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Ovni is the term used to mean a UFO in French 😂😂, I didn’t expect it to have that licence plate … Wizard, c’est un plaisir de voir des Citroën sur votre chaîne 😊😊, call it the way you like, nobody’s gonna panic … someday I almost expect you to have a Citroën Méhari, perhaps from the 60’s the legendary ones, not the all new electric ones which contrary to the old Méhari, isn’t recognizable from any other car while looking at it from as little as 2 Km away 😂
little fun fact on the side: The OVNI licence plate means "objet volant non identifié", french for Unidenitified Flying Object, an expression widely used by journalists and the public relating to the XM's ancestor, the DS, due the sheer otherworldliness of this car at the time of its launch. So, a reference to the car that started it all...
I’m originally from the UK and remember when these XM’s were introduced. At the time they were the most futuristic car I’d ever seen and I wished my dad would have bought one. I’m in my 40’s now and would still love to own one. I feel that these were the last of the true Citroen’s. Nothing they produced after the XM had the cool/quirky design that Citroen were famous for. Thanks for showing us this car Wizard.
Ray Mears had one, I seem to recall. Richard Stilgoe had a CX Familiale, and I think Bill Bailey still has a DS (et je pense q'il parle très bien français).
All my cars, except one, have been Citroen, starting with my first, a BX14, to my current a C3 Aircross. But I never got to drive one of the XM's, they were always out of my price range.
If the car beeps while starting the code needs to be entered. It’s not for the radio but to unlock the ecu. A lot of cars have the code disabled tho. Please contact me if you have any more questions, and if I don’t know the answer but I probably do know somebody who does. Just some info of the tech of this car and some tips to getting it in good working condition: -When the engine is running the center armrest is electrically height adjustable -It should have a second rear window, this is to create the comfort for passengers of a sedan but with the advantages of an hatchback. Rolls Royce Cullinan has the same I think -The power steering system on only the PRV V6 models is very complex. It is carried over from the SM and CX. It is called DIRAVI, translated “self centering”. When you have the engine running and the hydraulic pressure up the steering will always want to go back to center even when standing still. There is no physical connection between the wheels and the steering wheel(there is for safety but that is the immense amount of play you feel when the engine is turned ofF). This system is designed to eliminate torque steer. When you drive faster the steering should get heavier. But all steering feel is artificial. It will feel extremely sensitive when you drive at highway speeds. Takes at least half an hour to get used to. If you feel like you are over-correcting all the time let go of the steering wheel and you will feel te car is very stable. Then hold it at the bottom between your thumb and index finger. After a while you will notice you hardly have to correct it and it feels extremely relaxed and stable. -To have the right display showing not only eights press the end of the wiper stock. -It was I think the first car to have an active suspension system. One of the reasons it became car of the year 1990. There is a computer(next to the ECU) that registers throttle/steering/brake inputs. Then it can switch an extra sphere on or off per axle. (Front sphere is mounted behind the engine on the subframe, rear one in the middle on the subframe). With a switch next to the gear selector the suspension can be set to Sport or Automatic. In automatic it decides when the sphere needs to be cut of and in sport it is always disconnected. If the ride feels bumpy the system can work badly or the spheres are just bad. -It has 2 accumulator spheres instead of 1 on the DS. One is behind the radiator(for the brakes I think) other one is on the pressure regulator (for the rest of the hydraulic system) mounted to the front of the gearbox. -Don’t damage the radiator, very hard to get. If you order one in europe at a normal car parts store it will be a cheap one that is enough for a 2.0 but not for the V6. Get a custom one. -Waterpump is not available also, you maybe get one for a later V6 in the list at a store but it wont fit. -Gearbox is just a ZF4HP18 that is used in Saabs/Alfa/Audi/Porsche(968) some new Dextron 2D will do it good if the oil is still red. -Left display can be fixed with a cheap ribbon cable if broken -These engines are actually very strong, older PRVs have a lot of issues with cams and oil. But since 1986 it has improved a lot, also became even firing with a split crank. This one the 3.0 12V is very robust, can go 300k miles if maintained good. The distributer cap can crack, get one from bosch for e34 525i or something similar. Same part but a lot cheaper. Rest of the engine can take a lot. -XM is actually quite a sturdy car, interior of phase 1 like you have there is very nicely build. When they came out they had one big problem, they used weird connectors instead of normal ground points. It took them too long to discover the issue and fix it before the reputation was badly damaged. Cars had all sorts of weird faults because of those bad grounds. Engines are good, body is well protected against rust, electrics are not too bad but there are just a lot of features. The hydraulics don’t need too much maintenance, but there are a lot of components. But now when the cars get old it is a real challenge to get it in a very good condition. Parts availability is bad(gets better), and it is just a complex car. Often issues got bodged in the past because the cars were worthless 10 years ago. It all adds up quickly, but this will be the same for any car of its class from this vintage. An XM is worth it in my opinion, such a nice driving car with a lot of tech and interesting looks.
Can you help me with a 1.6 Xsara phase II? Not starting, no spark, wiring all good (really), fuel pressure OK, throttle body code, yet throttle body is good, checked it on other car and swapped it, no difference.
@@killerdinamo08 Does it have a transponder key? Lock and unlock the car af few times with the remote, it needs to connect with the key if the battery was disconnected. At least this is the case with C5s of a similar era.
@@macmanipowermacbookprair4110 Yes, done several times that, even swapped the BSI, BSM and ECU from another car and it's acting the same, but the key from those act well, like locking/unlocking. Went thru the wiring harness of the engine, no shorts, and respects the schematics from AUTODATA.
..the numbers pad immobiliser can be permanently disabled by typing in the code once, starting the engine and then with engine running, disconnect plug going to the pad. ECU will not ask for code with future starting unless you plug in the pad again. BTW. later XM did not have DIRAVI anymore, got changed to standard power steering rack.
Thanks for doing a video on it. I'm Swedish and has four of them (and a DS Familiale). You shouldn't have any problems finding a fuel pump for it. It should have that very common Bosch pump with a number ending in 024 IIRC. Also the ignition module is the same as 90's RWD Volvos with Bosch LH Jetronic 2.4, and the distributor and rotor is the same as later Volvo 760 with PRV. It has eight spheres. One for each wheel and one on the "stiffness regulator" at each axle and two accumulators. And the "stiffness regulators" means that it has "Hydractive" which is a really good computer controlled active suspension. If perfect, it sort of compares to the magic carpet ride of a good DS, but if you drive it hard it compensates and actually handles like a pretty good sports car. But I wouldn't have any high hopes for it having the right kinds of spheres etc. It's rare to find one even in the EU that has been taken care of by someone actually having the right skills. Oh, and you will have some nice surprises when you turn the wheel the first time with the engine running. It has the "Diravi" steering system. It actually has drive by wire steering. It's hydraulically controlled unlike the cybertruck. The XM has the hydraulics on the steering rack but the same steering in a CX or SM has it inside the car, so there you just have an emergency steering rack with a massive play for use in case of a failure. I think it's a 1992B. 89-92A had single spoke steering wheel and the notoriously bad ground points which gave the car an unnecessary bad reputation for reliability. But please take a look on the ground points behind the headlights. If they look like regular ground points your fine. But if there are yellow connectors connected to white ground points, then convert it to your connection modification of choice, and Euroasian Bob will be your friend forever. But I think that car will have ordinary ones, and I won't be surprised if 100% of the electrics is totally fine. I've been driving XM's since you could get them new and it's one of the most reliable cars I ever had. And I had some with over half a million km on the clock. I have Volvo 240 and 940 too, and I always have more faults on the Volvo's which are simple GL's. There are a lot of English speaking FB groups and forums about the XM and there are a lot of knowledge out there. And it's usually not hard to find PDF's with workshop manuals and stuff like that. These are not OBD II vehicles though but it has very good diagnostic abilities for it's age. But you need a "Lexia" which unfortunately I guess nobody in the US has. But you get a long way with your general knowledge and some common sense.
I hope the Car Wizard reads your comment! Lots of useful information. Here in Colombia the Citroen Xantia series were spaceships compared to the normal Renaults out there, amazing Cars!
I'm from Switzerland. Back in the 90ties I owned a Citroen XM. It was a great car. Comfortable, not under powered and very good in the snow. My neighbor thought that the car had AWD. He saw me driving that thing through deep snow-covered roads in the mountains. He drove a 4x4 Toyota ... not near as comfortable and as good looking as my "French Dream". Good times.
@@adelkheir Interior wise it should be pretty big. I own a 1991 Chevrolet Caprice and a 1997 Peugeot 605 (which is the XMs sister car) and the interior/trunk space in the 605 is comparable if not better than in the Caprice, especially rear legroom. Exterior dimensions on the 605 are smaller thanks to not having bumpers you can stand on.
@@Hipas_Account True. Big American cars were not all that space-efficient or as roomy as you would expect. But they were all wider than their foreign counterparts.
