My main concern is the lethargic throttle response. It seems that the 2001 Holden Astra is fitted with a slightly different motor to its 85 kw predecessor. It has a drive-by-wire throttle and an engine management computer set to hold the throttle open on decelerating.
I find this annoying and a little unsafe. Any tips on how to rectify this would be appreciated (kcole@iprimus.com.au)
I noticed water in the driver's side headlight, but a smear of silicon around the joints fixed that.
The key remote is too chunky.
Very little has gone wrong with my car and its build quality seems very high.
It doesn't handle like my 1990 BMW 525i, but it is agile and sure footed with a pleasant steering feel unlike most front wheel drive cars. If you let the tyres down a little it jiggles less on the road. The Michelin tyres roll along like a push bike.
The controls are all slick and easy to use, although the stubby gear shift takes a little time to adapt to.
It is very quiet with under-bonnet sound deadening rarely seen in cheap cars.
It is amazingly frugal for its weight. Much better than the last Barina. It seems to always give 39 mpg + regardless of how you drive it.
The radio is of good quality, but it is hard to replace the mediocre door speakers which appear to have surround glued to their in-door supports.
The engine is all a bit too electronic and everything is adjusted by the computer including timing and idle.
An interesting point was made about the drivers side headlight. I have two other friends with the same problem.
Manufacturing problem?
They had their headlights replaced by the dealer.
I also find the way the engine holds its revs annoying, have you had any luck addressing this?
I have also noticed mysterious creaks from the passenger door area that appear to come and go, after mentioning this to the Holden service department they managed to eliminate it for a while but it appears to have returned.
Lastly I also have an annoying rattle that comes from the high stop light mounted at the top center of the hatch that is still persisting after two attempts at stopping it.
I have a 98' TS Astra and have also had problems with the creaks from the front passenger door and the rattling from the top centre of the hatch.
I've told the dealer 4 times about the rattling from the hatch. The first 3 times they couldn't find anything with it. The 4th time they told me that the lock was broken. They changed it but still rattled.
So what I did was, I took all the paneling off the hatch and the brake light as well. I then put foam in between the top part of the back window and the hatch. Then fitted everything back, and have to say that it has stopped rattling.
As for the front passenger door, I've told them 2 times, both times they've changed the rubber around the window, but it still creaks.
If anyone has any ideas let us know.
How did you remove the panelling from around the inside of the hatch or can you remove the stop light without removing the panelling?
The creak in the front door area was significantly improved by Holden when (according to them) they tightened some suspension component underneath the car.
To take the centre brake light off you have to take all the panelling off.
To remove the panelling, you have to remove the screws with an alan key, then grab the black part of the panel and start pulling down with care so the clips won't break.
Now for the panelling around the window, there 2 ways to take them off. The way I did it, was to pull them off really carefully so the clips won't break. The other way to take them off is to pull the panels towards the inside or outside of the car (I can't remember the exact way). I tried this later but I found it was very difficult.
When the panels are off, unscrew the centre brake light with the same allen key. Then get a piece of foam (30cm x 30cm) and fold it, and tuck it in the opening between the window and body.
Good luck!!!
Has anyone noticed a hole in the plastic that is under the front windscreen?
It's where the wipers sit, on the passenger side.
I think it's for the water to go down.
Throttle is terrible. It is not linear in response and revs actually increase on changing gear, not drop.
Very poor and non necessary electonics complexity in the throttle.
finnie@q-net.net.au
I've also been experiencing some weird creaking sounds coming from both doors of my 2001 Astra 3 door. They seem to mainly arise when hitting medium size potholes at low speeds or going over speed bumps. I've got no idea why they have suddenly appeared and even less idea how to fix them. If anyone has any ideas please let me know.
I currently own a Holden Astra GSI (96TR). And am at the point where I'm looking at the new 3door TS, I'm hoping to get mags, lowered sup., concept trim and Exhaust all fitted standard.
But what I was writing about is the speakers, I believe the Astra TR has the same speakers as the TS. And replacement can be done only the original speakers have to be destroyed. I upgraded my speakers to some Kenwood splits and must admit I have noticed very little difference the standard speakers are great!!!
If anyone has any ideas on something I should look out for when getting my new TS please e-mail me: fizzer01@hotmail.com.
I thing I have to say about the speakers is that the front one's are pretty good, but the back one's are pathetic.
I'm trying to find a pair of 5" JBL splits. Or Pioneer.
Holden have indicated to me a software revision for the 2001 Astra throttle problems may come out in Feb 2002. It may not make a lot of difference as many of the drive-by-wire Opel type cars have similar throttle problem in the quest for low emissions.
If they just disconnected the air conditioner controls from the computer it may at least stop the engine revving unnecessarily with the air on.
Holden do no see the throttle as a problem and all concerned owners should make them aware of what a detraction it is.
The software upgrade has not eventuated and GMH have not kept me informed of any developments.
My car remains fault free although the dash switch controlling the air recirculation only works now and again and second gear is a little un-smooth when cold as noted by other owners.
Door creak. I had the creak on both front doors of my Astra (CD hatch). I duplicated the problem by leaning heavily on the door armrest with my elbow with the door shut. I fixed the problem permanently by applying some lube to the black plastic that the door locking mechanism hits on the striker plate bolted to the B pillar. I think this plastic piece must squeak on the metal under it when the door is shut. Whatever, problem solved.
When I first bought the Opel\Vauxhall Astra I convinced myself that I needed to get used to the gears and throttle response, but after 6 months I still have trouble trying to drive the car smoothly (I have had no problems with previous cars that I have owned). The gearbox gives a notchy feel. 1st to 2nd clunks, impossible to do a quick change from 2nd to 3rd and all other changes does not give the driver confidence.
I'm trying to look for a solution to the throttle problem. I've herd of a throttle angle system that removes the need for the air meter that is causing the delay. This might sort it, but cannot find any info on this or a solution to the problem in general. I suspect nothing can be done about the notchy gears.
I would like to agree with the posting regarding the Opel-
Vauxhaull/ Holden Astra Gear- Change, listed 25th of July 2002.
I could word it no better than the other writer, so to quote
"When I first bought the Opel\Vauxhall Astra I convinced myself that I needed to get used to the gears and throttle response, but after (12) months I still have trouble trying to drive the car smoothly (I have had no problems with previous cars that I have owned). The gearbox gives a notchy feel. 1st to 2nd clunks, impossible to do a quick change from 2nd to 3rd and all other changes do not give the driver confidence."
Not to mention that other ever-present problem of the Engine-Management System, hanging onto, and in fact increasing revs. by about 500 RPM, when changing gears.