Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-60, 61-64
What hasn't gone wrong with this utter piece of RUBBISH!
Water pump Died. (62,500klm)
IAC Valve Failed (63,000klm)
Cam Sensor Failed (63,400Klm)
Air con Failed (63,800)
Fuel line burst spraying fuel over red hot exhaust pipe (64,200Klms)
Traction Control Fault (64,300klm)
Engine Management Fault (64,900klm)
Door Liner Material peeled off after a couple of hot days in summer.
More Engine Management Faults (65,100klm)
Rear electric windows go down by themselves.
Speedo does not always work.
Power steering groaning (66,000klms)
Yet again more Engine management faults (66,400klms)
The list goes on & on and I am still having problems May '06.
I Purchased this vehicle from a dealer in June 2005, It was a 1 owner vehicle with full log book service history and 62,00klm on the clock.
I regrettably decided to down size from my gas guzzling, but ever faithfull 1997 NL Ford Fairlane as the cost of fuel continued to go up.
I depend on my car for work travelling an average of 800klms a week.
First impressions of the Vectra were good, it was very economical, has great handling/brakes/steering and is comfortable and quiet.
However since owning the Vectra it has not driven without a problem for any longer than 3 days in a row. Not only has there been expensive repair bills, hire cars to pay for, tow trucks, time off work, this car has nearly cost me my job not to mention the near miss accidents from the engine management cutting fuel at crucial times, or the fuel line bursting and dumping litres of fuel onto the red hot exhaust etc, etc...
I tried to trade this car in at several car yards, but got the same response everywhere I went. No yard wanted to touch a Vectra as they all commented Vectra's are troublesome rubbish.
Out of desperation and to keep my job, I purchased
a cheap 1997 Mitsubishi with over 200,000klms on the clock, I have travelled 15,000 klm so far with No problems.
So now I am left paying off 2 cars while the vectra sits in the garage collecting dust.
The stalling and cutting out problem has been fixed, but it continues to reduce engine power when driving (feels like someone pulled on the handbrake then off again, then on again etc..) (especially bad when engine is hot)
If anyone knows how to fix this problem, PLEASE leave a comment.
To sum up I would never buy another Holden, I can't believe how a vehicle in this day and age could be such an unreliable rotten piece of rubbish. Don't buy one, I'm sure a 1974 Triumph Stag would be infinitely more reliable. I just wish Holden would compensate all us Vectra owners or at the very least say they're SORRY!
From what I've heard and read about the Holden/Opel range I'd have to agree that they are cheaply designed cars made for a predominantly European market that discards cars as soon as the warranty is up. I'm sticking with Mazda's, you'll never ever see a Vectra, Astra or Barina/Corsa in my driveway.
My only advice with your car is to put an ad in the paper for it, make a point of the low k's on the clock and hope someone who is car illiterate will snap it up.
Despite the low miles, it sounds like this car was very poorly taken care of prior to your purchase. I'm not defending the car, but things like the water pump failing are often a sign of people who never flushed out the cooling system so that bits of rust flowing past the impeller blades wear them down and erode the seal, and the groaning power steering pump is a sign of somebody who had never bothered to check the fluid level. Agreed, some of the other things sound like bad design, like the cam sensor (nothing to torque or lube there) and the peeling interior. Regarding the AC, it is said that you need to run the AC full blast for a few minutes every month or it loses its charge and the o-rings can shrink up and allow the system to leak. The fix might be as simple as installing new R-134 refrigerant (the R-134 for the newer systems is available, unlike the old style freon systems). The surging sounds very much to me like a clogged fuel filter, especially the way you describe the cyclical pulsation of power. If this has fuel injection, it could also be clogged fuel injectors, in which case you might solve it by adding fuel injection cleaner to your gas for a couple of months. If it has a carburetor, then it sounds like the float level is set incorrectly. A question: was your exhaust pipe really red hot, actually glowing, or did you say that just to make a point about the spraying gasoline? If the pipe was really red hot, as in actually glowing like a cherry, then you have some sort of exhaust restriction like a clogged catalytic converter or muffler that is creating excessive back pressure. If you were just trying to make the point that gas was spraying on a hot pipe, then disregard that. Some of this stuff you should be able to fix yourself, and if you could get the thing running even for running errands or weekend trips, it would take some of the use off your other high-miles car. If you can find a Hayne's or Chilton's manual for this car, it would help you a lot. Good luck.
Hi, I just purchased my 'Holden' Vectra 1999 2.5 v6 hatch. Still under-warranty. I have had a few minor problems, Thermo-fan switch packed up, Oil level sensor seal went so leaking oil.
Dash globes, 7 of them not working, don't know what previous owner did, must have hit the dash in anger, never seen
so many globes out in a car. Previous car was a 1994 Ford laser GL 1.6 and it had it problems, but it was 5 years older.