This XM has 8 hydraulic spheres in it: 1 accumulator sphere sitting on the pressure regulator (as in the DS/SM), 4 spheres for each wheel (as in the DS/SM), 2 hydractive spheres for each axle (introduced in the XM, switched on/off by the suspension computer) and as this car has the special DIRAVI steering (as in the SM) which consumes lots of hydraulic oil, it has an additional buffer sphere for the brakes. Once the car runs, DIRAVI in itself worth a video. It's not power assisted but fully powered. The steering wheel has no direct connection with the steering rack (like in the Cybertruck), it just opens the tap for the high pressure hydraulic oil. As such there's zero feedback from the wheels and the they cannot be steered away by any external force, pothole, curb or a puncture. The wheels wouldn't even return to straight after a curve, so Citroën added a self-centering hydraulic circuit to DIRAVI which as a side-effect works even at standstill. The force of self-centering is based on vehicle speed: it's strongest at low speeds for easy parking and weakest at high speeds. The name DIRAVI is a French acronym for speed dependent power steering.
There's a great car chase scene in the film "Ronin" with the XM. The 24v engine version with a manual shift could nudge 150 mph. A very rare sight even in Europe now sadly.
@@craigkeller1966 i think more than 2. The "Citroen XM" or just "XM" on the rear was different between serie 1 and 2. And back few years ago , i did put a very detailed comment on of the " Ranon car chase video" Based on what i remember , there was also an XM with serie 2 front grille and serie 1 rear facia or vice versa......
The XM had a Cd of 0.28, which is still amazing by today standards. It was designed by Bertone. It was very advanced for its time, that's why it was called OVNI (UFO in French).
I grew up with these, my dad who recently passed away used to have three of them. Amazing comfort and back then they were years if not a decade ahead of other cars.
A decade ahead? The DS defenitely was (legend, decades ahead), the CX by some means, but the XM? No doubt: It still had the legendary hydraulic suspension and was super cool. But no comparison with its predecessor CX (not to mention the SM).
Under the "don't touch!" flap on the center console you will find the immobiliser keypad on which you enter a code to start the engine. Like some American cars have around the doorlock on the outside. It has nothing to do with the radio!
And when the code is not entered, the symptom is literally as he described. Cranking and no start. The ribbon cable leading to the fuel tank is there because the fuel supply is disabled unless the correct code is entered. If only someone opened that Haynes manual …
I imagine it's been disabled many people do so (although why I don't know) If it is the issue it will beep while cranking and if the code has been forgotten you might have to just buy another ECU In all likelihood he's been told not to touch as on the XM the cover is a weak point and often break it's rare now to have a functional one
The first time I saw a Citröen XM was one morning in the 1990s, stopped in traffic on a major avenue in São Paulo. I was surprised by the beauty and luxury, but what surprised me most was to see the car adjusting its height in relation to the ground. I thought it was amazing.
If you pay close attention , a lot of the styling been inspired by the SM. Amongst others, 1- Rear facia. 2- The broken belt line on the rear doors. 3- Wheel covers 4- The front facia angled to both sides and having a sharp edge in the center.
I understand the motoring journalist LJK Setright said of the Citroen SM that it was "...a car beyond the abilities of half the world's mass-producers and beyond the comprehension of the other half"...
I owned a 1972 DS21 Pallas for 8 years from 1980 to 1987. I bought while I was in the army. Kept the leather moisturized, the coolant full and the oil changed every six months. It used 'red' fluid and ran pretty well. Spheres generally needed replacement after five years rebuilt ones actually rode better than new ones. It made 130 bhp, 125 mph top speed, got 29 mpg and weighed 2,995 lbs. Loved it, learned alot but occasionally it could be a headache. I wish I had Kept the air horns.
My uncle had the Citroën DS19 back in the early 60s, it’s so modern and good looking even when compared to modern luxury automobiles. The DS19 style is timeless.
I think it wasn't a "DeLorean" Engine but a Peugeot/Edit:Renault/Volvo cooperation V6 Engine. Was ist also called EuroEngine or similar? DeLorean just used that one from the French/Swedish Cooperation.
@@rayyacht4342 In Europe this engine is called PRV: Peugeot-Renault-Volvo, the 3 brands that worked on its development as a joint venture, and it was also on Citroên's, Delorean, Venturi, Alpine.
On the center consol that door with a key symbol its a immobilizer panel that you need to type code to start the engine not the radio code as you say ;)
And if you type in the code wrong three times you seize the ECU and have to get a new one with the correct code… 😮 That may be the problem here. There’s a XM exactly like this one sitting in my garage, green color and 5 speed manual. Hydraulic break pedal assembly (very complex and hard to get to) is leaking…😢
Love XMs, there were many of those in family. It's very hard car to keep running here in europe, all cause there is no parts for it. PSA would delivery new parts only for 10 years, now enthusiasts when something is breaking need to try search for good used part, which arent many. Brake valve is one of them and it's crucial for correctly working suspension. Phase 1 XM's are well known for electrical issues (this one is Phase 1 lift, you can tell by two spoke steering wheel instead of one spoke) caused by poor quality wires, Phase 2 (94-00) have no more electrical issues but they rust quite a bit. This one looks really nice, I see some common things for XMs like window buttons sticking out. Most likely someone was already under the door panel and wires are pushing up the switches. Like every XM this one also probably needs evaporator cleaning, XM doesnt have air cabin filter and evaporator on every single one of them looks horrible after all these years. One tip, if you unplug immobilser keypad when car is running there wont be need to put code while turning on engine anymore :)
Citroen didn't use poor quality wire, which is just something that a lot of car journalists and even some enthusiasts like to throw around. Most of the problems were caused by the earth plugs they used and they were not poor quality or cheap as some claim. The biggest problem is where they are located. And even though this was fixed for the Series 2, they had melting fuse boxes. In my opinion the series "1.5" is by far the best because they have improved earths and no melting fuse boxes. Unplugging the immobiliser doesn't help on the V6, the engine just dies.
Here is an interesting one for you wizard, back in the 80s my dads friend had a DS like yours, except it was a pickup version. Don't know if that was factory or a home conversion. He used to rent it out to film companies as they used to use it as a camera car as the suspension was so good, of course in those days they did'nt have the stabalisation and fancy gimbles like that have today, but it just goes to show how advanced that suspension was for its day
I have a 1994 Renault Safrane. Basically Renault’s answer to the Citroën XM and Peugeot 605. I have a similar issue. Fuel pump works (also easily accessible), however the ignition lights no longer illuminate and the car cranks, yet won’t start. Sometimes it fires into life briefly before cutting out again. Hopefully it is something simple.
Ah yes, the Haynes manual …. “Reassembly is simply the reverse of the above steps”. The number of times I’ve sworn at it and left skin on the car… Please stop tempting me with the DS - I’ve wanted one ever since my GSpecial - but shipping would be prohibitive (US -> UK
I live in the Netherlands and I freaking loved these XM's when I was a teenager and these were current. They were indeed quite high end, you'd typically see them parked at high end homes. As soon as they got over 6 years old they'd mostly really disappear. They were, as you said, not very reliable, and upkeep on it was very expensive, so there was no market for the second hand ones. Sad, I wouldn't mind getting and owning one. They still look really cool to me.
Hi ! I'm french and I'm a Citroën mecanic and collect theses cars ! I have the same XM V6 but with a manual gearbox and in black. Really great car, but hard to maintain today. Some parts are totally unavailable, espacialy body parts and the small lights in the front, really fragile. I've had the same ignition and fuel pump failure on mine. The fuel pump is a common part, not hard to change. It was the first car to introduce the "hydractive" suspension. Electronically controled hydraupneumatic suspension. It is pretty complex but reliable. It add more spheres and can be softer or firmer automatically when you are driving. Be careful, the V6 ones have the famous DIRAVI. The same steering that the Citroën SM have. Dont let go the steering wheel when you drive ! It will turn itself back to the central position !
Fun fact, the XM paint plant was so ridiculously good, that you will be hard pressed finding an XM that will have any rust on it. BTW, my XM, actually I have a Type II 3L V6, the immediate successor to the one you have there, is unreliable in the sense that the central door lock has the peculiar habit of changing which doors it will lock or unlock every time when I press the remote control. It’s hilarious and endearing. French quirkiness. That overheating ignition module is typically a Type I problem. I had that in my previous XM, which was Type I, 3L V6. On that one the module died during a long trip. It caused bad combustion, eventually leading to exploding the exhaust pipe. When driving at 130Km/h that is rather spectacular. The faulty fuel pump I had as well. The Type II only has an issue now with its distributor cap. Needs to be replaced for a second time now within 10 years. Most expensive repair I had do far with this car. Second hand value now €5k here. Steady, as that is what I paid for it 12 years ago too.
I had a 1992 2.0i and also had the ignition module problem. The cooling paste disintegrated due to age and the module overheated. Shop suspected marten chewing through ignition cables.. by the time I was on my 4th set of cables the cat was burnt to pieces :| finally the mechanic said 'I don't know any further, it might be the module.' Changed it myself and sure as hell that fixed it.
Wizard years of working on these have taught me many things,mostly don't neglect to change the fuel filter element as they are prone To gumming up especially when left for a period of time not in use it's a Bosch system and that pump should be a easy part to source
Hello Car Wizard, I live in the Netherlands and Bart Ebben over here would have a separate fuel pump for you. They have a lot of parts and do deliver. Been driving hydropneumatic Citroëns for many years now and love them so much... Hope you get the XM running!
