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"Suspension Faulty"! |
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smorphet
 
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   Member No: #88
Location: Hertfordshire |
Hello, My car has just been to the garage to have a few things looked at. The rear brakes seemed to be dragging a bit, and the pedal didn't feel quite right. New discs and pads all round, under warranty, and it seems to be sorted. They still lack the initial bite of, say, yesterday's C5 II courtesy car, but it seems that that's normal for the C6. No question that they now get the car slowed down well, and most importantly the response is predictable and consistent. One of the other problems was an occasional "Suspension Faulty" message on the screen, with a flashing service light. This always clears after a few seconds, but it happened again on the way to the garage, so I'd hoped that they'd be able to plug in a computer and find out exactly what was wrong. Unfortunately there was nothing logged, and they weren't able to reproduce the fault. The message doesn't seem to correspond to any particular circumstances, and there's nothing obviously wrong with the ride or handling. I'd mentioned that there was sometimes some odd pitching movement, and they have "reset and recalibrated" the front suspension. I drove home with fingers crossed, but of course the message popped up again, a couple of times.  Obviously it'll have to go back for more extensive investigation, but I wondered if anyone had had anything similar, and what it turned out to be? Steve. |
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gmerry
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 Member No: #21
Location: Scotland |
Steve, regarding the braking, I've changed over to Greenstuff pads on the front and the difference is significant. No longer a sensation that the car may not stop. Regarding the suspension warning messages, have you asked Citroen why these messages are not being logged? Also can they loan you a Lexia on a laptop. Plug this in and capture a few of these intermittent messages. Regards G |
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C6Dave
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  Member No: #1
Location: Northumberland |
gmerry wrote ... ......Regarding the suspension warning messages, have you asked Citroen why these messages are not being logged? Also can they loan you a Lexia on a laptop. Plug this in and capture a few of these intermittent messages. Or take a picture with your mobile phone. Not everything that shows a 'fault' message is logged unfortunately. If it doesn't have a sensor sending info to the BSi then there is nothing to record |
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verycleverman
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 Member No: #65
Location: Northumberland |
C6Dave wrote ... Not everything that shows a 'fault' message is logged unfortunately. If it doesn't have a sensor sending info to the BSi then there is nothing to record I have the same problem with my wife's C2. It occasionally cuts out for no apparent reason, usually on a corner. The dealer cannot do anything about it as there is nothing registered on Lexia.  Pete. |
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smorphet
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Member No: #88
Location: Hertfordshire |
gmerry wrote ... Steve, regarding the braking, I've changed over to Greenstuff pads on the front and the difference is significant. No longer a sensation that the car may not stop. I'm actually quite happy with the brakes as they are now, and have much more confidence that the car will stop. When it's time for new pads, or if the performance drops off again, I'll definitely consider those pads. Thanks for the tip. C6Dave wrote ... Or take a picture with your mobile phone. Not everything that shows a 'fault' message is logged unfortunately. If it doesn't have a sensor sending info to the BSi then there is nothing to record I might try to get a photo, but not sure how much it would help. It's literally just the words "Suspension Faulty" with no other information. There's been no suggestion, yet, that I'm imagining it. It's booked in again for next week, and I'll encourage them to give it a good long test on some dodgy roads. It does seem odd that there's nothing logged. You'd think that anything that leads to the service light coming on should show *something* in the log, so the service people have at least a vague idea where to start. Steve. |
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C6Dave
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Member No: #1
Location: Northumberland |
Maybe a software restore will solve it, think about how many times a Windows PC used to crash, freeze, blue screen for no apparent reason. Modern cars have more computer power on board than the Appolo programme spacecraft that took man to the moon The various ECU's are located in positions on a car that suffer from wide temperature and humidity variations, vibration etc. etc. and because of that, really are prone to bugs and glitches I'm afraid |
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smorphet
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Member No: #88
Location: Hertfordshire |
Well, the car has been at the garage twice now. The first time they found a problem with the steering, and recalibrated that. That did seem to do something positive for the handling, but didn't stop the suspension warning message appearing. This time, the computer was apparently reporting that the car was at a 20 degree angle. I think I would have noticed if that was really the case, so perhaps a bit of electronic confusion. Anyway, height correctors checked and found to be OK, heights reset, and everything carefully calibrated. The garage gave it a thorough test, and I've just been out and driven it over the roads most likely to cause the error, and all seems well.  Steve. |
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JimC
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  Member No: #229
Location: Scotland |
