1996 Vauxhall Omega GLS 2.5 V6

Summary:

Vauxhall's alternative to the 5 series BMW

Faults:

Routine servicing and replacements until 90,000 miles, when woodruff key sheared. (this is the key which secures crankshaft pulley to crankshaft). The result was damaged valves and heads, when crankshaft and pistons continued to turn, and valves did not! Repair bill for £1605, including new cylinder heads and all ancillaries.

Engine oil leak at 110,000 miles proved very difficult to track down. Replaced cam cover gaskets. Still leaking, so replaced another seal around camshafts. Took this opportunity to replace cam belts, tensioners, (which had been done at 80,000 service), and water pump. Still leaking, so replace oil pump. Engine still drips oil overnight, but not as bad as previously.

I had the optional self leveling rear suspension fitted, as I tow a caravan. Now the nearside rear does not rise up under load. It was leaking air, but this problem was fixed with some new piping. Any suggestions?

Also, speedometer / rev. counter illumination light has failed. How do you get access to this?

General Comments:

I have had this car from new and is has now done 117,000 miles since 1996. It had 2 extras fitted at the factory - air conditioning and self leveling rear suspension.

I tow a 5 berth Swift Challenger caravan and the car has been a good tow car being both stable and having plenty of power. The self leveling rear suspension has always resulted in a level attitude (until this last summer) even with a nose weight of over 100kgs.

The car is an excellent motorway cruiser, and has plenty of space for a family of 5 including 2 teenagers.

Last summer quickly got to 140mph on German autobahn and then traffic prevented going any faster.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 2nd January, 2003

1996 Vauxhall Omega CDX 2.5 petrol

Summary:

The worst car I have ever owned

Faults:

The first thing to go wrong was the crankshaft timing sensor, so the cars electronics switched to 'limp home' mode which meant I could do no more than 35 mph on the M25...not fun!

A few months later whilst driving along the A1, I smelt burning, so naturally pulled off the road to check the problem. It turned out to be the Air con compressor that had seized and caught fire, fortunately,

I had a fire extinguisher to hand and put the fire out.

From that point on, it was always a question of what would go wrong next, and plenty of silly things did pack up over the period of time that I owned the car.

I was fortunate at the beginning of ownership, in the fact that it came with a warranty and did I not have to pay for a number of, otherwise, very expensive repairs.

General Comments:

When the car was running well and not in the dealership for some fault or another, it was actually a nice car to drive.

The 2.5 V6 engine had plenty of power and was well matched to the switchable auto box.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 17th December, 2002

1996 Vauxhall Omega CDX 2.0 16v

Summary:

If the problems cab be sorted it will be a great car for the money

Faults:

Main problem is engine speed. Revs up very well, but when warm the revs take a long time to drop, and drop in stages.

I have had it back to a dealer twice and an independent once. Problem is this only happens when you have been driving and then stop, so it doesn't happen in the workshop, so all mechanics claim there is no problem because they rev the engine whilst stationery and the problem doesn't happen.

Radio ariel connection broken somewhere under dash - no FM. Same dealer failed to find a problem as the garage happened to be at a spot that got reception - does no-one ever test drive a car?

General Comments:

Very comfortable and easy to drive. Bit of a donkey compared to my previous Alfa.

Bit thirsty, but this could be linked to the rev problem.

Information screen is a complete waste of time. None of the information is correct - outside temp goes up as engine warms, mpg is way out.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st October, 2002

18th Oct 2002, 10:02

It would be interesting to know what they have suggested as likely causes. My dealer has said that some Omegas were fitted with modified/upgraded Idle valves that keep the revs high when you stop to avoid stalling - which sounds a bit dodgy to me.

29th Nov 2002, 08:47

Definately sounds like IAC valve needs renewing quite common on these engines.

24th Jan 2003, 05:57

Had the idler valve replaced (£300) which seemed to cure the sticky revs problem for a thousand miles, now it has sort of returned - very intermittent. But the very jerky acceleration problem (ALWAYS around 1500 rpm) has not altered.

25th Jan 2003, 10:02

I own a 97, 2.5 V6 and have had no problems really after owning it for 2 years now. About the high revs you experience, maybe you have an almost dead battery or a poorly charged one. This would cause fluctuating revs. Try thinking the obvious first. Do you have the air-con on, heated seats, heater, lights etc... Try replacing your battery.

I think your wrong about the computer display also, as mine is always spot on with the outside thermometer at work and does not go up with engine temp. The mileage is approx. to 10 mile so that isn't bad either. Perhaps you bought a poor and very tired example of the car.