Occasional Observations

The car is just three years old and has covered a paltry 50,000km. Back in ?04, when we were changing cars, the first diesel cars with particle filters (FAP) were on the market. Being aware of the clouds of soot that diesels can produce, we chose the Peugeot 807 partly because of its FAP.

Mistake. The technology was still in its infancy and, frankly, wasn?t ready for prime time. We?ve had no end of problems with the system ? with the dreaded ?exhaust anomaly? message usually flashing up when we?re on, or trying to go on holiday.

Here?s a brief recap of the most memorable times when:

• March 2005: a day before we planned to head over to the UK. We eventually went in a rental car paid for by Peugeot (a Ford, if you wondered)
• June 2005: on the way to Italy. We eventually went in a rental car paid for by Peugeot (a VW this time)
• April 2007: on the way back from Heidelberg.
• September 2007: in the Abruzzo region of Italy

We?ve wised up to the fix by now ? forget expensive diagnostics, and big garage bills in trying to fix the problem (the car got its second turbocharger as a one-year-old birthday present; thankfully Peugeot paid this under warranty). Instead, the solution is to reset the over-complex electronics by disconnecting the battery for a short spell. This resets the car?s memory and it forgets all about the phantom problem ? until the next time.

What else? Here?s some reasons NOT to buy an 807:

• The handbrake is not strong enough ? and the cable?s exposed, so if you live in an area where the temperature regularly falls below zero, the handbrake will be frozen on
• The windscreen area is too big for the demister to cope with
• The electronics are, frankly, rubbish. Press the horn and it takes a second before the signal works its way through the computer and the horn actually sounds. Same applies to flashing the lights. And these are functions where a second is a long time?

At least this time we?ve got rid of the phantom squeaking ? around a year ago this was so bad that we had to replace all the brake disks, at least this was what the garage did in trying to finally solve the perennial problem. In the last 12 months that problem has at least been held at bay ? there?s still some squeaks when cornering.

It all adds up to a real litany of shame, which is a real pity because the car, on paper, is so good ? it?s a driver?s car regarding the handling, it feels smaller than it is, the 2.2-liter diesel is just about pokey enough, and the rear sliding doors are really practical.

Labels: dieselhead, petrolhead, rant

# posted by Nesjo : 14:16