1987 Holden Commodore VL review from Australia and New Zealand
"Best Drive line that I have ever seen in a holden, they can put up with years of full throttle abuse"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Stuffed the auto trans at 240,000km.
Started running incredibly rich not long afterwards and was using around 15-20 liters of fuel per 100km, but I fixed that with self diagnostic and adjusting airflow meter.
Engine stops when it gets 1 line over its normal operating temperature and I have taken it into auto electricians everywhere and they can't find a problem.
New crank angle sensor, airflow meter, fuel filter, fuel pump relay and oxygen sensor put in 3 months ago, but engine still stops when it gets hot.
Always breaking exhaust manifold studs and I got pulled over by the cops because of the noise of the leaking exhaust.
Had to remove the whole Dash practically to get the original stereo out (was going to cost $200 to get it done by a pro).
General comments?
The engines love to rev and it is virtually impossible to make them fly to bits. My car has almost done 300,000 km and it still dosen't use oil after having a thrashing for the last 6 or so years of its life.
Definitely the best in-line six that holden have ever put into one of their cars compared to the fundamentally floored Grey, Red, Blue and black series which after years of trying couldn't meet the EPA pollution Standards and were scrapped.
Auto Trans is weak, but the Tremec 5sp in the manual VL Commodore is based on the Ford Top loader Gearbox with an extra gear and is virtually bulletproof.
Car is a bit sluggish in standard form, but if you have a manual and you change the gears at the right time you can pull a fairly fast 0-100km/h time.
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| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| First year of ownership | 1999 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2003 |
| Engine and transmission | 3.0 litre Nissan RB30 inline six Automatic |
| Performance marks | 4/10 |
| Reliability marks | 3/10 |
| Comfort marks | 4/10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 2/10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 5/10 |
| Distance when acquired | 230000 kilometres |
| Most recent distance | 285300 kilometres |
| Previous car | Holden Commodore |
| Date of Entry | 20th December, 2003 |