Citroën C3 and Basalt are selling very well. But what owners are complaining about, and nobody talks about openly, is the problem.

Artigo voltado ao mercado Brasileiro. Artigo atualizado em 5 de July de 2026 por João Daniel

Citroën’s growth in Brazil is real. The 2025 figures prove it. But on complaint platforms, a list of problems is repeated with far too high a frequency to be ignored by anyone considering buying.

EDITORIAL NOTE This article is based on public complaints registered on Reclame Aqui and Proteste between 2024 and 2026, on reports from owners on specialized portals such as PCD Carros and Meu Citroën, and on official registration data from Fenabrave. No personal experience with the vehicles was fabricated. The goal is to offer a balanced view, neither for nor against the brand.

Citroën had its best sales year in Brazil in over a decade. Basalt became a phenomenon. The C3 gained an XTR version and saw a surge in registrations. The story of this growth is real and was well reported by the specialized press.

But there is another side to this story, and it is documented in hundreds of public accounts from owners who bought exactly these cars that are in the advertisements.

This is not about demonizing the brand. It’s about gathering what’s being said on channels where consumers speak unfiltered, so that those considering a purchase can make a more informed decision.

What appears most frequently in complaints?

Analyzing public records from Reclame Aqui (a Brazilian consumer complaint website) regarding Citroën from November 2025 to April 2026, the platform lists 361 evaluated complaints, with an average rating of 6.91 and a resolution rate of 80.9%. The company’s average response time is 26 days.

These numbers say something important: Citroën resolves most cases, but it takes time. And the problems that appear most frequently are consistent enough to form a pattern.

Noisy suspension: the most common problem.

Suspension noises frequently appear in reports from C3 and Basalt owners. The pattern is similar in several cases: the noise starts early, the owner takes it to the dealership, the car undergoes adjustments, and the problem returns.

A Basalt 2025 owner filed a complaint on Reclame Aqui (a Brazilian consumer complaint website) stating that the vehicle had been experiencing intense noise in the driver’s seat since the first months of use. After at least five visits to the dealership, the need to replace the seat was acknowledged, but the part remained pending at the factory with no delivery date scheduled.

This type of report—problem identified, missing part, indefinite deadline—appears in other cases as well, with different components.

Delay in the delivery of spare parts.

This is possibly the most critical point raised by owners. Reports indicate a lack of essential parts for repairs, such as suspension components or bodywork elements, which are out of stock for months. When a car is damaged in an accident, the time needed for replacement can be even longer. Citroenclube

The problem has a logical basis: the C-Cubed family (C3, Aircross, and Basalt) has grown very rapidly in sales volume. The dealership network and parts inventory haven’t always kept pace. The practical result is that owners of cars less than two years old spend weeks, sometimes months, waiting for parts to be repaired under warranty.

In a case registered in February 2026, an owner of a 2024/2025 C3 Aircross reported that the vehicle had been to the dealership more than ten times for a recall and that, after a diagnosis of a turbo defect, the legal deadline of 30 days under the Consumer Protection Code was exceeded without the problem being resolved.

Electrical faults in the C3

Among the most common problems with the 2025 C3 documented by owners are faulty power windows manifesting themselves upon delivery of the vehicle, noisy suspension with persistent creaking, inefficient air conditioning, and electrical faults such as key defects and problems with the CAN network. Robaizkine

The CAN network deserves special attention. It’s the internal communication system between the car’s electronic modules. When it malfunctions, the impact can be widespread: CAN network failures can cause the battery and engine icons on the dashboard to light up simultaneously, disabling the electric power steering and air conditioning. This type of problem requires diagnosis with specialized equipment — i.e. DIAGBOX — and there’s no solution in a regular repair shop. Robaizkine

What Citroën responds

In its public responses registered on Reclame Aqui (a Brazilian consumer complaint website), Citroën Brasil follows a standard communication pattern: it contacts the dealership for investigation, explains that the parts logistics system considers factors such as production, transportation, and demand, and reinforces that dealerships are legally independent companies from the manufacturer.

This last point is relevant and controversial. In practice, when a consumer has a problem with the dealership, Citroën tends to position itself as an intermediary, not as directly responsible. For the car owner who has been without a vehicle for weeks, the legal distinction between manufacturer and dealership rarely provides comfort.

The company resolved 80.9% of the complaints registered on the platform during the analyzed period, which indicates that cases usually get resolved, even if with some delay.

Does this mean the car is bad?

Not necessarily. And that distinction matters.

Any car with high sales volume will generate a proportionally high volume of complaints. The C3 and Basalt are among the best-selling models in their segments; it would be strange if they didn’t have complaints. What the data shows is not that the cars are defective by nature, but that there are specific areas with higher-than-expected occurrences – suspension, electrical systems, and parts logistics – that need attention.

Citroën’s Reclame Aqui (Brazilian consumer review website) shows an average rating of 6.91, with 59.6% of consumers saying they would do business with the brand again. For comparison, this is a mid-range position in the Brazilian automotive sector – neither a benchmark nor a catastrophe.

What to consider before buying

If you’re evaluating a C3, Basalt, or Aircross, some practical questions are relevant:

Which dealership will serve you? The after-sales experience varies greatly between dealerships. It’s worth researching the history of the specific dealership in your city on Reclame Aqui (a Brazilian consumer review website) before closing the deal.

Is the healthcare network in your city authorized? In smaller cities, there may not be a Citroën dealership nearby, and the brand is in the process of expanding its network, aiming to double the number of locations. Check if your area is already covered.

Do you have the patience to wait in line for parts? If the car needs a replacement for a less common component during the warranty period, reports indicate that the waiting time can be long. This isn’t unique to Citroën; it happens with other brands as well, but it’s something to consider.

Does the price justify the known risks? The Basalt and C3 are competitively priced for what they offer. The question is whether the cost of a potentially long wait for parts or repeated visits to the dealership is factored into your calculations.

Citroën is in a good phase in Brazil. The sales figures are real, the product strategy makes sense, and there is clearly genuine demand for the C-Cubed family of models.

But rapid growth comes at a price, and part of that price is being paid by early buyers, who have encountered a technical support and parts logistics infrastructure that has not yet kept pace with sales.

The good news is that most reported problems can be resolved under warranty. The bad news is that resolving them can take longer than it should.