Hi all,

I'm new to this site and am looking for some advice regarding a small motor oil leak.

I've got a 2003 BA Falcon Futura with 100,000ks on it but I've just discovered a small oil leak dripping onto the right side cross member under the right (looking from the driver's seat) rear of the motor it that makes sense. It's pretty much under a sensor type thing that comes out of the exhaust manifold and just under a heavy red wire that runs across the cross member from the motor.

I know it's a needle in a haystack type thing but I thought perhaps this has come up before and might be a common/easy fix as I can't for the life of me pinpoint where it's coming from.

Also, I don't know how to personal message on this site and I'm looking for Sara Seroka (unsure of spelling) who posts on this site as I would like to bring my car to her for servicing etc as she appears to know her stuff. Sara, if you're out there!

Thanks

Lee

Navaras are all a heap of **** and they should stick them all up Nissans ****. Has anyone contacted Today Tonight or ACC about this, there are about 50 I have found on this site and I am one of them. Please contact me if anyone wants to do something!

Hi all.

Justin,

I am familiar with your problem and have referred it to the OFT and the ACCC. Nissan clearly have a problem with the 2.5l T/D Auto. ACCC believe not enough Australians are affected to warrant their intervention.Office of Fair Trading wrote to Nissan Australia but Nissan refused to answer so they just passed it on to the ACCC.

DOT (who administer the 81/01) aren't any use either--- makes you wonder what these bodies are for. Contact me and I can give you a case number.

Regards
Al

VACC acknowledges the importance of today’s commencement of construction on Stage Two of the Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE).

VACC, the peak automotive industry body in Victoria, is a Foundation Partner of the ACE building, located in Docklands.

Minister for Skills and Workforce Participation, Jacinta Allan, officially started the $84.32 million project by turning the first sod.

“This will maintain world class training in a world class facility,” Minister Allan said.

“This is an important day for VACC, Kangan Batman TAFE and all the stakeholders associated with the Automotive Centre of Excellence. Stage Two will see the expansion of skills opportunities for trainees and employers under one roof,” VACC Executive Director, David Purchase, said.

“Stage One was a break-through both in terms of sustainable building design and from a training resource point of view.

“Stage Two takes this to the next level. The building will be state-of-the-art and cutting edge. And the facility will cover all trades in the repair, service and retail sector of the automotive industry.

“VACC welcomes the Brumby Government’s contribution and commitment to the development of Stage Two.

“The State Government contribution of $30 million is a significant investment in automotive training and a timely boost to both the automotive and construction industries,” Mr Purchase said.

Automotive Centre of Excellence, Stage Two will provide a four storey building which will adjoin the existing Stage one facility in Docklands. It will house automotive trades training including trimming, auto parts, light vehicles, motorcycles, marine, outdoor power equipment, agricultural mechanics, mobile equipment mechanics, diesel mechanics and heavy vehicle mechanics.

There will be a series of dynamometers, an engine emission test unit, a library, flexible learning centre and research and development facilities.

Upon its completion in early-2011, ACE will double its training capacity to 500 trainees, apprentices and students.

I have a 2003 BA XT Falcon. For a couple of weeks now it was been running really rich and fueled up, usually when I stab the accelerator a plume of smoke comes out of the exhaust. Also on some occasions for often than none up until 3800rpm it’s running bad, the engine is really struggling to get 3800rpm barrier. But once it gets over it you feel this surge of power.

The car was missing all through the rev range at one stage so I put 6 new coils on it and that seemed to fix the problem for about two weeks. Now it’s just doing this. I took it to Ford and $280 bucks later they said it was my O2 sensor. So I replaced this and it made a difference for about an hour and then the next day it was back to the lack of power again. So I put another O2 sensor on it off my mates AU Falcon. Worked alright for a little bit then started failing again.

When I took the new O2 sensor off to replace it with the one off the AU it was as black as anything because of carbon build up, which shouldn't happen in the short time I had it on there for.

I have gone through 3 sets of spark plus (keeps fouling them), 6 coils, new fuel filter, 2 x O2 sensors and have cleaned the throttle body and still nothing. I really don't want to take it back to Ford as I can see them charging me another $280.00 even though I replaced the O2 sensor. There is a good chance that my old O2 sensor was **** because its had a lot of carbon build up on it as well. So I have to figure out why it is running so rich and blackening everything up.

I'm really running out of ideas. Someone said it might be that my Cat has collapsed and its not letting the gas get out so it’s backing up into the engine, but I took it to an exhaust shop and they said it wouldn't be the cat as it’s still getting good air flow out of the exhaust. Because when I stabbed the accelerator a huge a lot of smoke came out, he said the way it all came out that the cat is not blocking any flow. Fuel consumption has obviously gone to ****. It must be trying to pump too much fuel I think. If anyone has any ideas it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hello there, I have a 2005 Holden Astra CDX, bought brand new and so far have no issues with it. The brake pads need changing soon though, and when I rang Holden spare parts, I was told I'll need AH model pads which costs $260 for front and rear. Am I getting ripped off here and is it possible to get cheaper brake pads from elsewhere?

