Because essentially it's a modern BMW Unit. Designed cheaply and without any form of tolerance for timing chain slack and with weak components. The engine is basically the pretty strong and reliable PSA TU10 block and piston's mated to a BMW engineered cylinder head and valve train. When working correctly it's a great unit ..but more often or not they don't. Vanos issues, chain tensioners etc etc. It's easy for BMW fanboys to apportion the blame on PSA but when in actual fact it's all the BMW developed componentry that go south in these units - which is very evident when you strip one down.

Owned my Citroen DS3 from brand new since 2016. 121kw Euro 6 THP 1.6 engine which has just done 77,000 km. Currently I have it going through a stage 4 performance upgrade. The DS3 is the best car I’ve ever owned. You need to clean the valves every 30,000 km as it’s direct injection. Keep it serviced, and it shouldn’t have a problem. Timing chain issues were eradicated with the release of the euro 6 engine as psa lengthened the tensioner. If you use a non factory tensioner it won’t have this revision - so don’t cheap out on parts and always fit genuine. The rattle at the start is how the engine is until it’s warm. Sometimes it does it, sometimes it does not. After 7 years I haven’t had a break down, it doesn’t eat oil, and it consistently pulls hard to redline. Soon it will have 300 hp. Can’t wait!

I had one of these a 2010, and had it for almost 5 years. I used to get a rattle at start up, especially after sitting, until oil pressure built up. Turned out it was the cam chain tensioner. A few times it unscrewed itself and then leaked oil all over the back of the engine. Replacing the tensioner helped, but id never buy one again.

Trading up to a Morgan sounds like a fun series. Probably need to flip them quick to maintain interest and what happens if one of the buys is a "Look whats back in again."

Sounds like a wheeler dealer style trading up thing I would be intested to see how that works out.always enjoy you're videos keep up the good work.

Hello! I had the same DS3, a year or two older, and I had big engine issues. Very similar to the issues you had. Car was brand new and under warranty. Spent around 6 months in and out of dealer. Eventually they replaced the engine…

Hi James, why not make the Citroen your “daily” for 2 weeks to give it a chance to prove itself before retailing it? 👍

James that's sounds like a very interesting plan Trading up to a Morgan would love to see that on your channel in my opinion your channel is one of the most interesting automotive channels on KZfaq. Keep the good work up I look forward to watching your next episode.

Hi Mr Chops, loving your work. Question what dilution do you use on the engine bay with the G101

We had a 2011 1.6thp ds3. It was a bit of a nightmare, coked up valves, coil pack issues and rough erratic idle. After 6 long months Citroën finally solved the issue by putting a new high pressure fuel pump on it. Was perfect after that, never missed beat but we sold it as i couldn't stomach owning one out of warranty.

James trading up to the Morgan sounds awesome might take a while but worth it I think . DS3 problem have you checked the banjo clamps on intercooler pipes, and also for any splits or wear holes ?

Hello, Ive got a fair bit of experince with these engines both mini and citroen and they can be an utter nightmare. My advise would be to check the oil pressure from cold as well as hot. If its not right then just get rid otherwise it could turn into a massive can of worms. Low oil pressure will cause uneven idle as well as chain rattle and not always have any fault codes. Common oil pressure fault codes are vanos or mixture related. Hope this helps.

That trading up would be great to watch James, great selection of cars you have at present as well

Nice to see a honest car dealer out there. Sure plenty of other dealers would just put it up for sale and not say enything and say was fine when ya brought it. Always seem honest and helpful to your customers at chops. 👍

I'm wondering if the noise could be caused by the fuel-air mixture regulator making it run rough or a bad earth connection on the electronic stuff,I hope that you get to the bottom of this issue.

Wow, trading up that money would be very interesting. Should be a great series of video's!

Just a quick question James,,do you use cold water with the pressure washer/snowfoam?

I'm considering of buying a 2016 with 96K kilometers on it. No idea if engine was replaced or not, but considering the car been drive for some quite time and probably passed all the "warrenty problems" that would have popped up through the years... Would you guys recommend it? I'm currently driving a 2017 Clio with 0.9 engine which is extremely reliable as it seems but even after stage 1 it makes merely 130HP and I want something more powerful and more fun.

Trading up sounds like a fun idea for a series. I would definitely enjoy seeing some of that as long as we all get a ride in the Morgan at the end;) I live near a garage in Norfolk that sells them and they are fantastic so the best of luck.

