1989 Holden Berlina VN from Australia and New Zealand - Comments

Electric fuel pump in tank failed not long after I bought car (am told some cars are running their 3rd or 4th pump). (I often worry that an electric motor is running inside 68 liters of petrol, but I guess Holden know what they were doing?) If this happens to you in the middle of nowhere, thump the bottom of the tank hard with your fist, this should get the pump going... till the next time you stop.

Speedo sensor on Automatic transmission box failed at about 270,000.

Harmonic Balancer failed at the 280,000 mark. Symptom is clunking noise coming from it while idling, but noise goes away when off idle. Cost about $300 to replace.

Replaced all 4 shocks as the car used to wallow on the highway. Rears are easy, but fronts more difficult as they are inside the struts. (it is a 15 year old car after all)

Short Coolant hose at rear of motor near thermostat burst (this one is hard to get at).

Replaced Timing chain and tensioner at 300,000 as the rattling was driving me nuts. Dramatic improvement afterwards, restored power and better fuel economy. Any V6 with over 200,000 will probably need this replaced. All parts, including replacement chain and gears, tensioner, gaskets, oil, etc will cost about $250.

Like all the other reviews say, the door trims fall off, and plastic parts break as they get old and brittle. Always keep a tube of glue in the glovebox handy.

Hood lining drops (mines a stationwagon). The velcro pads inside the roof no longer hold, Araldite fixes this.

Usual stuff replaced...plugs, leads, filters, fluids, exhaust, brake pads etc.

Paint goes off (especially lighter metalic colours) Had the bonnet and roof resprayed for $800.

Upper panhard rod bush was very worn. Mid corner the rear would suddenly change direction! Very dangerous. Replaced bush when I found out it was the culprit.

Auto transmission sump leaks a lot, replaced gasket and filter.

Engine leaks from sump, rear mains, front crank seal, rocker covers and rear of inlet manifold. Replaced front crank seal when did timing chain. Tightened sump bolts (You can't get to half of them due to the crossmember. To replace the sump gasket you have to remove the engine!) Tighten rocker covers and inlet manifold nuts, makes a difference.

Power steer hoses leak. Replace them.

Auto trans fluid leaks where they go into the radiator for cooling, tighten the clamps.

The radiator fan fuse blew. Then the fan doesn't work and your car overheats at idle. This is because the wire going to the fuse is too thin, causing resistance and heat. Put in a inline fuse and thicker wire. The VN's are notorious for cooling system problems, use good coolant or it will corrode in no time. Don't use the cheap green coloured cordial stuff.

Ventilation fan only works on one speed (3rd in my case). Replace the resistor for it located near the wiper motor.

Some surface rust at bottom of door sills. Spray lots of fish oil on these and inside the doors, tailgate (or boot), etc.

The serpentine belt tensioner bearing fails or just gets wobbly (sorry for the untechnical word). $29 for new one, comes with new pulley. Apparently this is a common fault.

Parts are cheap and as I used to be a mechanic that saves me a lot on labour. But this car would be a financial headache for anyone with no mechanical skills.

These cars are easy to work on.

I love the performance, and I like the handling.

Poor brakes, in fact they are bordering on dangerous. I replaced the PBR brake booster on mine for a PBR twin diaphragm one off a VP. MUCH better. Also replaced the 15/16 master cylinder with a 1 inch one off a V8...even better.

Plenty of room for 5 people.

It's true what the other reviewers say, use premium petrol and get much better fuel economy.

Get a series II VN, they are better than series I. Change over date was August 1989.

I just bought a VN series one and have found the same problems timing chain etc. I am also a mechanic so I will save in labour as well, but definitely a nightmare for someone who is not in the trade.

It's a manual and has noise in the box; just bearings and for around $200 for the parts it's not too bad to do, for someone not in the trade it would be around 550 fitted.

I've had a few of those problems. The main one that put a fire up my backside was the brake booster/master cylinder dying at very close intervals. Which left me turning into a busy intersection feathering the handbrake to stop. Had it been on a freeway offramp or coming to a set of ambers or a red I could have been history.

The harmonic balancer is always a problem in VNs.

I'm cursed with the 1988 vn which is an absolute hack as far as electronics and general functions goes.

I was wondering what the orange exclamation mark meant when it lights up in my Holden. I do not have the owners manual so if anyone knows can they please tell me.

I was just wondering if anyone has had any problems with weird noises from the transmission (automatic) and what I should do about it.

I bout the Berlina (VN 1988) off an old local couple (this is in the country) and it had only done 150,000kms, now coming up ti 168,000kms. When I bought the car it was completely stock and was well looked after. The old man did all the servicing (an ex-mechanic from the place they got it). Picked it up really cheat.

Any way New suspension (Struts, absorbers, lowered springs), exhaust (lukey turbo), stereo (worth more than the car), later.

I didn't seem to really notice this noise before the exhaust was fitted. I had it serviced right through only a few months ago and the engine is mint (running really well). its just the tranny: I'll start it up and drive to work and as it starts to warm up it starts to make kind of like grinding noises when its about to change gears or under mild accelleration. when idling, cruising or putting the foot down a little you can't hear the noise and yet the gear changes are very good with or without the noises being heard. THEY JUST IRRITATE ME...that's all. 1st to 2nd you don't notice it much. To actually hear it you have to have the window down and no music on (my sterio is louder than the car by far). Then getting up there in 2nd near 60 and I'm talking accellerating normally (not like a granny or peter brock style) this grinding like noise can be heard until it changes to 3rd or you stop accelerating. I originally thought the torque converter, but it seems to have power right through the change. And I have heard 2 or 3 VN's making to same noises from a distance.

Anyone got any ideas or had the same problem (or annoyance) PLEASE HELP ME I'm going crazy no body else seems to notice it and it just worries me that I'll have to put another tranny in there, or worse could be doing serious damage somewhere else!!!

But if you like performance stick to series 1 VN as they have been tuned for better response. the series 2 was tuned to take off a bit softer.