I am having the same problem with my car and I'm getting the run around. I have found a place in Melbourne called Petroject who say they can fix it. You can call them to check what they can do for you. Their phone number is 9873 7006.

I am looking for other people who are having the same problem because I think that Mitsubishi should be held accountable for this debacle. There are people who have bought the car and now it's rendered unusable and they can't even sell the thing because it isn't going. The car would be perfectly alright if you could get it going.

If there is enough pressure brought to bear on Mitsubishi they maybe forced to do something about it.

Could you please contact me via email and we can see if we can go somewhere with this.

Regards, Brian

I have finally found the noise is made after the car has rested about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. It seems to be a pressure problem in the variable timing solenoids which Toyota think has been a problem with the Aurion. They don’t know which one it is so they are not going to change them. The noise is like a starter motor not disengaging and makes a rat a tat sound after stared. It only happens 1 hour after running. If it has rested over night it won’t do it or if you try straight after running.

Has anyone had this noise?

Cheers, Deryck

I bought a 2007 Navara 4.0ltr petrol that at 1800km burnt out a catalytic converter, engine light etc. The dealer then replaced the cat converter and could find no reason for the failure. At 3700km a day before we went on holiday at Easter which was the main reason I bought this vehicle for, the engine light comes on and it devours 1/8 tank of fuel in 10km or so. Left without a vehicle for the trip I had to resort to my work vehicle which was lucky I had as Nissan said they could not provide me a suitable vehicle for the trip.

This was nearly 3 weeks ago, the air/fuel ratio sensor has been replaced but the dealers who have been good are waiting on Nissan to get back to them to see if there has been any other faults of the same to verify the replaced part was the problem. Even when I get this vehicle back it will take me a while to trust its reliability if nothing else goes wrong with it.

I have bought a new vehicle that has spent one month out of 3 in the dealers and has not travelled more than 4000km.

Not a happy owner

After just 88000ks our family Carnival is suffering from oil in the coolant. It would have been a **** at 388k's but not at 88k's. We have had to buy another vehicle to get around in as this one has left us in the lurch. Does KIA read these complaints? My condolences to other carnival owners.

I had the same noise... have done 180,000 turned out to be low oil levels, especially after the hot summer. Did oil change and brought levels back up. Put in lifter-stop additive... sweet now, quiet as a mouse, until I let the wheels spin up! Hope your problem is nothing major.

I too am the extremely dissatisfied owner of a 2008 auto diesel Navara. Fuel consumption test by the local dealer as specified by Nissan Australia returned 15.95 litres per 100km highway cycle. The problem is the DPF, the manual versions do not have one (Why not?). I achieved nearly 20lt per 100km recently towing a trailer.

After 12 months of no action I am taking Nissan to court. I welcome anyone to contact me regarding their problems as believe me there are heaps of people complaining about this issue. Is anyone else doing anything about it? Send me all your complaints/info and I will present it when I go to court as additional support for my claim for compensation. Maybe Nissan will be forced into a recall.

Regards
Justin O'Connor
PH ****

I took my 2004 Territory in for a 60K service with what I thought were a few minor faults. The first was a split power steering hose and second was a fuel leak at the tank. On explaining this to the service person I received a phone call an hour or so later telling me I need 2 replacement lower ball joints at $750 supplied and fitted and the power steering high pressure hose was $595.

An hour or so after this shock I received another call about the fuel tank, this being it had split. I went down to have a look and sure as the tank had split in 3 places we could see and on the seam. No good. Replacement tank $1305.

I stated that this was a manufacturing fault to which our local warranty manager contacted head office. An hour or two later I received anther call stating that Ford would give $429.37 towards the new tank. Where they got that figure I will never know.

By the way, the 60K service cost $190 and they had recalled the model for faulty front brake hoses, which my driver side hose had already failed 12 month or so earlier. Next it will be the fuel tank recall. I will be asking for my money back!

Not bad for a car that has been well looked after and driven by my wife.

My car is 8 months old and I’m having electrical problems such as ABS light coming on and staying on and warning lights coming on at random times and going off and on constantly even when car is off. Also speedometer not working. Please if anyone has or has had this problem please contact me as I want to make sure they fit it because my Holden dealer keeps dismissing it. It’s really annoying as I have driving out the hour to them to get it fixed four times now and nothing?

