Been in a 407 and liked it

[FarmerPug]

A colleague at work has recently got himself a different car, his old kia magentis was falling apart so it was time for a change and he bought a 2010 407 2.0 HDi, im not sure exactly what trim level it is, if it was a 406 it would be an SE, its got most of the bells and whistles, full colour sat nav, bluetooth, electric seats, folding mirrors, half leather (why do car companies do half leather, its still fabric on the bit of the seat likely to have anything spilt on it, thus no real advantage)

Its a very nice car, i havent spent much time in a 407 before, but its a nice place to sit, the seats are brilliant, very supportive but still comfortable in the way only the french know how, i havent actually drvien it but it does seem a bit different to sit in than the 406 the dash is much longer and its hard to see the front of the car, the front and back parking sensors make up for this issue.

The car has 69 and a bit thousand miles, and there doesnt seem to be any record of the timing belt having been done, it also takes a bit of time to fire up as if the glow plugs are bad, ,one of the rear wheel bearings is singing a song, and it needs a good service. I said i could service the car for him.

Is there anything to be wary of when working on these 407s, how much different is the newer 2.0 engine, i havent opened the bonnet and looked at it, but is it much different to the DW10 engine, does the timing belt have the same tensioning arrangement as the 406 (ie use the SEEM machine, or 'the force' to guess the tension) or is it a spring loaded tensioner?

[Doggy]

It's a DW10B - pretty much the familiar 2.0 HDi, with a 16-valve head, much like a 2.2 406.
Assuming it's an RHR, Autodata says it has an automatic tensionser - you need a pin to hold this off while fitting the belt, other than that it looks like the same locking kit as an RHY/RHZ. 3.30 hours, they reckon.

[PeterN]

A friend of mine had one and I was very impressed with the seats, Peugeot seats have always been a bit on the short side for me, I have not driven in it either.

I like the 406 for its relative simplicity as I repair it myself and find the seats in that pretty comfortable especially with all the adjustment that the electric seats have. I also have a C5 and although the car is bigger and the ride is superb I don't find the seats any more comfortable than the 406.

Peter

[Welly]

The 407 is supposed to handle like a dream with its double wishbones up front etc.

I understand the V6 Diesel can be a bit of a headache? not sure why but I'd imagine it goes and sounds really good. I think the 2.7V6 was used by Jaguar so it can't be all that bad? can it?

[jasper5]

Timing belt doesn't need replacing until 10 years or 150,000 miles.
I did mine recently at 94,000...not a bad job to do...I have some photos and will do a write up when I can get motivated to do anything.
The only snag is where the engine mounting and a guide roller fit...one of the engine mounting bolts is also the mounting bolt for the guide roller...it makes removing the belt a bit awkward as well as refitting it....tensioner is a wind up type with a pointer and notch to set the correct tension.
Regarding servicing...the fuel filter is easy to change...take off the pipes and unscrew the housing lid using a socket...undos 90 degrees.After fitting the new filter only fit the inlet pipe then hold your finger over the outlet pipe to bleed off the air as you pump the bulb.
Oil filter is a paper element with a nut on the housing lid to unscrew it.
You have to remove the whole undertray to get at the sump plug...be careful you don't round off the torx fitting on the sump plug...it's a bit tight for access.
Pollen filter is a 10 minute job...pull down the passenger's side under dash cover and pull off the cover...new filter in and off you go.
Use C2 5w30 oil for particulate filter type cars.

[fattail95]

I think the 407 is a great car, but I much prefer the looks of the 406, much cleaner and more defined lines IMO.

[rwb]

The trim levels are roughly: S, SE, SV, Executive, X-Line, Zenith (these two don't have DPFs), Sport, and GT, but like with the 406 what you get evolves over time and depends on what parts happened to be lying about on the day. The S is the only real poverty level.

The biggest problem with the 407 is that it's not a 406-made-better. For me it's down to a lot of little niggles like not being able to see the cabin fan speed when you're on the trip computer page or the radio page of the screen, too much clutter on the speedo (marked every 10 rather than every 20), and it still confuses me that the oil and water temperature are the opposite way round on the instrument cluster... The interior is also a bit 'plasticy' because they've used hard plastics where the 406 had sponge padded leather-effect and cloth -- in the door cards in particular. However, it does feel to be screwed together more convincingly.

Indeed it's impossible to see where the front or the back is, although I like the long dash, and in particular the light feel of the cabin -- unlike the new C5 or anything German where you peep out of the darkness.

The thing will go round corners where the 406 would have long since let go, and it hardly rolls at all; the price you pay is a firmer ride and I'm not convinced it's worth it.

They seem to have learned from their mistakes with the DPF as on the 407 it's almost livable. At 7 years and 80k I have enough fluid left for 300 visits to the petrol station, the filter is clogged to 80g and I've seen a 607 clogged to 135g without trouble. The main peeve is that it decides to do a regen at the worst possible time -- always on a short trip on a day before I'll be on the motorway.

The biggest liability is probably the DMF. I just paid £750 for mine doing.

The V6 diesel only comes with a slushmatic

[Captain Jack]

Hm, I am on 61k now with not much wrong with my 407. I do get the occasional fumes smell in the cabin, especially on cold days and I *think* it might be the slightly knackered flexi hose. Haven't looked much into it.

The space to change the timing belt looks quite tight - not sure I'd be convinced to change it myself (it's a 2.2HDI not 2.0, so fills more of the engine bay). I want to it maybe next year as I am scared of these huge service intervals...It will be 8 years old then.

[FarmerPug]

I got the vin number of the car today and took a look at servicebox.
The engine is a DW10BTED4, no mention if its a RHR on the subject of RHY/Z/R what does this refer to?

A few other issues that he wants sorted is that it takes a bit of cranking before it starts up, its almost like an xud in the amount of time it takes to fire up, could that be glow plugs, or a bad one way fuel valve?

I suppose the dash top is a bit plasticky looking but it is solid, there are bits of the dash which are piano black, it seems to be fashonable in new cars but i dispise it mainly because its too shiny and it picks up scratches, although i might be in the minority for liking 1990s fake plastic wood, even grey painted panels like the 406 would be nicer.

The other thing i noticed, the glovebox, on the 406 its big enough to store a laptop, on the 407 it has a big lid, but inside the available space is very limited.

[steve_earwig]

The engine is a DW10BTED4, no mention if its a RHR on the subject of RHY/Z/R what does this refer to?

It's the engine codes as they appear in the vin. Mine says RHZ which is a DW10ATED

[FarmerPug]

Ah now that is useful to know, i genuinley hadnt a clue what it meant, thanks for that.
In which case this 407 is an RHF, and my 406 is an RHZ

If the RHF has an automatic tensioner id give it a go, i dont mind setting the tension on my own car because if it goes wrong i can blame myself, if its someone elses car its not really sensible taking the risk.

[OllieNZ]

If it's anything like my 307 dead plugs = Aunty pollution

[trem1]

Well i'm on my 3rd 407 so i think i'm biased now

[jasper5]

Here are the pictures from my car cambelt job......http://s638.photobucket.com/user/archer ... t=3&page=1
Note the tensioner and how it looks set .
Note the bolt and the guide pulley as previously mentioned.
It isn't a difficult job, it's easier than a 406 HDi.

[lozz]

i think the 407's are a excellent car. (alot of car for the money)
igot offerd one this week but it has a weird fault..car will start with no problem and idle allday.,but it wont rev.
ive had to much to deal with so ive left it where it is for now,