C3 failed Injector and running on 3 cylinders.

danielsydney

danielsydney

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I went to start my car as normal monday morning and seemed to be having issues and the engine warning light stayed flashing on my display.
The engine was very lumpy and doing all kinds of strange things.
I have taken it this morning to Continentals and they advised that an injector has failed and totally clogged and the cost will be $AUD401.00.
My car has just got out of Warranty about 2 weeks ago. Is there any onus on the dealer to help me out in relation to this? What do others think?
That price is just for one injector fully replaced also. :cry: :cry: :cry:
 
If the injector can be shown to be faulty, or say the genuine fuel filter broke up causing debris inside the injectors, I'd say there is a good case for some sort of goodwill to be shown being so close to the end of the warranty. However if it can be shown that dirty fuel or poor maintenance caused the injector to fail, then you are likely on your own. Probably discuss the problem nicely with the dealer, and consider where to go from there.
 
The dealer however isn't covered by Citroen Australia, since the warranty period has ended.

I don't see why the dealer should show "good will"?
 
Uga Boga said:
The dealer however isn't covered by Citroen Australia, since the warranty period has ended.

I don't see why the dealer should show "good will"?
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If it can be shown that the fault may have been pre-existing prior to the warranty running out there may be provision for an out of warranty claim, eg a batch of faulty injectors. The claim would be via the dealer who then discusses it with the distributor who approves an out of warranty claim. It wouldn't be the first time it has happened, well for other manufacturers anyway.
 
I'd go straight to Ateco and complain bitterly. If they will not replace it (don't give in easily ... I imagine they will just play the waiting game with you ... After all how long do you want to be without a car).

Failing that, just get the injector cleaned. Why would it need to be *replaced* at such a low milage. Any fuel injection place should be able to clean it for you.

seeya,
Shane L.
 
Yep, that definitely sounds logical.

I was only skepitcal because it sounded quite harsh on the dealer, but yeah, going to Ateco would be the right method, as the dealer has no control over this issue. (warranty coverage)

Simon said:
If it can be shown that the fault may have been pre-existing prior to the warranty running out there may be provision for an out of warranty claim, eg a batch of faulty injectors. The claim would be via the dealer who then discusses it with the distributor who approves an out of warranty claim. It wouldn't be the first time it has happened, well for other manufacturers anyway.
Click to expand...
 
I would think it is best to make the appeal through the dealer initially. They have more to lose through an unhappy customer who may vote with their feet now the car is out of warranty, and take the car elsewhere after a bad experience with the dealer. The dealer is also the manufacturers rep, and hopefully will make the best effort in order to keep the customer happy to try and get the repair covered under a goodwill claim. Obviously if not successful, then hassle the distributor direct. Try to find out what caused the failure though, obviously if it is caused by a blocked filter from a batch of contaminated fuel, it is obviously nothing to do with the manufacturer.
 
Well the car is back and I am $441.00 poorer. It was an awful experience and the dealer said just said "things dont last forever Daniel".
The dealers didnt care about the warranty just ending. Aparently the whole injector failed & needed replacing/cleaning. The car is driving normallly though like it was before the light started flashing. It has been awful. But cars do stop I guess. I might try contacting ATECO and see what they say to me. Im just worried what would happen if they all failed thats all. That would be quite expensive....:cry:
 
$400+ for an injector change and labour sounds crazy too... - Chris
 
That sucks, Daniel.

Did you get to keep your old injector? You should have, so you can take them to an injector specialist - maybe they could fix it up for the next time.

Andrew
 
danielsydney said:
Well the car is back and I am $441.00 poorer. It was an awful experience and the dealer said just said "things dont last forever Daniel".
The dealers didnt care about the warranty just ending. Aparently the whole injector failed & needed replacing/cleaning. The car is driving normallly though like it was before the light started flashing. It has been awful. But cars do stop I guess. I might try contacting ATECO and see what they say to me. Im just worried what would happen if they all failed thats all. That would be quite expensive....:cry:
Click to expand...

To late, you have burnt your bridges, as soon as you handed over the $$$$ you have no chance of getting them to come to the party. Maybe you could refer ateco to this forum to see the digusting publicity there constantly getting :confused:

seeya,
Shane L.
 
Daniel,

Geez mate, what kind of injectors are on there?
I just did them on one of the BXs a couple of weeks back and a kit cost approx. $10.50 an injector and about 10 minutes an injector to do over.
This is the BX ones, do yours look anything like that?

Dsc00562.jpg



Alan S
 
Maybe it's a total failure - electrical - not a blockage.

What a ripoff, though. I'd certainly ask for the old one back, and would certain get it tested. Although I bet you don't get it...if an 'old one' even exists, rather than it being cleaned up and reinstalled... :rolleyes:

I've heard of too many scams going on by the staff in these main dealer places.

