Peugeot 207 1.4 8v Help Needed (long [post)

[ryansturgess95]

Hello all,

I have a Peugeot 207 1.4 8v 2011 Sportium Hatchback. Not the best car in the world but its my daily driver. Or should I say was my daily driver and I need help in fixing her up.

About a month ago now I was driving to a Go Karting event in Dunstable and as I was cruising down the dual carriage way, (about 70MPH) the car suddenly started to lose power. It was like I was walking in a wind tunnel. Car was moving forward but there was what felt like huge drag. As the car lost power it started to surge and splutter. Especially when downshifting gears to prevent a sudden stall out. Eventually it came to a stop at the side of the road.

Bearing in mind this was about 9pm in the evening so the dual carriage way was quiet. I got out and had a look under the car to check for anything like leaks and bits missing. There is no gearbox laid to rest on the road and no fluids of any kind anywhere. I am covered with the RAC and when I contacted them I couldnt get my location 100% due to no road signs. They advised over the phone to start the car and see what happens. It started but hell did it sound rough. I had to drive to somewhere I could get a location from.

The car at this point was what I believe to be in limp home mode. Not too sure. I was able to drive but it was still surging, would not go over 3k revs and changing gears made the car surge more. Only going downhill did it feel normal to drive. I ended up having to go at least 8 miles like this due to back roads having no signal

When I made it the car ended up stalling out. There was no brake, no steering nothing. It came to rest against the wall and that was that.

Fast forward a week cause of car storage as this happened on a weekend and the RAC were refusing to pay for storage costs yet im covered for the costs through them.

The car ended up being towed to their approved garage which god behold near me was Halfords. They have had it a month and have no idea what to fix. They have tried a new throttle body (Fly by wire so TPS is on throttle body) so im told, CAT was tried at the same time. Also spark plugs replaced and new coil pack. Yet the car still misfires and wont go above 3k. I went and asked to have a look at the spark plugs they just put in to get some insight as to whats going on in the engine.

All 4 spark plugs were identically fouled with soot. So I was lead to believe that maybe the fuel pump has st the bed but why would it still start and not go above 3k. The spark plugs had no oil or fuel on them and the coolant reservoir is still sat between min and max where i left it?

Any help is appreciated cause i really need this car and its been forever it feels like without it.

Many Thanks

Ryan

[stevemcs]

Any fault codes ? Has the cambelt been changed ? Is the head gasket ok ?

[Saudade]

Crank position sensor - the engines are infamous for it and everything you say points towards it. The ignition is being retarded but fuel is going in as normal - unburnt fuel = carbon or "soot".

A dealer specific fault code reader will read this if you want to be sure... but obviously requires moving the car and costs diagnostics etc.

Edited by Saudade on Tuesday 14th May 23:27

[ryansturgess95]

Thank you so much. I am having the car towed back to me on Thursday due to Halfords having it for so long and I was getting tired of their excuses. They claimed to have read the codes on the car but they said they pointed to throttle body etc etc etc and lambda sensor. I will have a look at the sensor asap.

Thanks Again

Ryan

[ryansturgess95]

Can I just ask where would I find the crank position sensor on my vehicle. Euro Car Parts gave me this return when I searched for the specific item https://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Peugeot_207_1.4... but upon checking service box using my cars vin it does not show a location so i am not sure if this is the correct part. I know Euro can be wrong cause it claims i can get an oil filter when its clearly in the tank

Many Thanks

Ryan

[E-bmw]

ryansturgess95 said:

I know Euro can be wrong cause it claims i can get an oil filter when its clearly in the tank

Don't know the answer to your main question, but just to point out that yes you may well have (I assume you mean) a FUEL filter in the tank, they can still (& should) be replaced, so that part of ECP might not be wrong.

[stevemcs]

I think some of these have an appetite for injectors, you really need to get it scanned for fault codes.

[ryansturgess95]

I have had it scanned for codes previously at Halfords and they claim it was at first throwing a lambda sensor fault. They replaced this and the fault moved to throttle body. They replaced and then it moved to CAT. They replaced this and apparently the car would start and idle. Albeit rough due to the misfiring. When they revved it they managed to apparently get the car to hit 5k before it died. After which point it would only do 3k again. I would love to get the codes read but because it doesn't run I cant physically get it to someone who has a reader. I sadly don't have a reader. I have a whole new set of injectors as this was my initial thought also but can't fit them cause Halfords said I wasn't allowed to do it hence the towing back to my home

Cheers

Ryan

[stevemcs]

Its your car you can do what you want with it ... we wouldn't stop anyone taking there car in any state, just pay what you owe and take it.

Are they trying to rev it when stationary ? some cars will only rev to a certain point when not moving.

[ryansturgess95]

Yeah I know that's what I thought so I ended up deciding forget it I'm gonna get it towed back so I can do whatever work I want.

Yeah they did rev it while stationary but from memory this car can rev up without moving. I remember blipping the pedal once by mistake 😂

[Old Merc]

What a ridiculous saga. It looks as if Halfords haven't a clue and are just throwing parts at it. I hope they are not going to charge you for fitting unnecessary parts?
If you have your car towed to your home you may end up getting nowhere trying things yourself.
May I suggest that you start again. Find a good small independent Peugeot/Citroen specialist and have the car recovered to them.They will have the latest Peugeot diagnostic gear and be able to diagnose the fault and put it right. Yes its going to cost you,but surely all this is doing your head in?

[ryansturgess95]

You have a very valid point there. I have contacted a local garage who has the diagnostic tools and have advised me to change the sensor seen as I already bought it. If no luck they will get it on their tow truck and sort it for me. Thank you all for your help. I am going to be posting the outcome here either way

[Old Merc]

There are diagnostic tools and there are other diagnostic tools,the important thing is the guy using them. A Peugeot technician who has had plenty of experience with these 207`s, using the very latest Peugeot gear is what you want.

[Saudade]

ryansturgess95 said:

Can I just ask where would I find the crank position sensor on my vehicle. Euro Car Parts gave me this return when I searched for the specific item https://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Peugeot_207_1.4... but upon checking service box using my cars vin it does not show a location so i am not sure if this is the correct part. I know Euro can be wrong cause it claims i can get an oil filter when its clearly in the tank

Many Thanks

Ryan

It's probably called "crank speed sensor" in servicebox. It's just bolted to the top of the gearbox bell housing and you should be able to find it with a bit of looking around. Part number from Peugeot is 1920AW I believe - the one on ECP seems correct (looking at the picture - which from my experience can be hit or miss).

Regarding the car throwing a lambda sensor fault - that makes sense, it's covered in carbon and the cat has also probably been covered in the stuff too, which explains why changing those helped slightly/temporarily.