Hell yes, I’d love to see the ‘Trade Up’ to Morgan series. Be a good watch.

Enjoying the mix of content on the videos keep up the good work 👍👍

Most of the issues were fixed with the EP6FDT, the older EP6CDT engines had the issues which that DS3 has (150/155CV engines), the FDT came out with the facelift and switch to E6, , but It's best to give it the full timing chain replacement with the updated parts also checking the valves as they notorious for heavy coking from the PCV. PSA/Stelantis are still using the FDT version and there's not been many complaints about it.

I own a DS 3 1.6THP and mine used to idle rough for a while and then it just stopped doing it and it only occasionally does it. It's more than likely just the engine being sat for a while. Some engines idle a lot louder and rougher than the THP when it's cold. My advice would be to just drive the car and enjoy it, it's nothing to worry about mate 👍

They are absolute junk. It's the BMW/PSA joint project, the 'Prince' engine of doom. The standard ones are bad enough; oval bores, ring wear, timing chain stretch, guides breaking, oil leaks etc etc etc. The turbo ones are much worse; high pressure fuel pump, inlet ports coking up and so on. If the brake vacuum pump seizes, it stops the camshaft dead and the timing chain rips the vanos gear clean off. It's very similar to the MINI unit. Hateful rubbish.

The trading up project seems a great idea, would love to see if you actually make it to a Morgan.

Good idea with the Up James, definitely would be an interesting series 👍🏻

More than likely it's the start of the fuel pump showing signs of wear, can give intermittent idle issues such as this

Great idea to trade up to the Morgan James. Who do you use in Barnstaple to refurbish the alloys?

Its a quick little car mate, my sons g/f got one but the problems started 1 week after buying it when the oil light came on, last mot listed an oil leak but not dripping on the floor .weve cured the cracked plastic cam cover ( that was the annoying oil misting leak) its had a st/steel scorpion cat back exhaust fitted. Chomps oil at a horrendous rate , approx 1 ltr per 450-500 miles, no’1 plug tip ceramic missing ( iridium plugs too) replaced 1 plug only as only 55k and all plugs plugs show oil fouling cos of blow by. Now gets knock codes ( inlet valves coking up) next visit here is check Pcv, change oil filter ( cos theyve hidden it away for an easy user change) and assess the blow by into the turbo inlet…. Need to see it cold start and follow it to assess blue smoke…. It’s defo burning oil cos there was loadsa carbon crud on the tailpipe before it was changed. I’ll see that showing again likely as it was a few weeks ago.Terraclean guy reckons his gear wont fix the cruddy inlets. Need to isolate if its rings/bore or stem seals worn out next…. Nice enough cheap car but engine is a pile of cack.

Hi James trading up adventure sounds good, i noticed that on Qashqai the seats have a stripe effect after shampooing, this happened on my wifes Qashqai and no matter how much i re wet vac i can not get rid of the stripes, would be interested to know if you have same issue

It could be something like timing chain tensioner given that’s it’s intermittent.

Could the issue be the battery? My wife's 5 year old Toyota was running a bit rough on occasions when starting up, usually when weather was cold. Stuck a new battery in and it's been fine since..

I’ve had the exact same issues with my ds3 dsport. It’s a 2013 model with around 78,000km on it. I’ve had the oil solenoid pump valve, spark plugs and oil and filters replaced. I heard a rattle but the mechanic said it was just in my head and the faults never come up. The car has a little bit of a rough idle, and when I went to take it for a drive today it rattled extremely loudly in idle, then went away. However when I stared revving it I heard the rattle consistently and I’m worried if it’s timing chain

Yes, that would be very interesting. Fascinated to see how long that takes :)

Where to start with the THP engine... The rough idle at startup could be caused by a slightly leaky hydraulic valve lifter. If that particular valve is open when the engine is stopped, the oil will leak out of the lifter over several hours, and when the engine is restarted, that cylinder will have no compression until the oil pressure is up and the valve lifter has refilled itself, which takes several seconds. If you sit one of these engines for a few weeks (even a good one) they have a rough idle for a while at the next start. This could have been caused by a previous delayed oil change and dirty oil, but probably not worth fixing. If the fault code is for over-boost or super-knock, then the problem is likely the atmospheric filter for the boost control valve. This is located on a plastic tube that sticks up just rear of the engine top cover at the gearbox end. The filter has a rubber cap that shrinks over time and restricts the airflow, so the turbo control valve can't dump vacuum fast enough, causing the over-boost fault. Just remove the rubber cap from the little filter (leaving the filter in place) and that code should not come back. It is not unusual to be able to hear the dump valve operating if you have the window open. Just check that the air pipe into the turbo is tight and that the 2 breather pipes that feed into that are also in-place.

