Peugeot/Citroen 1.5hdi engines

Seriously considering entering Berlingo land. Prefer the Mk3 K9 shape which has the 1.5hdi engine. Have heard nightmare stories about timing chains snapping in these. Any personal experiences?

Also thinking about going automatic too. These come with the EAT8 gearbox and I’ve heard good things about those. Again any personal experiences, good or bad?

Basically I’ve got 2 cars I’m looking at a low mileage 27k mk2 Flair with 1.6hdi, super clean. The mk3 has 49k fsh, new cam belt, new front tyres again a Flair XTR with fancy orange bits and beige/sand paintwork!

TIA

Join the Berlingo forum – I’m on there for my older version and it’s a good source of info.

I know the early versions of that engine have suffered timing chain issue’s and that there’s a revision to a thicker chain but that’s only from idly reading the Berlingo forum. The petrol is a wet belt.

https://www.berlingoforum.com/index.php

Thanks, I’ll  head on over there

I have a beige sand one with the orange bits just about to hit 80k and its never ever had a single problem except the shonky utter bag of crap adblue system which has had failed injectors galore in the 6 years ive owned it from new apart from that i havent a single complaint mines still in really good nick , which is why ive just bought the new facelift version….more on that later

It has suffered like the two cactus we owned with the adblue they both failed at 17k and 23k respectively with citroen claiming theres nothing wrong with the system and we would have to foot the bill first time we took it on the chin second time we joined the law suit brigade thats currently taking claims at citroen due to their lack of admissions with faults and rinsing people who have had them to fix them

New one we just bought cost less than a used flair xtr its now called the max xtr however remember its now classed as a light commercial because some pillock homologation rules

Requires commercial insurance so ours shot up from 380 to 675

Tax will be 335 a year for life of van ownership

Has a bulkhead bolted in between the rear seats and the boot, insurer wasnt sure if removal counted as a modification to vehicle so its still in there ( honest)

Removing the bulkhead leaves two shitty holes in the headliner which looks crap

Im about to put it up for sale as they seem to hold money well even with big miles on them

VX Combo 1.5 hdi (130) auto owner here. Same engine. 10 months ownership of a 19 plate with 16k on clock.

really like the auto box nice n smooth. Plenty of pull from the engine for my needs. No issues to date.

Mpg not amazing but don’t do much miles so not an issue. 50-55 on a long drive if steady 60. Less at motorway speeds.  Averaging 45-50 overall given shorter trips too.

Post Feb 2023 engines have the thicker chain. All now use a very specific new oil specification.

That is interesting john dough. Does that mean it is now N1 not M1 on the reg doc? Sounds like they are doing the same as Suzuki did with the Jimny as lcv don’t count towards some of the total car sales emission figures. Is yours a 5 seater? Can’t imagine they’d get away with it on the 7 seater as there isn’t enough boot space to argue that it predominantly for carrying goods not people (Jimny had to remove the back seat as the boot was tiny).

If it is N1 then probably also on reduced van speed limits as I think the gvw is over 2 tonnes so can’t be a car derived van. With the windows and seats it might count as a dual purpose vehicle but I think the exact wording is that the rear window has to light the rear seat (so the bulkhead needs a hole or window of a certain size). I’ve got it in writing from DVLA and DVSA that nothing goes on the V5c to denote dpv, so you’d have to argue any speeding tickets eg 60 mph on an A road…..

It does indeed state N1 on the logbook , new 5 seater,  and indeed there has been some discussion with owners about the reduced speed limits,  none of the things i mentioned apply to the eberlingo which for my use was not capable enough for trips I do 500 miles a week via two 250 mile trips wasnt really qorried by the speed limits due to even the m1 now being 55 mph , i tend to bimble along at 55 most trips, basically if it came with the mesh bulkhead even the k9 pre facelift version check the logbook

I just bought a 21 plate berlingo swb van with 34k on the clock. Most of the stories I have read about snapped timing chains seem to be tradesmen that have passed the window for changing them. I have seen reports of them snapping before the 70k/80k interval, but that mileage changes from forum to forum and the manual doesn’t clarify

Reports of early failure seem to be second hand reports.

I did speak to a citroen dealer about upgrading to the 8mm chain, it’s about £1500 all in with the additional cams, cover etc. £350 for a repacement 7mm chain. His suggestion was just change the 7mm chain early “it’s not that big a job” were his words.

In the end because I found a clean example at a good price I decided to go for it and then maybe upgrade to the 8mm chain probably at next service.

It’s a tricky one. I’d like a K9 Berlingo but none of the engines,  petrol or diesel look particularly reliable. I’ve got a C3 Picasso at the moment with the 1.2 Puretech. Just had the wet belt changed (£600). Probably should stick with this car (devil you know) but basically we just like the idea of getting a newer car.

So 1.5 hdi, £350 for a new chain at some point and possible DPF issues to come (which seem to be very common and therefore likely )

Or look for a 1.2 Puretech ‘Lingo and be on standby for a new wet belt(£600)

We’re on a Dispatch Crewvan and hitting the point we could live with the eBerlingo if it had a bit more real world range – the dealer that bouncecycles is probably referring has one as a demonstrator for a few more weeks so we plan to have a play in it just as a future benchmark.

On the adblue front I keep meaning to check part numbers to see if ours shares any of the problem parts. So far no issues in 6 years and 58k miles…. On the latest fill-up I’ve added some decrystallisation fluid as a precaution and made sure it was a recent date code on the adblue. I was nervous about using the additive, but noticed Total (Citroen Peugeot lubricant partner) actually sell a ClearNox version of adblue with a similar additive already in – just very hard to get it in the UK. They must be making that version / formula for a reason….