As we know, the 1.2 PureTech engine is an equipment that has proven to be very efficient over the years. Despite this, however, it has nevertheless presented various types of problems, which have worried owners of some of the vehicles in the Stellantis group, namely those of Citroën, DS, Peugeot and Opel. The defects that have been most commonly encountered would seem to be excessive oil consumption, timing belt wear, which seems to occur too early, and other malfunctions that have led Stellantis to compulsory action.
1.2 PureTech, engine appreciated but not without problems
Stellantis, therefore, has reportedly decided to address the recurring issues related to the 1.2 PureTech engine in a much more forceful way. As anticipated, this set of problems would seem to affect some of the Stellantis group’s brands. In fact they are prevalent on numerous Citroën, DS Automobiles, Peugeot and Opel models. In the coming weeks, a program will be launched by the automaker to offer more support to all consumers who are in possession of one of these cars. This gasoline engine has always been appreciated for its efficiency, but in recent periods, it has come under criticism due to several drawbacks reported by users. As anticipated at the beginning of the text, these would be excessive oil consumption, premature wear of the timing belt, loss of oil pressure, and engine failures, which in some cases have caused the vehicle to suddenly shut down while driving.
But the negative surprises seem not to have ended there. In fact, a further problem involves the timing belt being submerged in oil, an occurrence that can cause the vacuum pump to lock up, resulting in brake malfunctions and related safety problems that would come rather obviously. These defects seem to have occurred more frequently in vehicles that are used for short journeys, during which the engine does not reach optimum running temperature. Therefore, what happens under such conditions is that gasoline can mix with oil, altering its lubricating properties. To try to mitigate the problem, an independent repair shop has developed a conversion kit that replaces the belt with a timing chain.
Stellantis wants to solve the engine problem at its root
Back in March, Stellantis had already implemented an extended warranty for vehicles equipped with the 1.2 PureTech engine. This warranty had been created to cover cars less than 10 years old with a mileage of less than 175,000 km, provided that owners submit at least three recent maintenance invoices that comply with the manufacturer’s inspection program. The manufacturer also introduced an improved belt designed to effectively resist wear and tear in harsh conditions, along with a new type of oil with increased resistance to gasoline contamination. Now a further initiative is being planned to improve the customer experience and to minimize the problems associated with this engine.
The new initiative, announced by Stellantis, will be much more comprehensive than what we have seen so far. However, the manufacturer did not provide any details. It is not known to what extent the new platform will work and to which countries it will apply: we will probably learn the details at the turn of 2024 to 2025.