I nearly had one of these new as a company car in the UK! Shame you didn’t show the extra rear window under the tailgate. This is a draught excluder to stop rear passengers getting cold when the boot is opened. Great car!
@@johnwoodhouse1501 I put a tumble dryer in mine to take to the tip. If I’d pushed it in a little further, I wouldn’t have smashed the extra rear window….
As other well informed posters have said,the keypad is for security,code must be entered to start.Distributor cap is same as BMW.Fuel pump is common 3bar type,owned one for years in Australia and only broke down twice, once was pump,went to nearest auto parts store,matched it to a Holden GM one.Traced no start to bad Distributor cap, went to local wreckers and BMW 6 cylinder worked..earth points under hood need checking-cleaning also.Water pumps for these series 1 -v6 motors very hard to get.
Amazing cars!!! Just a small detail for Mrs. Wizard, the car cluster is in Kilometers not in Miles :) it will be a bit difficult for the XM to achieve 240mp/h haha😅
I had a girlfriend with a XM Stationwagon in a dark red and we loved that car. After a while we had to seperat. And I missed the car more than her ......
I so love the Citroen and Peugeot cars ( I also pronounce Citroen as you do). Had a Peugeot 505 and it handled better than a Caddy. would love to drive a XM for a day. Enjoy your channel and looking forward to your new lineup.
I have the sister model Peugeot 605 with a 390000km 2.0L gasoline engine with the same fuel pump in the same location. I pulled the pump assy out 2 months ago because the fuel gauge was acting up. The resistor track was dirty and I wiped it clean with fine sandpaper, nothing else worked. That fixed only half of the problem, had to pull out the instrument panel which was like new inside, and make sure all the connectors/connections work. That finally fixed everything. There is a big fuel filter next to the gas tank which should be replaced, I did it ten years ago. Not many parts are available off the shelf but the good thing is they are used in many different cars. The exhaust manifold donut gasket is the same as in Iveco van with 2L engine.
Citroen UK's own advertising for years and years pronounced it like that, it's only really with the "Creative Technologie" era that they've been pushing the native pronunciation.
The company was started in France by a Dutch man whose last name was Citroën. In Dutch, it also means lemon. The English screwed up the pronunciation as two syllables. The family's name, and car's brand, is pronounced with three syllables. Cit-ro-ën
Masterpiece of a car, had 2 of them, about 20 years ago. Flawed due to poor reliability. My second one was replaced by an E34 5 series. The XM was better in every single way, but rear wheel drive won my heart, and have stuck with RWD ever since. XMs are very special cars though.
@@HowardLeVert That's a bit weird. The XM and the Alfa 164 were actually the fastest cars in their class, at the time. I felt my 24 valve 520i was a lot slower than both my 2.0 SEi and 2.0 Si that I had before. All of them had a peaky power delivery, mind. They didn't like low rpm.
I love that you are getting your hand on this XM. I had at home a BX, CX, GS, XM, my dad was a Citroên crazy fan. Mostly because of the suspension system. Would love to see more!
True story. I traded in my 1985 IROC Camaro for a 1987 because the fuel pump went out. When I got the repair estimate and saw a new IROC 350 on the showroom floor, I went with a new one. The fuel pump was a good excuse to trade up. But yeah, it was a drop the tank affair. Let's see more of that pink '59 Caddy.
I remember driving by the Citroen showroom in Norwich UK everyday in 1989 just before it was released. They had one hidden under a cloth cover in the window, teasing passers by til it was unveiled. I have to say I don't think anyone was amazed by it at the time. Nice car but...hot hatches were going to be the thing going forward into the 90's.
Watching from Europe, it is fun to see this car in the US. The DS prepared you for this XM. Just a few comments. The license plate OVNI2 means UFOtwo (or too) in French. As for the odometer is in KM not Miles. Bob really found this XM body in really good shape! Enjoyed this video! Thanks.
You missed the space in the armrests of the doors. You can flip them up and there is room to store some small stuff like a packet of cigarettes. I owned two of them, one being the 4 cylinder 2 liter version and the other was the 6 cylinder 3 liter, exclusive version. Great cars, very comfortable. I believe they had 8 spheres. The first time i filled up the petrol tank i was afraid it was leaking. Ir took quite a while. As it turned out the tank can contain 90 liters, about 2p gallons I guess. Both had reliability issues and didn’t make it over 12 years. I still miss them.
It depends on what you are comparing it to. It is probably about the same size as a 1970s Chevy Nova which was a "compact" car. The Wizard's Chevelle that is getting the V12 swap is one size bigger
I used to have XM 2.1Turbo D12 from 1993. Amazing car, loved it and till today it was my favourite car I ever owned. This cover is for immobiliser code, not radio, but I'm sure someone mentioned this before. If you don't have this code and key pad is activated, you won't start the car naturally. It's a nicely spec one, you can find plenty of interesting quirks and features there. Have fun! By the way, you could get 24V version of V6 with +/-200h, it was way nicer than old PRV. Please check front struts rubber mounts! That's a part that degrade over time and whole strut can go through the bonnet if you are unlucky..
I used to own a XM. In the centrale console there was a codesysteem. You had to push in the right code to get it started. It came like that from the factory.
I'm so happy to see you reviewing and working on a Citroen XM. I have owned a 1990 Citroen XM (Y3) 2.0 Injection (no catalyst) since 2019 and I have driven over 30.000 km on it. It was my daily between 2019 to 2020 and, due to me moving abroad, is now only driven biweekly by my parents and whenever I am in the country. Even with the PRV V6 these cars are complete slouches, they are great cruisers though but heavy on the milleage in start-stop traffic. These cars are rather reliable IF kept properly and driven regularly. The problem is that most of these were NOT properly kept because maintenance for them was expensive and few mechanics, even certified Citroen mechanics, were knowledgeable enough to keep these cars in top condition. These cars also hate sitting for more than a month at a time due to the hydropneumatic suspension-brakes-power steering system, which tends to form leaks the more these cars sit unused. The main problem with these cars are the front suspension struts going out with the corrosive action of road salt and high temperatures in the summer. When this happens, the struts jump towards the hood and gets it bent or, in some cases, even pierces it! On top of it , these struts are nearly unobtainium, since Citroen part stock has long been used up and OEM part suppliers never produced these parts. There are a few companies in Europe (Lithuania and Poland) that remanufacture these struts. The interior plastics on these cars are also really low quality and in cars this old they are very brittle. The dashboard on this one is actually in decent condition. All in all, a fantastic find by Euroasian Bob since these are very rare and (still) very much under the radar AND have an unparalleled comfort level.
Viewer from Finland and I figured it'd be a fueling problem, maybe even because of the immobilizer. I own a 1997 Peugeot 605 which is the sister car to the Citroen XM and they have an immobilizer which is switched off by a 4 digit code, of course I have managed to forget the code since mine has been sitting for some years due to some rust issues and me having other cars to worry about. Not sure if it applies to the XM but apparently the electrical systems in the Peugeot 605's prior to 1993 weren't the best, so that might be something that the XM shares being a 1992 car. Going to be sad to see the DS go, but I'm hoping the XM will be pleasant enough, for you to buy it instead ;D
@@rawr51919 Issue I'm having is that the car doesn't beep anymore to say if the code is wrong. I did manage to disassemble the codebox in which you type the code, and deduce the most used numbers, which were actually only 3 numbers, but could be a code that the original owner had before he sold it to the person I bought it off of. Also those 3 digits I figured out are none of the numbers I found on a small piece of paper inside the car, which also dont sound familiar to me. Luckily I remember the code to an earlier Peugeot I owned but no longer own, so I guess thats a plus.
@@rawr51919 Yeah, that's just plenty of time sitting in the car, putting in 3 codes, then detaching one of the battery leads, reattaching it, and repeating set process until you come up with the right code. It's just usually the car will beep to say if the code is wrong, but for me it doesn't. Also it has an aftermarket radio and the car has been sitting so the gas is bad. Also having neighbors and random bystanders come and talk your ears off makes the process take longer than it oughta ;D
@@rawr51919 Brute force? I'm not convinced that it would take a few hours to run through - in numerical order - up to 10,000 combinations if the number you are searching for happens to be 9999.
Wizard, If you want a high quality, non-conductive, stable thermal paste with no cure time and an 8 year shelf life, I recommend you pick up a few tubes of Arctic MX-4 thermal paste to keep on-hand. Should perform quite adequately in situations like this!
I've always been wary of using the computer thermal compound on my car. I generally pick up the packets from AutoZone and use those on my cars, people also tend to skip out on it on 80s era Chevys so the ICMs get fried constantly.
@@AikaCraftyCat as long as it is not near the exhaust manifold or pipes, operating range of the engine block should be between 180-220F (same as the cooling system), while there are automotive thermal pastes that are rated up to 500F as opposed to 300F for MX-4, the thermal conductivity of MX-4 should ensure these components are kept much cooler than the upper operating range of the paste.
@@БранимирПетров according to the MX-4 datasheet, the composition of MX-4 is Methyl silicone, Aluminium oxide and mono-crystalline Diamond (carbon microparticles).
