2002 Vauxhall Astra SXi from UK and Ireland - Comments

Front passenger seat trim missing from around seat belt anchorage. The dealership could not understand how the car passed pre-delivery inspection. This trim was ordered and fitted 7 days later- free of charge.

Rear disc brakes are making a low frequency rubbing noise when driving forward and cornering at low to moderate speeds without application of the brakes. The sound also appears to be louder when reversing. Firstly at a mileage of 155 the dealer adjusted the hand brake cable and stated that the handbrake return springs need replacing, as this was a fix available from the manufacturer. Only problem is that the springs are not available yet. This noise was still apparent and at 205 miles I took the car back to the dealer. They placed the car on the ramps inspected the rear brakes, then removed the disk pads to groove and feather them. This cured the noise temporarily, but it returned 50 miles later. The car was returned to dealer at 439 miles and they stated that new return springs were on order. The car has now completed 900 miles and the noise is still there, I am still waiting to have the new springs fitted.

The car is an excellent runner with high performance and low insurance.

The road handling is excellent, and the Michelin tyres on the 16inch alloys give it a very crisp and responsive feel. It is very sure-footed even on wet roads.

The interior is very comfortable and fairly appealing to the eye.

Does any body else have brake problems with the rear disc brakes? is there a permanent fix yet!.

It really goes to show how different we all are, I've just driven an SXI on a demo and I have to say how crushingly disappointed I was!

The interior feels, looks and is cheap and the car felt very claustrophobic. Performance was, shall we say, adequate.

My wife really said it all when looking across at me she said "it looks like you're driving a ten year old car...

For a car competing in one of the most competitive sectors

of the motor industry I'm amazed that it has taken any sales away from the Focus, infact the Citroen xsara, allegedly outdated, is more of a drivers car, its cheaper and makes owning an Astra a "heart rules your head"

decision.

I have just taken ownership of my new SXI. It is only a 1.6 16V, but I think it is a fantastic car. I have driven a wide number of cars in this are including the Vectra, Focus, Civic etc and I still think the Astra is one of the most enjoyable drives yet.

While it may not be a Mercedes Benz inside I still think that it has an appealing interior which is very comfortable. I find that the support from the drivers seat is fantastic and with the audio controls being so close at hand it just adds to my driving enjoyment.

As for the breaking noise from the rear disc's, I am not sure about this one. I have disc's front and drums rear. This, if anything, is the only disappointing part of the whole car to me.

I have also recently upgraded my stereo, as the standard tape unit is not the best. It is worth considering what type of head unit you are going to buy if you want to do this. I purchased a SONY head unit, which has a remote feed. I special wiring cable (additional purchase) has now allowed me to use the steering wheel remotes through the head unit.

Overall, I think that the ASTRA M4 is a great car and one that you would be hard pushed to beat on value for money and driver satisfaction.

After several visit’s to the dealership to complain about the rear brake noise, I subsequently had a ‘damper pack’ fitted to the rear calipers. This consists of a large rubber mass being fixed to the brake caliper assembly. This apparently reduces resonant natural frequency of the caliper assembly so it cannot be heard by ear.

This worked much better, but it still resonated when driving in reverse and when starting off from a standstill and turning.

For a 3-month-old car with 2k miles on the clock this was unacceptable, so dealer was requested to completely change the calipers, disc's and pads.

The new calipers are from a different manufacturer and do not need the ‘damper kit’ so for now the car is as it should be. Excellent to drive at last.

I own an Astra 2.2 SRi which is nearing 8 months old.

Generally I am very happy with the car however, as much as I like the Astra (and the 2.2 goes very well) this will be my last Vauxhall.

This is my third Vauxhall in 4 years and I am getting slightly annoyed by the trim in the Astra, although stunning quality when you compare it to a Renault Megane for example - it still always manages to point out the odd rattle or squeak. Apart from that the interior is fine, and the ergonomics are great - I have Climate Control in mine and that works a treat.

As for the rear brakes, I did mention this to the dealer on the first trip to cure some 'rattles', they rounded the discs and that did cure it for a short while. However it soon came back, but I have lived with it. Now at 11000 miles (I am going to try and sell shortly) I took it back last week and they ordered me a new Caliper set (I think) which should cure it. A friend of mine has a Zafira with discs at the back and his has the same 'feature'. Obviously Vauxhall have found a fix which I am having fitted shortly.

My only other gripe is I am used to Vauxhall's fantastic engines and this 2.2, although good, does live a little to be desired when it comes to quality of ride. It makes a lot of noise and in most gears doesn't go a great deal better than my old 'T' plate 1.4 16v Astra.

