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'I paid over £2.5k for repairs on my recalled diesel Citroën'
Claire Gore’s Citroën Berlingo failed to start in November 2024 – the beginning of a saga that culminated in her chasing Citroën for money she feels she’s owed.
The issue was a failed camshaft chain snapping when the engine started. The damage was not only to the chain but also to the entire engine, which would either need to be rebuilt or completely replaced.
She paid to have her car taken to her local Citroën dealership in Swansea and was quoted £5,000 for an engine rebuild or £8,000 for a new engine.
As the car was outside of its five-year warranty, Claire would have to stump up the full cost. Unable to afford the repair, Claire found a local garage who could rebuild the engine for just over £2,500.
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Citroën recall
Seven months later, in July 2025, a recall was issued for her make of car because of the issue that caused its breakdown: excessive camshaft chain wear. The recall applied to thousands more BlueHDI-branded diesels made between October 2017 and January 2023, fitted to cars from brands including Vauxhall, Peugeot and DS.
Claire contacted Citroën multiple times but hadn't heard back about compensation.
Her case is tricky as her car was just outside the six-year limit for faulty goods covered by the Consumer Rights Act. However, while looking at Claire’s case, we found that Citroën’s parent firm, Stellantis, promised redress for those whose cars broke down and a free extended warranty for affected cars.
It appears Stellantis hadn't contacted all owners with this information; Claire only found out when we told her.
Warranty conditions
There are conditions to getting redress, such as having the car serviced as per the manufacturer’s guidance, which Claire believed she had. Stellantis told us that it would cover the cost of repair and vehicle transport, provided that ‘genuine parts’ were used.
After submitting her evidence to Stellantis, Claire’s claim was rejected as the work had been done by a third party and a non-genuine part had been used in the repair. We contacted Stellantis again to appeal the decision on Claire’s behalf, but the company has not yet responded.
While Stellantis is within its right to refuse redress in this case (its extended warranty and repair refund is beyond what it's required to do under consumer law), it's still disappointing that because her engine failed before Stellantis announced the existence of the recall or warranty Claire is over £2,500 out of pocket for a fault that Stellantis has now acknowledged is worthy of a recall.
Have you had a similar experience? Get in touch with the Which? Cars team at cars@which.co.uk.
