2011 RCZ issues keep cropping up (1st car)

[LeMansEngine]

Hi all,

Was hoping someone mechanically-minded could weigh-in. Bought a 2nd-hand RCZ, Dec 2020, my first car. The showroom aftersales was awful (battery died a day later/ignoring calls). In order of issues/fixes undertaken between 2020-2023 by my neighbour who is a mechanic, they were:

1.New battery
2. Front Brake disc worn, pitted / scored, not seriously weakened (MOT result)
3. Two airpipes faulty -fixed
4. Leaking oil (fixed)
5. New gasket installed
6. Re-aligned front wheels
7. Mechanic thinks alternator is at fault / lazy
8. He found a weak connection in the wiring loom
9. The CAT may be blocked (short journeys he says)
10. Remote was out of sync (reprogrammed, minor issue)
11. Emissions are high and brakes are sticking .
12. Two glitchy sensors were cleaned and refitted

Cut to 6 days ago, car shuddered and stopped, the temp gauge shot up and i had to wait half hr for engine to cool before restarting (after some frantic googling), and continues to shudder after a 20min drive. Back to the same mech it went, who has found an air pipe broken hence coolant leakage.

My concern is, he said he fixed these airpipes 7 months ago including sensors and oil leak - when I questioned him, he goes the pipes were very brittle and broke when he removed them?

I realise this is probs a basic q, but do airpipes really break so soon again after? Its not driven much at all, either (mainly at weekends) and I realise parts will fail over time as they're older cars now.

Am I being given the run-round? He's also telling me he fixed the sensors but those too, have failed somewhat in the 7 months since he last saw to it :/

I attached some texts of the latest issue if you wanted to gauge. I think he's generally trustworthy but wanted a 2nd opinion from actual owners of RCZs.

Thanks, Tia

Ps: a colleague mentioned I could perhaps have an ombudsman case against the garage for selling me a car riddled with issues, but wasn't sure how to reconcile that with 'wear and tear' though the battery and oil leak issue were defo pre-existing !

 

[RCZ-mad]

These things are regular items that would be easy to confirm were needed to be fixed, so you can ignore them;

1. New battery
2. Front Brake disc worn, pitted / scored, not seriously weakened (MOT result)
6. Re-aligned front wheels

These things, as the work has already been done, would be much easier if you could post the worksheet/invoice showing what was done with more detail (blur out any personal details you don't want to show of course)

3. Two airpipes faulty -fixed: airpipes for what exactly? Faulty how?
4. Leaking oil (fixed): leaking from where and how fixed?
5. New gasket installed: gasket for what?
8. He found a weak connection in the wiring loom: Where and what symptoms was it causing?
10. Remote was out of sync (reprogrammed, minor issue): Your neighbour reprogrammed it or an actual workshop?
12. Two glitchy sensors were cleaned and refitted: Which sensors and what issue were they causing?

And for these things, has he simply told you via text or actually written a quote with details?

7. Mechanic thinks alternator is at fault / lazy - Why does he think this?
9. The CAT may be blocked (short journeys he says) - What is the evidence of that?
11. Emissions are high and brakes are sticking - Once again, what evidence has he provided, or is it just his word via text at this stage?

Not sure your mileage but why didn't you take it into a Peugeot workshop? Do you have service books?

 

[LeMansEngine]

These things are regular items that would be easy to confirm were needed to be fixed, so you can ignore them;

1. New battery
2. Front Brake disc worn, pitted / scored, not seriously weakened (MOT result)
6. Re-aligned front wheels

These things, as the work has already been done, would be much easier if you could post the worksheet/invoice showing what was done with more detail (blur out any personal details you don't want to show of course)

3. Two airpipes faulty -fixed
4. Leaking oil (fixed)
5. New gasket installed
8. He found a weak connection in the wiring loom
10. Remote was out of sync (reprogrammed, minor issue)
12. Two glitchy sensors were cleaned and refitted

And for these things, has he simply told you via text or actually written a quote with details?

7. Mechanic thinks alternator is at fault / lazy - Why does he think this?
9. The CAT may be blocked (short journeys he says) - What is the evidence of that?
11. Emissions are high and brakes are sticking - Once again, what evidence has he provided, or is it just his word via text at this stage?

Not sure your mileage but why didn't you take it into a Peugeot workshop? Do you have service books?

Hiya

Thanks v much for your reply, mileage is 55k. He sometimes gave paper receipts, but generally, he sent vids and pics over text of his work/quotes which I also have copies of. The original dealership didn't supply a service history or book, so I have had it serviced twice since.

Exhaust: it was during the last MOT at the garage which the other mechanic also commented on, he says. It passed that time.

I'm paraphrasing the texts, but to summarise:
He ran ECU diognostics & found it's a 'cold start' status, so he said I need to to drive at least 10 miles a day or run the engine for minimum time of 30 minutes/and hold the revs at 3,000rpm
He says the faults happen because of short journeys, typical Peugeot faults,/ battery not getting chance to fully charge.

Let me go through the vids to see what made him think the alternator was faulty, but from memory, I think this was to do with battery which he eventually replaced. As for the CAT, I believe this was to do with the sensors/engine lights (to paint a picture of the issues, in case any of it sounded atypical or whatnot).

