Hi ,
My Dad has owned a Xantia LX Turbo diesel 1995 for six months, when we went to change the brakes we noticed it has ABS sensors fitted to each wheel.We did not think the car had ABS. We checked the manual and it says all xantias have ABS fitted.
There are no warning lights on the dash or any problems with the brakes (except no ABS) will this fail the MOT as it booked in next week.
Any help will be great.
Thanks.
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It should be failed on the incorrect sequence of ABS warning lights. Implying that ABS does not function.
It sounds as though somebody has disabled the ABS warning light to con a prospective purchaser (or perhaps a less than observant MoT Tester), presumably because the ABS does not function correctly.
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pmh (was peter)
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Thanks mate i thought as much.
Will post back when we fit a bulb in the dash and see what happens, bet any money it just stays on.
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There can't be many Xantias where the ABS **does** work, can there? I thought failed ABS came as standard on these cars..
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So Aprilla thats still a fail on the MOT then.
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"There can't be many Xantias where the ABS **does** work, can there? I thought failed ABS came as standard on these cars.. "
Mine works. So does the ABS on my wifes 94 ZX TD.
The ABS is Bosch or Teeves - no reason it should be more or less unreliable than that on any other car fitted with the same system. Some of the early cars had slightly lightweight ECUs that were prone to throwing in the towel, but later ones seem better. Seems like a lot of hard work to take the bulb out rather than changing the probably broken front sensor. I'd check that the ECU is there, the fuse is in, and the relay is in and working before ripping out the instrument cluster.
It should be an MOT failure, but the tester's got to put 2+2 together and remember to see the (lack of) operation of the light - although this should be more likely now, as the MOT computer should tell him the car has ABS. Have you tried locking the wheels up to see if it is actually working, and the bulb is just shot?
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RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
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ABS failure on Xantia is very very common. Its well known in the trade and one of the first things you look for on a used Xantia. Other MoT item to check is emissions - often they are a bit borderline or actually over the limit.
Yes, faulty ABS is an MoT fail.
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>>Yes, faulty ABS is an MoT fail.
And probably quite a dodgy area regarding insurance as well - if you had an accident and the system wasn't working.
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We checked the manual and it says all xantias have ABS fitted.
I'm not sure that's quite true; I used to have a '96 N plate Xantia 1.9TD estate which didn't have ABS (and no, not because it wasn't working or disconnected).
It was the base/entry-level model and didn't even have electric (front) windows etc.
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My 1993 Xantia SX definitely didn't have ABS - nor does my sister's 1995 Xantia (it's a 'special edition' - forget the actual name but LX type trim.) Both cars are petrol.
This reminds me of an amusing incident I had at a well known tyre fitters. Took the Xantia in one Saturday morning because brakes had started to grind - they were offering free brake checks, so I reckoned I could at least get my suspicions of a stuck pad confirmed.
I told the 'fitter' the brakes were grinding at the front o/s - he removed the front n/s (!!)....... said they looked OK.
Persuaded him to remove the front o/s and it was obvious a pad was stuck and worn down to the disc. I asked if he could change the pads.
Oh no sir, I'm not trained to work on ABS brakes, you'll have to wait until the bossman is clear.
But this car doesn't have ABS.....
I think you'll find sir that all Citroens have ABS.......
With that, he wandered off and I sat drinking coffee for half an hour.
Bossman finally rolled up and had a right good look - agreed the car didn't have ABS. Did say though that I'd need 2 new discs and a set of pads (the n/s disc and pads were perfect)
I asked how much that would cost - another 10-15 minutes spent tapping away on a computer........
I forget the actual price, but it was something silly like £400.
Of course, sir we wouldn't be able to do it today, we don't keep parts like that in stock.
By this time around an hour and a half had passed an how I wished he'd told me that from the word go!
I bought one new disc and a set of pads myself on the Monday and fitted them myself - total cost about £50. (I know it's recommended that you replace discs as pairs, but the other one was absolutely pristine.)
What stuck in my mind, though, was not so much the fact that the fitter wasn't trained to work on ABS - he wasn't even trained to know the difference!
Graeme
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RichardW said"The ABS is Bosch or Teeves - no reason it should be more or less unreliable than that on any other car fitted with the same system. Some of the early cars had slightly lightweight ECUs that were prone to throwing in the towel, but later ones seem better"
But the wiring was Citroen's and I believe a lot of problems are caused by the cheap and nasty wiring/connectors Citroen use.
madf
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