Ah yes, the Haynes manual …. “Reassembly is simply the reverse of the above steps”. The number of times I’ve sworn at it and left skin on the car… Please stop tempting me with the DS - I’ve wanted one ever since my GSpecial - but shipping would be prohibitive (US -> UK). The XM was probably designed for 101 octane fuel (Super grade) in Europe - and leaded. This was top of the range and would have additives included. I think the US fuel grades are lower (basic fuel in UK is 95 octane) which wouldn’t help
Great video, awesome car! I had a '92 2.0i 4 cyl gas XM. Sold it to a collector in 2014 at 22 years. Off the bat I was thinking 'ignition control module' because I had the exact same problem on mine. Thermal paste deteriorated with age, module overheated. Hard to find problem if you don't know about it. Overall the XM had a whole range of issues, fuel leaks, water hose leaks leading to a blown head gasket. But I loved the car and still miss it. I bought the XM's successor, the C6, in 2010 (2006 model year), a 3.0 V6 gas engine (extremely rare). Still own it. Most comfortable ride I ever experienced. Even more comfy than my 2011 Crown Victoria that I also own that I bought as a reliable and comfortable successor to the C6 since the C6 is ridiculously expensive to maintain and parts are made with Unobtanium.
Takes me back! My dad bought a used one on a K plate (?'93) in the mid noughties. It was supremely smooth-riding and comfortable (great seats too). I do know he had to spend a fair amount of money on suspension repairs during his 3 or 4 years of ownership. I also remember that the strange shape of the door frame and really sharp upper corner caught me out twice while getting in - painfully.
1: Your DS is still for sale? I still want it. 2: Take Mrs Wizard to Europe while you're still young enough to enjoy yet old enough to get away with it!
I loved my XM here in the UK. My friends called it the flying shed! The bolts on the power steering rack sheared and took out all of the hydraulic lines. That was an expensive repair! The second time it happened, I got rid of it. But I loved it when it was running.
Similar problem with my 91 F150 the ICM thermal paste deteriorated with time and caused the old one to overheat. Replaced it with new paste and back on road, sadly rust claimed it.
Gosh, great memory for me. I had an XM as a company car between 94 and 96 - when younger I had always admired the DS21 and it was the closest I could get to it! Terrific distance cruiser but suffered a bit of turbo-lag on the 2L petrol which could make taking off from a junction a little exciting. When I left the employment the car lease company offered me a good deal to buy it but I wasn’t brave enough to own it myself, which I since regretted.
XM’s are exceptional cars, you’ll love it once you get it started. I’f were mine I’d at strip the pump and motor, might just need all the gum cleaning out and putting back together.
Im sorry, but learning french pronounciation from a brit? I can't tell you one thing ( speaking french, italian , latin and german) IN FRENCH EVERY word is pronounced with the emphasis always always always on the last syllable. SO easy, but to difficult for the brits. CitroEN
Had a loaner from a garage while my Xantia was in gor repairs. 2.0 turbo diesel, auto, full black leather. Was like driving a magic carpet, just wafted along, but surprisingly good turn of speed too.
The funny thing is that Citroën is a last name of a Dutch guy called Andre Citroen orginally because his family had a veggie/fruit shop in Amsterdam. Citroen translated is "Lemon". Citroen is pronounced as "Sitrun" and the U is spoken as the U in "push". But because the father from Andre lived in Paris where Andre was born he changed it to "Citroën" because the french couldn't pronouce the original name '"Citroen". So "Citroën" you pronouce offically as "Sitru-èn". Hope this makes sense? ;-)
Unless someone has deliberately removed the piston rings and or valves, an engine that has covered many miles will possess, at a minimum a 'modest compression' and will start. A very worn engine may run very poorly pushing out plumes of smoke, but it will start if it has spark, fuel, air and is timed correctly. My recent experience is with a JDM engine that had covered circa 500,000kms. The measured compression was around 60 to 80 psi with one cylinder recording 40 psi. It started but idled very poorly. In the aforesaid case, the valves were 'shot'.
I live in the UK and my dad had a gold Citroën XM V6. It was a great car but I do remember he was having a lot of issues with the hydraulic tappets. Was very smooth car and very comfortable. A rare beast now even here in europe.
Ahh I remember seeing the transporter delivering these to the dealership. I was a kid and watching them raise them upto max when taking them off was very cool :), back in the days of the ZX.
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Ovni is the term used to mean a UFO in French 😂😂, I didn’t expect it to have that licence plate …
Wizard, c’est un plaisir de voir des Citroën sur votre chaîne 😊😊, call it the way you like, nobody’s gonna panic … someday I almost expect you to have a Citroën Méhari, perhaps from the 60’s the legendary ones, not the all new electric ones which contrary to the old Méhari, isn’t recognizable from any other car while looking at it from as little as 2 Km away 😂
Removing this channel from my recommendations for obvious reasons.
I'd be happy to take misses wizard to Europe for you if you happen to be a little bit too busy right now
Doesn’t Jenny have her own channel now? Maybe she can let you have your videos back.
OVNI means Objeto Volador No Identificado. Or UFO for English. ur welcome
little fun fact on the side: The OVNI licence plate means "objet volant non identifié", french for Unidenitified Flying Object, an expression widely used by journalists and the public relating to the XM's ancestor, the DS, due the sheer otherworldliness of this car at the time of its launch. So, a reference to the car that started it all...
Same in Spanish did you know? In common use all of the time for decades, Objeto Volador No Identificado OVNI
same in Portuguese: Objeto Voador Não Identificado.
@@RATADATUAVELHA Yep, in Portugal is the same....nice nick name 😂
italian also: OGETTO VOLANTE NON IDENTIFICATO
@@papapapa6689 Yess! Reminds me of the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante hihi
I’m originally from the UK and remember when these XM’s were introduced. At the time they were the most futuristic car I’d ever seen and I wished my dad would have bought one. I’m in my 40’s now and would still love to own one. I feel that these were the last of the true Citroen’s. Nothing they produced after the XM had the cool/quirky design that Citroen were famous for. Thanks for showing us this car Wizard.
Wrong, the c6
The C6 was Citroën af. Weird, elegant and comfortable
The C6?
Ray Mears had one, I seem to recall. Richard Stilgoe had a CX Familiale, and I think Bill Bailey still has a DS (et je pense q'il parle très bien français).
All my cars, except one, have been Citroen, starting with my first, a BX14, to my current a C3 Aircross. But I never got to drive one of the XM's, they were always out of my price range.
If the car beeps while starting the code needs to be entered. It’s not for the radio but to unlock the ecu. A lot of cars have the code disabled tho.
Please contact me if you have any more questions, and if I don’t know the answer but I probably do know somebody who does.
Just some info of the tech of this car and some tips to getting it in good working condition:
-When the engine is running the center armrest is electrically height adjustable
-It should have a second rear window, this is to create the comfort for passengers of a sedan but with the advantages of an hatchback. Rolls Royce Cullinan has the same I think
-The power steering system on only the PRV V6 models is very complex. It is carried over from the SM and CX. It is called DIRAVI, translated “self centering”. When you have the engine running and the hydraulic pressure up the steering will always want to go back to center even when standing still. There is no physical connection between the wheels and the steering wheel(there is for safety but that is the immense amount of play you feel when the engine is turned ofF). This system is designed to eliminate torque steer. When you drive faster the steering should get heavier. But all steering feel is artificial. It will feel extremely sensitive when you drive at highway speeds. Takes at least half an hour to get used to. If you feel like you are over-correcting all the time let go of the steering wheel and you will feel te car is very stable. Then hold it at the bottom between your thumb and index finger. After a while you will notice you hardly have to correct it and it feels extremely relaxed and stable.
-To have the right display showing not only eights press the end of the wiper stock.
-It was I think the first car to have an active suspension system. One of the reasons it became car of the year 1990. There is a computer(next to the ECU) that registers throttle/steering/brake inputs. Then it can switch an extra sphere on or off per axle. (Front sphere is mounted behind the engine on the subframe, rear one in the middle on the subframe). With a switch next to the gear selector the suspension can be set to Sport or Automatic. In automatic it decides when the sphere needs to be cut of and in sport it is always disconnected. If the ride feels bumpy the system can work badly or the spheres are just bad.
-It has 2 accumulator spheres instead of 1 on the DS. One is behind the radiator(for the brakes I think) other one is on the pressure regulator (for the rest of the hydraulic system) mounted to the front of the gearbox.
-Don’t damage the radiator, very hard to get. If you order one in europe at a normal car parts store it will be a cheap one that is enough for a 2.0 but not for the V6. Get a custom one.
-Waterpump is not available also, you maybe get one for a later V6 in the list at a store but it wont fit.
-Gearbox is just a ZF4HP18 that is used in Saabs/Alfa/Audi/Porsche(968) some new Dextron 2D will do it good if the oil is still red.
-Left display can be fixed with a cheap ribbon cable if broken
-These engines are actually very strong, older PRVs have a lot of issues with cams and oil. But since 1986 it has improved a lot, also became even firing with a split crank. This one the 3.0 12V is very robust, can go 300k miles if maintained good. The distributer cap can crack, get one from bosch for e34 525i or something similar. Same part but a lot cheaper. Rest of the engine can take a lot.