I've just had both lower ball joints replaced (severe knocking from both front wheels) and on the way home, got a "Suspension Faulty" warning. A few minutes later the ride went all to pot. Stopped in a lay-by and raised the suspension... the fault disappeared. The following day (Saturday) I had to drive to Glasgow (300 mile round trip) with the warning appearing periodically then the ride going. Sometimes it fixes itself, other times I slow to below 25mph and put the suspension up. That fixes it for another 10 minutes. Going back to the garage "Citroen Specialists" tomorrow so I'll see what they have to say (sounds like some connection loose but I don't know if there is such a thing needing disturbed when changing ball joints?) |
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Rileycat
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  Member No: #69
Location: Co. Antrim |
Sounds like something which happened to me. A warning said ‘Suspension Fault. Max. Speed 50mph’ together with a ‘service’ warning on dashboard and screen. I kept below 40mph or so as the front seemed to be plunging quite badly. The warning lasted that day through several restarts but then disappeared. The dealers said it would need new parts which they put on order. These came pretty quickly. I asked if I could have a printout of the work (still under warranty). It read: Found Info-rapid A1AW0101Q0. Carried out checks on front and rear stiffness regulators which confirmed front had leaked internally also on inspection we found sphere attached to regulator had also collapsed the diaphragm inside the sphere. Replaced both diaphragm and sphere, topped up with oil and tested all OK. Parts C527753 Regulator and Saucer Sphere C527627. The ride seemed improved afterwards, especially over speed humps, but can anyone explain why a major sphere puncture did not leave a PERMANENT Suspension Fault warning? And what is a saucer sphere? Thanks Rileycat. |
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gmerry
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Member No: #21
Location: Scotland |
Hi Rileycat. A saucer sphere is a nickname for the grey spheres fitted to Citroen C5s and C6s. The shape is flatter and "saucer" shaped compared to the old green spheres used on DS, SM, CX, BX, XM etc. All the saucer spheres are 385cc but presssures vary for each car and fitment. By the way, I replaced all my front spheres as the stiffness sphere failed and also the passenger side as well. They cost about £50 each for an aftermarket sphere and once you have the tools, its very easy to change the front spheres including the one inside the drivers side wheel arch. The reason why you dont get any permanent warning is because the sphere and it's internal diaphragm/nitrogen charge is purely a mechanical device. There is no instrumentation to tell the suspension ECU that something is wrong (but you would have thought that the computer could work out the change in natural frequency). A quick check that the owner can easily do is to lower the suspension with the LDS cap off and look at the state of the LDS fluid. If it looks to be frothy or light coloured this is a sure sign that it has just had a charge of nitrogen injected into it and is suffering from the bends. Citroen claim the hydraulic suspension is good for 5 years without maintenance. For a car made in 2007 (as opposed to first registered in say 2008), that 5 years is up and perhaps that is why we are seeing a few failures. Afer all, the diaphragm is a highly stressed part subject to wear and tear. Especially the front ones. Regards G |
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Gobxoy
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 Member No: #786
Location: Essex |
bit like dampers then average life 40-60,000mls apparently. | ||
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Rileycat
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Member No: #69
Location: Co. Antrim |
Thanks gmerry for your explanations. My C6 was built in March 2007, though only first registered in September 2009! Rileycat | ||
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gmerry
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Member No: #21
Location: Scotland |
Goboxy, although dampers might wear out on a "mileage" basis, I suspect the C6 spheres are more likely to fail purely on a time basis. A car sitting static for long periods of time will have the diaphragm folded in a fixed position. Like a crease, this will lead to weakening in one spot. Allegedly the saucer spheres no longer have a life limitation due to nitrogen diffusion, but it would seem that diaphragm failure is the limiting factor. I found that the ones I removed that had failed, had an audible rattle when shaken. Regards G |
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James
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 Member No: #817
Location: Somewhere in the south of England |
Hmmm. Reading this thread and convinced my suspension is a lot harder than it should be I'm beginning to wonder if my built-in-08 registered in 2010 C6 may have an issue of sphere/diaphragm nature. Sitting in store for two years would have matters worse, and then hardly driven in the 4 months before I bought it might well pre-dispose it to an early failure. | ||
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Gobxoy
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Member No: #786
Location: Essex |
gmerry Wrote:- Good point, I presume you mean "in storage, pre sale"? A car sitting static for long periods of time will have the diaphragm folded in a fixed position. Like a crease, this will lead to weakening in one spot. Then I thought no that can't be correct, untill I found some patent drawings (added wot I think gmerry theorizes). Good call gmerry   perhaps it would be a good idea to release the pressure, if you going to lay one up for a long while? DS's had a little screw to release before doing anything major, not sure where it is on a C6? Early Cit's didn't have "anti-sink" which would tend to lessen problem, don't ya think? I was aware that the nitrogen diffusion problem was "fixed" but whoa we just replaced it with different one. But does save crushing your Extremities?  
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