Oil still leaking from front rocket cover, supposed to have been replaced though, bad job of doing it.
Before purchase, both rocket cover gaskets got replaced and new disks and pads got replaced in front and coil was replaced. Most recently, this morning, engine light came on. and went off 10 minutes later. which was a little weird. Car goes in tomorrow with a list of things a want looked at. Fun.
Lucky the car still just under 3 month dealer warranty, and I Have extended 1 year warranty with it. I hope the problems do not continue, because it is a fun car to drive, got plenty of power, and looks great all over. I work for Holden In Fishermen' Bend, and I'm trying to make friends with some people in engine area. I am in IT.
Hi, I feel your pain. My car is in the shop right now for ANOTHER issue. I have the 2000 2.2 CD and what a piece of #$%
I have owned a lot of cars and this one really takes the cake. Rocket cover, starter motor, alternator, cruise control, stereo, power steering and the latest, the tension pulley for the alternator and water pump belt just fell off!
GM should feel ashamed, but we know they won't be.
John.
I have a 2000 model JS-II. I had several problems with the IAC Valve which was replaced a couple of times, this causes the car to cut out suddenly. The car ran perfectly until a standard 30,000 km service when all sorts of problems occurred, it went back to the Holden Dealer 5 times and has never gone the same since. They claimed at the time the injectors needed cleaning and charged me $200 for it and since then it has never been the same. The Engine management system has played up several times, each time Holden said there was no error code, when I eventually took it to an Automotive Electrician they found 3 errors on the system! $400 later (out of warranty by this time) the crank sensor was replaced. The water pump has been leaking since new and even though I told Holden the water level kept going down it wasnt until the car was out of warranty that I found out its the water pump. Now the alternator has gone. Also the plastic external door protector strips caught against the front doors when opening the rear door and have to be replaced. They were probably mounted too far forward. Also some of the dashboard LED's don't work, the power steering groans which Holden have fixed twice already, they now claim they put an additive into the power steering fluid to soften the seal. I am selling it as it has too many problems now - unfortunate as otherwise the car goes extremely well, good economy, good performance and nice and quiet. All in all I have enjoyed the car, but the Holden service has put me off Holdens forever.
I have owned a 2.5 JS Vectra since new and mostly it has worked flawlessly. A recent problem however proved so expensive and difficult to locate that it's worth warning others.
Initially the engine stalled whenever your foot was removed from the accelerator. Computer reported the Mass Airflow Sensor which was replaced at great cost.
Fault reoccurred a few weeks later and computer reported the battery voltage falling to 9V while running on a warm day. New battery fitted although the original battery was nearly new.
Once again the fault appeared, but this time with some differences, sometimes it stalled on a gear change and the automatic shift was rough.
I checked the battery volts and found it to be only 13.1V on charge when it should be 14.1V, so the Alternator was replaced. This has now cost some serious money as the engine has to be lifted to change the alternator. BUT The new alternator/regulator did not fix anything and the computer now reported the Mass Airflow Sensor or Crankshaft Sensor-A.
Ignoring the lies the computer was telling, I checked the electrical wiring and discovered a 1V drop between the alternator output and battery. As the alternator is very difficult to access and the vehicle needs to be on a hoist to do it, the test is not done lightly. The fault turned out to be inside this moulded lead terminal which has a thick wire coming out of it and connects to the negative battery terminal. Cutting it off and fitting new terminal fixed all the faults. The car runs smoother than it has for a long time.
I curse the designer who put the alternator where it is and the one who wrote the useless fault codes for the computer.
Just over a year ago I purchased a Holden Vectra 1999 Olympic sedan, which prior to buying, I owned a very trustworthy Mazda 626 1982 model.
Since owning this vehicle, which was found for me by a car broker, as I thought they would know what to look for, unfortunately the car has still spent a lot of its time at the mechanics.
Things like the timing belt needing replacing when it was still under 90 thousand kilometres, followed by the battery then the airflow sensor.
About a month after that, the alternator went, and now ever since I had the airflow sensor changed, it has been doing some strange things.
It feels like someone is putting the handbrake on when I am going down a hill at 80k, but after a few seconds it will just take off like there's a blockage, or it loses power and it is suddenly fine. I think I will sell it and buy another Mazda.
Hi guys I am the second owner of a vectra 2.6 ltr v6 2001 international, I drive it absolutely everywhere love the car fantastic on trips and great fuel economy, now has 60,800k on it, never had any problems always serviced every 15,000k, this car is my pride and joy. the only time it has been on the side of the road was when I got a blowout in front tyre, I check everything on a regular basis and keep all clean and lubed, do filters, plugs and oil changes myself only use the dealers to run dianostics, they certainly are not the easy- est car to work on, but I have a lot of patience, warm regards sue :)
I have a 2001 JSII 2.2 CD. I like it, but it's getting expensive. The Holden dealer charges $850 for the 120,000km service. The following has gone wrong:
- water pump leak at 120,000km. $330. The water level never went down - but I guess I had to trust the mechanic that there was a leak. My dead pump wasn't left in the back of the car.
