2011 C5 Tourer - Eco Mode malfunction

[devlinr]

I have had this car 5 years and the eco stop start rarely worked however it didn’t present any errors. Recently on a cold morning the car threw a lot of warnings, engine & service lights. I took it to a 2011 local Citroen garage (not dealership) and the diagnostics suggested an unspecified electrical problem to which they recommended I replace the battery as they believe the battery in it was old and from Factory. Post new battery the Eco mode stop start was immediately improved, I now have a car that stops and starts at the light to save fuel etc.

However its been a week and its started throwing engine/service errors and turning Eco mode off, I have a Autel Autolink AL319 OBD reader and despite many attempts to read the codes it finds no errors or codes every time. Frankly I couldn’t care less about the stop/start or eco mode, I have driven this car for 5 years without Eco mode or an error so am not fussed about repairing or getting eco mode to function. That said I am both annoyed and worried about it throwing error lights and beeping at me each time I turn it on.

Occasionally it errors then recovers by itself clearing the warning lights and Eco mode comes back on but any clues as to how I can cost effectively resolve this, am not keen to drop another few hundred resolving a function am not interested in.

[GiveMeABreak]

In that case, I suggest you ignore it, or get a proper diagnostic kit, like Lexia with Diagbox, as you’ll find many aftermarket kits cannot read all the constructor-specific codes.

Depending on your exact model and options, you may find that the standard vehicle battery is not going to resolve the issue, as some stop start systems on the X7 have a complex energy accumulation system hidden in the left wing area. This stores energy reclaimed from braking and if the accumulator is faulty or end of life, then then you may start to get warning lights. But without fault codes I can't help you further.

[devlinr]

Had it down the Garage as the Eco Mode is enabling and disabling every few hundred meters and its driving me insane

Whilst they didn't give me the specific codes (am booked in with them for further investigation) they said its a BSI fault oil level on the oil level indicator, which they don't believe as the oil level is fine and is confirmed as such on start up on the dash, they believe the Eco mode disabling is secondary to whatever the actual issue is and thus need it booked in for a few days... they also said they might need to get a car electrician involved to isolate the problem. All in all sounds expensive I cant even get rid of it as its beeping like crazy no one would touch it.

I appreciate am not giving you much to go on but I do appreciate any advice please

[GiveMeABreak]

Just get it to the dealer - or this is going to cost you more in the long run as they obviously have no clue.

[devlinr]

the garage is called Citroen Care in Rake, they are supposed to be a Citroen specialist...

[GiveMeABreak]

I only suggest this as these systems often need specialist intervention and the dealer (or at least a good one) will have qualified technicians on these Stop Start systems and may have knowledge of the issue that could end up costing you at a non-dealer if they have to start calling in Tom, Dick & Harry.

If you had the exact fault codes I could give you some additional info on the issue.

[devlinr]

Hi

Called them to get the code... u1218 permanent fault - one of the parameters sent by the BSI is invalid.

[GiveMeABreak]

I'll need your VIN to confirm (please post your VIN in full without spaces - it will be automatically masked from public view after submitting your post & will only be visible to staff), but this code can relate to several systems.

In the case of the piloted manual gearbox:

Fault Code:	U1218
Description of Fault:	Fault in the information sent by the BSI ECU: Value received incorrect. The ambient temperature information on the CAN network is wrong. The time of appearance of the fault code is 10s. Technical precision on the context of appearance of the fault code: Supply voltage correct between 8V and 16V (Pin 3 of the 28-way connector) Absence of fault codes U1000 - U1003 - U1118
Conditions for Fault to clear:	The following conditions have to be met: - Reception of 20 consecutive items of valid information - No faults for 20 seconds
Downgrade Modes whilst Fault is active:	Default value for the ambient temperature: 20 °C
Symptoms:	Difficult/impossible to change a gear Lack of power
Suspect Areas:	28-way harness of the piloted manual gearbox ECU Built-in systems interface

[devlinr]

Thanks VIN = VF7**************[VIN obfuscated, can be read by forum staff]

Do you think I should do a BSI reset ?

[GiveMeABreak]

Ok, I was right, so that fault code is correct for your vehicle.

No harm in doing so, but also check the gearbox ECU connections.

BSI Reset / Battery Disconnect / Reconnect Procedure

[jonnny1975]

Was there any updates to this post?

I have the EXACT same issue on my 2014 Citroen C4 GP! : (

Just bought/fitted a new batter today (Halfords did a battery test and showed it was down to 16% of life - it was the original 10 year old vehicle battery), and I hoped that after a BSI reset (following your brilliant guide ) would finally bring an end to the fault which is appearing every few minutes - but sadly the same fault codes returned instantly (“engine fault, have the vehicle repaired immediately”, “Eco deactivated”, “service light on”.

I had expected the fault to relate to either the old battery or an alternator issue ? And, upon Halfords confirming the old battery was dead = I’d hoped the new battery & bsi reset would resolve matters.

Sadly, nothing is simple with these piece of sh*t Citroens

If anyone has any thoughts on this, I’d very much welcome the feedback

[GiveMeABreak]

Then you may have another issue going on and should have it properly diagnosed, but take comfort in the fact that a 10 year old battery is well-past it service life by 5 years..... so nothing lost.