Chapter 31

It's been some considerable time since I wrote anything about my cars

Not because nothing has happened, but because I've been very idle. 

Perhaps first thing we should say concerns my 205.

I haven't written about the 205 before because there has been nothing to say. 

The car ran for nearly 250,000 miles without any problems at all. 

I had it for many years and they gave it to my daughter, but in the fullness of time as with everything, it came to an end.

My wife had acquired a Peugeot 206, which she enjoyed, but it was a three door vehicle and she really wanted five doors, so we agreed to sell it to my daughter and my wife purchased a new 206,

The new car is fine, it runs perfectly, but the indicators stalk did not work properly.

I told the garage and they ordered one from France.  For some reason it took months for a new one to arrive but in the fullness of time the garage phoned me and told they that the replacement had arrived.

I collected the car that evening to be told by a rather shamefaced garage attendant that they had not managed to replace the item.  "We put the new indicators stalk on" he said, "but as soon as we reattached the battery the horns sounded and we could not turn it off".

"We've had to put the old stalk back on and we've ordered another from France"

A month later the newly replacement stalk arrived and was successfully fitted.

Back to my new Peugeot 607.

You will recall the last comment I made about it was that it was perfect. 

Well not quite. 

After driving it for about six months the driver's seat became increasingly painful, much discussion with the garage and the Customer Care Department at Peugeot  resulted in no satisfactory solution. 

I now have a large cushion on the seat, which solves the problem to a certain extent.

At the same time, I told the garage that I thought there was a problem with the air conditioning.

Over a period of more than 18 months the garage progressively replaced many of the items in the air conditioning system.  With no real improvement.

The written word does not adequately convey my conversations with the garage but I will make an attempt.

I would go into the garage and explain to them that when driving the car after about 10 minutes the air conditioning would make "a clunk" and then after about a further three or four minutes a much larger "thump clunk", and then the air conditioning would cease working.  I could make the air conditioning start again by fiddling with the controls.

"It sounds to me”, I said "as if there is a baffle somewhere in the system that is being held open by a solenoid which is not quite strong enough and which has some sort to stop which is supposed to assist it"

Over a period of about three months the garage spoke to Peugeot Customer Care and the Peugeot Technical Department with little success.

One day when visiting the garage on an unrelated matter I asked if they spoken recently to Peugeot.

"No, but we are speaking to them again today, because we have a 406 with a very similar problem”, they said.

I phoned the next day.  "Any news," I asked.

"We know what the problem is" they said "there is a baffle in this air conditioning system which is not held open by the solenoid and there is a small plastic plug which is supposed to assist it.  The little plug tends to break and we need to replace the trunking that contains it.  It does mean taking out the dashboard and we will need the car for about three days"

The air conditioning now works perfectly

Chapter 32

About a week later I had a problem with my 605. 

Driving on the motorway is fine, driving gently in the town is fine, but driving into roundabouts is a major problem. 

To be strictly accurate, driving into the roundabout is not a problem, but driving away is.

Trying to depart from a roundabout results in the car slowly coughing to a standstill.  Despite this I drove it for about a week.  It became clear, that fuel was not reaching the engine after acceleration.

I went into the garage.  "I think that there is a small leak in the fuel system allowing air to enter the fuel system”, I said.  As usual they laughed at me.

I left the car with them and returned home.

Three days later the garage phoned. 

"It's taken quite a long time to solve the problem”,  they said, "but we finally sorted it out.  There was a small crack in one of the fuel pipes and allowing air to into the system but we have sorted it out now.”!!!

The 605 is now getting quite elderly, so we decided to have a towbar put on the 607.

After a couple of days it became apparent that every time the car started it was accompanied by a quite enormous noise.

I went into the garage "ever since you fitted the towbar, there is in enormous noise when the car starts" I said, “ I recognise the sound!!  I think that in fitting the towbar you have removed and replaced the exhaust pipe and one of the exhaust mountings is fitted incorrectly"

They laughed at me again.

Later that day the garage phoned.  "We sorted out the problem. One of the mounting points for the exhaust pipe had not been refitted after we fitted the towbar” they said.

By now it was approaching Easter and we were about to travel to Provence with the caravan again.

We decided that we would use the 605, and I arranged to take it to the garage for to be serviced.  My wife was also concerned that the driver's door was getting much more difficult to close.

I could close it, by using great force but she was finding it increasingly difficult.  I asked the garage to look at it.  At the same time I said "I think the air conditioning is on the blink".

They laughed at me again.  "It's very difficult to see if the air conditioning is working in the winter" they said.

"' Humour  me”, I said.  “Re-gas the system and see if it works any better.”

The garage phoned me later that day. 

"We've re-gassed the system and the air conditioning is fine now" they said, "but we looked at the door, and the top hinge has come away completely from the frame.  We have booked it in to the body shop tomorrow and they will weld it back on”.!!!!

The 605 pulled the caravan to Provence without a problem.

Chapter 33

6 February 2006

My Peugeot 605 was new in 1993;  it finally reached the end of its life in 2005 so I thought I should mark the event by at least describing its final days.

Towards the end it became obvious that the major problem was developing.  Increasingly, on starting the car in the morning it was reluctant for the engine to turn over,  whilst the initial mile or mile and a half of each journey was accompanied by what can only be described as an almost steam engine type pall of smoke following the car down the road.

The reluctance to start became more pronounced, and investigation revealed that it was probably due to hydrolock –the diagnosis almost certainly a failed cylinder head gasket and advice from the garage that it would cost at least £400 to replace it and when the head was off  and the new gasket on the problem would not necessarily the solved .

The problem became more and more pronounced and eventually with much regret the car was taken down to the local scrapyard where it ended its life.

But back to the 607, almost as soon as the 605 had finally been scrapped the cruise control on the 607 failed.  Not entirely but intermittently.   From time to time the cruise control refused to be selected and more worryingly from time to time it would just drop out of cruise control.

Frequent trips to the garage, and repeated explanation of the problem and multiple attempted solutions were unsuccessful.  I became accustomed to the somewhat quirky driving conditions.

About four months after the problem commenced we had to attend the funeral of a friend.  We left the crematorium and drove the hotel where the wake was to be held.  When we got out of the car there was a considerable smell of hot brakes and the discs were quite clearly very very warm.

I drove gingerly down to the garage and left the car with them.  The diagnosis  - the brake servo had failed allowing the brakes to be applied without any real pressure on the brake pedal.

Three days later the car was repaired and returned and a miracle, the cruise control was now fully functional. 

I returned the garage and suggested that they submit a defect report showing that early signs of brake servo failure on a Peugeot 607 were probably indicated by intermittent faults on the cruise control. 

Both the brakes and the cruise control have functioned perfectly since that date.

It is now the spring of 2006 and the 607 with 68,000 miles on the clock appears to be running perfectly.  

17 December 2007

“ ’Tis the season to be jolly “   Ho Ho

Out to a party tonight – parked the car outside the house we were visiting - closed the door and   CRASH.

I thought someone had driven into our car – but no other vehicle in sight!!!

Examination of the car showed that the drivers widow had disappeared – no broken glass – not a thing to be seen – but no window.  Closer investigation revealed that the window had disappeared into the door

Posh car – electric window so no alternative but drive home very cold and swop the car for my wife's Peugeot 206!!!

Down to the garage on Monday and a complete new window mechanism on Tuesday.

The car is repaired – the wallet is empty

Happy Christmas