Trading up with an Up! Like it hope you get your Morgan I look forward to seeing how it goes. Good luck

James, when you say wheel acid, what specific product do you use?

I have a BMW 320 (2200cc) 6 cylinder m coupe from 2005. Had it 6 years now has 95k on clock and its fine . Sounds amazing . But it may be going due to having a replacement. I also have a 2010 2.0 dci Qashqai which we have had from new , it's done 175 k and still runs great , it's replacement is still largely unused since November. A Kia sportage diesel mild hybrid which is great too

I read the pre 2014 THP engines can suffer stretched Timing Belts&excessive oil consumption.

Yeah I'm into you trading up to what you aspire to. You have the skills and ethics to make this work for you, it will be another aspect to look forward to on your channel.

That would be a amazing series for the channel James

Had a friend who worked on Citroen cars and even supported the Citroen rally works team . he loved a true citroen and said they were brilliant but any joint ventures or as he called it " built for the value market" . His advice was get one new with a warranty and sell before 3 years , pass the trouble on .

Love the idea of a trading up series; that would make an interesting watch. Up! should be a good first car, she's a fancy one too!

Does it have hydraulic tappets, if yes maybe one is sticking when oil drains out after a few day?

You are getting tight chops. I would have had him painted full bumper 😇 keep them coming your channel makes me something to look forward to.

Love the sound of the trading up series. Hopefully your theory about the DS3 turns out to be right too

does the battery drain when left for a few days the battery may only just have the power to start thats what the rattle is on start up

VW UP looks like a nice profitable turnaround James, I wouldn't worry anymore about the Citroën DS3 get it cleaned and up for sale.

Sounds like a good plan see how quickly you can get to the Morgan 👍

Is there a follow up to this? I'm interested to hear what the diagnostic read! Was it the turbo solanoid?

Great video yet again. Love the idea to get a Morgan, used to own a pub in Malvern so saw them all of the time, never owned one but think they are great. Look forward to you getting one in memory of your Dad👍👍👍👍

Trading up is a great idea might try it myself for a bit of fun and save me spending the money in the pub What phone do u use mate . What model Samsung

I like the idea of trading up to a Morgan. Look forward to seeing how you get on

Like the idea of the trading up series to get to the Morgan .

Sounds like the vvti rattle on start up , has it got the correct grade of oil in it

Looking forward to the new series James, great idea 💡

Im guessing the sound is coming from low oil pressure after sitting a few days maybe a hydraulic tensioner or something along those lines

I had a Golf Mk6 1.4 TSI petrol that from a cold start in certain ambient temperatures would run very rough, clattery and noisy for the first minute or so. If I turned it off and back on again it ran perfectly. It wasn't a fault, it was something to do with an induction fan that speeded up heating of the cat converter. Don't suppose it's something like that is it?

How bizarre, my mum has a 2013 never had an issue. Sending my love to it

Hello, does this engine have a cat warmer ? I had a bam e series that made a hollow metallic kind of noise when stood for a while or when cold. Enjoy the content keep it up.

Father in law has one of the price engine in a 308, none turbo version. Engine wise it's been fine apart from it occasionally throwing a emissions light.

Hey! Did you ever fix this? My DS3 has started doing this more and more and if you drive off it kangaroos and doesn't run properly... I retract my previous comment saying it's normal - this is a new thing. It idles high when it does this, presumably to keep the engine running - no DTCs. Seems like a 1 cylinder misfire (I think).

Always felt Mike Brewer’s Trading Up was a little too stage managed, with the cars he buys and sells being carefully researched to allow an easy fix and turnaround. So I’d be really interested in seeing someone do it for real. Best of luck, love the vids you do, I’m not in the trade so always a fascinating to see how it works.

James,just catching up on your videos now,been waiting ages and hoping that you would do a flipping up series for one dream car to keep,i think it would be great for content and you would have your dream car for a small initial investment

''Road To Morgan''. Sounds interesting, you should do it. 100 % would watch that

Isn't it the N52 engine in the Z4? A guy around the corner was trapped in his X5 as it went up in flames just this week. Almost a million recalled over a fault with the PCV system that can lead to an engine fire.

