There is an issue with certain Falcon rear brake hoses (lines), but to date we have not had any issues with Territory. Perhaps a foreign object had struck the hose to cause the damage. Anyway it was good that the dealer replaced it without issue.

We have had some leaks from engine oil filters (2 in fact) over the past 5 years, and have found swollen filters several times. These are all noted to be on vehicles that exceeded the recommended service interval (often fleet vehicles). Your friend is very lucky to still have his ED running with 2 litres of oil in it, as it should have 5.25 litres in it. (I suppose he saves a lot of money leaving that 3.25 litres out). I certainly do not do that with my ED Fairmont.

I find it interesting that your dealer complained that you were 4,000km over your 40,000km service. Do date I am not aware that any Territorys had service intervals other than an initial 3,000km for the Peace Of Mind Service and regular services at 15,000km, 30,000km, 45,000km, 60,000km and so on. With your vehicle that means you were 1,000km too early for your 45,000km service interval (if the 30,000 was done).

Finally, I'm sorry that your car didn't stop for the service at the correct time, bad car, bad Ford. Sorry, just had to say it.

Hi, I have the following problems with my G220 (V8) Fairlane:

1. Stalling when idling - highly intermittent.

When idling, in either D or P, sometimes the revs will start to rise and fall a bit - say, up to about 700 or 800, and down to about 400 or 500. The normal idle speed is usually about 650 or so. Occasionally, it will actually stall. When it stalls, it can always be started very easily. After starting it again, the revs will be quite high - 1000 or so, and the car is then accelerates too rapidly - even light throttle application causes quite a high acceleration. The problem seems to happen more frequently in warm weather.

Work done to date:

No error codes have ever been extracted by the dealer. Because of this, they have not replaced anything. They did clean the throttle body, but that didn't fix it. At my own expense, I replaced the Throttle Position Sensor - again, that didn't fix it. I suspect that the PCV hose has been replaced, because a mechanic said it looks brand new.

2. Pinging.

My engine suffers from pinging, which is mainly audible at light to moderate throttle. Engine tuners say this is a common problem with this engine, and that they can remap the ECU to fix it. This is extremely expensive, and unless I keep it a secret, would presumably violate warranty (my car is out of warranty now, however this problem began during warranty). I have read on the Ford Trucks forums that some folks have had success by using spark plugs with a heat range one range colder than standard. i.e., the standard plugs are PZT2F, but the recommendation is to try PZT1F. I'm interested to know whether anyone has tried this. I've just replaced all plugs with the standard ones, so I'm not exactly over eager to replace them a second time so quickly!

Other work done to date:

- Dealer said that their test equipment showed that the crankshaft sensor was suspect - they replaced it, but I don't notice the slightest improvement.
- Premium fuel does reduce the severity of the pinging.

Naturally, I'm wondering whether the two problems may be related. The stalling problem has been ongoing for months.

Any assistance much appreciated.

I've got a Kia horror story. Three months ago I bought a KIA 2002 Rio from Truscotts Toyota at Five Dock. I was given a three month dealer warranty and a service warranty which is up to 2010.

I started having problems with it just before the dealer warranty ran out. The car keeps on stalling. The service warranty required me to take the car if there were any problems, to Toyota Truscotts repair centre at Croydon. I booked it in for a day and then was told they couldn't find a problem with it and had cleaned out the throttle system.

I picked up the car, got home and it died in my driveway. I phoned the repairer up straight away and they were incredulous and told me to bring it in the morning if it'll run and if not they would organise a tow.

The next morning I took it back to the mechanic and it died on the way. I managed to restart it. I had found something on the internet about how that particular model had been recalled in America because of the car stalling problems. They laughed when I showed the printout and said it doesn't apply to Australia.

Now I get told that they have to book it in to Kia (duh why didn't they do that in the first place). KIA is going to overhaul the whole car (they can't tell me how long it will take).

In the meantime I have spoken to the dealer I bought the car from and he has washed his hands of the whole deal as the dealer warranty has run out last week. We need a car as my father is elderly and not in the best of health and we've ended up with a lemon that is sitting in the repair shop, with my insurance policy coming up for a renewal for a car I can't drive. I'm not working at the moment because of health issues.

Do Not Buy A Kia And Do Not Buy Anything From Truscotts Toyota Five Dock. They are ****

My wife bought brand new in 1989 an auto, carby model KE Laser GL (no power steering). It has been serviced regularly, had the timing chain and front CV boots replaced and has done 150,000 K's since with no repairs other than the distributor module.

A great reliable car.

Pity Ford can't make 'em like that today!

I thought I was the only person being punished for buying the same model SS, apparently not.

