[rkelly]

Hi all,

I've taken ownership of a 2014 plate 2008 Allure e-HDI 1.6 ECG and there's a couple of things that's making me wonder whether I have made a mistake in buying it. Would appreciate if anyone could comment / advise on the following points. I appreciate that a couple of them may sound trivial, but I spend a lot of time in my car, want to be comfortable and these points are important to me.

1. Fuel economy.
With a full tank, the range showing was just under 500 miles. I've so far done 100 miles and have used a quarter of the fuel already, average MPG 55. Now my last car was a 2009 Auris which I could usually get just under 650 miles out of a full tank. I know advertised MPGs are not realistic, but I was expecting the 2008 to be doing much better than the Auris in terms of MPG.

2. Stop-Start.
I have only seen this activate twice. The dealership has said that it will take time for the battery to charge, and that it won't work if the car is in manual mode (it did on one occasion), nor will it work if things such as air con, heating etc are on. My brothers car is a Citreon C3 and his stop-start activates in these conditions. Is the dealer correct? I've not had the air con on and only had the environmental controls on auto-light. I really don't like the idea of choosing to be cold or having stop-start!

3. Music interface.
I've connected my iPod classic using an official USB lead. Music plays, but every so often the music cuts out for about half a second before resuming. I know this sounds trivial, but I love my music and I spend a lot of time in the car - something the dealer knows about - and this is really annoying for me. I don't get this problem connecting the iPod to anything else.. It's not a case of a loose connection or jarring as it happens when the car is stationary or parked too. The dealer has said its probably a compatibility issue, but if that was the case, surely it wouldn't play to begin with? A friend has tried their iPhone and didn't notice the problem.

4. Braking / moving off / slow speeds.
Sometime when I move off from a stationary position I experience a brief but noticeable jerking. It's pretty unsettling as it feels like the car is going to cut out. I get a feeling it might be the brakes, as trying to move slowly in this car is a nightmare with all the juddering - it's like I'm a learner driver! I've been told its just a case of getting used to the brakes, but I'm not so sure - why would it judder after I have taken my foot off the brakes?

5. Whirring noise
fairly often I can hear a whirring noise, the pitch of which increases and decreases according to speed. It's not loud, but it is noticeable.

Thanks for any comments!

 

[Gibbo]

1. My previous 307 and current 308 are a bit like this. I fill up, and a quarter has gone by 100 miles.

However, it would settle down more around the halfway mark (250 miles) and would always end up on empty (fuel light on) at 450 miles (308 petrol) and 520 miles (307 diesel)

 

[storeman]

1) What size tank does the 2008 have compared to the Auris and is there a weight / powertrain comparison that could affect the fuel consumption. If two vehicles manage the same MPG but one has a bigger tank capacity it is going to have a longer range. Miles per tank are meaningless if the volumes are different or there are other factors that are involved.

2) Stop start issues are generally down to the batteries needing to be recharged. What you need to concern yourself about is wether you choose stop/start or being unable to start the car rather than stop/start or being warm (or cool with ac).

3) Might be a firmware update for the entertainment system. If you post the type of system and the current firmwareversion somebody may be able to point you in the right direction

4) If you have electric handbrake that engages when stopped it may be releasing slow or you may have pads binding on one or more wheels

5) can't think of anything as I've never been in a 2008

 

[rkelly]

Thanks both for the replies. Storeman:

The P2008 fuel capacity is 50 litres, while the Auris was 45 litres. I'm going to see how many miles I get on a full tank, but it doesn't look promising so far, which is somewhat disappointing, especially as I'm driving the same routes/ speed / load etc.

The handbrake is not electronic. I've just gone out on a run, and tbh, it's embarrassing when moving off, and trying to park is worse - very jerky. Never had a car behave like this before.

The system software version is SMEG3.17.A.R3. CD: is 11913 and the date is 19/05/13. Bluetooth version is 1.2.5 in case it makes a difference and display version is sw 6.00 matrice 2.