My Peugeot 308 automatic won't start

whitesatin

It was last serviced in October. It has only done around 12000 miles and is just over 5 years old.

I went to start it this morning (it was fine yesterday) and it wouldn't start. A message came up saying INFO: Auto lock active.

The radio is working.

I have tried the spare key.

Does it sound like I need to phone the garage to have it taken away to be repaired or does it sound like something simple? I have looked in the handbook but can't find anything relevant.

I would appreciate any ideas, thanks.

forgotmyname

Is it cranking over? Try the spare key.

oldhand

Try locking the car up again then unlock and try to start,hope it may help....

JustinR1979

I had an old auto, sometimes had to 'wiggle' the stick back and forth to get it to turn over. You never know (it does say auto lock)....

OddballJamie

Worth testing the battery, weak batteries can do odd things to cars.

EdGasket

its a Peugeot; probably needs towing to the main dealer for a computer reset!
(This happened to a friend when all he did was disconnect the battery while changing the clutch - cost an extra £120 for the reset).

whitesatin

Thanks everyone for your replies. I think I tried just about all suggestions but, in the end, contacted local dealer who suggested we get the AA to take the car to them to take a look. They did make one or two other suggestions which I tried. Anyway, I contacted the AA and upgraded to homestart and they were there within 20 minutes. He tested the battery and it was dead and further tests revealed that it was on its last legs anyway. He offered to fit a new one, from them, which has a four year guarantee and we went with that. So, all in all, with the upgrade (could be useful anyway, should have gone with that from the start in our position), and a new battery fitted and guaranteed, it cost us about £210 which is less than it would have cost to have it taken to the garage for them to find out the battery was flat and replace it, I reckon. The problem is that I don't use the car enough which affects battery life. A four year guarantee gives me some peace of mind.

So, thanks again, much appreciated.

bsod

only £210, how much was the homestart upgrade

a bosch battery with a 4 yr guarantee is about £45 from eurocarparts

One of these would have indicated that you needed to charge the old one before it died, for just over a quid


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cigarette-Lighter-Voltage-Voltmeter-BuyinCoins/dp/B0092KVYGI/ref=pd_sim_diy_4/277-5400002-8552912?ie=UTF8&refRID=0Y4S3TQ15CHXS9CDBK1K

get a trickle charger if it's likely to happen again through underuse

Richard53

It's an expensive way of finding out you have a dead battery, but let's hope it's all sorted and you are good for another 5 years. As said above, invest in a trickle charger and charge it overnight every 2-3 weeks if you aren't using the car. This cold weather is bad for batteries and they need all the help they can get if the car isn't in regular use.


By the way, 5-7 years is considered pretty much average for a car battery, so it was due for replacement anyway.

whitesatin

I know we probably could have got the battery cheaper but we just took the easiest way out on this occasion. Normally we are very careful with money, both of us being retired but, sometimes, we just want the job done to get things back to normal asap.

We will look into getting a trickle charger, not something we have ever heard of.

forgotmyname

If you said it wont crank over then we would have said the battery is probably flat. We could have suggested more tests that dont need any tools or mechanical knowledge.

£200+ is extortionate..