- cam sensor at 40,000km. Under warranty, but valued at $400 at the time.
- stalling regularly - repaired under warranty.
- light in dash broken - I'm not repair it.
- cam sensor has just gone - quote for repair at $550 (plus $68 that it cost to connect their computer to inform me what the error code was - I actually thought they routinely connected the computer as a routine part of a service - silly me)
- clutch 60,000km - $600.
I feel the mechanics constantly rip me off. They charge $41 for oil. Surely they buy it in bulk for about $10. Water coolant from them is $51. Big W has it for $10. I guess they have to make a living. They say they spend four hours on a minor service at $88/hr - I think I could do the same simple tasks in in less than 60 minutes. I guess they have overheads. Any, I'm going to do all future minor services myself.
I won't buy another Holden/Opel.
Hi I just bought a Holden Vectra 2001 V6 CD manual with 61000k on a clock-private sell. 3 days later I had a heater tap replaced because it was leaking water. ($140 for that part which is literally a piece of plastic with a rubber).Now the engine management light is constantly on, the previous owner said they just did not take it off the computer during the service. Since I know this guy I decided to take his word for it. Checked by mechanic, the computer showed a fault with airflow meter. He deleted the fault from computer however the light came back on again. Fixed by another mechanic who found the fault to be with fuel trim this time. The engine light came back again next day. If it's a airflow meter, the cost of that is $660 just for the part as to fit it doesn't really cost anything. Will leave it for now, maybe fix that later. Now my major concern is a timing belt. I've read on various websites that timing belt on these models is due with 60000 km service. I visited a Holden Summit dealership Holden's books still say 120000. Wasn't it reduced by Holden to 60 000? If so why they still on 120000? Iam very confused. Holden offered a 60000k service without timing belt change $600. I don't want to think how much it would cost with timing belt as timing belt kit (timing belt plus tensioners) costs $850 (!).And of-course, I don't want it to brake down on me either. Does anyone know if timing belt should be done with 60000k service or later? I don't know what to do sell the car or keep it as I can't afford paying so much for repairs. Also has anyone had same problems with this engine management light thing? Please advise. Thank you!
I think the 60,000km cam belt change is only for the smaller engines. I have a 2L GL Vectra and had to have mine done. If this is the case they do subsidise the first one though. I think mine was just over $100 NZD to replace.
I did have the ICU value go though as well. That was expensive. Other than that I've had no major problems.
I bought 2.6 litre V6 hatch new 2002, the last of the Vectra-B models before Vectra-C release. I have heard many quality related problems in Vectras, but I have had pretty much none. I have now driven almost 100,000km and apart from normal wear and tear such as tyres, brake pads, battery, couple of bulbs, the car has been fantastic. A couple of months ago the the heater valve sprang a leak and coolant was dripping out. Got that fixed by Holden in Camden NSW for $350. A little squeak from the belt pulleys has been apparent on and off since new which was repaired under wty. It is a beautiful looking high tech car, years ahead of Holden commodores. I have two other Astras, 2.2 litre hatch. one of the best handling cars I have ever driven, and the power and torque... makes no difference if you are on third or fift gear. Undoubtedly some Japanese cars are very good quality, I also had 1997 model Celica, beautiful car to drive and looks. Technically solid, but not faultless.
I won't buy Vectra any more, too expensive, probably a hybrid Toyota or Honda next.
My Vectra was made in the Opel Belgium factory, where is your problem baby made in? maybe there is the answer to quality problems.
HH.
To all who posted their dissatisfaction with the Vectra, now you know what VECTRA stands for - Very Expensive Car To Repair, Always!
Heard many of those made up nicknames, some worse than others. What car is not expensive and is as high tech as Vectra? Unfortunately to us southern hemisphere people, the only decent cars we can buy are european cars and of course they are expensive. How would you like to pay for a Saab repair? it has same chassis as Vectra.
HH.
Bought a 99 Vectra JS series 2.5L, V6 hatch in November 06.Runs a treat however is leaking about 300-400 mls of coolant very 7-10 days. No oil in radiater top up tank.
Mechanical diagnosis is either front-rear head gasket seepage or oil cooler leakage.
Has anyone had similar problems or any words of advice? Still under dealer 3 month warranty, but I'm worried they will make a mess of things.
Is it worth trying coolant sealer ie Nulon, Wurth product? Before further action?
Cheers.