Peugeot Problems

Peugeots of this era were not known for the high standard of their electrical systems. Even when new, they gave trouble, in fact. But to find your problem, here’s my first question: Have you altered or added anything to the car that runs on electricity? This could be a new stereo head unit, amplifier, extra gauges to monitor the engine, auxiliary lights or even a sat-nav or dash-cam system. Any of these additions could be somehow remaining powered-up when you lock and leave the car each day, flattening the battery overnight.

Does the car have an alarm system? These are notorious for draining batteries and older ones especially so. Have you checked things like the light in the boot? If this stays on due to a faulty micro-switch, you could easily have a flat battery next morning. Find a dark place to park the car and then have a good look around it for any signs of a light stuck on somewhere.

In some cases, you might find the cause of the problem is the body computer which is randomly switching on various systems (including even the headlights) when you’re not looking. By the time you go to the car next morning, the lights are off because the battery is completely flat.

It’s probably fair to say this wasn’t a great time in Peugeot reliability or build quality. Overall, these Peugeots (like a lot of European designed and engineered cars over the years) didn’t like Australian heat cycles and could start to wear in places they wouldn’t have in Europe.

The biggest of this model’s problems was a propensity for the timing chain to wear prematurely, causing all sorts of internal engine problems and, in some cases, the need for a new engine to be fitted. To be fair, this problem seems to be concentrated on the earlier (pre-2011) versions of this car, but we’d still be very careful about checking the engine on a later one as well. The direct fuel-injection system also meant that the backs of the intake valves weren’t being cleaned by a squirt of fuel every time the engine fired, and this can lead to a build-up of carbon in the intake tract with poor running and a misfire the likely results.

The bottom line is that only a Peugeot 308 with low kilometres (as this one has) and an impeccable service history should be considered. Even then, there are possibly better, more reliable, alternatives.

While there’s no doubt that Peugeot’s quality has improved after the terrible days of the 1990s and 2000s, there remains a school of thought that suggests the brand still lags behind much of the Japanese and South Korean competitors when it comes to build quality and reliability. Not that some of Subaru’s engineering in the last couple of decades has been beyond reproach, either (a batch of dodgy head gaskets did the brand’s reputation no good at all) but on balance, a Subaru is more highly regarded by the trade on the subject of reliability.

Like any modern turbo-diesel, the one in the 3008 can suffer if your driving habits don’t suit the way the engine and its particulate filter are designed to operate. In a nutshell, unless you do at least some highway driving every month, then a modern turbo-diesel is probably not for you (and that applies to all makes and models, not just Peugeots). Other complaints about the 3008 we’ve heard involve the heating and ventilation system, and random electrical glitches are not unknown. The diesel version of the current-model 3008 has also been recalled for a potential engine overheating problem as well as a possible fuel leak problem on a batch of early-build cars.

As for after-sales back-up, it’s fair to say that some dealerships are better than others, regardless of the brand they support. The difference might be if you live in a relatively remote area where Peugeot’s 30-dd dealerships can’t offer the coverage of Subaru’s 100-plus dealers.

If the car still selects gears, then the problem is probably not within the gearbox itself. Instead, it’s likely to be play, or looseness, that has developed in the shift mechanism. The gearstick in a car is linked to the actual gearbox either by a series of levers or cables. The motion of the gearstick is transferred via those linkages or cables to the internal workings of the transmission and the gearshift is made. If free-play or looseness develops in these linkages or cables, or the pivot of the gearstick itself, then the sloppiness you’re feeling can occur.

The fix is to replace the worn bushes or bearings that these linkages ride on, thereby removing the free-play. It can be a fairly simple job in some cases, but other times the worn parts are deeper within the mechanical bits and need extra dismantling to reach. That’s when the job can become more expensive.

