not the valves; before making derogatory comments, it's always best to actually read the post thoroughly.

Edited by Screwloose on 27/10/2008 at 15:54

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Wed 14 Jul 2010 23:40
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - camfag

The premature cambelt failure syndrome with Citroen C8 / Peugeot 807 / Lancia Phaedre / Fiat Ulysse HDi's continues. But there is hope.

Please contact camfag at phes.tenterden@gmail.com if you wish to pursue the matter along with hundreds of others. Any help you can offer to extend the list still further would be appreciated

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Mon 27 Oct 2008 11:35
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - macscouse
Just a few other things .. should really have read the other posts more carefully !!
The valves etc are stainless steel that sit in an aluminium slider that in turn also sit in an aluminium casing...in 9 out of 10 cases they dont just corrode , they weld themselves in so Coke etc will have absolutley no effect. the tech who worked on my car told me he was physically swinging on the spanner (after an overnight soaking of the valves in whatever substance they used ) and they didnt budge.

The Sale of Goods Act and the Proof of whateveritwas dont apply in this case as its a clear cut manufacturing defect.

By all menas seek legal advice , but my bill to proceed was estimated at @ £15000 ... I would have won and got this back , but in the main , barristers dont work on credit !!

My third party warranty also turned down the claim because there was evidence of water infiltration ( they obvioulsy know about this but wont divulge any details to me ) and wanted the engine stripped BEFORE they would consider any refunds .. the garage wanted £1600 to strip it down AND £10 a day for a courtsy car ... FYI it was SNIP - no naming shaming please !!

I have the part number for recon engines and the drip tray if you want them... it may be cheper to buy a used C8 and swap engines if they offer a cash settlement.

Pete

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 27/10/2008 at 12:41

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Mon 27 Oct 2008 14:37
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - barney100
Serious money indeed, I would go for the local tradings standards route first and if this fails get to the citizens advice bureau for advice and then to their solicotors to see if you can get the dealers to court. You have put me off this make of car for life!
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Mon 27 Oct 2008 16:27
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - Mapmaker
>>The Sale of Goods Act and the Proof of whateveritwas dont apply in this case as its a clear cut manufacturing defect.


I am no lawyer, but it seems to me that this is exactly the case where consumer protection DOES apply.

Firstly the contract is between the supplying garage and the customer - the OP cannot sue Citroen as he never entered into a contract with them. So that it is a manufacturing defect is completely irrelevant.

Secondly the garage should not have been selling something with a manufacturing defect. Ignorance is no defence; that you say it is a manufacturing defect makes it quite clear that it IS a fault that is there at the time of sale of the vehicle - impossible for the garage to prove that it wasn't there at the time.


I look forward to being proved wrong, but as Macscouse claims that he had to sell [his] £25,000 , 4 year old car for £1500 all for the sake of spending 2k on a second hand engine... I guess much of the rest of his post is similarly believable.
.
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Mon 27 Oct 2008 16:35
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - pd
"Secondly the garage should not have been selling something with a manufacturing defect. Ignorance is no defence;"

There hasn't been a single car made which hasn't got some sort of manufacturing defect or poor design aspect to a greater or lesser extent. To a certain extent all used cars are slightly defective in that they only have a proportion of their original life left.

That said regular snapping of cambelts so far before the recommended change interval is a pretty major one!

It sounds as if the supplying dealer is trying to be reasonable in this case. The ones which are not are Citroen who should be paying for these snapping belts or issuing a recall and the dealer who charged a frankly absurb £750 for identifying the problem.
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Mon 27 Oct 2008 16:36
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - ifithelps
The OP wrote: "They then later rang & offered to fit a reconditioned engine at a cost of approx £2,000 and would be asking the mechanical breakdown insurance for half the cost and wanted to split the other half with me."

So, fix the car for £2,000, less half from warranty - £1,000 - then split the remainder 50/50.

Isn't that the job done for £500 cost to the OP? And there's mention of a courtesy car.

Snatch their hands off, surely?

Or have I missed something?


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Mon 27 Oct 2008 16:44
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - pd
"Snatch their hands off, surely?"

5 months after purchase, 4 year old car, 61k I would.

Can see why the OP is more than a little annoyed at the £750 initial investigation cost, however!
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Mon 27 Oct 2008 16:47
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - ifithelps
Can see why the OP is more than a little annoyed at the £750 initial investigation cost however!


