31st Oct 2002, 17:40

No comfort, but you are not alone in believing these cars to be "lemons" - this exact comment has come from an Auto Electrician. Seems the only possible servicing is through Holden Dealerships as they are refusing to provide information to other mechanics / auto electricians. There "fixes" are based on "trial and error".

My experiences -

Vehicle refused to start - NRMA called, they managed to start vehicle - driven to Holden Dealership - never explained what problem was. have since found out through other sources that there is a known problem whereby the Idle Control Module is replaced under Warranty. This information is NOT being released to mechanics outside of Holden Dealerships - probable solution to idling problems - seems a "common" problem.

After religiously having my regular services done, at the end of my 3 year warranty period I paid for an NRMA inspection on the vehicle and I was advised it had NEVER been serviced properly.

Vehicle began losing all power including steering and motor then stopping. This happened twice in a short period of time. Then the Warning light on the ignition would glow then extinguish. The vehicle was taken to an Auto Electrician, who advised it was impossible to obtain any information from Holden re the vehicle and possible problems / solutions. From previous experience with these vehicles he suspected it was the Crank Angle Sensor.

As the car is only 3 months out of warranty I contacted the dealership and was advised there was a "known problem" with the Crank Angle Sensor". It is being repaired under warranty. Have contacted other people who have Vectras and no surprise they have had the same problems.

This is extremely dangerous I was fortunate my car stopped on a country road, other peoples experiences have been on freeways, where the traffic is travelling at high speed, and they have families in the car.

3rd Dec 2002, 21:57

Thank for the comments above please can some tell me what part do you need to fix the idling problem Thanks.

7th Mar 2003, 19:27

At least you are dealing with a Holden dealer. We purchased a second hand one with 50K's on the clock and have experienced all the problems listed above. BUT, the Nissan dealer appears to be totally in the dark about all the issues and every visit to address an issue requires at least two revisits. I'm not going to let them win! All be warned, don't make the same mistake I did.

2nd May 2003, 01:15

I couldn't resist adding my thoughts to those presented above on the Holden (Opel/Vauxhall) Vectra. I have just gotten rid of my 1997 GL Hatch which I loved, however it had most of the problems listed in this entry. PARTICULARLY the stalling problem. I bought it second hand from a friend, with a full service history, and I maintained the servicing interval as set out in the owner's handbook. I sold it at 114,000 kms as I couldn't bare the thought of a ~$600 120,000 km service in the coming months after spending at least that much in trying to solve the stalling and erratic idle problem. Some days it would be OK, while other days, every time I pulled up at an intersection it would very suddenly drop in idle, then kick back up, or, stall completely. The IAC valve was replaced twice in two months after there was a re-call on faulty IAC valves, then it took two weeks to get another (must have been in high demand!).

It appears there are some serious design flaws associated with this car. Just before the heat of summer (Melbourne) kicked in, the A/C went. It turned out that a hole had gradually been worn into a section of the HP piping from a component covering sitting above it. The pipe alone was $440 + $200 in labour.

All up, nice car, but poorly engineered. BTW, it is not a 'local' car. While assembled here, it actually hails from Opel's Belgium plant. I'm not defending Holden esp as they don't seem to be carrying their wait in the servicing and advice on these cars.

As my mechanic said, 'technologically, its no better than a Camira!'. WHOOPS. Hope my 2000 Mazda 626 is more reliable.

27th Jan 2004, 13:50

Remember these two points:

1) ALL cars have potential to be a lemon.

2) A percentage of ANY make of car will have problems.

To ignore these points when presenting an argument is foolish. I think that it makes sense to find out how many of these cars were manufactured and estimate the percentage of ones with problems.

Te Vectra ZC is a car in a completely different category. I suggest you check them out (read European web-sites to see how great they are).

;-)

15th Apr 2005, 07:12

I have recently purchased a 1998 CD 2.5L V6 Vectra Hatch and am starting to have numerous idling problems. Whilst set on cruise control the car lost all power and then starting kicking in and out, not much fun in 110 km zone and with my 5 and 6 year old children in the car with me. Sometimes whilst waiting at the traffic lights the car will be idling fine and then just start missing and cut out. The engine light comes on intermittently one day and then the following day won't come on at all and other days it just stays lit up. I have taken it to my local Holden dealership and they have informed me that it could be the crank angle sensor or the battery!! Your guess is as good as mine with that answer. Has anyone else had these stalling, idling problems that they can please shed some light on before my nerves give out on me?

1st May 2005, 20:59

I have owned my JS vectra for just under 2 years now and have had absolutely no problems with it at all. It is a 1998 model that had 50K on the clock when I purchased.

Looks like not all the opel made JS machines have this idling (and other) problems!!!

6th Sep 2005, 00:03

My girlfriend owns a 1997 vectra and we have the stalling problems above. This is a very dangerous problem when the car stalls going into intersections.

Just had cam shaft sensor replaced and it still stalls every now and then.

The central locking has now jammed on two of the doors and the boot.

Can't wait to get rid of it!

13th Sep 2005, 06:40

I have a 1999 JS Vectra that is currently in a Melb Holden service workshop to fix the stalling problem. It has done about 101,000km, and it is the 4th time it has been in for service for stalling over the 6 years when I bought it new. The first time it went in was 4 months after I bought it, and it was fixed under warranty. Apparently they loaded a new software to fix a false error that a sensor was picking up.

The second time was just after 3 year and I got it fixed under warranty. Apparently they changed a sensor.

The 3rd time was end of last year where it cost me about $400 to change another sensor (it could even have been the same sensor!)

Now they say that it is the IAC that has to be replaced ~$550. My gripe is that how will a layperson know whether they are being ripped off? Because it was in the workshop, I asked them to change the camshaft belt as it was going to be due for replacement anyway. They rang me up to say that they found that my water pump was leaking and suggested that I have it replaced (what can I say, but OK to another $500). So I am expecting a HUGE bill when I collect my car.

I love the Vectra road handling and have no issues with this car... except for this ECU light that comes up and the car stalls (in sometimes VERY dangerous situations).