Seeking advice re "Engine fault" message in Citroen Berlingo

PhotoMan

Hi,

I have a Citroen Berlingo, details, at the end of this post.

On 5th Feb 2026 our local Citroen garage carried out the work required by a safety recall, code NY5.

Yesterday when I started the car after going to the shops I got an error code on the dashboard saying:
"Engine fault: repair needed", next to a graphic of an engine with an exclamation mark in the centre. In the lower left of the speedometer there was an orange graphic of an engine.

The car had started up with no problem. I turned the engine off and restarted it but the same thing occurred. I was only 2 miles from home so I took a risk and drove home. There was no abnormal sound or vibration coming from the engine. No smell of burning and the engine temp showed a steady 90 degrees. The orange icon of an engine stayed on the speedometer for the whole journey home.

I find it something of a coincidence that the recall letter said that one of things they would be doing was "update the software to improve oil pressure and reduce wear".

I am not skilled in car maintenance in any way but I can follow instructions as regards what buttons to press on the dashboard etc.

I wonder if there is anything I could try to rectify the situation if it is merely a software glitch before speaking to a garage. If I need to speak to a garage I wonder whether that would have to be a Citroen retailer or whether any garage may be able to perform any necessary repairs?

Thank you very much to anyone who has read this far and anyone offering any advice.

Thank you

The car details are:

Vehicle make
CITROEN
Date of first registration
February 2021
Year of manufacture
2021
Cylinder capacity
1500 cc
CO₂ emissions
137 g/km
Fuel type
DIESEL
Euro status
EURO 6 AP
Real Driving Emissions (RDE)
2
Export marker
No
Vehicle status
Taxed
Vehicle colour
GREY
Vehicle type approval
M1
Wheelplan
2 AXLE RIGID BODY

paul_c123

Any garage could/should be able to diagnose it. It needs diagnosing before any further useful advice can be given.

facade

It needs booking into your Citroen garage or somewhere that knows Citroens well for investigation. A general garage might find the problem if there is an obvious fault code and will be cheaper than Citroen, but you might end up going to Citroen anyway.

My Citroen eC4 has just started displaying an almost identical message "electric traction fault: repair needed" but my appointment for diagnosis is still 3 weeks away 🙄. Posting in the forums, the message can mean literally anything, not necessarily what it says and Citroen don't have much clue either! No-one knows what the fault codes actually mean as they can be triggered by something (that you wouldn't expect to be) related rather than what the code says.

Do check with Citroen, but an orange warning is OK to drive if you take it easy (good job too if it is 6 weeks before they will look at it) a red warning means do not run the engine.

It could be the software is now looking more critically at sensor outputs and flagging a potential problem early, so what wasn't a problem before is one now if you get my drift.

Bigwheels1111

I have a Peugeot 5008, same group of manufacturers.

First buy a OBD2 fault code reader, £15 - £20.

Read code, look up code.

Clear code only worry if the fault comes back. The AA guy who found the code gave me that advice

After a long run I kept getting NoX code, cleared it, 3-4 times.

That was 5 years ago, not come back.

Dealer will want £150 for a scan.

Do you have adblue, P20E8 code,

Tank and or injector needed.

Mildly_Miffed

You need fault codes to be read.

You can DIY - five quid from the 'bay for a generic bluetooth OBD dongle plus free smartphone software - but that'll only point you in the direction of the issue.

The engine management doesn't know you've received that recall letter so, no, it is not linked. Pure coincidence… The NY5 recall relates to premature wear of the camchain, with the warranty extended to 10yrs for related failures, presuming you have proper service history.