Rear drivers side door seals have been replaced 3 times to fix the flood of water after heavy rain that pools behind my seat
- the most annoying creaking sound from my seat, seat rail replaced but after 10 minutes creaking is back (and they managed to break the trim that wraps around the rear of the seat rail at the same time),
- recall for some airbag issue
- rear passenger side door did not unlock or lock so the alarm went off when I tried to lock with the remote
- car is so sloppy and loose after 50,000 it feels like a $450 car rather than a $45,000 car.

The most annoying one is a noise, sorry Clunking that comes from under the car when I drive on the freeway at 100km/h and slow down to sit in heavy traffic, the noise sound like their is an annoying gnome in the diff with a baseball bat. It was so loud that I recorded it once on my mobile phone and replayed it to the dealership (4th complaint for the same noise) and then I actually thought that they would look into the problem properly but they just "added an additive to the diff to fix the problem". I am no mechanic but I'm also not stupid.

Then there is the Holden customer service at the Vic office. In summary - they have the communication skills of a house brick! 8 Holdens later - never ever ever will I buy Holden again ...

In warm weather engine cuts out - have had a new water pump, new radiator, new thermostat + two new crank angle sensor’s but still keeps happening.

Runs perfectly alright in cool weather. Could really do with some help. Has been happening over the past three years.

Any solutions?

If you think a tick on the "windscreen" check box on Subaru's 116 point check sheet means not a single crack or chip on the windscreen then like me you are dead wrong! After buying a 6 month old Liberty GT from a Western Sydney Subaru Dealership (initially it was a demonstration car, then a managers car and finally a used car- but that's another story). I did not realise there was a one cent piece size stone chip on the windscreen passenger side. I did not bother to do a proper inspection of the car since all the boxes where ticked on the "Comprehensive 116 Point Check" sheet with the car, so I was angry at discovering the chip a few days later.

The immediate response from the Subaru dealer was I must have caused it! However they will repair it for me from the goodness of their hearts! When their glass repair person inspected it he said it had already been repaired previously and nothing could be done further! It left them red face because it proved that the original owner had caused it and had it repaired.

So after being accused indirectly as a liar the Subaru dealer's manager offered to go half with me on an after market replacement, however their choice windscreen replacement company can only supply a replacement with a blue banding at the top which I did not want. So I am still negotiating with them to find another supplier.

As a mater of information Subaru Australia's official line regarding the ticking of the "windscreen" box on their "Subaru Assured" 116 point check sheet is that it did not mean the windscreen is free from any chips it just means it is roadworthy! So a large chip on the passenger side since it does not severely affect the drivers vision would enable the windscreen check box to be ticked.

Moral of the story - Don't trust Subaru’s 116 point check, get a third party inspect the car - I'm sure an NRMA inspection would have noted the chip! Never give any car dealer the benefit of the doubt, they just want your hard earned cash!

I own a manual Toyota Corolla 2006 model and it worries me that at speeds averaging 110 km/h the rpm reading average 4000 while on the model of automatic shift it averages 2500 - 3900 rpm. Still on that I'm having slight problems changing gears regardless of the clutch fully depressed as the gears have a small grinding problem especially when changing from 1 to 2 and 2 to 3 or doing a reversal of these gears (change down).

I have read on the owners manual that the clutch shouldn't touch the body of the car but mine has already made a groove mark on the carpet as it hits the body of the car. Of this two problems (gear changing and rpm), is it something I should be concerned of.

Thank you.

Pump & Injectors have failed due to a blockage at the tiny intank filter gauze.

The fuel tank pickup pipe draws through a very flat cross-sectional gauze filter. Any (& I mean any*) contamination of the gauze will cause the gauze filter to be drawn up against the pickup pie. The end result is that the gauze gets sucked against the pickup pipe & very quickly clogs due to its restricted surface area. The injector pump will then start to run hot due to the diminished fuel volume & quickly erodes causing metal to pass directly into the electronic injectors.

The injectors & pump can only be purchased through Toyota Service Depts & expect costs of around $8500.00.

*Any contamination that would have been considered minor in previous models (ex 3.0ltr DSL). Previously filter changes & tank cleanouts would not have cost $8500.00. The outback ute, I seriously doubt it.

Hi Sara

Have you any advice on the 2003 BA Falcons problem with the diff. I have just purchased one and it has a thumping noise in the rear end of the vehicle when decelerating or changing gears. Is there any cure for this problem? I have spoken with the dealers mechanics and they said everything is tight and not likely to fall off and they have ordered an Oil Additive to put into the diff.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks, Rob

I own a Twin Top, I have had it a month now. The only reason I got it was because my Astra Convertible soft top was a complete lemon & my dealer done me a non-disclosed trade-in on soft top. The twin tops are made in the same factory as the soft tops & look how well they went with those NOT.

