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This is a really interesting topic, as the manufacturer refuses to accept that their cars have a major design flaw, when they quite clearly do.
Let me explain. I have owned two Citroens, one an 88F BX and the other a 96P Xantia, both diesels.
Both have let me down with the handbrake mechanism becoming loose, and the car rolling.
The handbrake on these motors acts on the front wheels (like the old 'Suds) and it has a flaw in the design where the components contract as they cool, releasing the grip of the brake.
I was lucky with the BX, it only rolled a few feet (albeit into the middle of the road, but noone "encountered" it!! But the Xantia was a bit more dramatic.
I was visiting one of my missus' family friends in Coulsden, and she lived on a hill. So I parked up, yanked on the handbrake (forgetting my two other usual measures - turning the wheel to the kerb and leaving it in reverse) and we went in. We said hello and sat down. We had been talking a good few minutes when the daughter said "what car have you come in?". The white one we said. "What? That one rolling past the window?"
OH SH*T!!!
So it was, and it rolled all the way down the hill and hit a Polo head on. Miraculously, no one was hurt (if the Polo hadn't stopped it, it would have gone down the hill to the bottom (90 degree lh bend) and smashed through a hedge into a garden full of kids........) Also miraculously, apart from a small scratch on the bumper, the Xantia was unscathed.
Now, my missus insists I left the handbrake loosly applied. I said not. The first thing I did when I reached the car was to check the handbrake. It was as tight as I could apply it. And if I did forget to put the 'brake on, why did it take so long before it began rolling? Just enough time to let the metal cool down, I reckon!
I insisted to Citroen and my insurance co. that the design is flawed. Will they listen? You tell me!!
I aked Zurich if anyone else had had a similar accident in a Citroen, but they said this was their first encounter, as did my garage. Is this a cover up? All the ins co was interested in was whether the car had been REGULARLY SERVICED and was the HB adjusted last visit? It was.
Anyone else suffered this fate?
Let me explain. I have owned two Citroens, one an 88F BX and the other a 96P Xantia, both diesels.
Both have let me down with the handbrake mechanism becoming loose, and the car rolling.
The handbrake on these motors acts on the front wheels (like the old 'Suds) and it has a flaw in the design where the components contract as they cool, releasing the grip of the brake.
I was lucky with the BX, it only rolled a few feet (albeit into the middle of the road, but noone "encountered" it!! But the Xantia was a bit more dramatic.
I was visiting one of my missus' family friends in Coulsden, and she lived on a hill. So I parked up, yanked on the handbrake (forgetting my two other usual measures - turning the wheel to the kerb and leaving it in reverse) and we went in. We said hello and sat down. We had been talking a good few minutes when the daughter said "what car have you come in?". The white one we said. "What? That one rolling past the window?"
OH SH*T!!!
So it was, and it rolled all the way down the hill and hit a Polo head on. Miraculously, no one was hurt (if the Polo hadn't stopped it, it would have gone down the hill to the bottom (90 degree lh bend) and smashed through a hedge into a garden full of kids........) Also miraculously, apart from a small scratch on the bumper, the Xantia was unscathed.
Now, my missus insists I left the handbrake loosly applied. I said not. The first thing I did when I reached the car was to check the handbrake. It was as tight as I could apply it. And if I did forget to put the 'brake on, why did it take so long before it began rolling? Just enough time to let the metal cool down, I reckon!
I insisted to Citroen and my insurance co. that the design is flawed. Will they listen? You tell me!!
I aked Zurich if anyone else had had a similar accident in a Citroen, but they said this was their first encounter, as did my garage. Is this a cover up? All the ins co was interested in was whether the car had been REGULARLY SERVICED and was the HB adjusted last visit? It was.
Anyone else suffered this fate?