2003 Holden Barina XC/SXi from Australia and New Zealand - Comments

The following is what has gone wrong with the car and what the Holden dealership have done to solve these faults.

@ 16 Kilometers- No spare key, missing on delivery.

@ 1032 Kms- Squeak from rear, adjusted and lubricated. L/H door damaged on delivery. Fixed/warranty (@ 3046Klms).

@ 5870 Kms- Horn not working. Diagnostic found grease on contacts causing high resistance. Fixed/warranty.

@ 14846 Kms- Loud rear brake noise/groan when reversing. Diagnostic found excessive amount of dust on discs and pads. Steam cleaned, did not solve the problem.

@ 16440 Kms- Checked for brake noise from rear. Technician glued brake pads to the calipers, did not solve the problem.

@ 16949 Kms- Checked brakes. Diagnostic found requires "tech line". Carried out "tech line" kit-pin&pads.

@ 17237 Kms- Check brakes still loud noise/groan. Waiting on further instructions from Holden to repair brake fault. Contact customer as soon as possible.

Happy driving!

Other than the loud noise/groan from the rear brakes and Holden not troubleshooting the problem, and still haven't, the car is

average compared to other small cars.

After reading about some of the Astra's same brake problems on this web site, I am wondering if they

have the same brake setup as some of the barina's. If anyone has this same type of brake fault or know of a solution for this problem please leave any comments or Email me

@ amu73404@bigpond.net.au

Thank you for your time.

I have had similar problems with my Holden Barina. I drive a 2004 Barina SXi. I bought it in October 2007 at 27,500Kms (approx). I've done 3000Kms and have the same brake problems. Was told it was a manufacturing problem and there was no way to fix it.

My car has also needed a new Timing chain and a new Shift plate!!! Has anyone else had to have these replaced?

I own a 2007 Barina Sedan and at 13k I am experiencing the same brake grind noise. Has anyone found the reason for this problem or a solution? I've heard it could be because of the hard materials that make up the brakes, and to fix the problem would require a replacement with softer materials. I am hesitant to do this since there's a fair chance softer materials will wear out much easiar and quicker.

I have a 2004 Barina 25000kms - same problem.

2004 Barina SXI also with rear brake noise when reversing. Pads wearing unevenly, appears to manufacturing fault of calipers, 32000kms and ready for 3rd set of rear pads.

I own a 2001 Holden XC Barina, and I had the same issue with the back brakes, and I got the pads replaced and the noise went away. However now the front brakes are squealing, even though the guy checked them and said they were fine... anyone have an help for me???

I own a 2003 Barina and I have the same problem with the back brakes groaning when reversing. Holden said it is a common problem.

I am having a problem when I put my foot on the brake pedal at the moment, a clunk sound comes from the front right wheel. Any thoughts?

I own a Barina CD 2003 as well, it has the same problem with the rear brakes groaning when they are applied when reversing. Has anyone come up with a definitive solution to this problem yet?

I have a 2003 SXi. Timing chain wasn't a problem until 80,000km. Another belt near it collapsed and put more pressure on the chain. This cost more than $4,000 to replace. We've had the reverse braking noise ever since we purchased car at 20,000km. No one, not even Holden dealers/mechanics can work it out. We're now approaching 110,000km. We've just started noticing a Temperature problem when if you sit idling ie. at the lights, there's a noise, similar to when you accelerate, then the temp gauge reaches almost 100! Booked in for the mechanics. Expecting another big $$ bill!!

2003 XC SRi. Have had the same noise coming from the rear since I bought it 2 years ago. Very frustrating; Holden says they can't find any noise when I take it in. I have actually had people jump with a fright at shopping centers when I reverse out of a park. Looking at how many people have the same problem, they are just telling me they can't find anything because they don't want to deal with it.

I have had the rear brake reversing noise on my 2004 XC Barina SXi since it was about 6 months old. Took it to Holden dealerships three times within 3 year car warranty, they either couldn't fix it, didn't know what it required or said they fixed it but the problem was still there. My car is now 5 years old, and I've had it in at a dealership twice in the last two weeks - first time for a routine service when they tell me that to fix the noise on the brakes I need new brakes (at the front?!) and the discs need machining. Additionally, the drive tensioner bearings were replaced last week ($500) to fix ticking noise, this week it was taken back in because ticking noise persists, now I'm told that the timer chain needs repairing (timer chain kit parts and labour $1000). My car has only done 56000km and I drive it like a grandma! Anyone had any problems with intake manifold? My car was involved in a car accident (unknown to me) and at the routine service last week they identified the intake manifold flap was making a noise (now also contributing to the ticking noise, supposedly) - $2500 to repair. Is it neverending?!!

Hi, I had exactly the same problem with the rear brakes making a loud noise on reversing. Very embarassing! Everyone would turn and stare! Eventually I took it to a brakes specialist and had the problem fixed for a couple of hundred dollars I think. (it was over a year ago).

I bought a Barina 2003 brand new and it was still under warranty when the brakes started making the noise after about the 2 - 3 year mark. I took it back to the dealer as per the terms of the warranty and I was fobbed off time and time again. Kept telling me there was nothing wrong with it. Just didn't want to pay up. Well, there was. I got it fixed by a brakes specialist that you've probably all heard off. They told me that Holdens are notorious for fobbing people off when their car is still under warranty. I won't buy from these people again.

Joanie.

Sorry it's taken so long getting back with an answer. After heaps of phone calls to ACCC and Vcat, I was told that HOLDEN had to fix the problem under warranty or replace the whole braking system. It was deemed, if the said car was still able to operate under normal driving conditions without being un-road-worthy, then I had to cop it on the chin, BUT if the said car had any issue where it would decrease the value of the car by the brake noise, then I would have a case.

With this info I spoke to HOLDEN custumer service and BINGO!!! The problem was solved by fitting NON GENUINE pads to the Barina.

HOLDEN know all about this problem.

The stock pads that come on the Barina are a hard pad, and by fitting an aftermarket pad solved my problem. HOLDEN then said that because they have fitted non genuine pads that ALL warranty on the brakes would be void!!!

The car has just clicked over 50,000K's and the 6yr warranty has ran out. Other than this being the main issue, the car has been flawless :) In fact, we only just changed the original P6000 tyres.

People, there are two types of dealerships, ones the care about you even if it's just for advice and others that could not give a f#@k about anything.

Ben.