Engine query - depollution system faulty

LOUD

Hi all,
So very recently I had my citroen c4 picasso (1.6 diesel) at the citroen dealers. They fitted a reconditioned engine and turbo. Service with oil sorted all that kind of thing.
A couple of days later 'depollution system faulty' came up on screen when I started the car with the engine warning light staying on. I went back to the garage, they said it was a loose valve or something and that it was sorted, two days later same thing again! Now they're telling me that it's the air doser and this will cost me more €€!
My question is, is this part of the engine and is this not something they should have checked, is it part of the original job or am I out of pocket again?

biko

Unfortunately it can signify various issues, not just one.
If they scanned for an error code it should hopefully pinpoint the issue.
Did they give you the code?

TheBoyConor

Error codes rarely pinpoint a problem. They can give a clue but often times the fault could be something completely different or only tenuously related to what the fault code says.

LOUD

biko wrote: »

Unfortunately it can signify various issues, not just one.
If they scanned for an error code it should hopefully pinpoint the issue.
Did they give you the code?

Hi Biko, no I don't know what code but they're telling me the specific problem and ordering a part so I'm assuming they know. What I want to know is, after replacing my engine is this on them?

Gravelly

The good old Citroen depollution system warning. It could be any of dozens of things, and impossible to say from the info given. If you are lucky, a hard blast down the motorway could clear it, but more often than not, it is a fueling, air, or particulate filter problem. If your garage doesn't do a lot of work on Citroens, you could end up paying to educate them.

biko

LOUD wrote: »

Hi Biko, no I don't know what code but they're telling me the specific problem and ordering a part so I'm assuming they know. What I want to know is, after replacing my engine is this on them?

It depends on where the problem is.
If it is a faulty sensor or filter or something not changed at the time, then it won't be the new engine that is the problem, which means you have to pay.

The message you see is quite generic and without a diagnostic code it could be all kinds of causes.

In short - it is too early to say if it is their fault or not.

If you search this forum you will find others with the same issue, and what happened to them. Click me to search

Gravelly

LOUD wrote: »

Hi Biko, no I don't know what code but they're telling me the specific problem and ordering a part so I'm assuming they know. What I want to know is, after replacing my engine is this on them?

Just make sure that if the part ordered doesn't sort it (which is very, very common with this fault) that you don't end up paying for a parts swapping exercise until the fault is found by a process of elimination.

TheBoyConor

If they go swapping parts I'd be refusing to pay outright for those parts which were not associated with the fault. I'd even demand that they take them out and refit the old non faulty parts.
Tell them you are paying them to fix the fault, not to fix or replace parts that are not faulty. And I wouldn't be a shrinking violet about it either.

Went through this crap with a car my mother bought and the vendor was replacing parts willy nilly but under gaurantee but it wasn't fixing the problem. We wanted a refund for the car cos it seemed it couldn't be reliably repaired but he wouldn't agree until I went in and made a scene shouting in front of customers in the showroom telling him I'd never buy off him again and I'd tell all my family and friends never to buy off him.

Gravelly

TheBoyConor wrote: »

If they go swapping parts I'd be refusing to pay outright for those parts which were not associated with the fault. I'd even demand that they take them out and refit the old non faulty parts.
Tell them you are paying them to fix the fault, not to fix or replace parts that are not faulty. And I wouldn't be a shrinking violet about it either.

Went through this crap with a car my mother bought and the vendor was replacing parts willy nilly but under gaurantee but it wasn't fixing the problem. We wanted a refund for the car cos it seemed it couldn't be reliably repaired but he wouldn't agree until I went in and made a scene shouting in front of customers in the showroom telling him I'd never buy off him again and I'd tell all my family and friends never to buy off him.

Happens a lot in "all makes" garages. These days it's impossible to be an expert in every make and model, which is why you are generally better going to a specialist in your make or at least generalisation (french car specialist, German car specialist etc.).