1999 Holden Vectra CD 2.5 V6 from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

LEMON

Faults:

The car will cut out at traffic lights.

The engine overheated due to a radiator leak.

I had the radiator replaced, and then the upper hose leaked.

Engine now has a severe misfire, which causes the car to shake and splutter.

Car has developed a bad oil leak.

Car has been serviced regularly (oil change at 150 000k's, another at 155000k's).

General Comments:

The car performs well when it is working, but the costs of repairs are outrageous.

I am appalled by how much money I have had to spend on this car in such a short amount of time. It seems that I am spending money on it every month, just to keep the engine working.

The car is unreliable and Holden should never have imported such a lemon to Australia. I regret making my purchase, and when I trade the sucker in, I'll never look back.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 18th December, 2008

1999 Holden Vectra GL from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Lemon

Faults:

Timing belt broke at 115km; needed the engine rebuilt.

Various sensors failed.

Rubbers deteriorated and needed replacing.

Interior rubbers disintegrated.

Black trims under windows fell off.

Constantly needed wheel alignments.

Timing belt pulley broke at 125km; engine needed rebuilding again.

General Comments:

The car was very fuel efficient, but the above faults outweighed any fuel savings.

Basically these cars are lemons.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 28th July, 2008

6th Sep 2013, 16:18

I agree, these cars are lemons. I have had very few enjoyable drives with my Vectra. Every few weeks something goes wrong, and it's more at the mechanics than in my garage. Even the mechanics are baffled as to how to fix the problems. It's all guesswork, as I've had it serviced and repaired by different mechanics, only to find out they never fixed the problem. I would highly recommend for anyone thinking of buying a Vectra, not to, as it's very high maintenance, and if you have one and nothing's gone wrong with it, trust me; something will go wrong, and it won't be cheap to fix. What a lousy car to put on the market, Holden! Can't wait to trade mine in for a Toyota.

1999 Holden Vectra GLX 2.0 from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Stay clear

Faults:

First started with a faulty camshaft sensor, then blown head gasket that was still leaking after repair. Found that there was an etching on the block and it needed re skimming. This was due to previous owners not using radiator inhibitor. Then the water pump seal blew, new water pump required. All in all cost $$$$$

General Comments:

It is a nice looking car and handles well on the road, nice to drive. But the problem is that they are not built to last to high mileage, I feel. So now with things continuing to go wrong with it, it has become a problem car. I recommend not purchasing one! Even tho looks and handling are appealing, the mechanical costs are too high as the mileage gets up. I've had other cars before with similar mileage and never this many problems. Stick with proven long distance models like the Toyotas...

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 13th May, 2007

1999 Holden Vectra GL from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Risk isn't worth taking

Faults:

Under warranty (three months) it had a problem with faulty switches which meant brake lights occasionally didn't work, or "lights on" warning sound would go off for no reason, and several other niggly problems.

The dealer fixed those, but, after four months, the car began stalling occasionally. By six months it stalled every time I stopped at traffic lights etc.

Now I'm having IAC valve replaced. And for a single part it is very expensive (in parts and labour)

General Comments:

A week after I bought the car a mechanic told me he would never buy a Vectra... and now I know why.

It's a great car: it handles well; is fuel efficient; feels great to drive; looks good; and is a handy medium size (bigger than girly Barinas etc, but cheaper on fuel than a Commodore).

But it's let down by mechanical problems - I'm now worried that IAC is only just the beginning.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th July, 2005

10th Oct 2005, 04:58

Had the same problem. My dealer gave me a runaround with updating the firmware on the Electronic throttle control (after market factory update). However after doing this twice, I still wasn't impressed. Turned out that there was a cover off the throttle assembly, and this was causing the problem.

It's related to the fact that the gearbox slips into idle when you stop, but if the throttle is touched, the gear stays on. This prob makes the gearbox stay in D, when the engine thinks it's not.

Best of luck if you still have the car.

23rd Jul 2006, 18:50

Apart from an early oil leak that required 6 weeks to obtain new copper seals, my JS worked very well with few problems until about 105,000km. Then there started engine stalling problems, rough automatic change, engine missing or stalling under light acceleration and sometimes all at once.

Dealer was unable to find the fault and progressively changed the Airflow sensor, the battery and the alternator (that requires the engine being lifted) before faulty electrical connections were discovered on the battery terminals. Altogether nearly $2,000 to fix but it now runs perfectly.

As I read some of the other problems described in various Vectra models I think that faulty electrical connections are the cauase there too.

10th Jul 2008, 03:25

Nightmare. Worst car I've ever had. Stalling and cutting out when revs are low. Sometimes this happens when driving on the highway. I have taken it in five times to three different garages and still no good.

Someone please help.

3rd Nov 2008, 02:10

July 10th '08 - read above comment!!!

The following info also covers this problem:

http://www.vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk/index.php?threads/vectra-stalling-issues.44455/#post-503000

Sounds like it is worth giving a go!