Anyone good with Cars?

[SlickShoes]

I have a Peugeot 207, 09 plate. A month ago, the warning lights started going haywire, my wipers would wipe when I opened my door, the lights flickered. One day the car went totally non responsive, turn the key nothing happens, warning bells and lights everywhere.

I took the car to a mechanic who said he can't fix it, needs to go to a Peugeot dealer. I took it to the place I bought it, they charged me £400 to investigate the problem for days and finally fit a new coolant temperature sensor.

They claimed it was fixed. I collected the car and drove it to work, that same day when trying to leave work, it was non responsive, warning bells and lights everywhere. They came and collected the car (towed) and gave me a courtesy car.

That was 10 days ago, I called them today and they say they have tested the car every day and nothing is wrong with it, it works fine. I know however it doesn't because it goes completely dead and won't start.

Any advice on what I can do next? As far as I can tell what they originally done fixed nothing and because the car hasn't died when it's with them it "works fine" even though their own mechanic had to bring it in on the back of a truck because it was dead.

Any help is greatly appreciated because I am totally stumped.

[RyeSloan]

I have a Peugeot 207, 09 plate. A month ago, the warning lights started going haywire, my wipers would wipe when I opened my door, the lights flickered. One day the car went totally non responsive, turn the key nothing happens, warning bells and lights everywhere.

I took the car to a mechanic who said he can't fix it, needs to go to a Peugeot dealer. I took it to the place I bought it, they charged me £400 to investigate the problem for days and finally fit a new coolant temperature sensor.

They claimed it was fixed. I collected the car and drove it to work, that same day when trying to leave work, it was non responsive, warning bells and lights everywhere. They came and collected the car (towed) and gave me a courtesy car.

That was 10 days ago, I called them today and they say they have tested the car every day and nothing is wrong with it, it works fine. I know however it doesn't because it goes completely dead and won't start.

Any advice on what I can do next? As far as I can tell what they originally done fixed nothing and because the car hasn't died when it's with them it "works fine" even though their own mechanic had to bring it in on the back of a truck because it was dead.

Any help is greatly appreciated because I am totally stumped.


No help I can offer specifically but it sounds like an eletrical issue to me.....if Peugeot don't fix it then try taking it to a specialist Auto spark.

[SlickShoes]

No help I can offer specifically but it sounds like an eletrical issue to me.....if Peugeot don't fix it then try taking it to a specialist Auto spark.

Shouldn't Peugeot have someone that can do this work though?

All they seem to be doing is hooking up to the diagnostic machine and getting the all clear, and to be honest anyone could do that. I feel they should be doing more to fix my car than they are considering how much money I gave them.

[Sergio sledge]

You could ask them to test the battery to ensure it is fully functional and outputting the correct voltage, as this may be causing intermittent electrical issues.

I had a similar problem with the electronic handbrake on my passat, it kept flashing a warning and sometimes jamming on. To sort it out I had to disconnect the battery and reconnect which sorted the problem for a while but it kept re-occurring. Every time it happened I went to the VW dealer and they connected their diagnostic terminal up and it came up with minor errors or all clear. After 2 and a half years with no solution (admittedly they were really good and gave me a courtesy car every time and didn't charge for the investigation) VW offered to take it to the factory for an investigation but if would be charged to us and they'd keep the car for 3 months. Needless to say we didn't want to do this, so I said I would just collect the car from the dealer the next day. By co-incidence, one of the mechanics left the lights in the car on over night and when I went to collect the car the battery was flat, so they offered to charge it for 24 hours and when they finished that they found the battery wasn't taking the charge very well, tested the battery and found it had a fault. They said that a faulty battery could have caused the issue with the warning lights and the handbrake, so replaced the battery and it has been 18 months with no issues after 9 instances in 2.5 years.

[SlickShoes]

Cheers for that, I have tested the battery myself and the voltages seem fine even when the car is totally dead, it'd be nice if Peugeot could try another battery or other parts as they must have spares.

Getting to the stage where I just want rid of the car and get something else that doesn't have a intermittent problem that could crop up at any time.

[Beefster]

Did the dealership tell you if there were any error codes from their diagnostics tests whatsoever?

There seems to be that many problems that it could be a multitude of different things. You could need a new coil pack, new plugs, your battery (or terminals) could be goosed, you could have a electrical cable discharging into the car chassis, your auxiliary belt might be worn etc. I could go on for paragraphs with relatively minor issues or it could be something catastrophic in the engine.

I don't want to alarm you but you're in the exact situation where folk sometimes spend hundreds/thousands chasing symptoms (and you've already spent a wad for no real benefit).

[SlickShoes]

Did the dealership tell you if there were any error codes from their diagnostics tests whatsoever?

There seems to be that many problems that it could be a multitude of different things. You could need a new coil pack, new plugs, your battery (or terminals) could be goosed, you could have a electrical cable discharging into the car chassis, your auxiliary belt might be worn etc. I could go on for paragraphs with relatively minor issues or it could be something catastrophic in the engine.

I don't want to alarm you but you're in the exact situation where folk sometimes spend hundreds/thousands chasing symptoms (and you've already spent a wad for no real benefit).

They say that all diagnostics come up clear, the car is in full working order.

