My youngest son, an apprentice has just purchased an unregistered 1996 Nissan Navara. Took it in to a "GT" automotive in Inala for a RWC. They have come back saying things like, undersized front rotors, too low, no wiper motor plates?, plastic in back of Cab. Upon enquiry told us stereo speakers are mounted in rear wall is a firewall problem?
Can we get some helpful advice?

Josh,

I would go to the dealer and retrieve the broken rocker arm so that you have it in Your possession so that you have the option of getting third party opinion. They won't have thrown it out but equally won't want to hand it over to you. If they refuse, just ask them why they still want it since they seem to have already made their decision in rejecting your warranty claim. If you are up for thousands then sending it to a metallurgy lab for an opinion might be a good investment, but I wouldn't tell them that.

Please help!

I own a second hand Kia Carnival 2001 LS and have been told I need a new engine. It has done 83,000kms and I have had it for just over three years. I have four children and we are a very sporty family. I volunteer my services a lot but it has been hard with no vehicle. A Kia dealer said it would cost between 6,000-9,000 to have the engine replaced. I am not prepared to pay when I now know it was a manufacturer fault with Kia engines, it was bound to happen! And who has that type of spare cash lying around for engine failure!

I would appreciate any help,

Naiomi Anderson.

I have had the same problem, but my car is VY 25th Anniversary Commodore. It has happened twice. The mechanic has had computer analysis, but cannot find anything malfunctioning, the car is running OK for now but for how long? Both times it has stalled the car has started after a while. I agree it can be quite dangerous in heavy traffic - any food for thought?

Rear coupling is another achilles heel on these **** however all is not lost! Replacement couplings are available (just the coupling not the complete assembly) from a Renault / Peugeot specialist on James Ruse Drive, Granville (Sydney) just after passing under the motorway & before reaching Parramatta Rd heading south. The part was around $360 all up & took me 1.5 hrs to fit.

Window winder mechanisms are available on an exchange basis from a Moorebank (Sydney) company that sells power window parts for all types of vehicles at around $260 per window.

Fuel pump (in Tank) new electrical pump motor can be sourced for around $100 each.
Steering rack ends are also available but there are 2 brands of power steer racks fitted to these monsters which must be identified prior to ordering new rack ends. Depending on which one from around $300 per side.

All the above parts have been changed on my RX4 at less than half of Renault Australia current pricing.

Such a shame as they are comfortable, handle well, versatile & economical.

I've just had the RACV man out here to tap the solenoid on the gas converter, on my gas dedicated Falcon, to get it started. He tells me it’s the 3rd one this morning and he tells me other RACV mechanics are finding it too. Every one has been purchasing their gas from Shell Service Stations. Interested to know if anyone has had this problem and can make this correlation? I now need to take the car to a dealer to get the valve cleaned out.

Had the same problem and it took dealer 12 months to work out it was the starter motor. They checked it out but because it was intermittent they could not fine anything wrong - until it happened to them when it was in for a service.

Drove well but on average 2-3 times a month (usually when I was in a hurry) it would not start. After 30 - 60mins would start ok

I worked at Ford for 12 years, the most common cure was replace charcoal canister or re route the canister air breather to below the radiator as you might be getting the fumes coming through your vents. Also check your small return lines on your fuel neck they perish.

Hope this helps.

We have the Falcon utes in our company. They have all had the diff replaced at due to noise at around the 120-130k mark. We've got about 30 in the fleet. Fortunately they're all lease vehicles.

They're also having problems with a bad gas supply from Shell at the moment causing a solenoid to stick on starting. RACV is telling us it’s a common problem in the last few weeks and all are Shell customers. Hmmm.

Had the same problem with my VY series 2 and it was cross firing plug leads, must be from a different source with you as you have already changed your leads. The R.A.C.Q guy who came out when I had this problem diagnosed it immediately and told me this was an extremely common problem with the ECOTEC motor.

To stop shuddering change the transmission fluid (use only Mitsubishi fluid)or you will damage the box. MY 1997 TE did this about 5 years ago, changed trans fluid using genuine fluid and kept up fluid changes every 2 years.

Haven’t had the problem since.

Hi,

If I were you, I would get rid of your lemon Astra straight away. I bought my 2000 Astra 4 years ago and it's had never ending problems. Spent about $5000 in repairs - air conditioning compressor, air conditioning hose, brake pads constantly wearing, brake rotors, timing belt doesn’t last that long, ignition coil, rear water dispenser doesn’t work anymore, headlights cover perspex damaged easily by headlights - just to name a few problems. Everything has needed to be replaced. Every one I know with that model Astra (before the latest model) has had many problems also.

