Citroen BX: Owner Review

It wasn't by chance that I bought Citroen brand automobile. During several years I was listening to my brother's enthusiastic reviews on diesel Citroen BX19 that he owns I decided to buy exactly the same car for myself. I like fuel economy and both the suspension and the price. I liked the fact that such cars are rarely stolen. However I couldn't find such a car, there were not a lot of Citroens imported. Sometimes I simply didn't like the saloon and sometimes the exterior design... Anyway I found the car which kitting-up I liked, the only thing was the engine - 1.9-liter injector. However the passion multiplied by my wife's delight (we've been choosing the car together) took over. I went to the servicemen that specialized on Citroen automobiles to have the car checked. Well if I were more experienced I would know all about BX's weak points but I didn't and therefore trusted the mechanics I knew. The car was checked on a "C", they did diagnosed something but didn't identified the most expensive breakdowns. However I will tell you about this car in general. My BX turned out to be quite a well-equipped automobile. The car was produced on 1990, October 19 judging by the RP number. The same was on the removable parts labelling and the number of them resolved the doubts concerning the car's age. Well, it's worth with the kilometrage, the speedometer shows 130 thousand km but this can't be true, the car cannot have done so little in 9 and a half years. It is supposed that in reality the kilometrage makes up some 230 km, however engine examination in the maintenance station didn't reveal any pathologies. But let's be consistent.

I still like my BX saloon. I've been in a lot of cars of the same class but I better prefer Citroen interior. It is spacious in the saloon, you don't feel any pressure at all. Comfortable velour seats, nice front panel that reminds of a Mercedes' one. The backseats are folding ones, the headrests are comfortable. The previous owner didn't care much about the switches cleanness as well as about the presence of controls' light bias lamps. But that wasn't a problem, everything can be easily dismantled and lamps replacement is as well problem-free. Let now let me say what differs TZI kitting-up from base model. These are electric window lifts of all dour windows, right electric mirror, steering booster, central locking, and conditioner. There is no climate control, just cool air blowing which is also nice when it's hot. There is open door/trunk/hood indicator. The cassette radio (I didn't have one in my previous car) is closed with a curtain-lid just like in Peugeot 405, which is very convenient.

My automobile is provided with 1.9-liter injector engine with Fenix-1B control system. That is DDZ engine type according to Citroen classification (XU9M according to Peugeot one). Its capacity is 80kWT (110 hp) and its torque makes up 158 Nm. There are some complaints about the engine and they weren't identified in the service center to my disappointment. The first thing they didn't notice is cylinder head's gasket burnout. It evinced itself in whitish oily loafs in the radiator and the necessity to constantly add antifreeze to the system. I then had to have the gasket replaced at the service and it wasn't cheap. I also replaced gas distributing mechanism belt as the previous owner had no idea whether it was even replaced. No one told me to replace the idler pulley and now it can be heard so I will have to pay again. I never had any problems with engine starting, neither in winter, nor in summer. However idle revolutions are subject to complaints. Maintenance station visits were unsuccessful and the revolutions are unstable reaching 1400 per minute instead of 1000. I think it may be injector clogging as I replaced the plugs just after I bought the car. I also bought a new runner and a new timing cover.

I replaced brake distributor almost right away and I don't understand why my "Citroen-friends" didn't identified that. I bought it new but it was for Citroen XM and now I feel sorry about that as my rear wheel brakes are practically not working. No one said a word about the need to replace LHM when replacing the distributor. I myself had no idea and discovered that only in a year when was checking the power fluid... I did replaced it but I surely lost some time. All other repairs were minor ones like damper strut's brake hose replacement.

What concerns the chassis, a completely worn-out rear-wheel bearing wasn't identified while the checkup. I had to buy a ready-assembled hub. I changed stabilizer's pillar in half a year and a right axle's intermediate bearing in a year. Now I have to replace rubber-metal rear beam seats. I was also forced to buy a new silencer as the old one was lost of my way to work and no a single driver from the back informed me about it.

Now a few words about the things that were missing. For no evident reason there was no wiper on the rear glass. There was not a trace of radio equipment, even the front doors dynamics were dismantled. The reason must the previous owner's avarice although it wasn't a giveaway price I had to pay for the car. I installed double-cavity Philips in the doors and therefore had to change a bit the standard decorative lid. I couldn't find the speakers of the right construction for the front panel, so I installed broadband Altronix SP-AT3008 after a slight modification. I also linked up nonpolar capacitors of 2.2 mkF each. These are generally speaking all the repairs I had to have done. Fog headlamps, ventilator sensor, open hood sensor, and trunk illuminating lamp were revived thanks to cleaning and contacts restoring.

I like the car on the whole. I once went to the seaside on it so it was overloaded but didn't subside. I don't believe those who say they ride a 9 or 10 year old used car without repairing it for some years. It's a bluff. It's difficult to restore the car after such drivers, I mean the expenses. Hydraulic suspension repair costs are the same as shock dampers and springs repair costs of an ordinary automobile. The main thing is to keep an eye on suspension and not to let things slide.skoda octavia rs