ZC CDXi goes BANG

[kojarena]

Drove to Canberra and back yesterday with no problems at all. This morning I went out to the car, got in, put the key in the ignition and turned it

BANG!!

didnt turn over - just made a metal clang noise like a bang. I took the key out and locked the car then unlocked it and tried it again - now no noise - just all the electronics went dead.

then i couldnt lock it or unlock it. let it rest a while then tried again and got the BANG again followed by dead electrics. WIndows and stereo working okay unless i turn the key then they die.

Called Holden ARSE-ist who sent NRMA out (well my wife did - I took her AH wagon and went to work). They said it needed a tow and the towie came this arvo and took it to the nearest dealer.

Dealer says drained battery but they are keeping it over night to check what the BANG was... so theres my 1 yr old (this friday) Veccy now down at the dealer dead as a do do.

Anyone heard of this sorta issue with these before?

And also - i dont drive the astra that much but i gotta say compared to her old TS CD manual this AH CDX auto is an absolute slug. Bloody awful to drive. The auto cannot be driven smoothly. Its a year old and has 13,000klm on the odo. Hasnt yet had its first service but the gear box is very very jerky. You tap the accelerator so lightly and the car jerks forward. And its a slug. Any advice?

thanks

[MK]

"And also - i dont drive the astra that much but i gotta say compared to her old TS CD manual this AH CDX auto is an absolute slug. Bloody awful to drive. The auto cannot be driven smoothly. Its a year old and has 13,000klm on the odo. Hasnt yet had its first service but the gear box is very very jerky. You tap the accelerator so lightly and the car jerks forward. And its a slug. Any advice?"



i have Astra H 5dr automatic...the 'jerking' is normal, especially when starting from complete stop, the whole car 'jerks' momentarily :(


sorry to hear about your ZC...hopefully everything will be OK

[EL BURITO]

And also - i dont drive the astra that much but i gotta say compared to her old TS CD manual this AH CDX auto is an absolute slug. Bloody awful to drive. The auto cannot be driven smoothly. Its a year old and has 13,000klm on the odo. Hasnt yet had its first service but the gear box is very very jerky. You tap the accelerator so lightly and the car jerks forward. And its a slug. Any advice?

thanks
The AH is a bit more heavy than the TS spes given that is it is a wagon. not to many options. 2.2 auto Hatch . not to many ideas i can think of besides working on the engine.

main Question thou is your wife happy with it seeing as its her car ?

[ope126]

Fingers crossed about the Vectra!

[Wraith]

As I read through that above, the first thing that came to my mind was - electrical fault, which is confirmed by your dealer.

I suspect the metal bang noise was a result of the starter motor 'slapping' cogs with the flywheel, as there was not enough power to fully engage and kick over.

When a battery is nearly dead, starter motors can tend to make awful 'clanging' noises, I've heard it many times on various kinds of cars, all the best with it and hopefully nothing major is at fault.

[one2have]

As I read through that above, the first thing that came to my mind was - electrical fault, which is confirmed by your dealer.

I suspect the metal bang noise was a result of the starter motor 'slapping' cogs with the flywheel, as there was not enough power to fully engage and kick over.

When a battery is nearly dead, starter motors can tend to make awful 'clanging' noises, I've heard it many times on various kinds of cars, all the best with it and hopefully nothing major is at fault.

Yeah I reckon you're spot-on there.

Veccy should be right - don't panic..

[kojarena]

main Question thou is your wife happy with it seeing as its her car ?

umm not really - she had a manual TS CD which we both loved, then she had an auto ZC CD 2005 model which she didnt like so we got rid of that for an auto AH CDX wagon which she thinks is a girls car and a slug. She like it when we were testing it but then when it was delivered and she drove it home she decided it was gutless. Wanted auto because its her mummy mobile used to drive our son around. I drive it with the Sport button on which makes a diff but it would be better if that was on the actual gear selector or it had a semi auto.... ahhhh well/.

[kojarena]

The problem was a dead battery - replaced under warranty as it was 2 days less than 12 mths old (lucky). Normally $180 to replace - ouch !

[ope126]

Did they replace with the OEM Battery (OPEL Branded), or an AC Delco?

[stevedee3]

Glad to hear it was nothing serious.

[low]

hey korenja what dealer are you using ?

