CarValidator

1.2 Hybrid 136 (EB2 Gen3, chain)

2024–2026 · hybrid · 1199cc · 136hp

Engine codes: EB2ADTSH

Maint. Sensitive

Reliability, common problems and owner reviews for the Citroen C3 Aircross II 1.2 Hybrid 136 (EB2 Gen3, chain). Check this before you buy used.

This is the chain engine, not the wet-belt PureTech. EB2ADTSH is the third-generation 1.2, badged Hybrid 136 and later Hybrid 145, with the 48V motor inside the e-DCS6. It is the petrol in the 2024 Peugeot 3008 and 5008, the Opel Grandland II and Frontera, and the Citroën C3 Aircross II. The Alfa Romeo Junior Hybrid 136 and the Fiat 600 Hybrid 136 use this same EB2ADTSH. The 100 hp 600 and the 100 hp Avenger are a different engine and are not this page. The facelifted 208, 2008, 308 and Astra, and the 2025 C5 Aircross Hybrid 145, use this same chain engine. A 100 hp mild hybrid is not this page. L'Argus, from Stellantis technical notes, reported a camshaft-sprocket screw that can be wrongly positioned on engines built up to 17 February 2024. The lamp comes on, power can drop, and the notes name P0012, P0015, P0016 and P0017. The factory changed the phaser on 31 January 2024 and the screw on 18 February 2024. Separately, L'Automobile Magazine in October 2024 reported a gearbox-software campaign on 11,823 cars in France, and one reader's 3008, collected on 6 July, had the whole e-DCS6 replaced almost immediately. A later French campaign (fiches-auto, July 2025) covers 237,992 cars because two high-pressure fuel nuts were not tightened: nine cases, a half-hour retorque, a fire precaution rather than a pile of burnt cars. None of this is the belt-in-oil failure. A car built after 18 February 2024 with the gearbox update and the fuel-nut campaign closed is the one to buy. A 2023 car with a timing lamp and no paperwork is not.

Same engine, other cars

This is the same physical engine (EB2ADTSH) sold under different names across brands. Reliability is broadly shared — cross-check these:

Known Issues

Cam-sprocket screw on cars built to 17 February 2024recurring

L'Argus: internal notes say a camshaft-sprocket screw can sit in the wrong place on EB2 Gen3 engines built up to 17 February 2024. Drivers get a diagnostic lamp and sometimes a loss of power. The notes identify it with P0012, P0015, P0016 and P0017, and the repair is the screws and the sprockets. In production the phaser was revised on 31 January 2024 and the screw on 18 February 2024. Stellantis was covering the earlier cars under warranty, Peugeot Allure Care or Citroën We Care, case by case. It is a timing fault on an early batch. It is not the wet belt shedding into the oil.

Fix / Workaround: Build date, not registration year. Before 18 February 2024, ask the dealer whether the sprocket screws were replaced. A stored P0016 or a timing noise ends the purchase until that job is on the invoice.

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Typically appears after: 10,000 km

e-DCS6: a software campaign, and some whole gearboxesrecurring

L'Automobile Magazine, 8 October 2024: Peugeot called it a 'rappel de mise au point' and told the magazine 11,823 cars in France needed an e-DCS6 software update — current and previous 3008, 208, 2008, 308, 408 and both generations of 5008. The same piece says one reader who collected a 3008 on 6 July had the entire transmission replaced straight away. The box is the Punch unit with the motor inside it, and dealers have been replacing it complete rather than repairing a clutch. A shunt at walking pace is what owners report. A car that will not select D, or that has already had a gearbox, is a different object from a car that only wants the software.

Fix / Workaround: Ask for the e-DCS6 software campaign in writing. On the test, creep in a queue and select D and R from cold. A gearbox replacement in the history is a reason to read why, not a reason to assume the new box is finished.

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Typically appears after: 5,000 km

Two fuel-rail nuts left looseminor

Fiches-auto, July 2025: a French campaign on the chain EB2 Gen3, 237,992 vehicles built 2023–2025, because two nuts on the high-pressure circuit were not tightened. Nine cases had been found. The job is a retorque of those nuts and a few screws on the rail, about half an hour. It is a leak and fire precaution. It is not a pattern of cars burning, and it is not the wet-belt story either.

