car juddering. any car experts?

antwilson

Hi, ive tried phoning a few garages for advice but none of them seem to be able to tell me whats wrong, they just say it needs a £70 inspection! :eek:

Ive got a Peugeot 307, petrol,1.6 47000 miles, 53 plate.

Purchased it from a Ford Dealer 2-3 months ago with a 2 year warranty.

2 weeks ago, the car had a a lack of power when accelerating (going 45-50, sticking foot down in 3rd/4th and wouldnt move) Felt like a 1.6 diesel van without a turbo on it!
Also, since about a month ago, when I am setting off from standstilll either first thing in a morning or when its being sat at work for 8 hours - the whole car seems to judder/kangaroo (kind of a bit like when your learning to drive and you do it wrong only a LOT worse-and its not me doing it wrong!). This happens just as im getting to the biting point. It isnt just jumpy, it kind of jolts the whole car quite a lot.
Once when it did this, the car wasnt actually moving anywhere, just jolting about near enough on the spot. sometimes I have to dip the clutch and go again for the car to actually move properly. In a morning the car is really sluggish and not its usual smooth self.

Anyway, I booked the car in at the garage i bought it from last wednesday for them to have a look at it. They said they had road tested it, but couldnt get the juddering to happen, and as for the power - they could tell it was 'hesitating'.
They said I would be best to take the car to the local peugeot dealer for them to look at it and see what they say.

Ive spoken to peugeot and they say they will roadtest it but it sounds like it will need a diagnostic check at £70.50:eek: . Ive checked with the garage i purchased the car from ad the warranty company wont cover this charge. If the check comes back as something covered under the warranty they MAY conside paying TOWARDS the diag check.

Anyway, this was last wednesday and since then the car has being fine - no judering and the power is fine. But since tuesday the juddering has come back gradually, especially today. I was just pullling away from work onto a busy'ish road and the car began to judder, so i used more acceleration, but it just kept juddering then the revs went straight to red line.

As soon as the car warms up its fine, it only seems to happen in the morning or when stood and the engine is cold. Ive phoned a few places in the yellow pages and a few have said it sounds like the clutch. The only thing is, that peugeot are only going to do a road test, and then ive got to pay a diag check which might not even find anything!

Is anyone a car expert/mechanic who has any idea what this could be? Im taking the car in saturday morning to peugeot for them to have a look. the garage i bought it from have asked me to just get a report from them first before i get a diag check, and they will speak to warranty company.

Thanks in advance if anyone knows more than the apparent wise minded garages out there!!!

epninety

There's quite a few things that could cause this, and unfortunately some may not be cheap to diagnose.

Clutch slave cylinder leaking (if it has one, last time I had a PSA motor it was cable operated). If it's hydraulic clutch, have you checked the level? The slave cylinder can leak onto the clutch making it 'grabby'.

Failing crankshaft seal - engine oil gets onto the clutch. Check for oil dripping out at the engine/gearbox joint (but that's not conclusive if it's not there)

Broken engine mount?

Clutch driven plate breaking up (happened to me recently).

It's not impossible that it's an engine problem, especially since you have other engine symptoms.

I'd expect a decent garage to take a 5 minute look before they think about charging you though.

antwilson

a few places have asked me if i have a rattle from the engine, i assume this is to do with the engine mount?

I would assume the garage i took it to would have looked at these things, but where abouts would they be/look like??

Thanks!

cajef

antwilson wrote: »

Purchased it from a Ford Dealer 2-3 months ago with a 2 year warranty.

If they have put a two year warranty on the vehicle it is up to them to fix it, you should not have to pay another garage to sort it out at your expense.

Take it back to them, if it has to go to a Peugeot dealer to be sorted that is up to them to arrange and they should pay any costs for repairs under the warranty.

nickj_2

i agree with cajef , if it's only a couple of months since purchase and under warranty it's down to them , don't let them fob you off

antwilson

If they have put a two year warranty on the vehicle it is up to them to fix it, you should not have to pay another garage to sort it out at your expense.

Take it back to them, if it has to go to a Peugeot dealer to be sorted that is up to them to arrange and they should pay any costs for repairs under the warranty.

Does this still stand if the warranty is with a seperate company? the warranty ive got is with black horse.

tomstickland

It could be loads of things. From your description the main points are lack of power and juddering when pulling away. That sort of thing suggest misfire.

I'd check the HT leads and spark plugs for a start.
Check fuel pressure and fuel pump.
Check ECU for fault codes.
Check fuel injection wiring.
Then sensors.

It's not the sort of thing you're going to get an instant answer to - it'll involve digging around.

antwilson

Thanks for all the replies. Ive no idea what half of it means or where any of it is but at least its something i can put to peugeot!

antwilson

Hi,

I took the car into peugeot main dealer on friday to be looked at. They did a diag check on it (£70!) and told me its not found anything, but it did have a "huge software download" and ECU download. They said if its still happening it could be the cam followers and valves which need replacing.

Ive spoke to my warranty company and these are only covered if it is classed as mechanical failure. If its wear and tear its a £800 bill ive got to pay myself - and there not even sure thats the problem!

Does this sound like a possibility? how likely is it that this is a wear and tear or mechanical failure considering mileage and age?

Thanks

epninety

It seems unlikely to be valves or followers, since it happens only when cold. did they actually test drive the car (with a cold engine), or just plug it into their test harness? If true, I dont think they could claim fair wear and tear at 47K as long as there is a service history.

I think I'd find a friendly local garage and leave the car with them overnight, so they can test drive it first thing in the morning.

antwilson

I think they took it for a test run but it wouldnt have being cold as Id drove it there, so it had warmed up. They couldnt test it after the computer either because it wasnt cold then either.

They said it would be the valves sticking. I phoned them yesterday and there going to ring my warranty company and see what they say.