[kojarena]

ope126 - i havent checked yet. will need to go and take its blanket off and have a look methinks.

low - it got towed to the nearest dealer which is Penninsula Holden at Bankstown. I have bought 7 holdens from there in recent years but the Veccy came from Lansvale Holden...

Peninsula is okay - we get on well with the salesman who DO make sure the service department look after us. We have had some issues with the service department but lately they seem okay.

[low]

cheers , i had mine serviced at lansvale , they are not too bad i guess .I thought you might be using McGraths at Liverpool going by your sig - I have not had any decent experiences there !Sales or service .

[WLD-18L]

the ah auto is jerky on take off because when you stop the car the box automatically selects neutral. this is so there is no strain on the motor and gear box wile you are sitting there.

when you do to take off it must select 1st causing the jerk. ive read about this issue somewhere befor.

[Roquefort]

little off topic but from which area to you originate from in Casula, kojarena?, Livo side or closer to prestons/lurnea?
I rely see a Veccy around my area (prestons).
I see 2 veccy's on the way to work along kurrajong rd, on black one and maroon one but they are not CDXi's, but there is a blue CDXi around the corner from my place as i leave my street, and i'm guessing your none of them.

[kojarena]

little off topic but from which area to you originate from in Casula, kojarena?, Livo side or closer to prestons/lurnea?
I rely see a Veccy around my area (prestons).
I see 2 veccy's on the way to work along kurrajong rd, on black one and maroon one but they are not CDXi's, but there is a blue CDXi around the corner from my place as i leave my street, and i'm guessing your none of them.

Mate

none of those are me... we moved out of Casula in May this year back to where we (wife and I) grew up in Bankstown. We are in Condell Park currently renting until we find the right house to buy in Georges Hall which is where we are both from originally. I lived in the Glen Regent side of Casula when i was there...

t

[kojarena]

update on the car... still havent checked whats under the bonnet but now its doing some odd things.

On the day it came home i noticed the drivers window wouldnt go auto up or auto down like the other windows. Also when i pushed the key to open all or close all windows they all worked except the drivers window. Parked the car and went to dinner and when i came back it all worked okay.

Starting yesterday when i unlock the car after its been locked for a while (15 mins or more) there is this very VERY LOUD tat tatt tatt tattt tattttt noise that you can here from inside the car (behind the glove box) and from a fair way away outside the car. It sounds like its coming from the engine bay behind (or in front i suppose) the glove box.

Nowwww when i drive the car, as soon as i put the car into P for park it makes the noise. Goes for about 10secs then stops. Repeat the action immediately and it makes no noise - give it 15mins and like when i unlock the car it makes the same noise.

Booked to go back to the dealer next Wednesday to be looked at. Send it with one problem - get it back with two !!!! Bargain...

[stevedee3]

On the day it came home i noticed the drivers window wouldnt go auto up or auto down like the other windows. Also when i pushed the key to open all or close all windows they all worked except the drivers window. Parked the car and went to dinner and when i came back it all worked okay.I think after disconnecting the battery (or having it go flat?) you need to recalibrate the windows. I think it just involves holding the button down for a few seconds at each end of the window's travel.


Starting yesterday when i unlock the car after its been locked for a while (15 mins or more) there is this very VERY LOUD tat tatt tatt tattt tattttt noise that you can here from inside the car (behind the glove box) and from a fair way away outside the car. It sounds like its coming from the engine bay behind (or in front i suppose) the glove box.Could it be the ventilation recirculate flap? It's behind the glovebox.

[EL BURITO]

ECU resets cos of the long power loss windows will retern in the next day. other noise tell the dealer

[uzz32]

Starting yesterday when i unlock the car after its been locked for a while (15 mins or more) there is this very VERY LOUD tat tatt tatt tattt tattttt noise that you can here from inside the car (behind the glove box) and from a fair way away outside the car. It sounds like its coming from the engine bay behind (or in front i suppose) the glove box.

Nowwww when i drive the car, as soon as i put the car into P for park it makes the noise. Goes for about 10secs then stops. Repeat the action immediately and it makes no noise - give it 15mins and like when i unlock the car it makes the same noise.

Booked to go back to the dealer next Wednesday to be looked at. Send it with one problem - get it back with two !!!! Bargain...