Fix / Workaround: VIN against that campaign before you buy a 2023–2025 car. The work is free when the car is in the campaign.

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Year Cutoffs

2024: Before — Built up to 17 February 2024: the sprocket screw is open until the invoice says otherwise. The e-DCS6 software campaign of October 2024 also sits on these early cars.. After — Built from 18 February 2024: L'Argus says the screw was corrected in production. The fuel-nut retorque still applies across 2023–2025, and the gearbox still has to be driven in traffic..

Mileage Thresholds

After 20,000 km: Campaigns and the first gearbox behaviour. These cars are not old enough for a belt-era mileage story, and this engine does not have that belt.

After 80,000 km: No high-mileage teardown of the chain Gen3 in the sources used here. Oil changes still matter. A timing code at any mileage is the screw, not 'just a hybrid'.

Fault Codes to Scan

P0012Camshaft timing, retard. Named by L'Argus in the Gen3 sprocket-screw notes, with P0015, P0016 and P0017. On a car built before 18 February 2024 this is the screw campaign, not a guess at the old belt.recurring
P0016Crankshaft and camshaft correlation. Same technical notes. A correlation code means the timing has moved. Do not drive it until the screws and sprockets have been done.critical

Pre-Purchase Checklist

  • ☐Chain, oil filler on the top cover — not a wet-belt EB2ADT, EB2ADTS or EB2F
  • ☐Build date before 18 February 2024: sprocket-screw job on the invoice, or walk away from a P0016
  • ☐e-DCS6 software campaign closed; creep test in a queue, D and R from cold
  • ☐Fuel-rail nut campaign closed on a 2023–2025 car
  • ☐A gearbox already replaced: read the reason before you treat the car as sorted
  • ☐Do not pay a wet-belt premium, or a wet-belt discount, for this engine

Frequently asked questions

Is the Citroen C3 Aircross II 1.2 Hybrid 136 (EB2 Gen3, chain) reliable?

Maint. Sensitive — This is the chain engine, not the wet-belt PureTech. EB2ADTSH is the third-generation 1.2, badged Hybrid 136 and later Hybrid 145, with the 48V motor inside the e-DCS6. It is the petrol in the 2024 Peugeot 3008 and 5008, the Opel Grandland II and Frontera, and the Citroën C3 Aircross II. The Alfa Romeo Junior Hybrid 136 and the Fiat 600 Hybrid 136 use this same EB2ADTSH. The 100 hp 600 and the 100 hp Avenger are a different engine and are not this page. The facelifted 208, 2008, 308 and Astra, and the 2025 C5 Aircross Hybrid 145, use this same chain engine. A 100 hp mild hybrid is not this page. L'Argus, from Stellantis technical notes, reported a camshaft-sprocket screw that can be wrongly positioned on engines built up to 17 February 2024. The lamp comes on, power can drop, and the notes name P0012, P0015, P0016 and P0017. The factory changed the phaser on 31 January 2024 and the screw on 18 February 2024. Separately, L'Automobile Magazine in October 2024 reported a gearbox-software campaign on 11,823 cars in France, and one reader's 3008, collected on 6 July, had the whole e-DCS6 replaced almost immediately. A later French campaign (fiches-auto, July 2025) covers 237,992 cars because two high-pressure fuel nuts were not tightened: nine cases, a half-hour retorque, a fire precaution rather than a pile of burnt cars. None of this is the belt-in-oil failure. A car built after 18 February 2024 with the gearbox update and the fuel-nut campaign closed is the one to buy. A 2023 car with a timing lamp and no paperwork is not.

What are the common problems and reviews for the Citroen C3 Aircross II 1.2 Hybrid 136 (EB2 Gen3, chain)?

The most commonly reported problems: Cam-sprocket screw on cars built to 17 February 2024, e-DCS6: a software campaign, and some whole gearboxes, Two fuel-rail nuts left loose.

Is a used Citroen C3 Aircross II 1.2 Hybrid 136 (EB2 Gen3, chain) worth buying?

Fine if serviced correctly — but it punishes neglect hard. History and the right consumables matter.