We have bought citroen xsara diesel estate automatic with no handbook supplied.There are 3 symbols on the auto gearbox,and after driving for a few minutes,these symbols are highlighted on the dashboard and begin to flash ?? Does any one know what this means please ??

If they are flashing then you have a auto-box fault , needs the ecu scan for fault codes .
Could be electrical fault !
Selector out of Adjustment !
Slippage in Auto-Box !
Take to Dealer !!!
or Auto Transmission Specialist.

As above it is probably a fault warning. The snowflake symbol shows the icy road setting is engaged, the box starts in a higher gear and makes gentle changes, the 1 holds the box in low gear for engine braking on steep descents (rarely needed) and the S is the sport setting (more engine revs, delayed up-shifts and boy-racer performance)

It sounds to me like u have a problem with a pair of electrovalves located behind the front cover on the gearbox. You may also experience faults like the box sticking in gear. (1st in ur case l think but 3rd is more common.) This fault is common on this gearbox. l have personally repaired many of them myself. The repair involves checking the gearbox oil level & condition & probably replacing the 2 electrovalves. l would seriously only entrust this work to a Citroen dealer as setting the oil level on the gearbox can only be done correctly using the correct diagnostic machine (the oil level has to be between 60 & 68 degrees centigrade to set the level correctly, too much or too little can kill the gearbox.)

The people u bought the car from probably knew about this fault before they sold it. l would go back to them & see what they have to say about it.



In case u do not know what the symbols mean (there r buttons to activate the functions near the gear lever)-

Pressing the 'S' button puts the gearbox into sport mode. When u drive with this button pressed the engine will rev much higher before changing up to the next gear, makes u go faster but also empties ur wallet a lot faster.

Pressing the button that looks like a snowflake/aircon symbol puts the gearbox into a sort of anti skid mode, it is desiged to stop wheel spin & loss of grip in slippery conditions (i think).