Pluriel, With A Different Gearbox?

hi all, have recently got a C3 Pluriel, however, it seems to have a different gearbox to other semi auto's I've seen,

this is inside, others i have seen have been like a side-stepped gearshift, and this one doesn't even seem to appear in the handbook, so its a bit worrying!

i bought it with an alleged gearbox fault, now i ran it today and it seemed to change up and down fine with the paddle shifts, and then i tried it with the stick shift up and down, and that seemed ok, and i tried it in full auto mode, and one time only, it made a beep on down change, and the "auto" word flashed on the dash display, but still downshifted fine, is that identifying a problem? could it be just a gearbox oil change needed? we even floored it and it shot down 2 gears and off it flew, so i thought that might have made it show up a problem if there was one?

just wondering if the previous owners didn't know how to use the car properly, or this button, because doesn't illuminate, they might have thought it didn't work properly?
cheers all

bidderman1969 wrote:hi all, have recently got a C3 Pluriel, however, it seems to have a different gearbox to other semi auto's I've seen,



this is inside,

Hi bidderman1969. What you have installed (rather badly by the looks of it) is a sensodrive selector from a Citroen C3 2002-2005 models. Its not shown in the pluriel manual but it is shown in the C3 manual, as you have found they do seem to be mostly interchangeable.

I would guess that the selector stick was swapped to see where the fault was? and maybe its cleared one of them.

many thanks for the reply, do you think there is a fact with the box?

the chap i got it from was selling for someone else, and stated ......

"Has been used to run locally, sometimes it will go to the local shop about 5 miles with no problem, other times it will not change up, it does sometimes if you use the paddle shift so not in need of a new gearbox, this should be an easy repair to someone with the now how."

might try a gearbox oil change, the run it for a few miles and see if it does anything?

does it sound like a fault that the gearbox MAY have? if the "auto" word flashes on the dash? might fresh oil sort it out?

I think a gearbox oil change is always worth trying, it also gives you a chance to see what the oil that's in the box is like eg is it burnt, old, contaminated etc.

I would also suggest you check and clean any electrical connectors in the area of the gearbox and also check any wiring for signs of rubbing or deterioration.

thanks for the quick reply, much appreciated

one last thing for now, how is the gear lever removed in this car? and does the flashing "auto" word on the dash indicate a fault? and should it be picked up with an OBD reader? (and for quickness, where is the OBD port? lol), is "fully auto mode" only engaged by pushing that "auto" button by the gearstick?

bidderman1969 wrote:one last thing for now, how is the gear lever removed in this car?

Its part of the gear selector unit and comes out a a complete part once you have removed the gear knob which pulls off.
There grey plastic centre console come apart and you can see the gear selection unit and its mounting points.

This is the top part unclipped from the lower part after removing the gear knob.

bidderman1969 wrote:and does the flashing "auto" word on the dash indicate a fault? and should it be picked up with an OBD reader?

If it does, which it probably won't, you will only get generic codes. You will need the proper lexia tool (click here) to get the full level of testing and diagnostics you may well need.

the lexia topic is here (click)

bidderman1969 wrote:(and for quickness, where is the OBD port? lol)

It should be in the fuse box area of a right hand drive car....



or like this one, just a bit more difficult to see?

cheers for that brilliant reply Mr Dent, looking at the gear selector, I'm thinking of having a good look round there to make sure there isn't any loose wires.

I'm planning on draining the auto box and refilling with fresh stuff, and may put in an additive to make it shift slicker, run it for a little while and see if that sorts it out any niggly problems

hhhmmm, come to think of it, how much gearbox oil does it take?

bidderman1969 wrote:hhhmmm, come to think of it, how much gearbox oil does it take?

You will need 2 litres of this Total Transmission Gear 8 75W80 (click here) which is the same as Total BV 75W80 that it replaces.

cheers fella, was expecting more tbh, lol