[Matthew JN]

Hi

Is anyone running Berlingo 2.0HDi 90ps van - and have they had any problems with it ??

Cheers

[Spruce]

Hi

My son has a 52 plate Peugeot Partner 800LX with the 2.0 hdi engine. It has nearly 110k on the clock and is fine. He has had to replace the usual brake discs and pads, done cambelt and will need a new clutch as his is really hard to press down. But for the mileage it has done well.

When I worked in commercial sales at Citroen for 5 years, the Berlingos were pretty bullet proof. The hdi can be heavy on diesel if 'pushed'.

In 2003 Citroen replaced a lot of front coil springs under warranty and we have had to replace both front springs on his van. Saying that we had to replace both our coil springs on our Xsara this winter as both of them broke. But breaking coil springs is a common occurance with most models - motor factors are carrying shelves of them now. My mate also had his Veto coil springs break.

The only other issue that some have experienced is the rear door handle not opening the rear doors which is a simple plastic connector which can break but only costs a few pennies and quick to replace.

Another 'issue' is that the spare wheel is carried under the van, so make sure the carrier bolt and hook is working and hasn't siezed. It's good to probably replace it anyway and coat it with a liberal coating of copper grease. Another problem with Berlingos fitted with towbars in that their supplied sill jack won't lift the van high enough to allow the removal of the spare wheel from it's carrier past the towbar so is that something else to bare in mind.

In my opinion the 2.0 hdi is one of the best of that era. I don't have any experience with regard to the 1.6hdi fitted to new Berlingos but they do come in 2 engines power variants. a 70 and 90hp (round figures) which mimicks the 2.0 hdi and the 1.9d engines power output.
The 1.6 hdi first replaced the 2.0hdi in the Picasso and it achieved its hp by using turbo overboost in 3rd gear, so I presume they used the same trick with the Berlingos. Not sure how that affects engine life long term.

If you are thinking about one, try to find one with a side sliding door and make sure it has been looked after with good service history. Overall an excellent van.
In those days the LX was the best model as it had the front folding passenger seat, remote central locking and side protector trims.

Spruce

[Jeff Brimble]

Good reporting 

[Spruce]

Hi
I forgot to add - the hdi cosmetic engine cover is held on by 4 'cotton reel' type rubber mountings which break with age. I have 3 covers in my garage as I have never bothered to replace them. You can get these on E-bay for around £16.00 for a complete set and pretty simple to replace. Again, no big issue.

We have 2 Xsara hdi's, this Partner van and my Citroen Relay 2.0 hdi. The 1 Xsara has done nearly 130k with no mechanical problems; ours has done 98k and again has had no mechanical problems either apart from the regular mantainence items. My Relay has 40k on the clock.
None of these engines need oil top ups between their 12500 mile servicing intervals.

Being a common rail engine they do take much longer to warm up in the winter time than the previous 1.9d, but this is common with all new diesel engines. Citroen did a program change to 'overfuel' the engine when cold to warm the engine up quicker (it was to heat the catalytic convertor up quicker for emissions requirements), but reverted back to the earlier settings as stop start customers complained about high fuel usage, especially in winter.

Spruce

[Matthew JN]

Cheers for all that Spruce.
 
Do you know how east the egr valve is to get at and clean on the 2.0hdi, running a combo 1.7cdti at the mo but due to the stop stop start nature of our business - the egr needs cleaning every so often, but it is a good days job to do it.

[Spruce]

Cheers for all that Spruce.
 
Do you know how east the egr valve is to get at and clean on the 2.0hdi, running a combo 1.7cdti at the mo but due to the stop stop start nature of our business - the egr needs cleaning every so often, but it is a good days job to do it.

Hi,

I understand that it's difficult to get to and remove to clean. Everything that is at the 'back' of the engine is a tight squeeze, including the turbo and exhaust and really can only be got at from underneath with the van up on ramps. Again this hasn't been a common issue that we as main dealers were aware of. There was a minor egr valve issue on the 1.9d fitted to the C15, but maybe this is a job that the main dealers wouldn't get due to cost.
As per earlier, we have 3 high mileage 2.0hdi engined vehicles and we haven't had a problem with the EGR valves at all. Although my son's Peugeot Partner has a high mileage, he has only done about 3.5k a year in the last 5 years in it.

Spruce

[EandM]

My Dad runs a 406 hdi with the same engine (2.0 8 valve but in 110bhp) which has done 192,000 and doesn't even look like the head has been off! The early HDi diesels seem to be fairly bulletproof and don't have a dual-mass flywheel which saves about £800 every 50-60,000. Have seen 2.0Hdi's in Xantia taxi's with 300,000 + so mechanically at least no real problems.

[Jeff Brimble]

Cheers for all that Spruce.
 
Do you know how east the egr valve is to get at and clean on the 2.0hdi, running a combo 1.7cdti at the mo but due to the stop stop start nature of our business - the egr needs cleaning every so often, but it is a good days job to do it.

As per earlier, we have 3 high mileage 2.0hdi engined vehicles and we haven't had a problem with the EGR valves at all. Although my son's Peugeot Partner has a high mileage, he has only done about 3.5k a year in the last 5 years in it.

Spruce

3.5K is my average annual mileage for the works vehicle, low aint it ?

[Spruce]

Cheers for all that Spruce.
 
Do you know how east the egr valve is to get at and clean on the 2.0hdi, running a combo 1.7cdti at the mo but due to the stop stop start nature of our business - the egr needs cleaning every so often, but it is a good days job to do it.

As per earlier, we have 3 high mileage 2.0hdi engined vehicles and we haven't had a problem with the EGR valves at all. Although my son's Peugeot Partner has a high mileage, he has only done about 3.5k a year in the last 5 years in it.

Spruce

3.5K is my average annual mileage for the works vehicle, low aint it ?

Hi Jeff,
It is low mileage wise, but if you have a compact round close to home the business mileage will be low. We work within a 6 mile radius of home and only go out of that once every 6 weeks for a large job in town which is 20 miles away. The first van I bought was a Suzuki Carry and was owned by a painter. It was 4 years old when I bought it and had 19k miles on the clock so low annual mileages are also the norm amongst other service trades as well. My annual mileage is a little higher at 4.5k, and as we still use the Suzuki to collect on a Friday evening so we must add another 1k to that figure.
Unfortunately with low mileages, some car parts such as exhaust will need to be replaced sooner as they don't get hot enough to dry the silencer boxes out. Saying that though, the diesels exhausts still last for years.
Front brake discs seem to rust away rather than wear away and despite the Suzuki only having 38k on the clock and being 11 years old, its starting to rust quite badly, especially underneath.

My son Cameron loves his Berlingo van, but wishes it had a side opening door at the back. I think that he may have to rethink his current vehicle and consider a Multispace like you have as they are expecting their first child next month.
I have suggested that he looks at a Dispatch hdi with 3 front seats which I believe would be more practical, but he won't hear of it at the moment. He loves the size and economy of the van he has.

Spruce