However, with the stereo volume increasing, mine did that too. When you speed up it gets louder. But I think that’s just the type of CD player it is. Some do actually do that. I just replaced head unit with a Pioneer one.

So have a think about owning your Astra for much longer! Keeping it might be the worst decision you will ever make... sorry. Every mechanic (obviously not Holden/Opel) and auto electrician if have spoken to said that they are complete garbage.

Good luck

Ashley.

Holden Zafira is similar to a Astra check out the comments on here I have seen and heard of Zafiras breaking timing chains which costs big dollars to fix! Not many of these cars about so parts hard to come by!

Hi, my 2005 Sante Fe runs mainly stop start around town with aircon never turned off. It never does worse than 13l/100km. And On the highway it quite easily does 10l/100km if I am less of a lead foot that usually.

I am planning to purchase a Holden Zafira. Any advice on maintenance cost, spare parts (availability & cost)? Does the car overheat easily?

Hi Dale,

I have a 2004 Carnival and the same thing has just happened to me. Oil was leaking out of the motor and Kia in Bundoora has just rang me to quote $6,000 to $9,000 to replace the motor. I do not have $9000 sitting around waiting for me to have car trouble. I will be getting a second opinion on Monday 30-June-08. If a class action has been set up, I would like to add my name or find out who to speak to at Kia.

Thanks
Anthony Wilson

Geez Wain
Where do we start. Are you telling us that you were surprised that the motor blew from oil starvation when it hadn't had a service (oil change?) in 25000k. The oil would finally have been like black sludge. Engines need better than this. It's very hard to actually understand exactly what you are trying to tell us with the second case but if the crunch point is that you were 3000k over the service then the dealer is entitled to void your warranty claim. This is quite reasonable because you can't neglect engines and expect someone else to fix them free of charge. Warranties (and life itself) are about mutual obligation.

Hey there, I can join the club too! I recently (nearly 2 months ago) bought a 2001 Holden Barina XC, 3 door, from a car yard.

For a week or so it was fine, then, the same as you Richard, I’d turn the car on in the morning and be blasted by loud music, have to turn it down - then it wouldn't go down any further, then when you turn it up it blasted again and then was fine ! This went on for a few weeks and couldn't handle it any longer.

I took my car to an audio specialist, Newcastle Prosound - they had a look at it for me and originally thought it may be the steering wheel controls getting stuck - so they unwired those, unfortunately it continued to happen. They ended up telling me this is a common problem with Holdens.

The solution: you have to get a new stereo/head unit! While it can be costly it'll save you blowing your speakers! (Mine started to crackle from the full bore hits) I ended up buying a nice little Kenwood unit - no more loud bursts!

I still find myself bracing myself for the loud noise though!

It's unfortunate but you might want to look at getting a new one installed - you can get some for under $200 and installation is usually around $80.

In answer to your question about the display up the top - It still provides the date and time and temperature as per usual - the only difference is the radio station/cd track # will appear on the new head unit.

Good luck!

I bought my 2002 RAV4 in November of 2006. The check engine light stayed on constantly. I was told it was an O2 sensor and that it would take $300 to fix but that it did not affect the car's performance. In February I received a notice that I should take the vehicle to the dealer to have a recall taken care of, which I did.

The check engine light went off but I started having transmission problems. I took it to the dealer and they charged me $150 to check it out. They said I needed a new computer ($1,300). I then took it to a transmission specialist to check out ($85.00). He said it was not my transmission but the computer (EMC).

I started researching and found out about this problem being not just mine. Being a single mother with two children and on a very tight budget, this is my only transportation, which I do not consider safe until this gets fixed. I was having this shifting problem in a very busy intersection and was very upset with the fact that Toyota would not stand behind their product and fix the EMC at no cost to the consumer.

Hi, I have a 2002 Holden Astra which I bought second hand only 2 years ago. My car had a leak underneath and was told by Holden mechanics that it was the rear main seal and that would be $2200 to investigate.

Naturally, I wanted a second opinion and took it to my own trusted mechanic who told me it was the transmission. I had to have my transmission rebuilt which set me back nearly $4000.

After many months fighting with Holden, they offered me the measly sum of $900 but only because my mechanic had used "some" Holden genuine parts because he tried to keep the cost down.

More people need to be made aware of the "no service" policy that Holden seems to have with the public, yeah sure buy a car from us but don't expect anything in return.

Frank

Sorry I have no info to assist with your electrical problem.

However as a journalist you may be interested in the story of thousands of motorists around Australia impacted by lack of Gov't action despite laws being there that are not enforced.