-XM is actually quite a sturdy car, interior of phase 1 like you have there is very nicely build. When they came out they had one big problem, they used weird connectors instead of normal ground points. It took them too long to discover the issue and fix it before the reputation was badly damaged. Cars had all sorts of weird faults because of those bad grounds. Engines are good, body is well protected against rust, electrics are not too bad but there are just a lot of features. The hydraulics don’t need too much maintenance, but there are a lot of components.
But now when the cars get old it is a real challenge to get it in a very good condition. Parts availability is bad(gets better), and it is just a complex car. Often issues got bodged in the past because the cars were worthless 10 years ago. It all adds up quickly, but this will be the same for any car of its class from this vintage. An XM is worth it in my opinion, such a nice driving car with a lot of tech and interesting looks.
Can you help me with a 1.6 Xsara phase II? Not starting, no spark, wiring all good (really), fuel pressure OK, throttle body code, yet throttle body is good, checked it on other car and swapped it, no difference.
Thanks so much for detailled information about fixing the XM issues!
@@killerdinamo08 Does it have a transponder key? Lock and unlock the car af few times with the remote, it needs to connect with the key if the battery was disconnected. At least this is the case with C5s of a similar era.
@@macmanipowermacbookprair4110 Yes, done several times that, even swapped the BSI, BSM and ECU from another car and it's acting the same, but the key from those act well, like locking/unlocking. Went thru the wiring harness of the engine, no shorts, and respects the schematics from AUTODATA.
..the numbers pad immobiliser can be permanently disabled by typing in the code once, starting the engine and then with engine running, disconnect plug going to the pad. ECU will not ask for code with future starting unless you plug in the pad again. BTW. later XM did not have DIRAVI anymore, got changed to standard power steering rack.
Thanks for doing a video on it. I'm Swedish and has four of them (and a DS Familiale). You shouldn't have any problems finding a fuel pump for it. It should have that very common Bosch pump with a number ending in 024 IIRC. Also the ignition module is the same as 90's RWD Volvos with Bosch LH Jetronic 2.4, and the distributor and rotor is the same as later Volvo 760 with PRV. It has eight spheres. One for each wheel and one on the "stiffness regulator" at each axle and two accumulators. And the "stiffness regulators" means that it has "Hydractive" which is a really good computer controlled active suspension. If perfect, it sort of compares to the magic carpet ride of a good DS, but if you drive it hard it compensates and actually handles like a pretty good sports car. But I wouldn't have any high hopes for it having the right kinds of spheres etc. It's rare to find one even in the EU that has been taken care of by someone actually having the right skills. Oh, and you will have some nice surprises when you turn the wheel the first time with the engine running. It has the "Diravi" steering system. It actually has drive by wire steering. It's hydraulically controlled unlike the cybertruck.
The XM has the hydraulics on the steering rack but the same steering in a CX or SM has it inside the car, so there you just have an emergency steering rack with a massive play for use in case of a failure. I think it's a 1992B. 89-92A had single spoke steering wheel and the notoriously bad ground points which gave the car an unnecessary bad reputation for reliability. But please take a look on the ground points behind the headlights. If they look like regular ground points your fine. But if there are yellow connectors connected to white ground points, then convert it to your connection modification of choice, and Euroasian Bob will be your friend forever. But I think that car will have ordinary ones, and I won't be surprised if 100% of the electrics is totally fine. I've been driving XM's since you could get them new and it's one of the most reliable cars I ever had. And I had some with over half a million km on the clock. I have Volvo 240 and 940 too, and I always have more faults on the Volvo's which are simple GL's.
There are a lot of English speaking FB groups and forums about the XM and there are a lot of knowledge out there. And it's usually not hard to find PDF's with workshop manuals and stuff like that. These are not OBD II vehicles though but it has very good diagnostic abilities for it's age. But you need a "Lexia" which unfortunately I guess nobody in the US has. But you get a long way with your general knowledge and some common sense.
I hope the Car Wizard reads your comment! Lots of useful information. Here in Colombia the Citroen Xantia series were spaceships compared to the normal Renaults out there, amazing Cars!
I'm from Switzerland. Back in the 90ties I owned a Citroen XM. It was a great car. Comfortable, not under powered and very good in the snow. My neighbor thought that the car had AWD. He saw me driving that thing through deep snow-covered roads in the mountains. He drove a 4x4 Toyota ... not near as comfortable and as good looking as my "French Dream". Good times.
I now own a 1992 XM 2.1td in white that have been imported from Switzerland to Latvia in early 00s.
"Cool little Citroen"?
It was biggest sedan on their lineup at the time...
I guess by American standards, it's small
@@adelkheir Interior wise it should be pretty big. I own a 1991 Chevrolet Caprice and a 1997 Peugeot 605 (which is the XMs sister car) and the interior/trunk space in the 605 is comparable if not better than in the Caprice, especially rear legroom. Exterior dimensions on the 605 are smaller thanks to not having bumpers you can stand on.
@@Hipas_Account True. Big American cars were not all that space-efficient or as roomy as you would expect. But they were all wider than their foreign counterparts.
now a "compact" Kia K4 is bigger
@@adelkheir The estate version is almost 5 meters long.
Listening to Car Wizard's calming voice and demeanor is a whole lotta therapy.
Dis donc ou est la bobliotheqie
This XM has 8 hydraulic spheres in it: 1 accumulator sphere sitting on the pressure regulator (as in the DS/SM), 4 spheres for each wheel (as in the DS/SM), 2 hydractive spheres for each axle (introduced in the XM, switched on/off by the suspension computer) and as this car has the special DIRAVI steering (as in the SM) which consumes lots of hydraulic oil, it has an additional buffer sphere for the brakes.
Once the car runs, DIRAVI in itself worth a video. It's not power assisted but fully powered. The steering wheel has no direct connection with the steering rack (like in the Cybertruck), it just opens the tap for the high pressure hydraulic oil. As such there's zero feedback from the wheels and the they cannot be steered away by any external force, pothole, curb or a puncture. The wheels wouldn't even return to straight after a curve, so Citroën added a self-centering hydraulic circuit to DIRAVI which as a side-effect works even at standstill. The force of self-centering is based on vehicle speed: it's strongest at low speeds for easy parking and weakest at high speeds. The name DIRAVI is a French acronym for speed dependent power steering.
My bad, the centering force is strongest at high speed, weakest at low speed…
@@Alex-gf4ux I have the DIRAVI on my CX25 GTI (non turbo)
@@trespire I didn't think the XM had DIRAVI, only the CX like yours and the SM etc.
only left hand drive XMs with PRV V6 engines had DIRAVI
@@Alex-gf4ux Ah, didn't know that, thanks.
Just a funny little note, it's 91,000 km, or 56,000 miles.
Exactly. This is clearly a European odometer.
There's a great car chase scene in the film "Ronin" with the XM. The 24v engine version with a manual shift could nudge 150 mph. A very rare sight even in Europe now sadly.
Loved that movie and that chase scene.
The XM's platform-mate the Peugeot 605 was also featured in Ronin. All of the chases in that movie are GOAT-status.
There are actually two XMs in that chase scene. A series one and a series two. Note the different placements of the chevrons on the grille.
That movie was great!
@@craigkeller1966 i think more than 2. The "Citroen XM" or just "XM" on the rear was different between serie 1 and 2. And back few years ago , i did put a very detailed comment on of the " Ranon car chase video"
Based on what i remember , there was also an XM with serie 2 front grille and serie 1 rear facia or vice versa......
The XM had a Cd of 0.28, which is still amazing by today standards. It was designed by Bertone.
It was very advanced for its time, that's why it was called OVNI (UFO in French).
I grew up with these, my dad who recently passed away used to have three of them. Amazing comfort and back then they were years if not a decade ahead of other cars.
Nice memory. Sorry for your loss!
I had 3 of them, the big Estate/Break turbo diesel versions. Drove them from 1997 to 2009. Great cars.
A decade ahead? The DS defenitely was (legend, decades ahead), the CX by some means, but the XM?
No doubt: It still had the legendary hydraulic suspension and was super cool.
But no comparison with its predecessor CX (not to mention the SM).
There are 2 near my mum's house
Under the "don't touch!" flap on the center console you will find the immobiliser keypad on which you enter a code to start the engine. Like some American cars have around the doorlock on the outside. It has nothing to do with the radio!
I'm not quite halfway through the video but I'm wondering if that misunderstood immobilizer might have something to do with not starting
I had an XM V6 and for every start you need to enter the immobilizer code... Quite annoying but Peugeot-Citroën were very proud of it.
And when the code is not entered, the symptom is literally as he described. Cranking and no start. The ribbon cable leading to the fuel tank is there because the fuel supply is disabled unless the correct code is entered.
If only someone opened that Haynes manual …
yes , that's most certainly the issue , you need to enter the code for each start (otherwhise the Ecu do not activate the fuel pump) @Carwizard
I imagine it's been disabled many people do so (although why I don't know)
If it is the issue it will beep while cranking and if the code has been forgotten you might have to just buy another ECU
In all likelihood he's been told not to touch as on the XM the cover is a weak point and often break it's rare now to have a functional one
*I have no words*
THATS RARE. When I lived in Brazil, I saw a few. But even there, it was rare!