I added the quotes/fixes he gave this year, but it's the busted pipes, lately, that has resulted in the leaking coolant = overheating which has made me doubt him saying the airpipes went brittle within 6/7 months since he last repaired then, with minimal driving :/

Thanks once again!

 

[RCZ-mad]

1- He says the faults happen because of short journeys, typical Peugeot faults,/ battery not getting chance to fully charge. - Those aren't typical Peugeot faults, they are typical car faults. If you take frequent short journeys (less than 20 mins) then the catalytic might not get up to proper temp and the alternator might not have enough time to supply replacement charge to the battery.

2 - ..see what made him think the alternator was faulty, but from memory, I think this was to do with battery which he eventually replaced. - Ok so we can ignore that if whatever the issues were, disappeared after battery replacement.

3 - As for the CAT... - If the cat convertor is partially blocked up due to frequent short trips then pencil in a long drive somewhere, and get some special additive from an auto spares store which will promote the burn off, then get on the freeway and have it up to temp and try to burn off the excess buildup. Its possible that won't work in which case you may actually need a new cat converter.

With so much going on, you probably should take it into Peugeot directly and get them to give a thorough once over. They are the experts on this car and you'll get a much clearer answer on the issues. Sure, it may cost you more than the neighbour but at least do it once so you can get an accurate snapshot of your car's condition.

 

[LeMansEngine]

Yes, I took it for a long-ish drive (50miles either way) a few times over the last few months, in fact, this overheating failure happened just as I came off the motorway earlier this week

I may do just that and find a Peugeot locally, or maybe Kwik Fit/Halfords for a throught inspection, but I will bear the special additive in mind.

Thanks! Tia

 

[RCZ-mad]

'Back to the same mech it went, who has found an air pipe broken hence coolant leakage.'

I think you're talking about coolant pipes right? They are never referred to as air pipes. Sorry, you confused me when you referred to an 'air pipe'

 

[LeMansEngine]

'Back to the same mech it went, who has found an air pipe broken hence coolant leakage.'

I think you're talking about coolant pipes right? They are never referred to as air pipes. Sorry, you confused me when you referred to an 'air pipe'

Yes sorry thats what he called them, do you know if they break so easily? He says it undone the work he did 7 months ago, which I find somewhat hard to believe

 

[Lanciaman]

Don't bother with Halfords or kwik fit. Try to find a peugeot specialist near you. Personally I wouldnt trust a main dealer either but that's me

 

[RCZ-mad]

Don't bother with Halfords or kwik fit. Try to find a peugeot specialist near you. Personally I wouldnt trust a main dealer either but that's me

When you don't know anything about cars, what choice would you have? Trust some guy who lives near you, or trust a dealer? lol

I'll say this, I'd trust a Peugeot dealer more than a neighbour. A Peugeot dealer is going to have mechanics actually trained to work on these cars, they are going to conduct work that is according to established standards and recorded for auditing purposes so it would be very unlikely a technician there would make something up.

I think, for the most part, the reason people have the perception that the main dealers rip you off is because they are using trained technicians, they are actually able to find more issues than some guy who lives on your block.

 

[Pedro]

Wheel alignment or tracking as for the Air intakes which have considerable damage those should be replaced he may have cleaned the Map & Maf sensors ?
Relating to the battery if your only doing short runs as previously stated this will in effect damage the battery by continually draining it too much resulting in power loss but if the Alternator is failing this badly affects the electrical charging system

 

[LeMansEngine]

When you don't know anything about cars, what choice would you have? Trust some guy who lives near you, or trust a dealer? lol

I'll say this, I'd trust a Peugeot dealer more than a neighbour. A Peugeot dealer is going to have mechanics actually trained to work on these cars, they are going to conduct work that is according to established standards and recorded for auditing purposes so it would be very unlikely a technician there would make something up.

I think, for the most part, the reason people have the perception that the main dealers rip you off is because they are using trained technicians, they are actually able to find more issues than some guy who lives on your block.

Yes, when you put it like that. He's a qualified mechanic, and actually mentioned that doing consistent shorter journeys isn't good for the car, who knew! Thanks for replying

 

[LeMansEngine]

Wheel alignment or tracking as for the Air intakes which have considerable damage those should be replaced he may have cleaned the Map & Maf sensors ?
Relating to the battery if your only doing short runs as previously stated this will in effect damage the battery by continually draining it too much resulting in power loss but if the Alternator is failing this badly affects the electrical charging system

Yes, I am told: under use and short trips can lead to problems, as am never getting the engine up to temperature properly = the battery won't have chance to recharge fully, leading to repeated failures thanks for replying

 

[RCZ-mad]

Yes, when you put it like that. He's a qualified mechanic, and actually mentioned that doing consistent shorter journeys isn't good for the car, who knew! Thanks for replying

Well yes, he might be a qualified mechanic but there is still specialised training mechanics do if they work for a particular brand. Plus it can't be argued that if you work on particular cars in your job, you get very familiar with the types of things that can go wrong and also get much better at diagnosing issues accurately instead of just fitting parts based on guesswork.

Having said that, there are of course fundamental things that are true for all cars, and on that particular information he gave you about short drives, he is correct.