Peugeot Reviews

Peugeots of this era were not known for the high standard of their electrical systems. Even when new, they gave trouble, in fact. But to find your problem, here’s my first question: Have you altered or added anything to the car that runs on electricity? This could be a new stereo head unit, amplifier, extra gauges to monitor the engine, auxiliary lights or even a sat-nav or dash-cam system. Any of these additions could be somehow remaining powered-up when you lock and leave the car each day, flattening the battery overnight.

Does the car have an alarm system? These are notorious for draining batteries and older ones especially so. Have you checked things like the light in the boot? If this stays on due to a faulty micro-switch, you could easily have a flat battery next morning. Find a dark place to park the car and then have a good look around it for any signs of a light stuck on somewhere.

In some cases, you might find the cause of the problem is the body computer which is randomly switching on various systems (including even the headlights) when you’re not looking. By the time you go to the car next morning, the lights are off because the battery is completely flat.

It’s probably fair to say this wasn’t a great time in Peugeot reliability or build quality. Overall, these Peugeots (like a lot of European designed and engineered cars over the years) didn’t like Australian heat cycles and could start to wear in places they wouldn’t have in Europe.

The biggest of this model’s problems was a propensity for the timing chain to wear prematurely, causing all sorts of internal engine problems and, in some cases, the need for a new engine to be fitted. To be fair, this problem seems to be concentrated on the earlier (pre-2011) versions of this car, but we’d still be very careful about checking the engine on a later one as well. The direct fuel-injection system also meant that the backs of the intake valves weren’t being cleaned by a squirt of fuel every time the engine fired, and this can lead to a build-up of carbon in the intake tract with poor running and a misfire the likely results.

The bottom line is that only a Peugeot 308 with low kilometres (as this one has) and an impeccable service history should be considered. Even then, there are possibly better, more reliable, alternatives.

While there’s no doubt that Peugeot’s quality has improved after the terrible days of the 1990s and 2000s, there remains a school of thought that suggests the brand still lags behind much of the Japanese and South Korean competitors when it comes to build quality and reliability. Not that some of Subaru’s engineering in the last couple of decades has been beyond reproach, either (a batch of dodgy head gaskets did the brand’s reputation no good at all) but on balance, a Subaru is more highly regarded by the trade on the subject of reliability.

Like any modern turbo-diesel, the one in the 3008 can suffer if your driving habits don’t suit the way the engine and its particulate filter are designed to operate. In a nutshell, unless you do at least some highway driving every month, then a modern turbo-diesel is probably not for you (and that applies to all makes and models, not just Peugeots). Other complaints about the 3008 we’ve heard involve the heating and ventilation system, and random electrical glitches are not unknown. The diesel version of the current-model 3008 has also been recalled for a potential engine overheating problem as well as a possible fuel leak problem on a batch of early-build cars.

As for after-sales back-up, it’s fair to say that some dealerships are better than others, regardless of the brand they support. The difference might be if you live in a relatively remote area where Peugeot’s 30-dd dealerships can’t offer the coverage of Subaru’s 100-plus dealers.