After dealing with Holden I swore I would never own another one & will be getting rid of my Twin top as soon as I have paid of the extra money I had to borrow to get rid of the Soft Top.

There is hardly any leather in the new Twin Top, the interior is all plastic, but there is no wind noise. My friend bought the Renault Megane Hard Top Convertible which is the same price as the Astra Twin Top, but has more features & she loves hers.

My advice is to stay away from Holdens altogether. If you read the Holden Astra complaints (there are lots of them), you can see that everyone who has had to deal with Holden H/O over their Astra's will say they don't care & it will be their last Holden. Holden H/O told me to cut my losses & sell my car, after they had already spent over 38k on it & it had been off the road for over 30 days in 14 months.

Holden Just don't care. Good luck

Just want to cry or see Kia and its dealerships out of business. Would like to see a class action formed and a register at fair-trading or somewhere else kept so all these problems many of us are having or have had are logged and addressed.

Would really like to see no on else near a KIA in the future!

Would appreciate advice ASAP and be happy to be involved in some sort of advocacy to assist future aggrieved owners seek redress.

We have a shed (our 2003 Kia Carnival with new tyres) that is sitting at a dealership that wants $650( + towing cost for getting car to them) before we can have our car back in pieces, or $1400 for them to pack it back together again and then we can tow away, or $7000 to replace motor?

What a load of ****

After 6 years, and 90,000 kilometres of having my 2001 RAV4 regularly serviced by the dealer at considerable expense, the ECU (transmission computer) has faulted and caused "transmission burning clutches and contaminating internals". The repair has been quoted at $7000.00.

I would like to know if this is a problem others have encountered and to warn others considering a RAV4 of this possible issue. The car has only been driven on the road under normal conditions.

Good news to all Victorians and hopefully to the rest of Australia soon. The state government in Victoria are planning on bringing in Lemon Laws to protect motoring consumers. Let’s hope the laws are retrospective so that all of you long suffering Kia Carnival, Holden Astra and BA Ford owners can finally get some assistance.

Check out the link below from an article in the Melbourne Herald Sun on Monday 24th of September.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22468703-2862,00.html

Cheers,
Mark.

Me too - I’m looking into buying a Twin Top. They look great have spoken to a mechanic friend that works at Holden. He did say the soft tops had problems but these are great cars.

Debbie

Hey guys I got a 2004 BA Falcon XR6 and for some reason when the car is in drive and running when the revs kick between 1000-4000 revs the motor doesn’t sound clear. It sounds like there is something flushing through there. If anyone knows what the problem please let me know because I can’t find out what it is thanks.

I agree do yourself a favour and don't buy a Vectra. I thought I had a good one but the last 9 months have been a disaster. Its not a matter of if something will happen, it's a matter of when it will happen ... but it will happen.

Replacing a motor as we speak. I wish now I listened to the same advice

Hello Brian,

We have just been reading your feedback about the BA Falcon. Today we have our Falcon being serviced and just got a call from Jarvis Ford saying that they have noticed that exact problem beginning to occur with our vehicle. The quote to fix it so far is $5,600 or $2,800 if they don't need to change the transmission. What happened with your case?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind Regards, Dave

These two manufacturers have no quality control at their factories, slap units together, and send them out to dealers. They will not honor their warrantee, and will fight you all the way to repair anything.

Hi just wondering with your idle problems, did it possibly over rev and not return to idle when changing gears? Had computer tested come up with nothing ... just wondering if maybe you had a possible thought about it. It’s a Ford Ka car but? Thanks for any input if you have any ideas.

Phil,

I have just found this site so I do not know if you have fixed the problem of not able to start your Jackaroo.

The fuel injection system is the same used by CAT there are some areas that need to be checked as the system is made up of two parts.

1. You have a low pressure fuel system that needs to supply about 30psi of fuel pressure, it has a electric fuel pump so check to make sure that the engine is getting fuel.

2. The engine has an oil system to produce the pressure needed to overcome combustion.

So you need to check to see if you are getting oil to the injectors and at the right pressure. Have your dealer hook up the tech 2 and read the oil rail pressure as the engine is cranking. The only things that will stop it from starting due to low oil pressure is incorrect oil faults in the rail pressure sensor or the pressure regulator or an oil leak in the rail also broken oil pickup. Hope this information helps.

In January this year I had major brake failure in my Territory when a brake line sheared off, was fixed with no issue from Ford.

Then 12 weeks ago I had major engine failure. The oil filter was blown apart causing internal damage. The car was only driven a short distance once this happened and then tilt trayed to Ford. They will not repair the problem even though the vehicle was under new car warranty, because I missed the 40000 service by 4000klm.