It has its own beauty!
Thanks for sharing, Wizard!
The first time I saw a Citröen XM was one morning in the 1990s, stopped in traffic on a major avenue in São Paulo. I was surprised by the beauty and luxury, but what surprised me most was to see the car adjusting its height in relation to the ground. I thought it was amazing.
If you pay close attention , a lot of the styling been inspired by the SM.
Amongst others,
1- Rear facia.
2- The broken belt line on the rear doors.
3- Wheel covers
4- The front facia angled to both sides and having a sharp edge in the center.
"It's really strange, but it works" is basically Citroen's mantra ;)
I understand the motoring journalist LJK Setright said of the Citroen SM that it was "...a car beyond the abilities of half the world's mass-producers and beyond the comprehension of the other half"...
I owned a 1972 DS21 Pallas for 8 years from 1980 to 1987. I bought while I was in the army. Kept the leather moisturized, the coolant full and the oil changed every six months. It used 'red' fluid and ran pretty well. Spheres generally needed replacement after five years rebuilt ones actually rode better than new ones. It made 130 bhp, 125 mph top speed, got 29 mpg and weighed 2,995 lbs. Loved it, learned alot but occasionally it could be a headache. I wish I had Kept the air horns.
Red fluid in a 1972 car? I believe the fluid was changed from red to green in the early 60's. The orange fluid came together with the XM I believe.
@@SuperDirk1965 The XM had green fluid, like the previous generations.
I'm also surprised a 72 DS had red fluid.
My uncle had the Citroën DS19 back in the early 60s, it’s so modern and good looking even when compared to modern luxury automobiles. The DS19 style is timeless.
I had one in the late 70s.😊
My step dad had one like this, same PRV V6 engine from 1992, it was dark green, very good car. Cheers from France.
I think it wasn't a "DeLorean" Engine but a Peugeot/Edit:Renault/Volvo cooperation V6 Engine. Was ist also called EuroEngine or similar? DeLorean just used that one from the French/Swedish Cooperation.
@@rayyacht4342 In Europe this engine is called PRV: Peugeot-Renault-Volvo, the 3 brands that worked on its development as a joint venture, and it was also on Citroên's, Delorean, Venturi, Alpine.
@@strat0871 And Lancia Thema
@@strat0871 that's exactly what I own today
@@richardjones-b1v Right !
On the center consol that door with a key symbol its a immobilizer panel that you need to type code to start the engine not the radio code as you say ;)
Exactly!
@@Peusgek and if you type your code and start the engine and you unplug that keypad you dont need to youse it again 😉
And if you type in the code wrong three times you seize the ECU and have to get a new one with the correct code… 😮 That may be the problem here.
There’s a XM exactly like this one sitting in my garage, green color and 5 speed manual. Hydraulic break pedal assembly (very complex and hard to get to) is leaking…😢
exactly then I didn't remember wrong about the Citroen keypad even Peugeot had a similar immobilizer system
Love XMs, there were many of those in family. It's very hard car to keep running here in europe, all cause there is no parts for it. PSA would delivery new parts only for 10 years, now enthusiasts when something is breaking need to try search for good used part, which arent many. Brake valve is one of them and it's crucial for correctly working suspension. Phase 1 XM's are well known for electrical issues (this one is Phase 1 lift, you can tell by two spoke steering wheel instead of one spoke) caused by poor quality wires, Phase 2 (94-00) have no more electrical issues but they rust quite a bit.
This one looks really nice, I see some common things for XMs like window buttons sticking out. Most likely someone was already under the door panel and wires are pushing up the switches. Like every XM this one also probably needs evaporator cleaning, XM doesnt have air cabin filter and evaporator on every single one of them looks horrible after all these years.
One tip, if you unplug immobilser keypad when car is running there wont be need to put code while turning on engine anymore :)
Citroen didn't use poor quality wire, which is just something that a lot of car journalists and even some enthusiasts like to throw around. Most of the problems were caused by the earth plugs they used and they were not poor quality or cheap as some claim. The biggest problem is where they are located. And even though this was fixed for the Series 2, they had melting fuse boxes. In my opinion the series "1.5" is by far the best because they have improved earths and no melting fuse boxes.
Unplugging the immobiliser doesn't help on the V6, the engine just dies.
I can’t WAIT to drive this car!! Thanks for sorting it out for me!!
Interesting note. I was told the tag means Alien in French. Can anyone confirm?
No wonder. In the Balkans slang we call them "the spaceship".
UFO if translated to english.
OVNI means UFO in french :)
It's french for UFO. Objet Volant Non Identifié,
etranger is French for alien
Here is an interesting one for you wizard, back in the 80s my dads friend had a DS like yours, except it was a pickup version. Don't know if that was factory or a home conversion. He used to rent it out to film companies as they used to use it as a camera car as the suspension was so good, of course in those days they did'nt have the stabalisation and fancy gimbles like that have today, but it just goes to show how advanced that suspension was for its day
I have a 1994 Renault Safrane. Basically Renault’s answer to the Citroën XM and Peugeot 605.
I have a similar issue. Fuel pump works (also easily accessible), however the ignition lights no longer illuminate and the car cranks, yet won’t start. Sometimes it fires into life briefly before cutting out again. Hopefully it is something simple.
Citroen and strange, two words that go together.
Every other car is strange for not having sophisticated suspension like this
Ah yes, the Haynes manual …. “Reassembly is simply the reverse of the above steps”. The number of times I’ve sworn at it and left skin on the car…
Please stop tempting me with the DS - I’ve wanted one ever since my GSpecial - but shipping would be prohibitive (US -> UK
Why would anyone in the UK buy a DS from America when you have France next door?
I live in the Netherlands and I freaking loved these XM's when I was a teenager and these were current. They were indeed quite high end, you'd typically see them parked at high end homes. As soon as they got over 6 years old they'd mostly really disappear. They were, as you said, not very reliable, and upkeep on it was very expensive, so there was no market for the second hand ones. Sad, I wouldn't mind getting and owning one. They still look really cool to me.
Hi ! I'm french and I'm a Citroën mecanic and collect theses cars ! I have the same XM V6 but with a manual gearbox and in black. Really great car, but hard to maintain today. Some parts are totally unavailable, espacialy body parts and the small lights in the front, really fragile.
I've had the same ignition and fuel pump failure on mine. The fuel pump is a common part, not hard to change.
It was the first car to introduce the "hydractive" suspension. Electronically controled hydraupneumatic suspension. It is pretty complex but reliable. It add more spheres and can be softer or firmer automatically when you are driving.
Be careful, the V6 ones have the famous DIRAVI. The same steering that the Citroën SM have. Dont let go the steering wheel when you drive ! It will turn itself back to the central position !
Fun fact, the XM paint plant was so ridiculously good, that you will be hard pressed finding an XM that will have any rust on it.
BTW, my XM, actually I have a Type II 3L V6, the immediate successor to the one you have there, is unreliable in the sense that the central door lock has the peculiar habit of changing which doors it will lock or unlock every time when I press the remote control. It’s hilarious and endearing. French quirkiness.
That overheating ignition module is typically a Type I problem. I had that in my previous XM, which was Type I, 3L V6. On that one the module died during a long trip. It caused bad combustion, eventually leading to exploding the exhaust pipe. When driving at 130Km/h that is rather spectacular. The faulty fuel pump I had as well.
The Type II only has an issue now with its distributor cap. Needs to be replaced for a second time now within 10 years. Most expensive repair I had do far with this car. Second hand value now €5k here. Steady, as that is what I paid for it 12 years ago too.
Same with the French Renault Medallion and Eagle (Renault) Premiere here in America. You never saw them rusting even in the junk yards.
I had a 1992 2.0i and also had the ignition module problem. The cooling paste disintegrated due to age and the module overheated. Shop suspected marten chewing through ignition cables.. by the time I was on my 4th set of cables the cat was burnt to pieces :| finally the mechanic said 'I don't know any further, it might be the module.'
Changed it myself and sure as hell that fixed it.
The body was apparently factory galvanised h9lding off the rust
XMs do rust a lot. Remove the front wheel arch plastics and you will see
@@Anthonyderoy well, mine has been rust free for 25 years 🤷🏻♂️
Wizard years of working on these have taught me many things,mostly don't neglect to change the fuel filter element as they are prone To gumming up especially when left for a period of time not in use it's a Bosch system and that pump should be a easy part to source
The XM is incredibly beautiful, so is the C6.
Oh, i love them both. XM is the C6 of the 90's!
@@123Jokkmokk123IMHO the SM looked much better.
Hello Car Wizard, I live in the Netherlands and Bart Ebben over here would have a separate fuel pump for you. They have a lot of parts and do deliver. Been driving hydropneumatic Citroëns for many years now and love them so much... Hope you get the XM running!