Just re-read the post - that would leave a bitter taste with me as well.

Edited by ifithelps on 27/10/2008 at 16:50

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Thu 30 Oct 2008 15:52
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - boxsterboy
Just booked our C8 in for a new belt at our (usually good) Citroen dealer, who hadn't heard of a problem with premature cam-belt failure. So I quoted the part number for the drain tray mentioned in the Eurovan 2 forum, and he had the part listed on his system, so clearly Citroen know about the problem, even if they haven't told their dealers.
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Wed 8 Jul 2009 15:05
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - freckle
We have the same problem now with our C8-has been off the road for 20 weeks. Is anyone following this link also a member of Citoren Owners Club forum as I cannot get validated and I need to contact Pam C8 regarding this?
Regards
Freckle
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Wed 14 Jul 2010 23:44
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - camfag

The premature cambelt failure syndrome with Citroen C8 / Peugeot 807 / Lancia Phaedre / Fiat Ulysse HDi's continues. But there is hope.

Please contact camfag at phes.tenterden@gmail.com if you wish to pursue the matter along with hundreds of others. Any help you can offer to extend the list still further would be appreciated

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Wed 8 Jul 2009 15:43
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - OldSock

Sorry to hear about your tale of woe, mark17. The current move away from timing belts back to chains suggests that the manufacturers have tacitly admitted that toothed rubber bands are not best suited to the task. I hope your case is resolved satisfactorily.

One thing, though: just how can a dealer prove that a fault didn't exist at the point of sale? Why would anyone take notice of something that wasn't there?!
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Wed 8 Jul 2009 18:01
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - bonzodog
As someone mentioned earlier, SOGA now revereses the burden of proof for the dealer to prove the fault wasn't there. This depends on the nature of the fault & the time / mileage from purchase.

So using the curent examples of a snapped belt, I would argue that the fault was NOT present at purchase given the customer had driven 3,500 miles in 5 months; ie IF the fault had been present, the failure would have occurred much earlier. On the other hand, if the failure had been a bearing or drive shaft the car could easily have been driven that distance on a dodgy one before the fault made itself known.

Another example would be if a exhaust failed after 5 months. But if the dealer sold the car with a brand new MOT (especialy if independent) this would constituite proof that the exhaust was not faulty at purchase
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Wed 8 Jul 2009 22:52
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - madf
I disagree totally with Bonzodog.

The problem is inherent in the design. It weakens the cambelt over time due to water damage.

So the vehicle was sold with an inbuilt fault which in all likelihood would result in premature cambelt failure: as evidenced by Citroen listing a new part to avoid this happening..

Judgement plus costs M'Lord.. Thanks....
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Thu 9 Jul 2009 00:14
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - 1400ted

The OP, Mark17, is my SIL. I know he has been meaning to update the thread.
The C8 was taken back by the supplying dealers, not Citroen, who eventually agreed to stand the entire cost of repairs. It was just within 6 months of ownership. A long term courtesey car was provided free of charge....a Corsa...and they needed it. The C8 was off the road for months.

Eventually, the original engine was repaired. The workshop was able to free the injectors with Coca Cola. All seems OK now

A lovely car spoilt by a little lack of forethought and a cheap modification.

Ted
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Thu 9 Jul 2009 00:20
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - bell boy
tell sil its bad etiquetty not to update things when people take the trouble to help
we only expect this off one shot machine gunning internet posters who forget where theyve posted their problems
one of the reasons i think good people on here dont bother posting anymore like screwloose
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Thu 9 Jul 2009 00:25
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - 1400ted

Unfortunately, you cannot begin to be aware of the reasons why he has not been able to post. But thanks for the telling off, anyway.

Ted
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Thu 9 Jul 2009 00:36
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - bell boy
yes i suppose life gets in the way
tough isnt it
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Thu 9 Jul 2009 00:54
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - Avant
Very glad to hear that Citroen did the honourable thing. It just shows that it's worth pursuing a matter like this and not giving in: these organisations will always seek the easy way out, and the British are known for not making a fuss. Patience is a very overrated virtue.

I hope all goes well for Mark now.
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Wed 14 Jul 2010 23:32
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - camfag

The premature cambelt failure syndrome with Citroen C8 / Peugeot 807 / Lancia Phaedre / Fiat Ulysse HDi's continues. But there is hope.

Please contact camfag at phes.tenterden@gmail.com if you wish to pursue the matter along with hundreds of others.