I have just had a software upgrade to the ECU from the dealer, although I am yet to notice a difference.

It takes off well, but third and fourth seem a little 'normal' for an engine this size and you have to push your toe down to make it go. I will say I find cruising in fifth on a motorway is very easy, too easy when those unmarked cars are around!

On the whole a good car with excellent and weak points, although as I say - this is my last Vauxhall (I feel the quality of car and dealerships is finally getting to me).

8 months and 11000 miles on I am now trading up to a Audi S3...let's wait and see.

I would like to make a comment as to the rear brake problems which one of the drivers was experiencing. I bought an SRI in September with 10,000 miles on the clock and also experienced the noise. I was advised after several visits to the dealer that some Astras were beinf recalled for similar problems. Finally, the rear brake dampers were replaced (under warranty) and the problem seems to have disappeared.

Apart from the problems I experienced with the dealer (Arnold Clark) I find the car a great runner, enjoyable to drive and I am happy so far. I used to have a Tigra and previously have had 2 Astras and I am overall happy with the Vauxhall models.

I purchased an Astra 1.8 16v elegance last month. Lovely car - black metallic, 4 CD changer, air con, c/c the works - and then those back brakes started. Got worse and worse - sounded like an organ starting up when reversing - people outside the car commented. Had damper pack fitted last week - noise started again. Going back to Frosts (awful service) next week and am going to request new pads/discs and calipers as this seems to be the only way. This is a known problem with these cars, but apart from that is a lovely car and yes, bit too easy to speed in! Before this we had a 1.4 merit which lasted well and we loved it. Once this brake thing gets fixed though will be OK and is a lovely car otherwise - quite nippy and pretty economical.But would never buy another through Frosts I have to say - customer service has left a bad taste all round

The Astra now has completed 4000 miles, (2000 with the Bosch caliper's. These are now well run-in and the brake noise is still there (only slightly). I returned to the parts department of my dealership and asked if there was a damper kit for this type of caliper. After several searches through documentation, a damper set was found and ordered (amazingly this damper set had never been ordered by this dealer before as the Bosch caliper's use a different kit to the Lucas ones). My car was then called in to have the new damper kit fitted.

After several days I returned to the dealer to ask them to remove this damper pack as the rear brakes were making much more noise than previously (no damper fitted).

The situation so far is that the car now makes a small noise when driving forward at very slow speeds less than approximately 10mph, and when reversing it sounds worse.

I purchased a Holden Astra CD (Holden is the Australian arm of GM) about 3 weeks ago. The CD model has the 1.8 motor and comes standard with such features as 15 x 6 inch alloy wheels, electric windows, electric mirrors, velour upholstery, rear headrests, etc. Mine has optional air conditioning, ABS and traction control. It also has a dealer fitted rear spoiler.

It has done just over 500 kilometers and the only fault so far is the rear brake noise as described so often by other contributors to this page. I must admit I was quite relieved to read about what seems to be a common problem. This being the case, the dealer should be able to rectify it, as he should be familiar with it. The car is due for its first service at 1500 km which is when I intend reporting the fault.

I will let you know of the outcome.

By the way, the Holden Astra is the second most popular car in its market sector here in Australia. Toyota Corolla being the most popular 'small car'. However, Holden is the sales leader overall. Its most popular model being the Holden Commodore which is also Australia's most popular car. The Commodore is a large car which comes with either a 3.8 litre V6 or a 5.7 V8.

After my Cavalier which I had for 5 years which gave me happy motoring for at least 4 years until it went wrong at 125000 miles I decided to stay with Vauxhall and purchase a 1.8 16V SXI Astra 52 plate, which I did at the beginning October 2002 on collection of the car I was well happy with the look and the feeling whilst driving, it was much different from the Cavalier.

Then the Problems started, after 5 days of having it the humming started on the back brakes whilst pulling off, I returned to the dealer who said I needed rear brake dampers which they had not got any of and would have to "grin and bear it" until they had some. Then the grinding noise whilst reversing started, went back to the dealer told the same "sorry haven't got them yet".

Then I got interference through the radio whilst the rear heated window was on, but that was cured after 3 visits in 3 weeks and a new aerial base and a new back window.

The dealer called to say the rear dampers were in and they would fit them, which they did and then 3 weeks later it started all over again. Another visit to the dealer and a new set of brake pads on the rear.

10500 miles on the clock now and it has gone back in to try and cure the noises again.

You would have thought that Vauxhall would have sorted this problem out on the Astra by now.

