Citroen Grand C4 Picasso 2014-2018 Reliability & Common Problems

Is the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso reliable?

WhatCar's latest reliability survey awarded the Grand C4 Picasso with a respectable reliability rating of 95.2%, while Citroen as a brand ranked 11th out of 30 manufacturers. But aside from the scrapes and scratches accumulated from tight car parks or urban routes there are a few, more specific issues you should be on the look-out for.

Engine: On diesels, check the AdBlue level and that no warning light is showing. Check there are none of the oil leaks reported by some owners.

Gearbox: If it’s an EAT6 auto, make sure it changes smoothly – in this respect, the later EAT8 ’box is a better unit (see ‘Also worth knowing’, below). Manual ’boxes can be notchy.

Suspension and brakes: It’s a heavy thing so check for leaky dampers, rattly anti-roll bars and the car sitting awkwardly. Check there’s plenty of life in the discs and pads and the electronic parking brake holds.

Body: The big C4 is prone to bumper knocks and scrapes, and the door edges are vulnerable to careless opening. Rust, however, should not be present.

Electrics: Many owners report issues, with everything from the air-con to central locking and infotainment, so check all is well. Electrical issues easily outnumber mechanical ones.

Interior: While you can expect some scuffs and scrapes, anything too serious will irritate you in time and be expensive to fix. Be sure the seats slide and fold, that the infotainment system works and that no warning lights remain after start-up. Windows can be squeaky, but clear silicone grease on the guide rubbers should cure them

Also worth knowing

As you pore over your Grand C4 Picasso options, and if you’re after one with an automatic gearbox, you may wonder what ETG6 and EAT6 mean. They’re actually two distinctly different types of automatic gearbox. ETG6 is short for ‘Efficient Tronic Gearbox with six speeds’. It’s a semi-automatic available as an option on the 1.6 e-HDi 92 and 115 Airdream Euro 5 diesel engines that were dropped after 2015. Don’t expect dual-clutch auto responses, but it works well enough and contributes to good economy.

EAT6 – ‘Efficient Auto Transmission’ – is a more traditional torque-converter auto, again with six speeds and available on 1.6 HDi and 2.0 BlueHDi Grand C4 Picassos. The Spacetourer is fitted with the uprated EAT8 version. It’s smoother than the ETG but not quite as economical. On the 2.0 BlueHDi, it can be controlled via wheel-mounted shift paddles.

There have been several recalls, many serious (see the government recalls website for details), including the possibility of doors opening unexpectedly, seatbelt buckles failing and the brake vacuum pump being affected by material from the timing belt. Ensure they have been actioned.

An owner's view

Anne Merrick: “We run a 2015-reg Grand C4 Picasso 1.6 BlueHDi Selection, which we bought in 2018. Then, our four children were small and it was one of the few MPVs we could find that would take three child seats on the middle row, each with Isofix mountings. The children are much bigger now, but it’s still roomy enough for all of us. The car has picked up a few scrapes, including one caused by a badger that ran into us. It has been very reliable and had no issues, apart from a recall to have the AdBlue tank changed. It routinely does more than 50mpg and road tax is just £20, so it’s very cheap to run.”

Matt Prior

Title: Editor-at-large

Matt is Autocar’s lead features writer and presenter, is the main face of Autocar’s YouTube channel, presents the My Week In Cars podcast and has written his weekly column, Tester’s Notes, since 2013.

Matt is an automotive engineer who has been writing and talking about cars since 1997. He joined Autocar in 2005 as deputy road test editor, prior to which he was road test editor and world rally editor for Channel 4’s automotive website, 4Car.

Into all things engineering and automotive from any era, Matt is as comfortable regularly contributing to sibling titles Move Electric and Classic & Sports Car as he is writing for Autocar. He has a racing licence, and some malfunctioning classic cars and motorbikes.