# Black smoke from exhaust



## Vanilla (16 Aug 2008)

Just bought a citroen C5, diesel. 05. There is a lot of black smoke from the exhaust when accelerating. What could be the cause of this as the car is still under warranty ( only bought one week ago).


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## D1983 (16 Aug 2008)

What mileage is on it?
Sut (black smoke) from a diesel when you accelerate hard is normal,unless it is excessive.
If it is excessive it could be,an injector,egr,turbo,etc,need more info.


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## RS2K (16 Aug 2008)

Bring it back


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## mathepac (16 Aug 2008)

D1983 said:


> ...
> If it is excessive it could be,an injector,egr,turbo,etc,...


...or even something simple like installing a new air flter.


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## Vanilla (17 Aug 2008)

It is 65000. There is an error message saying particle filter clogged. I will get this attended to but am wondering whether this is an early warning signal and I should give it back to dealer! It's an estate, and suits my purposes well. I found it hard to find one that suits and I realise the value of these cars depreciates rapidly- I had intended to hang on to it for a good while. I drove behind it for 200km yesterday and I felt the smoke excessive- always at every acceleration.


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## RS2K (17 Aug 2008)

Get the particulate filter changed then!  

Bizzare post. What's wrong with my car, and then "there's an error message".


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## D1983 (17 Aug 2008)

Vanilla said:


> It is 65000. *There is an error message saying particle filter clogged.* I will get this attended to but am wondering whether this is an early warning signal and I should give it back to dealer! It's an estate, and suits my purposes well. I found it hard to find one that suits and I realise the value of these cars depreciates rapidly- I had intended to hang on to it for a good while. I drove behind it for 200km yesterday and I felt the smoke excessive- always at every acceleration.



Well there's your problem.


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## Vanilla (18 Aug 2008)

RS2K said:


> Get the particulate filter changed then!
> 
> Bizzare post. What's wrong with my car, and then "there's an error message".


 
Well sorry if you think it is bizarre. The error message didnt show up at first and I know very little about cars. I am obviously concerned that I have bought a lemon and want to address any issues promptly.


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## Staples (18 Aug 2008)

Vanilla said:


> There is an error message saying particle filter clogged. I will get this attended to but am wondering whether this is an early warning signal and I should give it back to dealer!


 
This is a _current_ warning signal. Bring it back and get it attended to while it's under warranty. The seller should be given reasonable opportunity to correct matters but it might be no harm to mention at this stage that if the problem persists, you'll be seeking a refund on the basis that you've been sold a lemon.

If you continue to drive around with the warning light on, you might only make things worse.


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## Vanilla (18 Aug 2008)

Yes, am going to do this. Just to be clear the error message didnt show up until a few days after I first noticed this smoke ( and after my first post). My husband is going to contact the garage today.


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## Vanilla (18 Aug 2008)

The garage are saying that the car was allowed to run out of diesel ( in the garage) and that this may have caused the error message as the car was fully serviced before being sold. They suggest putting some sort of cleaning stuff through it and the error message is gone.


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## efm (18 Aug 2008)

Vanilla said:


> They suggest putting some sort of cleaning stuff through it and the error message is gone.


 
Tell them you'll drop the car back to them so they can do it themselves under warranty; and so they can't blame you if anything goes wrong!


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## Vanilla (18 Aug 2008)

Unfortunately the garage is quite far from us so it is not practical to do this unless absolutely necessary.


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## D1983 (18 Aug 2008)

Vanilla said:


> The garage are saying that the car was allowed to run out of diesel ( in the garage) and that this may have caused the error message as the car was fully serviced before being sold. They suggest putting some sort of cleaning stuff through it and the error message is gone.



That's a load of balls


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## Vanilla (18 Aug 2008)

D1983 said:


> That's a load of balls


 
Is it? I'm bringing the car to a nearby Citroen garage and will see what they say. Unfortunately I have to wait a week to get it in but I think it is better at this point to get an independant professional to check.


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## Caveat (19 Aug 2008)

Vanilla said:


> I'm bringing the car to a nearby Citroen garage and will see what they say


 
Be careful of this.  Should you eventually have to take the car back to the original garage, they will probably try to blame any and all problems on this garage - if they need to. 

If at all possible, I would take the car to the garage you bought it from - even if it is inconvenient to do so.


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## Towger (19 Aug 2008)

Caveat said:


> Be careful of this. Should you eventually have to take the car back to the original garage, they will probably try to blame any and all problems on this garage - if they need to.


 
Thats no problem for Vanilla, she just has to come out with 'I am a solicitor'. I hear it works wonders


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## Vanilla (19 Aug 2008)

Towger said:


> Thats no problem for Vanilla, she just has to come out with 'I am a solicitor'. I hear it works wonders


 

LOL. Has been known to alright. Tend to avoid using this line myself although that doesnt stop my husband using the old 'my wife is a solicitor' line infrequently ( often with an entirely made-up idea of the law following on).

In this case wish I could use the line 'I am a mechanic'. I'd say that might help!


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## DavyJones (19 Aug 2008)

What a nightmare, not what you want from a new-ish car. It might be worth taking a hit from an independant mechanic to see if  the motor is any good.

Check this out:www.2carpros.com/first_things/excessive_smoke.htm


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## mathepac (19 Aug 2008)

Vanilla said:


> The garage are saying that the car was allowed to run out of diesel ( in the garage) and that this may have caused the error message as the car was fully serviced before being sold. They suggest putting some sort of cleaning stuff through it and the error message is gone.


This is rubbish. If the car ran out of diesel, was serviced and they had any error messages checked and faults cleared before the sale to you, the probability is that you now have a fault that is in no way connected to the "running out of diesel" event.

Most of the cleaners for fuel-lines, engines, etc. are not approved by motor manufacturers and may void any warranty you have. Get the seller to put specific instructions in writing and make a statement that you will not void your warranty by following the instructions.

IME, checking and safely clearing error messages on a car's display is outside the scope of what your "average motorist" can do and usually requires hooking the car up to the electronic diagnostic rig.


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## Vanilla (20 Aug 2008)

Thanks to all for the information. I will wait and see what the citroen garage have to say and avoid any DIY routes.


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