Link between limp mode and blown head gasket on Peugeot 207
Discussion
Hi...please can anyone help me? My 2008 Peugeot 207 died - just lost power then stopped - no warning lights shown. The insurance towed me to a garage who told me I'd put in the wrong fuel. To cut a long story short I proved otherwise and they've apologised and refunded me. BUT I continued to drive the car and a few days later the same thing happened again. It was taken to my local garage and I ended up having to have a new HG.The mechanic said if I'd taken it in earlier it might not have been such a costly repair.I now need advice - the guy who was called out to drain the tank wrote on top of the receipt 'car runs fine at idle but won't rev above 2000 rpm.'
I don't know much about engines, but to me that sounds like it's in limp mode and is a sign of an issue more serious than the wrong fuel! Am I right ? And if so, if the insurers garage had located the problem initially, could that have prevented further damage and subsequently the eye watering expensive repair I ended up with due to continued driving?
Many thanks!
I don't know much about engines, but to me that sounds like it's in limp mode and is a sign of an issue more serious than the wrong fuel! Am I right ? And if so, if the insurers garage had located the problem initially, could that have prevented further damage and subsequently the eye watering expensive repair I ended up with due to continued driving?
Many thanks!
The initial diagnosis was wrong fuel, which I assume you knew wasn't the case? I'm which case you should have known there was something else wrong with the car and had a garage do some exploratory tests.
On a side note I'm not sure your mechanic is talking sense - a head gasket is either functional and doing it's job, or it's blown. There's not much middle ground, I fail to see how catching it sooner would have helped?
On a side note I'm not sure your mechanic is talking sense - a head gasket is either functional and doing it's job, or it's blown. There's not much middle ground, I fail to see how catching it sooner would have helped?
Lorrainelomas said:
I don't know much about engines, but to me that sounds like it's in limp mode
Engine management light on?Any fault codes stored?
Is it petrol or diesel?
About the only catch-in-time preventable cause of an HG to go is overheating, especially if it's due to low coolant. Can we rule that out...?
Thanks both for your replies. The problem is, my husband filled the car up the night before and I was driving it on my own when it broke down so I didn't know it wasn't the wrong fuel!
The mechanic said (roughly )'it's not good that you've driven it without them diagnosing the problem...this could have caused more damage' I took this to mean that if the original garage had diagnosed the right fault(s) instead of insisting the wrong fuel was causing the problem, then it could have saved an expensive repair.
Regarding the test, I'm afraid I have no idea if the car was driven or was standing at the time.
I just don't have faith in the first garage as they actually told me that they'd tested the fuel and it was wrong !- which can't have been the case, and I feel that if they had done further tests they could have diagnosed the correct fault. It also doesn't help that the insurance company who I used advertise their services on tv showing a guy putting the wrong fuel in his car.....call me cynical!
The mechanic said (roughly )'it's not good that you've driven it without them diagnosing the problem...this could have caused more damage' I took this to mean that if the original garage had diagnosed the right fault(s) instead of insisting the wrong fuel was causing the problem, then it could have saved an expensive repair.
Regarding the test, I'm afraid I have no idea if the car was driven or was standing at the time.
I just don't have faith in the first garage as they actually told me that they'd tested the fuel and it was wrong !- which can't have been the case, and I feel that if they had done further tests they could have diagnosed the correct fault. It also doesn't help that the insurance company who I used advertise their services on tv showing a guy putting the wrong fuel in his car.....call me cynical!
Engine management light on?
No- no lights at all,but when it stopped I noticed the temperature gauge was slightly higher than half way up the dial (I know cos I checked the dashboard and all the dials!)- I had driven about 80 miles and was near my destination when it lost power.
Any fault codes stored?
- don't understand this!, sorry - how would I have known? - is it something the garage would look for? Nothing was said to me.
Is it petrol or diesel.
- It's petrol
No- no lights at all,but when it stopped I noticed the temperature gauge was slightly higher than half way up the dial (I know cos I checked the dashboard and all the dials!)- I had driven about 80 miles and was near my destination when it lost power.
Any fault codes stored?
- don't understand this!, sorry - how would I have known? - is it something the garage would look for? Nothing was said to me.
Is it petrol or diesel.
- It's petrol
SV8Predator said:
Did he test drive it or simply try to rev the engine while the car was at standstill? A lot of cars won't rev past a set limit while they are stationary.
A 207 will bounce off the limiter at idle (ETA - if it's the 1.4 VTi like I have in my 208 that will happen at about 6500 r.p.m.). Not at 2000 r.p.m. - sounds like limp mode to me, though I've never had a 207 do it to me.Did you press the spanner button at all? The one that resets the trip meter if you hold it in? That *should* have detected a fault, brought up the STOP warning in the rev counter whereby you must stop the car and get it towed as soon as it's safe to do so.
What engine is it?
It sounds like negligence on the first mechanic's/roadside assistance part. I'd be ready to go to war if that happened to me!
Edited by lightthefuse on Wednesday 20th August 21:02
Quite frankly if a head gasket fails, and all that needs replacing is a head gasket, then that is just "phase one" of the potential damage that could have been caused i.e. as previously alluded to, there could not have been a cheaper repair.
What could have eventually happened was head warpage or worse due to overheating and seizing, but since the car runs well now none of that seems to have happened. I suspect it did seize (even the first time round) from your description of loss of power and eventual stoppage, but it's just a guess. Either way, while things could have got worse, they could not have been any "better" so to speak, i.e. cheaper had the diagnosis been correct the first time round. HG failure is not rare but neither is it common and if the symptoms are vague few would immediately subject the car to a compression test.
I am saying this because you do not mention any repairs to the cooling system at all.
The only way I could imagine mechanic no. 2 being correct "could have been cheaper earlier on" is if the initial problem was a coolant leak, leading to overheating, and head gasket failure. But you don't mention this at all. Besides the HG may have failed at the first overheating episode anyway.
What could have eventually happened was head warpage or worse due to overheating and seizing, but since the car runs well now none of that seems to have happened. I suspect it did seize (even the first time round) from your description of loss of power and eventual stoppage, but it's just a guess. Either way, while things could have got worse, they could not have been any "better" so to speak, i.e. cheaper had the diagnosis been correct the first time round. HG failure is not rare but neither is it common and if the symptoms are vague few would immediately subject the car to a compression test.
I am saying this because you do not mention any repairs to the cooling system at all.
The only way I could imagine mechanic no. 2 being correct "could have been cheaper earlier on" is if the initial problem was a coolant leak, leading to overheating, and head gasket failure. But you don't mention this at all. Besides the HG may have failed at the first overheating episode anyway.
Edited by 996TT02 on Wednesday 20th August 21:11
Edited by 996TT02 on Wednesday 20th August 21:12
Thanks to all your helpful replies I'm learning fast!
I had to pay for the following:
diagnostic check
thermostat
cylinder head
Head gasket and bolts
cam belt
tensioner
water pump
oil filter
coolant
labour.
I said it was it was expensive!
I asked about about the link between limp mode and the eventual faults after driving the car after the first garage misdiagnosed. I had thought that if they had diagnosed the problem and treated the fault then that may have prevented the extent of any further damage.
I had to pay for the following:
diagnostic check
thermostat
cylinder head
Head gasket and bolts
cam belt
tensioner
water pump
oil filter
coolant
labour.
I said it was it was expensive!
I asked about about the link between limp mode and the eventual faults after driving the car after the first garage misdiagnosed. I had thought that if they had diagnosed the problem and treated the fault then that may have prevented the extent of any further damage.
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