I understand the Victorian Minister for consumer protection is trying to introduce "Lemon" laws yet, he has powers now that his department won't enforce only telling consumers to go away & take KIA to courts themselves.

Happy to pass on the data & info collected if you want to write the story?

Dale

Hello Collette,

Sadly, we read of your plight and want to assure you that a great deal of time has been spent gathering information to justify later claims against Kia. You have just joined between 3,000 and 4,000 victims who have had the same experience as yourself and naturally we feel for you. I see that Dale Morris is already assisting on the claim side and this is great advice and the course of action most of us are pursuing - you simply have to fight.

Now to get your vehicle back on the road and look at some options. I have the same model Carnival - 2001 with 60,000 kms and have just been through the hoops. Kia will tell you one thing and then not abide by it. In fact I'm surprised that your engine hasn't failed before this - you must be one of the last. Have you owned the vehicle since new? If not check the engine number. You will need to undo the three small bolts with a socket securing the engine dress cover and remove the cover. The number is to the right just inside the lifting bracket at cylinder 5. Check above the engine number to see if there is a stamp RPM. These are the engine reconditioners who repair the engines for Kia in Melbourne. We want to know of any engines reconditioned to the Kia build specification which have failed because this problem may never go away.

Kia supplied me under goodwill a basic reconditioned short motor, torque to yield cylinder head bolts, cylinder head gaskets, thermostat housing and liquid gasket seal.
They also accepted costs for surface machining the heads if required in cases of severe overheating (not mine) and servicing the radiator. This is costed at around $2,750-00. Unfortunately they charged for radiator hoses, oil seal, oil pump gasket at a cost of around $100-00. If you have over 60,000 kms on the clock you would be wise to replace timing belts (3), serpentine drive belt, plug leads for a 2001 model, spark plugs and water pump at about $700-00. The blue slip, oil, oil filter and coolant will set you back another $100-00. Finally, labour for the complete job was $1,390-00. I was also up for a crankshaft harmonic balance pulley at $201-00 which I suspect was damaged during disassembly. A rattle gun is probably the best option for loosening the pulley securing bolt.

Negotiations and repair time took two months - 4 weeks for repair.

These engines are reconditioned for around $1650-00 by RPM and you may be able to insist upon your engine being reconditioned and returned to your vehicle if engines are in such short supply. It is clearly evident that Kia have failed to establish a standard protocol to deal with a well known problem or developed a logistic support system to adequately support the predictable failure rate of engines. They do not carry a short motor in their parts inventory and acquire them by special order on the factory. Consequently, Carnival owners have been at the mercy of Kia's poor response time since first model engine failures in 2000 and little has changed.

Hopefully this provides you with sufficient information to know what you are up against and avoid some of the horrendous costs I have seen quoted. You may well be able to negotiate a better deal but if not, ensure that you put in writing that you do not accept liability and reserve the right to make a claim at a later date. Letters of claim are already in the system and Peter H is working on some refinement. Mine will be joining them shortly. In the meantime, you need to get your vehicle back on the road.

If we can help further, let us know.

Regards,
Kerry Tunbridge

We have a new Astra with the braking problem you describe. Did the new pads solve the very "touchy" feel the brakes have, very difficult to operate smoothly. I would appreciate your comment. Thanks John D'Arcy.

Whilst travelling along the freeway with the cruise control on all the lights on the dash started flashing then the engine shut down, the car has only done 8,000kms.

Has anyone with a Subaru experienced this please? The problem has the service department baffled!

Any input appreciated.

My car was good until 80,000 Km when it went into the local Ford dealer for its service. From then onwards it has erratic idle and starts to misfires and loses power when it is under load for longer than about 15 seconds at low rev's (1500 - 3500rpm). It is in particular frustrating (and also dangerous) to attempt to overtake because you never know if it will maintain power throughout the action. If you keep your foot down while it is misfiring, it normally clears itself about 20 seconds later.

It has now done 110,000 Km and since I started complaining, Ford has replaced the fuel pump unit, the filter, the hi tension leads, the spark plugs, and the electronic engine control module. All the changes has made a slight improvement but it still jerks and misfires often, and the idle is still erratic. It still lacks full power and my fuel consumption has increased drastically since the control module was replaced. The tail pipe also shows a very heavy deposit of black suit like a car running with the choke puller out.

The local Ford service dealer is by now obviously at a lost end because according to their $26,000 workshop test computer there is nothing wrong with the car, although they have experienced the problem themselves during test drives.

Is there any experts in Perth WA on the fuel injection system of these new 4.0L Ford V6 engines which I can take the car to that will be able to fix the problem?