1995 Vauxhall Frontera Estate from UK and Ireland - Comments

Worn steering.

Poor starting from cold.

Horn stopped working.

Rust on the leading edge of the bonnet.

Smoking under acceleration.

Misfire between 2500-3000 rpm.

Poor response under acceleration.

Alarm fault.

Central locking fault on the rear door/window.

A good looking 4x4 for the money. Spoiled by what seems to be "common faults" that the manufacturer has done nothing about in the mk.1 & mk.2 models.

Totally surprised to find that it is rear wheel drive and that it is totally useless in the snow in 2 wheel drive.

Perhaps the servicing has been a little slap dash, I've had a Frontera 2.3TD LWB for 5 years, it's now clocked 90,000 and there have been very few problems.

Try buying a Discovery or Range Rover!! Then you'll have something to moan about.

For the cost of the car, the Frontera, if properly maintained, is outstanding value for money. When you look at the competition they can be twice as much!

Can't believe someone would buy a 4x4 and not realise than in 2wd form its driven by the rear wheels! Ever tried driving a VW Beetle or BMW in the snow? Same problem. Use the little switch on the dash to engage 4WD in these situations.

Yes, a 4x4 that switched to front wheel drive only would be an interesting concept! But we can't all be motor buffs so switch your Frontera to 4H before setting off in snow (if the older design). You can safely drive around town etc. up to about 50 mph., but only use it when absolutely necessary. Only engage 4L in very severe conditions as this makes the Frontera like a tractor! - and you MUST NOT exceed about 20 mph.

Don't forget in ice and snow that REVERSING is NOT in 4WD - so don't park nose first down a hill up against a wall or ditch etc.

Properly maintained the Frontera is really excellent.

Has anyone got any info on a 1997 Vauxhall Frontera 2.5 turbo diesel Sport LWB? Thank you,

or even where do I get loads of accessories for them cause nobody seems to deal mainly with these 4 wheel drives,

I currently own a

1997 vauxhall frontera lwb san diego

2.2 litre engine 16 valve L4.

Never had any really bad problems with the 4x4 apart from :

- trouble starting up, diagnostic problem won't let car startup.

- backlash on propshaft when de - accelerating or changing gear.

Apart from these little problems the ride is good for a 4x4 and acceleration and top end are good as well, the top end was recorded at 100mph.

In a nutshell : not a bad off-roader :)

To the person who said "reversing is not 4x4"; sorry, wrong, it is! I assume you have been misled by an incomplete description of how the locking hubs operate. If you start reversing in 4wd the hubs unlock and then re-lock in the opposite direction within half a revolution or so. They only unlock completely if you select 2wd and reverse (or go forwards, if the last direction travelled in 4wd was backwards).

The only 4x4 I know of that runs in front wheel 2wd mode is the subaru 284 pickup, which is also a capable and undervalued 4x4.

Year 2000 Frontera 2.2dti only done 36k, alarm goes off all the time and ecu light comes on when under load, been to dealers and pluged in no fauls found, any ideas.

It sounds like a change in emissions causing prob. dealer will not detect this.don't worry about it only a simple fault.

I have just bought a 2000 2.2 16v LWB face lift frontera. Besides one or two little problems to sort its great. Love the looks and drives very well. Only thing that is anoying it the SRS (airbag) warning light is on. I have heard that this might be something to do with the underseat wiring and would like to go straight to the problem area to fix it. Any advice would be welcome.

The airbag light shows a fault with complete restraint system and the seatbelt pretensioners wiring are under the seats. the problem is the plugs start to part company so just push them back together.

Wish mine was that simple a 1999 2.2 SWB frontera now sat in garage with head gasket fault, but think it's a gargae mistake more than anything.

Hi need help I have a m reg 1994 frontera which has just developed a starting issue as in it won't (very easy anyway) it does after a few goes but often this is too late and the battery is dead, after run for couple of minutes it is fine to shut off and restart and sometimes it will just about start for a second or 2 then die and not what to restart any ideas???

Sounds like you need to replace heater plugs which is a simple fix,they are just under the injectors on the head.

I don't know the first thing about cars, but my car once ended up doing that and I found it was the alternator that had gone, so have a look at that.

Hello to everyone, im very much considering buying a frontera sport (2.8TD) anybody wanna write some serious praise for this car so I can feel ultra good when I get hold of one?

I have a 1998 Opel Frontera which will never be on the road again because of faulty clocks and shorting of the lights. I have to pay £1,000 to have it repaired. Hardly seems reasonable. It will now rust outside. Any suggestions?