Citroen XM Forum

motorgnome wrote: ↑

Fri May 29, 2020 11:48 pm

Here in Australia, my XM doesn't get much attention at all. Most "car people" over here are fiercely Holden, Ford, or Chrysler, and the XM is viewed as "Just French shit". I've often asked, "WTF would you want someting like that for??. So as far as theft is concerned...Not likely..Vandalism?.. being viewed as not at all desirable makes it of very little interest to the average dead beat..

Famous last words I hope!

Not much attention is a good thing in my opinion. About the "car guys" its a bit of the same here, everyone looks at BMW, Mercs, Porsche, etc, but very few see the beauty of an old big Citroen or how brilliant a Lotus Elise actually is. However, the ones that like cars the most, tend to appreciate all cars more and they do recognise a Lancia Delta Integrale when they see it, so I guess there are various degrees of "car guys" out there.

I don’t think they’re more likly to get broken into or vandalised than any other car
Most arnt bothered what it is they’re damaging
Only real risk is the joy riders although they’re getting dumber when it come to older cars they only know how to go in your house get the keys and go for a drive
My kitten had a theft attempt
Steering lock was on and choke was still in and I suspect they didn’t even enguage the ignition just tried starting it the fools

"..the choke was still in"

If we assume that most would be joyriders are millenials or only slightly older, anything with a choke is safe - they won't have the faintest idea what it does. At best, they'll realise that a car that might need 'a bit of warming up' before it'll depart your driveway at speed is probably more likely to get them nicked than, say, an 08 plated Audi that'll do 0-60 in 6 seconds when cold.

They also have to get past the keypad immobiliser (assuming it's still there and functioning), which could present something of a challenge. Then there's having to wait for it to rise, which means another delay.

Well I'm a likely target then! My anti-sink works very well, and although my keypad is still there and still functional, I've disabled it. So security depends on me keeping the keys safe...

Hmmm... My immobiliser is also functioning, but disabled right now..I'm too frightened that if enabled, that'll be the end of it!

Mine, being an old series one, is a "sinker" & takes an age to get up.. something I will have to get onto shortly, as it is becoming annoying. I am suspecting the brake valve, as the rear drops quite quickly when the engine is stopped (unless the brakes are kept applied). I am going to look at what hose is returning fluid quickly into the reservoir...Soon..

I think this, as with values, depends a lot on what part of the world you are in.
I find mine gets a lot of attention these days, I don’t think I have undertaken one journey without being flashed, waved at or have been caught by people for a chat when leaving or returning to the car in the last couple of years, I’ve been asked a few times by my commercial garage if they can MOT it for me, presumably so they can have a poke round it and my local Citroen dealer really like it (how times change )
Really a silly level of attention for a mainstream car.

In terms of safety and security I must admit I was never too concerned and the keys were always left in it but with growing attention I no longer do that, I still never lock it though as I fear for my glass far more than the theft of contents. I have bought a couple of ecu’s off of Paul though as my current one is de-coded and I now want that Keypad function back, it is a very robust immobiliser system and reinstating would mean I can continue to leave the car unlocked with no fear of it being stolen or broken into.

D

That's actually encouraging Dean, I think that level of attention is due reward for the effort and expense you've put into keeping such an early example on the road. Yes, a mainstream car (although rather less so than Citroen had planned), but like the DS & CX before it, unique in so many ways.

Your approach to security has me interested - I really take the point about glass. My plan is to have the windows tinted. Coupled with the dark (black) interior, then hopefully if a handbag gets left inside, it won't be visible. As I get on top of maintenance issues, I look forward to using mine more often, but my wife, who is not much of a car person, sees it as something special, and is reluctant to take it into the shops, in case it gets doored or keyed.

If I decide to reactivate my keypad, all i have to do is pull out the keypad and reconnect the electrical plug . The code is written down in case memory fails me.

motorgnome wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 02, 2020 12:22 pm

Hmmm... My immobiliser is also functioning, but disabled right now..I'm too frightened that if enabled, that'll be the end of it!

Mine, being an old series one, is a "sinker" & takes an age to get up.. something I will have to get onto shortly, as it is becoming annoying. I am suspecting the brake valve, as the rear drops quite quickly when the engine is stopped (unless the brakes are kept applied). I am going to look at what hose is returning fluid quickly into the reservoir...Soon..

I presume you've eliminated the possibility of a suction-side air leak? On the Xantia that I hope to get registered (one day), I have noticed a very ugly hose clamp on the suction line at the tank end - pretty sure this is distorting the hose, and contributing to the very long delay before the beeping stops! As you're a mechanic, I'm sure you've eliminated all the obvious stuff!

DownUnderXM wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 03, 2020 11:17 pm

motorgnome wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 02, 2020 12:22 pm

Hmmm... My immobiliser is also functioning, but disabled right now..I'm too frightened that if enabled, that'll be the end of it!

Mine, being an old series one, is a "sinker" & takes an age to get up.. something I will have to get onto shortly, as it is becoming annoying. I am suspecting the brake valve, as the rear drops quite quickly when the engine is stopped (unless the brakes are kept applied). I am going to look at what hose is returning fluid quickly into the reservoir...Soon..

I presume you've eliminated the possibility of a suction-side air leak? On the Xantia that I hope to get registered (one day), I have noticed a very ugly hose clamp on the suction line at the tank end - pretty sure this is distorting the hose, and contributing to the very long delay before the beeping stops! As you're a mechanic, I'm sure you've eliminated all the obvious stuff!

Hmmmm..Just because I am amechanic, don't asume I haven't missed something..the man who reckons he knows it all is an idiot!!
But in this case, I have been very carefull with the suction pipe, even installing a clear hose to visually monitor the fluid..the spiggot on the LHM tank had some plastic "flashing" left over from when they moulded the tank when new..this did allow a small amount of air in, but having fixed that, the problem still persists.

Re-reading my post, I babble on about the brake valve, blag blah blah... I know that won't cause it to be slow to rise, but it would cause it to sink rapidly, & then I have to wait for it to rise again..I have un plugged the low pressure alarm VERY early on in my ownership (like the first hour) ..

It's getting a big going over soon (converting to a manual & replacing most of the steering/suspension joints), so I will get onto it then.