Citroen C4

QPDB9

The transformers ad worked on me...

I bought a new Citroen C4 but they're not designed to be a right hand drive!!!

There is no keyhole on the driver door and only comes with one remote so I have to run around to the passenger door to lock and unlock it. Very annoying!

The lever for the bonnet is on the passenger side so is the foot rest that should be beside the clutch and the wipers clear the passenger side and splash the driver side!

Do any other makes have this problem?

JoeA3

that seems bizzare! The lock is on the passenger side only?! Sounds like a very poor left to right-hand-drive conversion. French cars seem particularly guilty of this. The 206's wipers sweep the wrong way, that would drive me bananas.

L-M

+1 for the bad conversion.

Madness... Would drive me mad. I'll keep an eye out if i'm ever buyin French:rolleyes:

QPDB9

Yeah thanks Joe... it does!

I rang Citroen Ireland but they had apparently never had any previous complaints from people who were tired running rings around their cars and pretty much told me that it was a French car designed as a left hand drive and to get over it... Cit***n!

JoeA3

It would put me completely off the brand! If they can't be bothered properly engineering the car for the UK/Irish market, where else have the scrimped on costs.! I personally wouldn't put my cash anywhere near a French car, and this reaffirms it for me.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Wow, thanks for this one guys.

My OH was considering a C3 or C4 - now this has put a whole new slant on that.

If this is really the case I wouldn't bother my arse.

QPDB9

Happened to park beside a C3 today and it did have a lock on the driver door... Why the next model up doesn't have it makes no sense! I must check the whole Citroen range to see if I bought the only dud model.:rolleyes:

King Kelly

QPDB9 wrote: »

There is no keyhole on the driver door and only comes with one remote so I have to run around to the passenger door to lock and unlock it. Very annoying!

All C4's have remote central locking so I'm not sure where the problem is. 99% of people would just use the main key , not the spare, but you could always get a 2nd remote.

I agree it's hard to justify the door lock on the passenger side! (howabout if the battery was flat and you had to use the door key you would be on the correct side of the car to pull the bonnet!!)

QPDB9 wrote: »

The lever for the bonnet is on the passenger side so is the foot rest that should be beside the clutch and the wipers clear the passenger side and splash the driver side!

I don't think the left hand side bonnet pull is unique to French cars and personally I have always found the butterfly wipers on the C4 and other cars to clear a much larger proportion of the windscreen. From memory of being in one of these what you are describing as a foot rest is, I think, the inside of the wheel arch

I agree all cars should have a clutch foot rest.

I think all makes have there own design traits that owners love/hate. The tiny radio controls on japanese cars that require the slender fingers of a 7 year old to change channel are a personal bugbear.

crosstownk

I just popped outside to check - my C4 Picasso has keyholes in both front doors. I had to check as I'd never used them - I use the remote central locking. The bonnet release is on the passenger side (and the passenger door must be open in order to pull the lever). But as I rarely open the bonnet, I don't find it a problem.

I know that both Nissan and Renault have a keyhole only on the passenger door in the event that the remote stops working. I assume the OPs C4 is a hatch rather than a Picasso so maybe the hatch only has a keyhole in one door.

King Kelly wrote:

I have always found the butterfly wipers on the C4 and other cars to clear a much larger proportion of the windscreen.

I'd have to agree.

Eoin

JoeA3 wrote: »

French cars seem particularly guilty of this. The 206's wipers sweep the wrong way, that would drive me bananas.

The wipers never bothered me whatsoever, it seems to do the job just as well. However, the centre console is ever so slightly facing the passenger which is a corner I wish they hadn't cut. That kind of stuff would never make me rule out an entire country's car selection for me though. If that sort of thing would drive you bananas, you probably need to relax a little?

Scottie99

Mairt wrote: »

Wow, thanks for this one guys.

My OH was considering a C3 or C4 - now this has put a whole new slant on that.

If this is really the case I wouldn't bother my arse.

I've had my C4 for 3 years and 75000km later no problems. I wouldn't let window wipers and a door lock put you off completely.

P.S Mine is a 1.6HDi getting 64 mpg

JoeA3

eoin_s wrote: »

The wipers never bothered me whatsoever, it seems to do the job just as well. However, the centre console is ever so slightly facing the passenger which is a corner I wish they hadn't cut. That kind of stuff would never make me rule out an entire country's car selection for me though. If that sort of thing would drive you bananas, you probably need to relax a little?

haha, perhaps I do! But little things like that would irritate me and when there are loads of cars out there which are engineered properly for the market, why bother with one that isn't? Fortunately I can't see myself ever owning a pug/Citroen so its unlikely to bother me too much any time soon

eamon234

My missus's Ford Fusion has the bonnet lever on the left hand side presume Fiestas do too. I know a few people with C4's (diesels) who love 'em never heard this particular complaint from them

Oilrig

FFS guys, how often do you need to pull the bonnet?

Does it really matter where the pull is located as long as you know where it is?

Get a grip here...

Stevie Dakota

Quite right oil rig, and have you noticed they put the glovebox on the left as well, feckers!

colsers22

In my Renault Clio, the bonnet release is on the left hand side and the wipers also sweep the wrong way. I can't say either of the above have ever annoyed me, but I did notice. I do however have a clutch rest on the right side.
I have driven a Citroen C3 without the clutch rest and it was horrible. Dreadful car.

prospect

Alot of cars have the bonnet pull on the passanger side.

Also, afaik the 5 series wipers swipe the wrong way aswell.

cashmni1

Yes BMW 5 series wipers swipe the wrong way also, funny no complaints how they are "not manufactured" for the UK and Irish markets.
A car that is properly guilty of a poor left to right conversion is the AUDI TT. I read in CAR magazine that the driver side and driver footwell are cramped and the handbrake is on the worng side of the center console. The passanger side (in right hand guise) has plenty of legroom in the footwell and is roomier that the driver side.
Now that would annoy me!
My last Peugeot 406 had poor footwell ventilation on the drivers side. (It took ages to warm your feet on cold mornings). That was quite annoying too.

E92

5 series wipers are annoying for about 5 seconds, and then when you realise that they clean as much of the windscreen as "proper" wipers, you realise why there's no fuss about it.

A bonnet release on the passengers' side is a storm in a teacup if ever there was one.

What is annoying is the way lots of modern cars don't bother with the engine temperature gauge and worse, no dipstick.

granturismo

Which is preferable - having to open the driver's door to release the lever and risk your door being hit by passing traffic or opening the passenger door and maybe having to get your feet dirty if you cant lean over from the driver seat. Citroen have made the rh drive safer without spending €s engineering out the problem;).

Stevie Dakota

If its rants we're on then don't get me started on painted bumpers and no side rubbing strips, sure the cars looks better, until the flanks are riddled with door dents and the bumpers are all scrapped up.

QPDB9

The only thing that really bothers me is having to open the passenger door to get into the car... the rest doesn't really matter.

They told me in the garage that most cars come with two remote keys except Citroens. I don't know if that's true...

This is my first brand new car, which I thought would be great. My last car was a banger but it had three keys that opened both doors, which was nice. I miss that.