1996 Vauxhall Omega CDX 2.5 V6 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Quick and comfortable and well equipped for price

Faults:

Crank timing sensor went 6 times. Cost £167. Vauxhall guaranteed the part for 12 months and said they were willing to change as many times as it went in 12 months, then had the cheek to charge me £167 once every 12 months.

Leaks water out of head gasket. Losing about 1 pint a week. Quoted £800 to replace the head gasket by the dealer. As it's done this for 2 years now I will pass.

Rocker cover gasket replaced when oil filled the spark plug hole. Cost £180.

Ignition leads replaced outside of service time. Cost £160.

Liquid wishbone bushes replaced. Cost £180.

General Comments:

I have put leather seats in and changed the wheels from an Elite which gives it more of a quality feel. This car has been chipped and is quick and comfortable. Fuel consumption is good on the motorway at around 28-30 mpg at (80-90). In town it's a nightmare at around 17-19mpg.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th February, 2002

7th Feb 2002, 05:27

Did £160 for ignition leads include fitting? Vauxhall are asking me for £180 for parts alone. I can buy an awful lot of WD40 for that kind on money :- (

1996 Vauxhall Omega Tourer 2.5 V6 petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Good specification, but quality and customer service are very poor

Faults:

Headlamp failure indication is always on when the headlamps are on - this is known fault which is only apparent when towbar electrics are fitted, needed the sensor unit upgrading. Took three visits to the dealer to correct this known problem. Fixed under warranty.

Oil pump (gasket) failed 2200 miles, this took 2 weeks to fix (engine removed 5 times!). After ringing one of two partners at the dealers at 9.00am, the whole pump was replaced, car valeted and back on the road by lunchtime. No charge.

High voltage leads failed 20000 miles and took 10 days to diagnose and correct, although I correctly guessed the cause of the problem from the outset. Dealers excuse "these never fail", however no charge for repair.

Wipers always give one sweep when starting (not very handy when the wiper blade is frozen or melted to the screen).

Water pump failed at 36000 miles.

Cambelt changed at 40,000 miles (service book says 80,000). However, the camshaft pulley meshed with an adjacent pulley causing failure of both cylinder heads at 60,000 miles. Vauxhall totally uninterested and refused any compensation or assistance. So far cannot find any evidence this is a known problem, except cambelt area and pulleys seem to be a generic Vauxhall problem area.

ABS light came on intermittently between 10000 and 20000 miles. No serious attempt to diagnose this by the dealer (they "didn't have the right computer for this engine"). This apparently cured itself as the dealer didn't confess to correcting it.

Now due for a second high-level brake light replacement (£70) as water ingress has corroded the circuit board again.

General Comments:

Huge boot (estate model) out-sizes Volvo models of a similar vintage.

Good performance (when running), but consumption is not good (28mpg average and I'm not a boy-racer).

Competent towcar, but keep the revs up.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 24th September, 2001

26th Sep 2001, 05:43

There is certainly a known problem with defective batches of camshaft pulleys disintegrating on V6 engines; causing major valve bending etc. £2K plus repair. I e-mailed the technical support people at the Vauxhall web site; they should tell you the VIN number range for potentially affected vehicles (also applies to V6 Vectras). Agreed, not much comfort after the event...

2nd Oct 2001, 08:19

I own a Vauxhall Omega 2.5 V6 Automatic 1995 (N) reg with 40,000 miles on the clock, and having read the authors comments that some models of Omegas and Vectras with V6 engines may have had defective cambelt pulleys fitted which could disintegrate and cause severe engine damage, I decided to ring the Vauxhall Recall Line. I was advised my VIN range was not affected, if you like me want peace of mind the number to ring is 0800 318206.

16th Sep 2002, 17:22

Steven, I own a 2.5v6 tourer and have just had repair work to the heads due to cam belt pulleys breaking up. do not always go by Vin number checks. Get it checked out by your local dealer. better to pay for a check than £2-3k for a major rebuild.

28th Oct 2002, 08:20

Does anyone know the VIN range to which this cam pulley problem alludes on the V6 engines? I have a "dead" engine, but Vauxhall are being very cagey about it.