1999 Holden Vectra GL from Australia and New Zealand - Comments

Under warranty (three months) it had a problem with faulty switches which meant brake lights occasionally didn't work, or "lights on" warning sound would go off for no reason, and several other niggly problems.

The dealer fixed those, but, after four months, the car began stalling occasionally. By six months it stalled every time I stopped at traffic lights etc.

Now I'm having IAC valve replaced. And for a single part it is very expensive (in parts and labour)

A week after I bought the car a mechanic told me he would never buy a Vectra... and now I know why.

It's a great car: it handles well; is fuel efficient; feels great to drive; looks good; and is a handy medium size (bigger than girly Barinas etc, but cheaper on fuel than a Commodore).

But it's let down by mechanical problems - I'm now worried that IAC is only just the beginning.

Had the same problem. My dealer gave me a runaround with updating the firmware on the Electronic throttle control (after market factory update). However after doing this twice, I still wasn't impressed. Turned out that there was a cover off the throttle assembly, and this was causing the problem.

It's related to the fact that the gearbox slips into idle when you stop, but if the throttle is touched, the gear stays on. This prob makes the gearbox stay in D, when the engine thinks it's not.

Best of luck if you still have the car.

Apart from an early oil leak that required 6 weeks to obtain new copper seals, my JS worked very well with few problems until about 105,000km. Then there started engine stalling problems, rough automatic change, engine missing or stalling under light acceleration and sometimes all at once.

Dealer was unable to find the fault and progressively changed the Airflow sensor, the battery and the alternator (that requires the engine being lifted) before faulty electrical connections were discovered on the battery terminals. Altogether nearly $2,000 to fix but it now runs perfectly.

As I read some of the other problems described in various Vectra models I think that faulty electrical connections are the cauase there too.

Holden vectra Yr:1999/2000.

A couple of remedies that have worked for me;

Stalling/cutting out randomly -clean the throttle body around the top and butterfly; and most impt the nipple on the RHS of it (from front). The hose from this nipple runs under throttle cable to cam cover. Take off the end at the TB only and squirt carb cleaner into it until it runs clear-use a toothpick or paperclip to clear it-the diameter of this nipple is that of a paperclip inside the throttle body and gets completely clogged with the oil deposits.

Once clear there will be a major improvement-no stalling.

For those with an LED display with some of the diodes not working: try this very carefully-on a very hot day when the dash has had lots of sun, spray some CRC using the small tube attachment into the display via the time adjustment bottons-at the side of them. As bizarre as it seems the CRC fumes will penetrate the contacts and you will find that within a few days the diodes will light up again. Don't spray too much as it will stain the display.

Great cars for innovation in order to save money.

Nightmare. Worst car I've ever had. Stalling and cutting out when revs are low. Sometimes this happens when driving on the highway. I have taken it in five times to three different garages and still no good.

Someone please help.