There are lots of gizmos and gadgets that keep a modern engine running sweetly and maximise efficiency, and some of these do involve the camshafts. But I’ll go out on a limb here and suggest that the component you’re referring to is the cam-chain tensioner which does, indeed, operate automatically to keep the timing chain at the correct tension. Why am I so sure? Because this series of engines has a terrible reputation for premature wear of these components and subsequent replacement of them.

Shared with both Peugeot and Mini, the engine in your car experienced timing-chain problems (mainly a stretched chain) in both turbocharged and non-turbocharged variants and became obvious when the engine started making rattling noises, especially on cold start-ups or when idling. Eventually, the chain could fail and if this happened, the engine could be destroyed and would need to be replaced. The solution was to catch the damaged timing chain components before they became a problem, and that’s where having a listen to the engine each morning comes in. Beyond that, you can reduce the risk of the problem occurring by changing the engine oil every 10,000km (and not stretching this interval) and keeping a close eye on the engine’s dipstick and replenishing the oil to the correct level when necessary.

Peugeot kept fiddling with this engine to try to fix this problem and developed no less than four different timing-chain designs over the life of the unit to try to fix the problem. But none of the fixes seemed to be perfect, so it’s an ongoing thing. The build date of your car will determine which design it uses, and the bottom line is that sometimes you can get away with replacing some of the timing components, while at other times, you’ll need to replace the chain, tensioners and seals…quite a big and expensive job.

Assuming the worst, you should budget for at least $2000, maybe more depending on what workshop you use.

What you haven’t told me is whether the oil was actually low when the warning light first showed up on your dashboard (and before you topped up the oil). Perhaps the person who changed the oil didn’t add enough oil afterwards; perhaps they didn’t account for the extra half a litre required to fill the new oil filter. Even draining the oil to change it could, conceivably, cause the low-oil light to trigger, and if that’s the case, you need to re-set the light once you’re satisfied that the oil level is correct.

Re-setting this warning light varies from car to car, but an actual mechanic would probably know how to do this, so maybe a quick visit to a workshop to have the light re-set will be worth the small cost involved. By the way, I never rely on warning lights to tell me my engine oil is low. That’s what a car’s dipstick is for. Check it each week and you’ll never run the engine low on oil.

Hot engine oil is a normal part of a car’s operation. If there’s a little smoke from the oil when you open the oil-cap on top of the engine, that’s actually reasonably normal, provided it’s only a few fumes and not huge clouds of smoke.

The car telling you to stop could be due to any number of faults or conditions within the car, so the wise thing to do is have it scanned at a Peugeot specialist who will be able to interpret the coded messages the car spits out. The turbocharger could be the component at fault here, but without an electronic scan, you’d only be guessing at the real cause.

It sounds like you have a bit of a thing for French cars right now, Carmel. In fact, you could argue that the French brands are experiencing a bit of a resurgence in Australia, particularly as each brand gets its quality act closer to the mark and the factory warranties have never been better than right now.

All three of the cars you’ve nominated have their strong points, and it will really come down to your personal preferences when it comes to which one is right for you. And let me guess; it was the Peugeot 2008’s odd dashboard/steering wheel relationship that put you off. That’s particularly true for shorter folk who have trouble looking over the wheel at the instruments. But then, such quirkiness has always been part of the charm of French cars, no?

In any case, it would also be wise to sample the Japanese and South Korean contenders at this end of the market, too, as there are some interesting offerings there as well. The Toyota C-HR would be one, the Honda HR-V another. Don’t forget, either, the Hyundai Kona, Nissan Juke and the Mazda CX-3. All have their strengths and weaknesses, but all are worth short-listing.

As for the MX-5, it’s true that Mazda has stuck to the original formula for the new latest little convertible. And, yes, that dictates a small, low car that is huge fun to drive but isn’t for everybody physically.

Take it to a Peugeot dealer or mechanic and have a diagnostic check done to isolate the cause.

A fouled plug could cause a misfire, but it should be resolved by changing the plugs. If one particular plug regularly fouls there could be a problem with that cylinder. It could be a number of things causing it, but you’d need to inspect the cylinder to know for sure.