Original authors notes:

My brake problems were still apparent, reversing was much worse. As soon as I placed my foot on the brake pedal, a terrible vibration and loud howling noise resonated through the entire vehicle. Even driving forward when pulling away from a standstill the noise was there. The car has only completed 5000 miles from new and I had finally had enough and returned to the dealer to see if anything could be done.

There is now a new fix for this problem. Vauxhall (Opel) have a repair document that states that any Astra with this problem should have the rear brake calipers retrofitted with the ‘new’ Lucas TRW calipers (incorporating modified axle attachment and damper weights), ‘new’ handbrake cables, and ‘new’ pads, also new disc's (if required) - all free of charge.

My vehicle has just undergone this modification and these are the third pair of calipers, disc's and pads that I have used. The brake system was pressure bled and the car was road tested. I now have the car back and the brake system feels better than when it was new. These are early days yet, but the rear brakes seem excellent.

I recommend anybody with this problem to see his or her dealer and ask for this modification to be carried out, as I said earlier, Vauxhall (Opel) know this has been a problem for many years and finally seem to have rooted out the cause.

How old was your car?

My S plate 1.8CDX had this modiifcation done a few months back (out of warranty) and I had to pay for the labour element, but not the parts. I wonder if I have been ripped off?

Original Authors Notes:

To answer the earlier question - my car is a 2002 1.8 SXI, so it is still under warranty.

After approximately 1500 miles with the new disc's, caliper's, pads and handbrake cables, the noise has returned (although fairly quiet). There is no noise when reversing, but the noise appears intermittently when driving forward at very slow speeds (0 to 10 m.p.h.). I assume that the fix from Vauxhall cures this on some cars, but not on others. Unfortunately mine does not seem to be fixed. The noise is fairly quiet (most of the time) and as I stated earlier - intermittent, if you listen closely when you pull away from a standstill you will probably hear it.

If you accelerate fairly quickly the caliper passes through its resonant frequency very quickly so you don't hear it.

For the time being I think that I will have to live with this small problem, I do not think much else can be done!.

My 1999 Astra 1.8 Sport developed rear brake problems at 10K miles. The dealer replaced the whole rear brake assembly without charge (out of warranty by 1 month) and without complaint. As yet (nearly 3 yrs later) the noises haven't returned.

Having had the car from new I still get a buzz out of driving it nearly 4 years later. Unfortunately I get an intense feeling of dread whenever I have to take it into a dealership. Vauxhall really do need to sort out their dealers as, in general, they are AWFUL. And mine is only 2 miles from a Vauxhall factory.

Unless the dealerships improve, no matter how good the Vauxhall cars are, I'm buying Japanese next time.

I have an Astra Y20DTH SXI a 2.0 DTI to the untrained ear on a 52 plate I work for a Vauxhall dealer and I have had the unlucky experience of dealing with the recall on the rear brakes first hand my car has the problem which is all down to the handbrake being on the rear caliper not like the Vectra/Cavalier/Omega it has only been used as far as I know on the MK2 Astra GTE before, but they were fine. Vauxhall have actually modified the rear calipers about 4 times and the last modification was about 3 months ago when the part numbers changed again. My car is a 3 chassis range therefore was fitted with the late bosch calipers which apparently didn't squeak, but they do so work it out they are no closer to sorting it now than 3 years ago when they find a fix I will let you know. also the power of my Astra is great just a steinmetz filter gives that extra bit of power mid range and the gatrack box is great. also if you own a diesel SXI ask your dealer how much for cruise control to be fitted as it only requires the change of an indicator stalk and programing should be about £70 all in and it may work on some petrol models as long as a brake and clutch switch are fitted.

More updates soon on the caliper front...

I have an Astra 1.8 SRi on a 51 plate and I had the problem with the rear brakes from new, I reported it at the time and was told they may just need to bed in, I left it for 12 months until the first service when I reported it again, they said they'd order parts and call me back in, 12 months later I was still waiting, time for my 2 year service, I informed them that I was less than happy with their service and that I still needed the brakes fixing, they had a good look at the rear brakes and stated that they needed to order a full caliper modification.

They came to collect my car as I had already taken time off work to bring it in, they rang me up and said they wanted to charge me for the new pads as it had been 2 years worth of wear on the existing ones, I wasn't over joyed about this, but thought it probably fair and agreed to pay the £75.00. I received another call later in the day stating that they had decided not to charge me and that all the work was completed and my car was on it's way back to me. It has now been 2months since the work was completed and I am now overjoyed with my none squealing, none squeaking Astra, the brakes are excellent and the mod appears to have been a complete success.