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Fri 23 Jul 2010 06:07
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - camfag

Day of Action. TODAY! We have been contacted by two people to say that on Saturday their cambelt failed. I can tell you their names. I have their e-mail addresses. Please use your phone, your e-mail, TODAY! to contact: 1) Your Citroen / Peugeot / Fiat / Lancia / Dealer. 2) L’Argos Magazine 3) The car makers themselves 4) VOSA 5) Anyone you know that will help to make this happen TODAY ! Request that they please contact the Car Manufacturer to ask them to please stop all C8 / 807 / Ulysse / Phedra 2.2 or 2.0 HDi vehicles made between 2002 and October 2006 immediately. because of the likelihood of premature cambelt failure. Please do this today. Many thanks, Phil phes.tenterden@gmail.com Journée d'action. AUJOURD'HUI!

Nous avons été contacté par deux personnes pour dire que le samedi de leur cambelt échoué.
Je peux vous dire leur nom. J'ai leurs adresses e-mail.
S'il vous plaît utilisez votre téléphone, votre adresse e-mail, aujourd'hui! à contacter:

1) Votre Citroën / Peugeot / Fiat / Lancia / détaillant.
2) L'Magazine Argos www.argusauto.com
3) Les constructeurs automobiles eux-mêmes
4) VOSA (bureau du gouvernement pour la sécurité des véhicules)
5) Toute personne vous savez qui vous aideront à y arriver AUJOURD'HUI!

 Demandez-leur s'il vous plaît contacter le fabricant de voitures pour leur demander de s'il vous plaît arrêter tous les C8 / 807 / Ulysse / Phedra 2.2 ou 2.0 HDi véhicules entre 2002 et Octobre 2006 tout de suite. raison de la probabilité de défaillance cambelt prématurée.
S'il vous plaît le faire aujourd'hui.
Merci beaucoup,
phes.tenterden Phil @ gmail.com

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Mon 21 Feb 2011 19:55
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - dedicateddave

Hi

A friend has offered me an 807 2.2 hdi with cambelt failure. Is it necessary in all cases to remove the injectors, as I was under the impression that the hdi engines have rocker/cam fingers that are designed 'weak' so that they break on cambelt failure, thereby avoiding valve damage?

Regards, Dave

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Sat 22 Oct 2011 00:21
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - ianr2682
Hi, the 2.0hdi dw10 engine is quite a robust unit. I have a citroen relay van 2.0hdi 2002. My injector pump failed and the cambelt snapped.
A full set of rockers,new cambelt kit, water pump, secondhand injector pump, coolant and day getting my hands dirty the engine was back running. Total cost £280 :-)!

If i took it to a local mechanic and supplied parts it would have been £500.

The pistons and valves on these engines are in line and the rockers are designed to snap with piston valve contact. What a good idea. This work can usually be done with the engine still in the car on most hdi models.

Edited by ianr2682 on 22/10/2011 at 00:29

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Tue 23 Jul 2013 23:31
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - KevinRSA

Re-opening what appears to be an old but common thread.

I have today been advised by my garage that my Citroen C82.2 HDI 16V has suffered catastrophic damage due to cambelt failure. Whilst it is a 2004 model, it has only done 45,000 miles and it was given a full service 3 weeks ago whilst renewing its MOT.

I have read the threads and understand this is a problem on this model whilst Citroen only suggest renewal at 100,0000 miles.

2 questions -

Is it reasonable for me to have expected my garage (not main dealer) to have checked the cam belt as part of the service and identified that it needed replacing?

Despite the age of the vehicle, with the low mileage do you think it is worth contacting Citroen? Because of the low mileage I don't get it serviced every year and then it is by my local garage rather than main dealer. I purchased the vehicle from Citroen where it was used as a demo moel by one of the managers.

Any comments / advice would be welcome. Thanks

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Wed 24 Jul 2013 11:08
2004 2.0 hdi Snapped cambelt at 61,500miles - daveyK_UK
Its hard to tell from looking at a cambelt if it is likely to snap.
Unless you can see some wear or damage, they all look the same.
Plus on some cars it involves removing the cover, a lazy mechanic wouldnt even consider it.
Did you get a standard citroen service for the age of the car as reccomended in the service book?
If so, did it specifically say check the cam belt?


To be fair to Citroen, the car is 9 years old.
Its not likely a 9 year old piece of rubber will still be fit for purpose.

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