They initially had an issue with the 60000 service (the car had 68000 when the problem occurred) and no mention of the 40000 service issue. Once it was proven the 60000 service was done within their limits, was disputed due to a typo, they then had an issue with the 40000 service. I missed it by 4000 klm, so beware if you miss your Ford service by 4000klm your engine will fail.

I have a mate with an old ED Falcon. He drives it round with 2 litres of oil all the time and a head full of chemi weld and it still goes great, yet I miss my service by 4000klm and my engine fails? So don’t ever buy a Ford.

First, nice to know I'm not alone. We are the owner of a Dec 2001 model Kia Carnival. We purchased it second hand from a dealer for $24,500 it was still under a new car warranty when we purchased it and had only done some 23000 km.

We have had numerous problems with the car itself including door handles snapping off, a door actually falling of the track and the track bearings exploding off the door. But these are relatively minor issues compared to the big picture.

18 months ago the original engine cracked and the oil and water mixed. The dealer put this through under warranty although it was out of warranty but had only done 30000km or so. Kia motors replaced the engine (under good will I’m told) at a value of $9000 but we still had to pay for labour and oils etc. We also had a car sent to us to drive. After 5 weeks we got our car back. Not long after this we had to have a fuel pump replaced as the engine wouldn’t go.

Then, only 2 months ago when our "new” motor had done 31000km the engine went from cold to boiling and cracking in a second. I was stranded 30km from home with 5 children under 9 at 6pm.

The next day the car was taken to our local repairer (the dealer we purchased the car from) who informed us the motor was again stuffed and they were going to put it under warranty through Kia. We were without a car for 5 weeks. No courtesy car (we’re simply told good luck) and every time we contacted the repairer to find out what was going on. They had no answers and said they were still awaiting to hear from Kia as to what they were willing to pay. And were told they had no idea on costs and couldn’t even give us an estimate.

The day that our car was ready we went in to be told Kia just contacted them (ironic) and weren’t going to cover it. We had to have a whole new set of heads put on and gaskets at the low cost of $6000, payable immediately.

Needless to say I was gob smacked. I had walked across town with 3 of the kids to be told pay up. The next day the manager contacted us and through a series of phone calls we discovered that the heads that needed replacing were in fact the heads off the old motor, of which we were led to believe we had a brand spanking new motor. We didn’t and weren’t informed till now. Everything except the heads were new, so therefore Kia motors managed to pull out.

We are now being sued for $6000 by the dealer that repaired our heap of ****. I purchased this car outright with inheritance money from my grandfather believing I was buying the best car to drive our herd around in. Kia motors are a joke and a **** merchant. You can’t even talk to anyone, as it seems there isn’t a head person to talk to.

We are going to fight Kia motors right till the end and the dealer that **** and couldn’t give us the courtesy of information. Kia has ignored and shoved to the wayside the wrong woman.

Hey there everybody.

I have a BA Falcon as a work vehicle and had many problems with it. Being an ex Ford mechanic myself I know of the makes quite well.

In regards with the radiator failing causing the radiator coolant and trans fluid mixing and in turn pretty much destroying the whole trans, radiator and all hoses. After this happening and having it repaired like new trans, radiator and hoses which luckily Ford paid for approx $4500.00.

The only thing is that under warranty repair the real fix that is needed to rectify this issue from happening again as it can after the repair anyway is to install a external trans cooler which by passes the radiator and will prevent this from happening again and even happening in the first place.

So after the repair or even before it happens make sure you get a trans cooler fitted which Ford won’t pay for but is a sure investment of about $150-$200.

Bottom line is if you own a BA check if you have a trans cooler if not get one installed before it’s too late.

Has anyone else experienced an embarrassingly loud engine rattle especially on cold mornings? It sounds like big end bearings about to disintegrate if you try to accelerate above about 40 k's for the first two or three minutes. I suspect it is Fuel related, in that perhaps it gets more diesel for start up, but the sensor isn't shutting down, pumping in too much fuel, causing the pinging. I have been back to the dealership several times, but with no ongoing success.

I am open to any ideas to help get the dealership on track, because mine is that bad that it just can't keep doing it without damaging something, preferably not my wallet.

The second point is the unpredictable handling I have experienced in dirt roads. Has anyone else noticed this and can offer a fix? (e.g. after market shockers?) I am happy to say I contributed by speeding, but I was totally unprepared for the vehicle to jump sideways about half a car width when I hit a pothole with one front wheel. Everything was OK, but I suspect if someone wasn't concentrating an unexpected excursion into the scrub would be on the menu.

Cheers, Phil