I am tempted to get that in writing and then trade it back in to them and just get a different car, then it becomes their problem and not mine, since they claim the car fully works surely they will be willing to accept it as part exchange?

I am not willing to spend any more money chasing it, from googling people have spent thousands trying to solve these problems, new ECU £700, auto spark £400 etc etc. If they claim it's in working order and give me an OK trade in value I'd gladly get shot of the car because it's only going to get worse, I can't drive it anywhere because it could pack in completely at any moment.

[easty]

They say that all diagnostics come up clear, the car is in full working order.


Hmmm...haunted car then. Obvious question - you ever killed anyone in/with it? If so then I'd say that's your problem. Just get a standard exorcism and you should be sorted.

[Geo_1875]

Just sounds like typical French electrics.

[Beefster]

They say that all diagnostics come up clear, the car is in full working order.

I am tempted to get that in writing and then trade it back in to them and just get a different car, then it becomes their problem and not mine, since they claim the car fully works surely they will be willing to accept it as part exchange?

I am not willing to spend any more money chasing it, from googling people have spent thousands trying to solve these problems, new ECU £700, auto spark £400 etc etc. If they claim it's in working order and give me an OK trade in value I'd gladly get shot of the car because it's only going to get worse, I can't drive it anywhere because it could pack in completely at any moment.

Given what you've said, I'd probably be looking at getting rid too. Once you've lost confidence in a car and are continually waiting for something to go wrong, it's not a good place to be.

If the dealer is adamant that all is fine in the car, I can't see why they wouldn't take it.

[Scouse Hibee]

Only option IMO is to get rid as soon as possible, avoid french cars in the future.

[lord bunberry]

My mate had problems with the electrics on his new taxi, as it was still under warranty he took it to the dealer who did exactly as the op described and said it was working fine, only for the problem to re occur, after a year of going back and forward to the dealer he took it to an auto electrician who fixed it for less than £100

[speedy_gonzales]

Do the mysterious faults/issues only happen in one place?
I only ask as some modern car 'electrics' operate through a common bus system, this data system can be messed up by external interference.
It may sound a bit far fetched but I've heard of such events affecting central locking, immobilisers and even the indicators(perhaps because they are tied into both previous systems).

[SlickShoes]

Nah it has happened all over in a variety of places so far, I think my options are taking it to an Auto Spark or just trading it in and getting shot of it, hopefully the trade in price offer isn't too derisory.

[derekHFC]

Auto electrician just off Brunswick Road at the Easter Road end is very good. I've given him business before and he done a good job. Its just down the lane on the left if heading to ER.

[RyeSloan]

Auto electrician just off Brunswick Road at the Easter Road end is very good. I've given him business before and he done a good job. Its just down the lane on the left if heading to ER.

Agreed, same lane as Robertsons Garage...I've also used him and he was very fair with the cost and resolved the (admittedly straightforward) problem with no fuss at all.

[Future17]

I have a Peugeot 207, 09 plate. A month ago, the warning lights started going haywire, my wipers would wipe when I opened my door, the lights flickered. One day the car went totally non responsive, turn the key nothing happens, warning bells and lights everywhere.

I took the car to a mechanic who said he can't fix it, needs to go to a Peugeot dealer. I took it to the place I bought it, they charged me £400 to investigate the problem for days and finally fit a new coolant temperature sensor.

They claimed it was fixed. I collected the car and drove it to work, that same day when trying to leave work, it was non responsive, warning bells and lights everywhere. They came and collected the car (towed) and gave me a courtesy car.

That was 10 days ago, I called them today and they say they have tested the car every day and nothing is wrong with it, it works fine. I know however it doesn't because it goes completely dead and won't start.

Any advice on what I can do next? As far as I can tell what they originally done fixed nothing and because the car hasn't died when it's with them it "works fine" even though their own mechanic had to bring it in on the back of a truck because it was dead.

Any help is greatly appreciated because I am totally stumped.


Just sounds like typical French electrics.

Yeah, Geo_1875 is right.

French, lights flickering everywhere and making lots of noise....sounds like it's (Jean Michel) Jarre-ing.

[SlickShoes]

Thanks for all the help and suggestions, I traded the car in this morning and just bought something else with the money I had already saved for the next car.

As an aside, I had a go in my now old car this morning and it started first time, the dealer inspected it and agreed on the trade in so I guess it is there problem now if it ever packs in again. They spoke to the service department so know what has been fixed and that they have had it for 13 days now and can't find anything wrong with it.

Get the new car tomorrow then hopefully forget about it all.

[Future17]

Thanks for all the help and suggestions, I traded the car in this morning and just bought something else with the money I had already saved for the next car.

As an aside, I had a go in my now old car this morning and it started first time, the dealer inspected it and agreed on the trade in so I guess it is there problem now if it ever packs in again. They spoke to the service department so know what has been fixed and that they have had it for 13 days now and can't find anything wrong with it.

Get the new car tomorrow then hopefully forget about it all.

Don't hold out on us - what type is the new car?!? :greengrin

[heretoday]

I hope you got a Toyota. They are bomb-proof (apart from the recalls).

[Peevemor]

I hope you got a Toyota. They are bomb-proof (apart from the recalls).

Unfortunately they're not stupidcowwhoreversedintoitinthecarparkatwork-proof. :grr: