1999 Holden Astra CD review from Australia and New Zealand

MAJOR BRAKE PROBLEMS.

I have also had severe brake problems in my 99 Astra CD as described by other contributors. Shortly after buying the car (around 10,000Km if I recall correctly) the brakes developed a terrible groaning squeel when driving. For a while I only had it while braking, but then later just moving the car made the squeal.

I was recently advised by my Holden Dealer during a routine 30,000 KM service that my 1999 Holden Astra CD needed all four discs and brake pads to be replaced at my cost due to the pads being worn down to metal and the discs being dangerously thin and damaged.

I have reason to believe this is a result of a faulty manufacturing process, as my brakes were repaired once under warranty shortly after I purchased the vehicle. At that time, the Holden Dealer told me they had been manufactured "completely dry" and had been sticking, and therefore had worn down prematurely.

At the time, I was reassured by the dealer that the brakes would from that point onwards be fine, and that the discs were not damaged by the worn-to-metal pads (despite an aweful "groaning" sound being made by the brakes prior to the repair.)

Today, at my 30,000 service, I asked the dealer whether it was possible to simply change over the pads and look at the new discs later, and the representative replied, "we couldn't change just the pads due to roadworthiness requirements - the fact that your brakes have worn down to metal means the discs are damaged, and they would shred new pads in no time".

This recent statement leads me to believe that the reason my brakes have worn down to metal so quickly (15,000 KMs) and the discs are so damaged is that the original repair to the brakes neglected to restore the discs to an as-new condition under warranty.

OTHER FAULTS.

- Windows go down by themselves if you roll them all up at once (difficult to fault in front of a dealer, but it happens all the time)

- Camshaft Sensor needed replacing at 30,000 (was making the engine sputtery)

- Reverse lights stopped working, which was tracked to a broken reverse light switch in the gearbox. (I'm not heavy handed with the gears...)

- Rear-centre seatbelt was assembled wrongly. One side of the latch was put on the wrong side of a plastic stud, which prevents it from closing. Dealer claims that because I only noticed it when it was out of warranty I have to pay for it to be repaired myself - $370 including labour!

Car is zippy, but tends to have a 'whining' note to the engine when accelerating.

Also, seats have inadequate lumbar support -- you find yourself hunching over a little as your lower back curls into the seats.

Also beware the "Holden Extended Warranty". It's actually nothing to do with Holden -- it's offered by a third party insurer and they refused to pay any warranty claims on the policy due to the fact that I had not serviced the car under manufacturer's specifications. Even though I had always come in on the correct KM reading, they claim that if a year comes up before your KMs, you must bring the car in for a service -- and if you don't, you invalidate your policy. Unbelievable!

Other annoyances include excessive brake dust (as mentioned by other contributors).

On a positive note, the CD player and 6 speaker stereo in the CD-TS has very nice surround sound (although it wasn't long before the speakers and door trim started buzzing with even medium bass).