My wife's Astra has a problem with the radio. The radio is a Blaupunkt CD30. It turns itself on. Sometimes it tries to read a CD when there is not one loaded. It then defaults to the radio. This is a nuisance when you are driving but it becomes a bigger problem when the car is not in use. Despite the radio having been turned off and the car locked, the radio turns itself on and drains the battery overnight. The local Holden dealer said that he was aware of the problem and advised that the only fix was to install a new radio. He quoted $2000 for a new radio, and $1035 for a second-hand radio. The Astra was bought in August 2005 and is therefore out of warranty.

From trawling through UK web-sites I have become aware that this problem is widely known amongst Vauxhall dealers and was the subject of a technical bulletin (no.1973) from GM to UK dealers. In the UK Vauxhall Astra owners will get the problem fixed at no cost if you complain loudly enough. I contact Holden in Australia and argued that they should pay for the radio to be replaced as they were aware of the problem prior to the expiry of the warranty on our Astra, and they should have issued a recall notice. Holden deny knowledge of the problem. This seems unlikely given the wide knowledge of the problem in the UK.

I would like to know of anyone who has had the same problem in Australia, and whether you managed to get Holden (or the dealer) to replace the radio. Also, does anyone have any knowledge of a technical bulletin issued in Australia in regards to this matter? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

This is a common problem since these vehicles entered the country. One of the faults/theories is that the computer loses its programme for the fuel curve for no apparent reason & that’s why Nissan can’t fix it because they don’t exactly know what’s causing it yet.

Biodiesel can also cause this so don’t use it because if Nissan test the fuel and there is Bio in it, any warranty that you may have will be voided. I bet you if you contact the previous owner they will say that’s why he/she got rid of it because of this fault.

They are great performing vehicles for power/economy/towing & size - but they are unfortunately made in Spain and made in a time when manufacturers have started compromising quality to save money. There is so much more I can say, but will leave it there.
*EMAIL NOT SUPPLIED*

Trying to get engine computer & immobilizer. I can’t drive my car.

Hi Anthony

I think my problem has been solved. The auto electrician that had my car for over a week ended up changing the thermostat and the car has been working fine since. I have taken it for a couple of drives since and the car has not overheated again.

I would just like to respond to the comments made about Chateau Moteur. I am a very experienced vehicle technician and am more than used to these type of comments made by 'hard done by' vehicle owners whom do nothing but pretend to know the workings of their vehicle and what is best for it. The simple fact is, these vehicles are not Ford Falcons or Holden Commodores but extremely complicated pieces of technology.

Problem diagnosis is rarely a matter of a five minute quick fix that most customers expect whilst they wait, sipping latte's in the cafe. People who do not appreciate the complexity of these vehicles should not own them! While reading the comments posted about chateau moteur I could not help but laugh myself **** about the **** of this particular owner. I highly Doubt that a factory trained technician would confuse an air conditioning 'whirring' noise with a torque converter lockup clutch fault as you had stated.

It was most likely that the fault had been correctly diagnosed and corrected the first visit, however there is always somebody who wants to take advantage of the 'the customer is always right' theory (which, may I add is completely unavoidable in order to keep high-salary business people happy) and see what they can get away with.

I can guarantee, any company would not want a customer to have a loan car for any lengthy period of time... it must be annoying having to drive a new Mercedes Benz for no cost at all that includes free fuel right? Yea ok. I could rant and rave about rich snobs all day, but I won’t as I have a life.

Will try that and see what happens - thank you!

By any chance did you have a problem with the oil light coming on at idling... comes on if the revs get below 900rpm - goes off at 950 / 1000 rpm. Interesting problem. Mechanic says no codes get thrown out to say there is a problem. Only started happening after a service!

Anyone else had this problem?

I am looking for a manual/info to help with rebuilding the motor on the car I have just bought. I wish I had found this web page before letting my husband talk me into buying a Carnival. He wouldn’t believe anybody & there were a lot of them including mechanics & owners that had experienced blown motors & diff problems.

I gave in as we got this car at a good price. My son-in-law is a good mechanic & is saving me the labour costs, & I do really like the comfort & set up of the passenger seating. I have had many vans & did like it over all others.

It would be handy to have details on fuses/lights/globes etc for general maintenance. This may let you know that in Newcastle we too are having problems. Thanks for reading this & hope someone can help with a manual/photo copy, I will pay costs thanks.

Big nanna

After a service the oil light now comes on at idle / low revs (approx 900rpm)... goes out after approx 950/1000rpm. Some ideas were that at service engine was started without oil being re-added.

The owner’s manual doesn't say that it is a problem exactly? However surely can be fixed? Any ideas? Didn't do it before the service. Oil pressure reader / sensor has been changed - didn't fix the problem.

That is unbelievable Cliff. I've been following this story on this site for quite a while now, which appears to be a worldwide problem.

In simple terms, these Rav4s have a fault in the computer that eventually ruins the transmission. Is that correct?

Mark

The panic alarm problem will be with the remote, I have seen it numerous times. If you take the battery out of the remote instead of disconnecting the vehicle battery this will prove this.