I drove a few of these back in the day in the UK and I’ll say one thing,when you found a nice one they drove sublime👍
Hello Wizard, As a french person, You are saying "Citroën" the correct way! well done
I nearly had one of these new as a company car in the UK! Shame you didn’t show the extra rear window under the tailgate. This is a draught excluder to stop rear passengers getting cold when the boot is opened. Great car!
@@johnwoodhouse1501 I put a tumble dryer in mine to take to the tip. If I’d pushed it in a little further, I wouldn’t have smashed the extra rear window….
@@nigeltoon1848Oh dear! Hopefully not brand new when you did that!😮
@@johnwoodhouse1501 No, it was eight years old at the time. About 120,000 miles.
As other well informed posters have said,the keypad is for security,code must be entered to start.Distributor cap is same as BMW.Fuel pump is common 3bar type,owned one for years in Australia and only broke down twice, once was pump,went to nearest auto parts store,matched it to a Holden GM one.Traced no start to bad Distributor cap, went to local wreckers and BMW 6 cylinder worked..earth points under hood need checking-cleaning also.Water pumps for these series 1 -v6 motors very hard to get.
If you do a video on that 59 Cadillac my life will be complete!
The ultimate about this car was the commercials with Grace Jones ❤
Citroen CX - not the XM
Amazing cars!!! Just a small detail for Mrs. Wizard, the car cluster is in Kilometers not in Miles :) it will be a bit difficult for the XM to achieve 240mp/h haha😅
I had a girlfriend with a XM Stationwagon in a dark red and we loved that car. After a while we had to seperat. And I missed the car more than her ......
My dad had two. Hatch (2.1 TDi) and an estate (2.5 TDi). Drove all over europe with a caravan.
I so love the Citroen and Peugeot cars ( I also pronounce Citroen as you do). Had a Peugeot 505 and it handled better than a Caddy. would love to drive a XM for a day. Enjoy your channel and looking forward to your new lineup.
I have always LOVED Citroen's.....Just unique looking automobiles!
I have the sister model Peugeot 605 with a 390000km 2.0L gasoline engine with the same fuel pump in the same location. I pulled the pump assy out 2 months ago because the fuel gauge was acting up. The resistor track was dirty and I wiped it clean with fine sandpaper, nothing else worked. That fixed only half of the problem, had to pull out the instrument panel which was like new inside, and make sure all the connectors/connections work. That finally fixed everything. There is a big fuel filter next to the gas tank which should be replaced, I did it ten years ago.
Not many parts are available off the shelf but the good thing is they are used in many different cars. The exhaust manifold donut gasket is the same as in Iveco van with 2L engine.
Clarkson and May pronounce it "Citron" because Citron in French means "lemon".
nearly all the english do that
@@lezbriddon They do.
Citroen UK's own advertising for years and years pronounced it like that, it's only really with the "Creative Technologie" era that they've been pushing the native pronunciation.
The company was started in France by a Dutch man whose last name was Citroën. In Dutch, it also means lemon. The English screwed up the pronunciation as two syllables. The family's name, and car's brand, is pronounced with three syllables. Cit-ro-ën
Clarkson has a lemon for a brain
French viewer here. You perfectly said "Citroën" ! Assuming the licence plate is referencing French, "OVNI" is french for "UFO".
Masterpiece of a car, had 2 of them, about 20 years ago. Flawed due to poor reliability. My second one was replaced by an E34 5 series. The XM was better in every single way, but rear wheel drive won my heart, and have stuck with RWD ever since. XMs are very special cars though.
Same here: I test drove an XM 2.0 Si in 1990 but it seemed gutless compared to the E34 520i I bought instead. I so wanted to love that XM too.
@@HowardLeVert That's a bit weird. The XM and the Alfa 164 were actually the fastest cars in their class, at the time. I felt my 24 valve 520i was a lot slower than both my 2.0 SEi and 2.0 Si that I had before. All of them had a peaky power delivery, mind. They didn't like low rpm.
I love that you are getting your hand on this XM. I had at home a BX, CX, GS, XM, my dad was a Citroên crazy fan. Mostly because of the suspension system. Would love to see more!
True story. I traded in my 1985 IROC Camaro for a 1987 because the fuel pump went out. When I got the repair estimate and saw a new IROC 350 on the showroom floor, I went with a new one. The fuel pump was a good excuse to trade up. But yeah, it was a drop the tank affair.
Let's see more of that pink '59 Caddy.
Actually on the 3rd Gen F-body's, to drop the fuel tank required to drop the rear axle and suspension!
Yes, let's see a vid on the pink Caddy!
🎼Pink Cadillac…🎵those velvet seats🎵
Love it when you and Mrs. Wizard pore through the unique stuff that comes by Omega!
Have a good week!✌🏻❤️🙂🇨🇦
I had one! With black leather!! Your English pronunciation is right!!!
I remember driving by the Citroen showroom in Norwich UK everyday in 1989 just before it was released. They had one hidden under a cloth cover in the window, teasing passers by til it was unveiled. I have to say I don't think anyone was amazed by it at the time. Nice car but...hot hatches were going to be the thing going forward into the 90's.
That pink cadillac in the back is awesome
Watching from Europe, it is fun to see this car in the US. The DS prepared you for this XM. Just a few comments. The license plate OVNI2 means UFOtwo (or too) in French. As for the odometer is in KM not Miles. Bob really found this XM body in really good shape! Enjoyed this video! Thanks.
You missed the space in the armrests of the doors. You can flip them up and there is room to store some small stuff like a packet of cigarettes. I owned two of them, one being the 4 cylinder 2 liter version and the other was the 6 cylinder 3 liter, exclusive version. Great cars, very comfortable. I believe they had 8 spheres.
The first time i filled up the petrol tank i was afraid it was leaking. Ir took quite a while. As it turned out the tank can contain 90 liters, about 2p gallons I guess. Both had reliability issues and didn’t make it over 12 years. I still miss them.
Sold my 1992 2.0i to a collector in 2014 at 22 years :) still miss it.
I had a few turbo diesel Estate/Break versions. With a manual transmission they could easily go 1400-1500 km on one tank of diesel.
Timely video. Just picked up a manual 1994 3.0 V6 24valve XM -- I can't wait to get it running and driving
It's not a little Citroën. It's a fairly large Citroën; they did build some teeny cars beginning with the 2CV.
The AX is a little Citroën 😊
It depends on what you are comparing it to. It is probably about the same size as a 1970s Chevy Nova which was a "compact" car. The Wizard's Chevelle that is getting the V12 swap is one size bigger
I used to have XM 2.1Turbo D12 from 1993. Amazing car, loved it and till today it was my favourite car I ever owned. This cover is for immobiliser code, not radio, but I'm sure someone mentioned this before. If you don't have this code and key pad is activated, you won't start the car naturally. It's a nicely spec one, you can find plenty of interesting quirks and features there. Have fun! By the way, you could get 24V version of V6 with +/-200h, it was way nicer than old PRV. Please check front struts rubber mounts! That's a part that degrade over time and whole strut can go through the bonnet if you are unlucky..
Has been a while since I have seen one of these on the road (I live in Europe).
I don't think I've seen many 90s Citroëns at all in a while
They were lower volume luxury cars so no surprise
Exactly! Hardly ever see one one the road. Friend of mine had 2 in the past. Diesel. One burned down with electric fire in the dash.
I used to own a XM. In the centrale console there was a codesysteem. You had to push in the right code to get it started. It came like that from the factory.
An XM and a pink Cadillac in the same shot. What a wonderful world we live in !!
I'm so happy to see you reviewing and working on a Citroen XM. I have owned a 1990 Citroen XM (Y3) 2.0 Injection (no catalyst) since 2019 and I have driven over 30.000 km on it. It was my daily between 2019 to 2020 and, due to me moving abroad, is now only driven biweekly by my parents and whenever I am in the country.
Even with the PRV V6 these cars are complete slouches, they are great cruisers though but heavy on the milleage in start-stop traffic.
These cars are rather reliable IF kept properly and driven regularly. The problem is that most of these were NOT properly kept because maintenance for them was expensive and few mechanics, even certified Citroen mechanics, were knowledgeable enough to keep these cars in top condition. These cars also hate sitting for more than a month at a time due to the hydropneumatic suspension-brakes-power steering system, which tends to form leaks the more these cars sit unused.
The main problem with these cars are the front suspension struts going out with the corrosive action of road salt and high temperatures in the summer. When this happens, the struts jump towards the hood and gets it bent or, in some cases, even pierces it! On top of it , these struts are nearly unobtainium, since Citroen part stock has long been used up and OEM part suppliers never produced these parts. There are a few companies in Europe (Lithuania and Poland) that remanufacture these struts.
The interior plastics on these cars are also really low quality and in cars this old they are very brittle. The dashboard on this one is actually in decent condition.
All in all, a fantastic find by Euroasian Bob since these are very rare and (still) very much under the radar AND have an unparalleled comfort level.
You should do video on the pink Cadillac
Year was 2008 when I last time worked on a v6 XM, electrical gremlins ofc. One of the very best cars to travel in.
