Peugeot 206 CC in Sweden

We got this little car as I thought it would be an easy to handle first car for the wife to drive in summer, after she passed her test, with the convertible roof adding a bit of fun.

It’s an older car, made roughly 20 years ago, and some parts are no longer made for it, but it is a popular car so this is a page with some information and experiences that might help people with the same car.

Options/Features

Optional extras that might be fitted include heated seats and cruise control. Traction control (called “ESP”) might be present on a 2.0L model. Each of these can be useful in northern Sweden. Ours only has the heated seats. These have been a welcome feature when getting into the car after it has been parked below -15C as it helps improve your comfort quickly.

The 1.6L 16v is more economical and includes an automatic option, but the 2.0L version has more power. Some reviewers hate the automatic gearbox but my wife likes it and I haven’t had any problems with it.

Some models have a dial and knob cabin heater control system, other models have an LCD screen and interior sensors. The more complicated system is not necessarily better. It’s possible to navigate the manual controls by touch with some practise.

The 15″ “Sirocco” alloy wheels (the spiral design shown in the photo above) use a deeper tyre wall than the alternate 16″ straight-spoke “Ouragan” alloy option, so will give more comfort on rural roads. Larger rims with low profile tyres are preferred on the race track but on public roads the firmer ride over potholes reduces comfort. Apparently the 206cc can’t take 14″ alloy wheels due to the size of the brake calipers on the cc model but our 14″ steel rims fit ok.

The front passenger seat has the hoops for the isofix baby carrier attachment system, but when this is used the passenger airbag must be disarmed via the drivers side key-twist option button.

Typical Faults

• If the back of the car sounds like a metal hammer banding on metal every time the car goes over the slightest bump, and/or the rear wheels feel a little like they want to go in a slightly different direction when you go around a corner, then the rear axle bearings are likely catastrophically end of life. This is common. The complete axle will get replaced with a reconditioned one.
• If the boot lid is hard to open, and closes on its own, then the supporting gas struts have lost their compressed air because they don’t last 20 years. They are cheap to replace but it means reaching them through the passenger compartment. So there is a bit of labour needed and the bootlid is heavy to work with so although I did our myself, you might want to pay someone to do it.
• Weird dashboard fault alerts might just be a single dodgy sensor, such as a gearbox sensor, causing knock on effects.
• ABS warning lights might just be the wheel sensors to replace.
• If there is a loud metal cracking noise as the door opens, it’s the door retaining strap (like a metal hinge). Visible when the door is open. If greasing it doesnt fix the sound then a replacement is available cheap on ebay.

Typical Changes for Northern Sweden

• In winter, storing the car in a garage will reduce deterioration. If the car is being used then the garage should be heated when storing the car after journeys. This heating will melt snow off the car and dry up the resulting moisture so that the cars metalwork doesn’t stay wet and rust. Otherwise the garage can be unheated so that snow and ice on the car stay frozen. The worst case is for the garage to be warm enough to melt snow but then not warm enough to dry the car.
• An engine warming kit with an electrical hookup allows the can to be plugged in at parking spots to keep the engine oil warm enough to protect the engine on startup, and to protect the engine from freezing if there were to be a problem with the antifreeze mix. The kit is available with and without a cabin electrical point so that a small cabin heater can run.
• If the numberplates are bent, battered, rusted, or covered in dealer stickers, the transport agency can supply a new pair for about 200SEK (about £16) orderable via the minasidor pages.
• If your car doesn’t have mudflaps, the small moulded-plastic mudflaps are available cheap and stop most of the spray and grit. The aerodynamics of the car otherwise seem to result in the spray sticking all down the sides.
• A battery charger connection for the car and a quick-fit connector are a great idea. CTEK are a Swedish company that make good chargers with an option for a quick fit plug attachment.
• Under-body rust converter treatment (e.g. Limino rust converter), followed by a well reviewed anti-rust coating (Liquid Film/Fluid Film) would be a good investment.
• If I was routinely driving a lot of potholed uneven forest roads I might consider 14″ steel rims with a deeper all-seasons tyre, as opposed to the standard 15″ wheels with a shallower tyre.

Parts

The old forums all recommend Bosch sparkplugs. Bosch also make the range of other replacement parts like the good Aerotwin wiper blades, oil filter, air filter, cabin air filter, and battery.

Some parts are still made in the far east:

• Interior lights for the cabin and boot that use a filament bulb and have plastics that are turning brown can be replaced with modern LED ones cheaply on ebay.
• The big orange door lock and hazard warning light buttons are sold cheaply. The details on the button rub off on the original over time.
• The rear LED centre brake light is manufactured, but be sure to get the right colour option to match your car.
• The radio antenna can get damaged but new options are available

In Sweden it’s normal to swap wheels over to studded ice tyres for winter, and swap to an all condition or summer tyre outside of winter. For rural Sweden, wheels are normally stored in the garage. People might have three sets of wheels:

• For an all weather tyre we fitted Michelin CrossClimate IIs which are a well reviewed tyre. Note that the higher-speed rated version is a only a tiny bit more and has a quieter noise category rating.
• For a summer long distance motorway tyre, such as if driving the 5-6 hour journey to Stockholm, people might have a dedicated set of hard summer tyres. The car came with Continental EcoContact tyres, which are fine for dry conditions and are a lower friction design for good fuel economy.
• For a studded ice tyre it tends to be whatever the previous owner purchased. The ice tyres take a long time to wear out.

Gotchas

• In winter cold weather (below -16C) the car might shut down, e.g. when initially driving away from shops on a return journey and reaching a junction. We only had this happen once but it was confidence shaking because the cause was unclear. The car started fine after it had sat a while, with no obvious problem and no fault code recorded.

Upgrades

• Get an accurate tyre pressure gauge like the SKS Germany meter. We discovered the meter on our tyre inflator was quite inaccurate and setting the pressure correctly noticeably improved the car handling.
• Don’t bother with any racer upgrades (ram air filter, exhaust, etc). Instead make sure the car brakes, suspension, engine and other parts are well serviced. Make a list of faults, prioritise them for fixing, and fix each fault as budget allows over time. Once the car is working as intended it’s going to be a great little thing.
• A TomTom GPS unit avoids phone hassles and gives a reliable GPS speed indicator with maps, current speed limit indicator, and speed camera alerts.
• An aftermarket tyre pressure monitoring system can be affordable and reassuring. It might not be super accurate, it just needs to alert to significant loss of pressure.
• The original stereos are 20 years old and a modern alternative will allow loading tracks from USB or Bluetooth but apparently the track name will no longer show on the orange centre console display and an adaptor may be needed for compatibility with the steering wheel audio controls.
• There is a company that makes a special module that allows the roof to be raised and lowered while below about 20mph – normally you have to stop the car for the duration of the process.