308 GTI - flat spots in 1st

[philjhay]

I have a new 308 GT 1.6 THP 200 (badged as a 308 GTI even tho' they said they wouldn't). Overall I am pretty chuffed with the car but have a problem that comes and goes - flat spots in first gear. Every now and then, I put my foot down to pull away from a junction etc and not a lot happens. The revs climb as usual but acceleration is almost non existant. Going up to second seems to cure the problem, although I have had one occasion when it was 1st, 2nd & 3rd. This happens about once during a commute to work (15 miles) and can happen at any time, hot or cold. The car has done about 2000 miles and is 2 months old. The dealer has had a look at it when it had it's 1000 mile service but couldn't find a fault. Any ideas?

[davidireland]

Did they try for a engine management software update.

[philjhay]

As I understand it they drove the car around for a bit and couldn't find anything wrong with it. I said I'd monitor it for a further 1000 miles and take it back if the problem was still there. Mind you, I'm not too keen on their next proposed course of action - apparently the senior technician will take my car home with him and drive it with the computer plugged in to see what occurs

[mal]

Been there, done that. The 1.6 turbo petrol used in the 308 is widely known for loss of torque. The 308 I had has been sitting in a garage for 3 months after engine #2 failed after 12,000km along the same lines as engine #1 at 42,000km, with the same symptoms as you've outlined.
Apparently Peugeot Malaysia is calling the shots, and doesn't know what to do with it.
Not my problem anymore.

[frazer]

Having owned the same type of engine in a 207gt albeit not as powerfull i found that the engine was smooth and refinded when driving, but i felt as if i couldnt trust it. had a few issues maninly a intermitent vibration from deep within. Could feel it through the clutch pedal and even back seat of car !!
dealer was reluctant to hazard a guess to the fault even tho it had been in 4 times !!! and im convinced it was cluctch related or release bearing.

only time when they had it for 2 days it came with extra 77 miles on the clock and almost 7 galleons of fuel used !! work out the maths yourself........ just make sure dealer dont take the piss with it. mine did !

[davidireland]

Originally Posted by frazer

Having owned the same type of engine in a 207gt albeit not as powerfull i found that the engine was smooth and refinded when driving, but i felt as if i couldnt trust it. had a few issues maninly a intermitent vibration from deep within. Could feel it through the clutch pedal and even back seat of car !!
dealer was reluctant to hazard a guess to the fault even tho it had been in 4 times !!! and im convinced it was cluctch related or release bearing.

only time when they had it for 2 days it came with extra 77 miles on the clock and almost 7 galleons of fuel used !! work out the maths yourself........ just make sure dealer dont take the piss with it. mine did !

Think theres info on clutch vibration on these.

[philjhay]

My wife has got a 207GTI with the 175bhp engine and there is no problem there. The acceleration is smooth and linear every time. My 308 behaved itself for about a week but has started playing up again. It lulls you into a false sense of security and then without warning refuses to accelerate in first (usually when you need to get away quickly!). This is usually resolved by changing up to 2nd and putting my foot down - the turbo seems to suddenly wake up and we're away. I have started to notice the occasional lag in other gears, but it's most noticeable in 1st. Am reluctant to take it to the garage for them to thrash it around trying to reproduce the reported fault.