Viewer from Finland and I figured it'd be a fueling problem, maybe even because of the immobilizer. I own a 1997 Peugeot 605 which is the sister car to the Citroen XM and they have an immobilizer which is switched off by a 4 digit code, of course I have managed to forget the code since mine has been sitting for some years due to some rust issues and me having other cars to worry about. Not sure if it applies to the XM but apparently the electrical systems in the Peugeot 605's prior to 1993 weren't the best, so that might be something that the XM shares being a 1992 car. Going to be sad to see the DS go, but I'm hoping the XM will be pleasant enough, for you to buy it instead ;D
the 4-digit code could be bruteforced with some time, that'd only take a few hours at most because they go from 0000 to 9999
@@rawr51919 Issue I'm having is that the car doesn't beep anymore to say if the code is wrong. I did manage to disassemble the codebox in which you type the code, and deduce the most used numbers, which were actually only 3 numbers, but could be a code that the original owner had before he sold it to the person I bought it off of. Also those 3 digits I figured out are none of the numbers I found on a small piece of paper inside the car, which also dont sound familiar to me. Luckily I remember the code to an earlier Peugeot I owned but no longer own, so I guess thats a plus.
@@Hipas_Account all u'd have to do is keep scrolling thru codes until the radio/immobilizer turns off and the car starts
@@rawr51919 Yeah, that's just plenty of time sitting in the car, putting in 3 codes, then detaching one of the battery leads, reattaching it, and repeating set process until you come up with the right code. It's just usually the car will beep to say if the code is wrong, but for me it doesn't. Also it has an aftermarket radio and the car has been sitting so the gas is bad. Also having neighbors and random bystanders come and talk your ears off makes the process take longer than it oughta ;D
@@rawr51919 Brute force? I'm not convinced that it would take a few hours to run through - in numerical order - up to 10,000 combinations if the number you are searching for happens to be 9999.
Wizard, If you want a high quality, non-conductive, stable thermal paste with no cure time and an 8 year shelf life, I recommend you pick up a few tubes of Arctic MX-4 thermal paste to keep on-hand. Should perform quite adequately in situations like this!
Linus Tech Tips also sells some thermal pads that last for like 20 to 40 years, could also be an option if he doesn’t want to deal with the paste
I've always been wary of using the computer thermal compound on my car. I generally pick up the packets from AutoZone and use those on my cars, people also tend to skip out on it on 80s era Chevys so the ICMs get fried constantly.
@@AikaCraftyCat as long as it is not near the exhaust manifold or pipes, operating range of the engine block should be between 180-220F (same as the cooling system), while there are automotive thermal pastes that are rated up to 500F as opposed to 300F for MX-4, the thermal conductivity of MX-4 should ensure these components are kept much cooler than the upper operating range of the paste.
No PC thermal paste will live that long. Silicone based thermal paste have lower thermal conductivity, but stay liquid for far longer.
@@БранимирПетров according to the MX-4 datasheet, the composition of MX-4 is Methyl silicone, Aluminium oxide and mono-crystalline Diamond (carbon microparticles).
XM break is one of my favourite cars ever, love that 80's techno design. Citroen always had something out of this world a bit in his lineup.
Ah yes, the Haynes manual …. “Reassembly is simply the reverse of the above steps”. The number of times I’ve sworn at it and left skin on the car…
Please stop tempting me with the DS - I’ve wanted one ever since my GSpecial - but shipping would be prohibitive (US -> UK).
The XM was probably designed for 101 octane fuel (Super grade) in Europe - and leaded. This was top of the range and would have additives included. I think the US fuel grades are lower (basic fuel in UK is 95 octane) which wouldn’t help
Great video, awesome car! I had a '92 2.0i 4 cyl gas XM. Sold it to a collector in 2014 at 22 years. Off the bat I was thinking 'ignition control module' because I had the exact same problem on mine. Thermal paste deteriorated with age, module overheated. Hard to find problem if you don't know about it. Overall the XM had a whole range of issues, fuel leaks, water hose leaks leading to a blown head gasket. But I loved the car and still miss it.
I bought the XM's successor, the C6, in 2010 (2006 model year), a 3.0 V6 gas engine (extremely rare). Still own it. Most comfortable ride I ever experienced. Even more comfy than my 2011 Crown Victoria that I also own that I bought as a reliable and comfortable successor to the C6 since the C6 is ridiculously expensive to maintain and parts are made with Unobtanium.
If you sit in the seats they’re designed to you look over the front seat passengers. Old big Citroens are made like that.
Takes me back! My dad bought a used one on a K plate (?'93) in the mid noughties. It was supremely smooth-riding and comfortable (great seats too). I do know he had to spend a fair amount of money on suspension repairs during his 3 or 4 years of ownership. I also remember that the strange shape of the door frame and really sharp upper corner caught me out twice while getting in - painfully.
The French copy no one, and, no one copies the French... and, there's a very good reason for that!
Very nice to see an XM overseas! I've driven a couple, 2.0l manual and V6 automatic, superb comfort and beautiful styling.
Better Help = get better sponsors, ideally ones that dont sell access to your private medical details....?
… and THIS is why I love this channel !!!!
1: Your DS is still for sale? I still want it. 2: Take Mrs Wizard to Europe while you're still young enough to enjoy yet old enough to get away with it!
Contact Crazy D in the office. You can buy it.
@@CarWizard you need the immobiliser code for the central console, that is not for the radio code
Im proud owner of Citroen, too. Great episode. My mechanic and his father have same XM.
I’m eyeballing that pink Cadillac in the background.
Here's looking at you, S60 R.
I have been for a while myself!
Came from the Audi video, Spotted this in the background! Brilliant cars not many left. Great to see it being cared for.
OVNI = UFO
I loved my XM here in the UK.
My friends called it the flying shed!
The bolts on the power steering rack sheared and took out all of the hydraulic lines. That was an expensive repair!
The second time it happened, I got rid of it.
But I loved it when it was running.
Mrs Wizard not miles, kilometers on the dash
Similar problem with my 91 F150 the ICM thermal paste deteriorated with time and caused the old one to overheat. Replaced it with new paste and back on road, sadly rust claimed it.
It’s actually 56,799 miles on it. Nice car tho.
I was looking for this before I said something.
Gosh, great memory for me. I had an XM as a company car between 94 and 96 - when younger I had always admired the DS21 and it was the closest I could get to it! Terrific distance cruiser but suffered a bit of turbo-lag on the 2L petrol which could make taking off from a junction a little exciting. When I left the employment the car lease company offered me a good deal to buy it but I wasn’t brave enough to own it myself, which I since regretted.
91k kilo not mile .
XM’s are exceptional cars, you’ll love it once you get it started. I’f were mine I’d at strip the pump and motor, might just need all the gum cleaning out and putting back together.
Im sorry, but learning french pronounciation from a brit? I can't tell you one thing ( speaking french, italian , latin and german) IN FRENCH EVERY word is pronounced with the emphasis always always always on the last syllable. SO easy, but to difficult for the brits. CitroEN
Had a loaner from a garage while my Xantia was in gor repairs.
2.0 turbo diesel, auto, full black leather.
Was like driving a magic carpet, just wafted along, but surprisingly good turn of speed too.
The funny thing is that Citroën is a last name of a Dutch guy called Andre Citroen orginally because his family had a veggie/fruit shop in Amsterdam. Citroen translated is "Lemon". Citroen is pronounced as "Sitrun" and the U is spoken as the U in "push". But because the father from Andre lived in Paris where Andre was born he changed it to "Citroën" because the french couldn't pronouce the original name '"Citroen". So "Citroën" you pronouce offically as "Sitru-èn". Hope this makes sense? ;-)
Mrs wizard. Thank you for the shop update!! Great camera work😊😊
You always forget the 4th element for an engine to run, compression.
Unless someone has deliberately removed the piston rings and or valves, an engine that has covered many miles will possess, at a minimum a 'modest compression' and will start. A very worn engine may run very poorly pushing out plumes of smoke, but it will start if it has spark, fuel, air and is timed correctly. My recent experience is with a JDM engine that had covered circa 500,000kms. The measured compression was around 60 to 80 psi with one cylinder recording 40 psi. It started but idled very poorly. In the aforesaid case, the valves were 'shot'.
This is a serious car, bravo. or in French Tres bien. I am not French but this is a real currant and future classic.
“OVNI” means UFO in Spanish (maybe French too). It does look kind of like a UFO doesn’t it??
😂😂
Objeto Volante No Identificado. And yes, almost the same in French.
I live in the UK and my dad had a gold Citroën XM V6. It was a great car but I do remember he was having a lot of issues with the hydraulic tappets. Was very smooth car and very comfortable. A rare beast now even here in europe.
"I put in a genuine Bosch unit not a Chinese one"
"Bosch....Made in Taiwan"
oh wait....
Nothing wrong with made in Taiwan, one of the reasons Bosch is making parts over there!
@@MauiWauiPineappleExpress
Ummmmm you did get the irony right?
-1000 Social Credit, you will be going to the reeducation center now 😂😂
It was a good car in 2.0 Turbo guise or the latest 2.9 V6. It was very reliable BTW. There were many around here.
And that is kilometers not miles.
Ahh I remember seeing the transporter delivering these to the dealership. I was a kid and watching them raise them upto max when taking them off was very cool :), back in the days of the ZX.