BTW I know of a guy who got the rear main seal on a Commodore ute replaced two weeks out of warranty on the basis of dealer goodwill.

Stuey
 
Stuey said:
Maybe it's a total failure - electrical - not a blockage.
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Yes, Boys and Girls things do sometimes just break. Cleaning will not fix all problems. Maybe the dealer did try cleaning it? Don't write them all off as ripoff merchants. Which a few certainly are. They may have been thinking of getting Daniel back on the road as quickly as possible rather than leaving it in the workshop and trying to find the cheapest possible way to fix the car. Injectors ain't cheap i'd guess and there is labour and troubleshooting on top of that. Not all people have the wherewithal to do it themselves so you just have to pay someone for the privilege.

Daniel, get the failed injector off them, if you want to keep it or try and get it working. You could keep it as a spare, but I reckon you will have sold the car by the time the next injector fails.

Yes, I personnally would be talking to Ateco about it failing two weeks out of warranty. This would not please me at all. I don't believe that the dealer should be out of pocket as they don't make the car. An injector should last for a lot longer than this one has. It's not a common thing that fails. In fact I have personally never heard of one failing, getting rough due cleanliness after many thousands of miles, but not a total failure. I also wouldn't be happy about the "Things don't last forever statement". The next question to them would be "When can I expect the other three to fail then."

I hope you have some success with Ateco. I have had a couple of things fixed on my Subie just out of warranty. The dealer told me that Subaru Aust was good like that. Lets hope Ateco is. You will have to get through the telephone firewall to speak to the right person, or write a well worded letter. Let us know how you go. At least your car is back on the road and mobile.

:cheers:
 
This surprises me a bit. My local Bosch injection specialist tells me that the injectors are really quite robust, and don't fail very often. For a car that is not covered by warranty, I would have gone to bosch, rather than a dealer!
john s
 
I'd definitely go to Ateco with this.
Don't ring, waste of time as you'll end up with somebody just out of his work experience dealing with you and trying to sound important. Do it in writing. In black & white they can't say "you said this and I said that" and if they make a commitment it's something you can see & prove not something you "misheard."
It's not uncommon for dealers and distributors to do "out of warranty" claims or "goodwill" claims. It lso incidentally, is one of the reasons dealers use to advise their buyers to buy from the dealer who will be servicing it "if anything goes wrong beyond the warranty, we're always there to "look after you."
As has been said, I've never heard of one just being replaced due to being faulty, and the price?????? :eek: :eek: :crazy: :crazy:
This is reminiscent of prices for ABS sensors on a BX; around $250 each; for a piece of co-ax connected to a magnet....'tell 'im 'e's dreamin' " wouldn't be in it. Only difference is they have you over a barrel but just the same, it'd be interesting to see how much a Bosch service agent would charge or somewhere like the place I got my injector service kits from.


Alan S
 
As it happens, I will be going to the bosch place in the near future, as my ZX needs a problem sorting out. (it misfires between 1200 and 2000rpm)
I will ask while I'm there. john s
 
I have emailed a contact at ATECO this morning and will keep everyone updated. :cry:
 
If you get ignored, you then send a registered letter to the company for the attention of the head honcho.
It can be done in such a way that they must personally go to the post office to sign for it to collect it; a bit expensive but gets their undivided attention.
I did this a few years back when a letter was ignored by a bunch of cons being run by a very high profile person who was also big in the political arena.
He complained (by phone) about the time he'd lost by having to go & collect this letter and told me how busy he was. I simply told him that I was also too busy to have my correspondence ignored and if he didn't get this matter sorted, he may have a lot more time on his hands if the matter got into the media.
It was sorted that day. Yours hasn't reached those giddy heights yet, but at least it shows them you're fair dinkum.

Alan S
 
Daniel,

Is this the same Citroen C3 that always goes to French car specialists for servicing.... and had an air condtioning leak that resulted in the refrigerent needing replacement at YOUR cost during the warranty preriod?

I wonder if you look back over your "specialist" service invoices if your "sepcialist french car place" charged you for an "injector clean or injector service"......??? :confused: :disappr:

For what it's worth new (remanufactured) fuel injectors (on an exchange basis) for a BX are $120.00 (inclusive of GST) (that's a trade price) or $154.00 retail so I'm guessing a genuine Citroen part would be about $300.00 at retail all up and an hours labour (minimum charge) to change.

I still question however given the car was two weeks out of warranty that it should be charged for what is essentially a component that should not need replacement for quite some time (if at all)

We had an R19 in the days when Volvo distributed them and it had a catalytic converter fail SIX months after the warranty expired. The dealer had it changed at no cost without even calling us.. we only found out about it when we went to pick the car up...!

With this kind of "service" from the countrys oldest Citroen dealer, Citroen will never be a genuine consideration in this country.

I woudl expect better from both Continentals and Ateco.
 
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