Afternoon..

So a bit of a tricky one..
Myself and my partner are very good friends with a slightly larger couple.. They don’t drive, so if we ever want to go anywhere we drive in our little Citroen C1..
Now, the space isn’t an issue.. But whenever they are in the back, the dashboard shows the oil light, and stop warnings. An issue we haven’t had when the car is just us two in the front, or even the back full of bikes.
The car has also just had a service, so the oil level is also fine.. (I check this regularly)

Any ideas? I’m presuming it wont do any damage, but I would feel terrible saying anything!

J

Edit – To add, they refuse for one of them to sit in the front, despite multiple request, so that’s not a solution!

Tell them to walk, or take the bus? You’ll actually be doing them a favour in the long term. 🙂

Sounds like walking deficiency syndrome.

New friends, or new car. The choice is yours…..

I’m presuming it wont do any damage,

dinner lady and her family at my school were massive. they all drove cars where the offside front suspension was collapsed. 😯

4 adults in a c1? That’s going to be tough on the suspension in the long term!

Odd, as most oil lights indicate pressure, not level, so I guess the angle of the car loaded is enough to mess up the oil pick up.
Where are the head lights pointing?

Where are the head lights pointing?

To the moon , and back… 😀

Could you and your missus not set about the pies, to balance things out a bit more?

so I guess the angle of the car loaded is enough to mess up the oil pick up

Surely cannot be the case otherwise driving up a long hill woudl cause the same problem. The Alps are in France so Citroen should be designed for it.

It can’t be a level thing, otherwise the oil light would come on every time you went up or down a hill.
Are you certain its an oil light?
Could it be a seatbelt warning light i.e. one of the rolly pollies hasn’t got their seatbelt on?

Could it be saying the car is overloaded or something like that?

Maybe you should fit a roly-poly cage.

You’ve got a max load of about 60 stone in a C1

Just how “big” are this couple. Possible you could be well over if they are proper heavy+ you and your missus and a few other things in the boot.

Some days the internet makes you chuckle. This is one of them. 🙂

You’ve got a max load of about 60 stone in a C1

Wow, that’s really not that much, is it, even for more ‘normal’ sized people.

Maximum load in a C1 is 385kg, so 96kg each … not difficult to exceed!

15 stone isn’t really normal is it…….

96Kg, Normal BMI = 6’11”

I think the limiting factor is more likely to be headroom than mass in a C1 😀

Do you wear it like some sort of costume at that height ?

We have a T4 with 3 up in the front.

I was asked if I could do a favour to give a lift to one of my partners friends lets say she’s no stranger to cakes, the child seat was required as I was doing the daycare so she was in the centre seat.

So I started the van and then there was the uncomfortable moment when I had to explain we couldn’t actually go anywhere as her voluminous ass/thighs were covering the gearstick.

96Kg, Normal BMI = 6’11”

Aaaah! That explains a lot.

I’m morbidly undertall.

There was a Lady at my last place who was that heavy ripples would form on your brew when she walked past.

Easy….

On the way round to Chez Big Boned nip in the garage and pump up the back tires to 60psi.

Right then! These answers have made me chuckle this morning!

Bit more information – myself and my partner are around 70kg + 40 kg so we are ok..
As for the other couple, they must be pushing 110kg each. Meaning the total load on the car is around 330kg. Which is quite a lot!

I was presuming the car was struggling to pull the weight, and giving me warning from this!

My partner asked me last night while reading your replies – “oh god, what if they read this?!?”
The obvious answer was – “I can’t imagine a cycling forum is top on the list of reading material!

J

With most systems being software driven, it’s possible there’s a bug that displays the wrong error light. Maybe it’s a warning condition on a system that doesn’t have a dedicated error light, but the STOP light is coded to expect one so displays the oil light? I don’t know C1’s but Citroens have historically had hydraulic suspension; weight in the back could increase the level in the reservoir past the max?

I suggest some diagnostic observation, and possibly experiments; does the light stay on all the time, does it happen when the car is stationary, does it go off if you brake hard (which lifts the rear), etc. Maybe stack an equivalent weight on the back seat so that you can check fluid levels without them actually being there?

You bought a C1. 😯

Here: http://www.diagnostic-world.com/pages/citroen_c1_mk1_dash_warning_lights_230036.cfm

Citroen C1 oil warning light – if this lights up during normal operating conditions and you hear a beep noise it is essential that you pull over. You need to check the oil level and top up if required. If your oil level is correct you need to have your car checked out by your local Citroen workshop.

Citroen C1 STOP warning light – this flashes for a few seconds each time the ignition is switched on. Linked with the warnings :
– “engine oil pressure”,
– “coolant temperature”,

Stop immediately if this light comes on with the engine running

With luck, it will be a dodgy sensor, but if not, you’re killing your engine.

Never seen a stop light on slightly overloaded car.

Most likely is something like seatbelt light, or they are holding the belt into the centre receiver thinking it’s broken, wires being trapped under rear seat, or perhaps they are resting a foot on airbag wiring under the front seat. Or brake wiring etc being trapped when suspension is compressed. Or does the stop light come on if the rear seat isn’t correctly latched down (and is in use)