Hi Korjarena. I am having the same problem with my Vectra CDXi 2004 build. It can be confirmed that the problem emanates from the air recirculation motor. Read this link to gain some more insight: http://www.forum.vectra-c.com/showthread.php?t=12469

I am trying to find a dealership that actually has half decent Vectra technicians that know what they are doing. I took my car to Lansvale Holden and the technie had no idea. Heartland Holden at Castle Hill weren't much better.

[ope126]

Mine is currentley going through the same issues. Holden replaced the fan blower motor assembly, but it did not fix the problem.
Any extra help or ideas would be great!
I am sick of taking the car back to Holden...

[uzz32]

This might be a bit off topic, but what dealers do you guys go to in Sydney? Can anyone recommend a good dealer?

Ope126, here is another thread on Vectra-C relating to such a problem.
http://forum.vectra-c.com/showthread.php?t=13440

[Oz]

The tapping type noise coming from behind the glovebox area is indeed the air recirc thingy as has already been mentioned & from memory it cannot (or hasn't successfully yet) be silenced.

We have discussed this abit on vectra-c.com & most of the veccies in the UK/EU with auto air have the same issue. Mine does it (for 2-3 seconds) when I turn the car off but it doesn't bother me & most of the time I don't notice it.

If you think it is not right ie: it is louder than what could be termed normal then advise your dealer.

As for good dealer service centres in Sydney, try Sundell Gordon. Their service centre is in Chatswood though. Only a couple of suburbs away. The guy who worked on my CDXi was able to answer all my questions very well & did a great service, albeit 2 hrs longer than requested. I don't recall his name but I will be asking for him to service my car again.

[kojarena]

mine never made a sound for the first year - now i can hear it from outside the car up to about 20m away;;;; would suggest its louder than normal...

[01CDsedan]

And also - i dont drive the astra that much but i gotta say compared to her old TS CD manual this AH CDX auto is an absolute slug. Bloody awful to drive. The auto cannot be driven smoothly. Its a year old and has 13,000klm on the odo. Hasnt yet had its first service but the gear box is very very jerky. You tap the accelerator so lightly and the car jerks forward. And its a slug. Any advice?


I used to think the TS auto was an appalling slug of a car - until I drove an AH auto just after they were released. Thanks to the weight increase, it's even worse.

The Astra - TS and AH - are great cars, but by no means should anyone of sane mind buy them as automatics. When will people learn that small engines and auto transmission do not mix?

[kojarena]

Updated Update...

checked the battery finally - its an AC Delco which is standard holden faire... GM company of course. Anyways went to the dealer service dept this morning - asked the dude to come outside and he had a listen to the noise which now happens everytime i push the recirc button inside.

its booked in for 3 days next week to have the recirc motor removed and replaced.

funny coincidence - my mate has an 03 CDXi and when i went there on saturday i parked next to it. When i locked my car their car started to make the same noise. He tells me its been doing it for a while but the local holden dealer (Blue Mtns Syd) cant seem to work out whats goin on. Sounds like we all have the same problem at the same time...

ALso when i went to start the car today it wouldnt stay running. The engine shut off after about 2 seconds on three attempts. Finally had to prime it before it would stay running... albeit pretty rough.

I resolve never to own one of these ZC or AH out of warranty as I suspect it would be a hellishly expensive exercise...

[uzz32]

Kojarena, which dealership service department are you taking to get the job done? And it's going to take them three days to do the job? That's pretty inefficient.

Please keep us updated, mate!

[uzz32]

Hey guys. Just wondering if anyone has achieved any progress in getting the problems listed in this thread remedied by the dealers.

[ope126]

Mine is going back in about 2 weeks...

[kojarena]

put mine in yesterday at Peninsula Holden Bankstown. Was told 2-3 days possibly.

They rang this morning at 9am to tell me it was ready so in reality 24hrs including delivery of the part to the dealership and fitting.

From the service receipt...

Check Motor Clicking in A/C in Recirc Mode:
Replaced A/C stepper motor due to stripped internal gears

It makes no sound and is worked normally. So I guess that was the issue after all.

[uzz32]

Hi Kojarena,

Did they do the job correctly? I had a bad experience with one particular Holden dealership based in Parramatta. Long story cut short, they attempted to replace my cd stacker and ended up leaving pry marks on both sides of the centre stack.