PhotoMan

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81937478#Comment_81937478

Thank you.
Should this one work with my car? (details in original post above)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Scanner-Enhanced-Diagnostic-Protocol-Vehicles/dp/B0FH9ND8SX/ref=sr_1_8?crid=2E8XRIHID7DGK&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.1IIt_8kcMgxZLlEvsMinqDrriSg2KC8IxSXPtjHRXBZF8Akhk7nMoZUFv8FKz9y8GREVtjTpGHAPE7kcC0GF0eF3JRvJjh1yLBJPRLHKf46fgq4O-Rr9AOXBZo5OQqqKxnPg4Df9B835Y7Ehv2c-U5uD2t8IN4Q_JXb16aC0-mj_smQIBEp0e3KNuLMaZqX39wJ0w9j3Kw2qUmioQYFE0wMzIPkhPT9tAZqfLJDlEjC3Y1V1T2GjGBtDUF3arveDYXspw0BHtPiGnVlasp5UENT4evjwoRsXEGrLWQzG1DA._d7sKfkA10HIVK7Uh0YqtV2bWfIS707Ag07paaWzdss&dib_tag=se&keywords=OBD2+scanner&qid=1774473697&refinements=p_85%3A20930949031%2Cp_72%3A419153031&rnid=419152031&rps=1&s=automotive&sprefix=obd2+scanner%2Cautomotive%2C321&sr=1-8

Bigwheels1111

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81937533#Comment_81937533

Yes, that will do the trick, plus has a battery tester as well.

This is a BAD, BAD code.

Starts with a warning, possible engine damage, then emissions fault and then a countdown with the Urea light flashing. Well on my car. On my third adblue tank.

Say goodbye to £1500 - £2000.

Over the last 9.5 years I’ve had 20 or so warnings come up.

Read the code and deleted it has worked most of the time.

PhotoMan

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81937564#Comment_81937564

The post in the link below suggests that Citroen make the OBD2 interface use different pins to hide some of the fault codes? (or have I misunderstood the post)

https://www.berlingoforum.com/thread-23554.html

Bigwheels1111

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81937579#Comment_81937579

You are going down a rabbit hole now. A car company misleading the public, say it ain’t so.

Get a scanner and read the code.

See if it can be cleared.

The first time I had a code appear I panicked and thought the car would die, engine exploded etc.

Too much thinking without any solid evidence of a real issue.

Come back after your scan and report the codes.

facade

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81937579#Comment_81937579

They have to make the "standard" engine codes available that a generic OBD code reader can see. If the fault is a "standard" code it will show up.

Otherwise you have to use either a PSA converter lead (about £10 on Amazon if you have Prime) which swaps the CAN Hi & CAN Lo pins on the reader to Manufacturer OPT pins at the car, or the newer Vgate iCar pro dongles will work directly with CarScanner without any converter leads. https://www.carscanner.info/ on Android with a Citroen profile set. These will read the "secret" manufacturer codes.

A Vgate bluetooth dongle is about £25. I'd get one of those in preference to a cheap OBD reader as they will do a lot more.

I have one, but as I posted even knowing the codes doesn’t help me at all as there isn't information on what they are, Citroen use the generic code plus a 2 digit suffix indicating which module it refers to.

The Berlingo is quite popular though, so the forums may be more help than the ones for my eC4.

Goudy

The recall NY5 addresses this engines ability to wear the timing chain too quickly. It often involves inspecting or replacing the timing chain plus there is a software update for the Adblue system.

I suspect there is now a discrepancy between the cam and crank sensors which is causing the EML. It's not unusual if the chain/belt has been off and refitted. The cars software was used to where the timing was and then suddenly it's slightly different due to a tighter chain/belt and it now thinks that's a problem. It might just need a relearn.

A lot of owners have had Adblue problems after the software update as the update removes previous versions of the software that were introduced to solve some other issues with that system. Basically the update is a step backwards.

Take it back to the dealers that did the recall and let them diagnose it. You might have to agree to pay for the diagnostics if it's something other than what they did for the recall though.

You can of course buy a code reader, but if you don't really know what the code means and can't fix it, it's might not be worth the cost, you are still going to need to take it somewhere that knows what it all means and fix it, which starts with a reading the codes.