Have you scoured the forums or have any Citroen dealer contacts that might shed light on the problem?👍🤔

The trading up series sounds a winner James. Look forward to it.

Alot of comments on the PSA/BMW engine.I am not connected to the trade anymore but have heard they have alot of issues even at very low mileage.To be honest I dont think your description sounds like timing from the valves but more of a sensor .Has it got an EGR valve because if they start sticking can make a noise and cause a rough idle.?

The DS3 - Is that the built in scent diffuser to the left of the centre heater vents?

Great idea trading up, what if you do it with classic cars only 🤷🏼‍♂️👍🏼

Same problem with the gearbox in my Mercedes Vito van which I found out was made by Renault.

Like the idea of the trade up, could be a fun watch.

Wonder if the DS previous owner didn't use it much, hence surface rust on the cam and why it was running rough. A good blast usually does them a world of good and possibly why it's improving with use?

Back in 1980 when I worked for Lucas Aerospace. The maintenance Chippy (Carpenter) had a Red Morgan which he would drive into the factory and park it by his workbench when on a night-shift. He was terrified that someone would steal it. He also told me how it was basically a Ford Cortina with a Wooden Chassis.. Ideal for a Carpenter to own. It was a Lovely looking Car in bright Red but I don't think I would fancy leaving it in the car park at the supermarket whilst doing shopping.. Very best of luck with your Dream of owning a Morgan 👍👍🤞🤞🤞

Hi if possible when you fix the squeaky window on the golf would you be able to put it in your video how to fix it, as im have exactly same problem with my golf convertible aswell, kind regards mark

look forward to following the trading up...or down if it doesn't work out!!

I have a question I have a Citroen DS3 and it's making a funny noise but I get no code's or anything thing would you be able to help me if I post the video

I would say the suspension on the XJ looks a bit low, but it may just be the camera angle the compressor is a known failure point on the air suspension I don't know how old the car is but must be at least 15 years old if it is still on its original unit then its probably rather tired by now, I would also check for fault codes relating to the suspension. A poor battery can also create another load of problems especially if its been standing for a long time, If you think it has a problem don't mess about charging it just replace it. Keen to see how you get on fixing up the XJ as I have an early XJR X350 myself plus 3 other older Jaguars. Keep up the good work.

Your 'Flip to a Fortune' sound a great idea

If oil not changed every 5000 ish miles or gets slightly low the timing chain tensioner on these can cause issues ..also these engines dont like ethanol ...

Great idea for the channel i buy from salvage market and do them up in my spare time love it mainly Hyundai I may say they fly away

a trading up series would definitely be interesting

Is there an oil check valve (NRV) in the supply to the head? Sounds like the oil is slowly draining back down overnight/few days leaving the head galleries unprimed. Might be a cheap fix replacing this valve. A slightly thicker grade of oil may reduce the tendency for drain back when cold. Good luck. You could always auction it again, it would be funny if it was bought by another dealer channel like Tyre Kickers!

Maybe check for stuck egr valve as this can cause rough idle. Might just need a good clean.

Be a brilliant series not my thing the Morgan at all but each to their own … looking forward to seeing the progress

Sounds like an interesting trade up project.

Sounds interesting your series idea 👍 Very Mike Breweresque

Don't worry about the DS3, sell it and see if you get a come back on it. I think it was just the fact it had been sat for so long and oil pressure low

New coil packs could be worth a try?

put a bottle of “ dry gas”. aka something to pull water out pf tank. ethanol blend gad is great and getting to much eater especially sitting

James - the suspension on the Jag might be due to a corroded height sensor bracket; they live in the wheelarches and apparently they corrode and 'droop' meaning that the car is not raising the suspension to the height it should because it thinks it has already achieved it.

It is a nice looking motor can you sell it with a warranty as it is very ow mileage.

A series of flipping upwards to better car each time is definitely something I would watch.

makes me wonder if its something like the water pump bearings, they can be intermittent early on

Saw a new blue Morgan today, looked great!

Cam chain tensioner. Will only happen with a stone cold engine and the noise should go away after a second or two. I’ve got a Suby that’s been doing this for years. Not a major issue.

Thanks for the shout out again buddy , I really do love to pop in and annoy you 😀😀😀😀 don’t forget to subscribe guys lol 😂

Great content again James 👍 if you leave that Micra much longer it will be a convertible 🤣

Think you diluted the snow foam a bit too much mate, needs to be more foamy than that! ☃️