Greetings + 1 more TS Astra.

Hello,
This is Damian I recently acquired my Mum's ex 2002 Astra CD auto sedan.
She owned it since new and it was nothing but trouble for her since day one.
She recently bought a brand new Hyundai and chose to give the Astra to me rather than accept the sad trade in offer.
Anyway it is dark blue and has 81500kms on it.
During the time she owned it the car had all the usual Astra problems:
1. Numerous erroneous engine light and traction control light and or spanner and traction control lights resulting in limp mode or gears not selecting etc... Bad for an older Lady who has no idea about cars and simply needs a reliable car.
2. Ignition barrell seizing. (Replaced under warranty)
3. Overheating (at 22000kms) Holden did very little about it and the car can still get too hot on very hot days. (I intend to replace the thermostat soon)
4. Ignition coil packs. (It is on it's 3rd now I think)
5. ECU failed and was replaced under extended warranty but only after my Mum wrote numerous letters of complaint.
6. Rear window mechanisms failed twice (once under warranty and once recently which I replaced)
7. Air conditioning compressor (thermal fuse in clutch winding) blew when the car was out of warranty and has remained that way till now.

The car is in ok condition it has a few bumps and scaratches but for a free car it is quite ok.

The sad thing is this car broke my Mum's heart as she got done like a dinner each and everytime any little thing happenned to it after the warranty ended.

She was recently quoted $4k to replace gearbox and computer by NRMA Motorserve when all that was wrong was a coilpack misfire which causes it to throw numerous fault codes including transmission faults. :RollingEyes:

Anyway I do all the work on my cars myself and as I am an electronics tech I understand the cars complexities and gremilns. (Most people get done over because they don't understand)
I have my own OP Com diag tool and a full set of torx tools etc.

I have ordered a new air con compressor and it should arrive soon.
$599 delivered for a new compressor from
http://www.nationwideautoparts.com.a...tid=2044&ASTRA
they had a deal on Ebay for $599.

I attempted to repair the original but was unable to get the torx bolt out that holds the compressor clutch on.

Oh well, beyond that I need to replace the fuel injector connectors as a certain Holden dealer that recently did work on the car (replacing rocker cover gasket and spark plugs) and failed to diagnose or fix a ignition coil pack misfire broke two of the injector connectors and the other two are missing the clips... This has resulted in injectors that can and did become intermittent after driving due to bumps and vibrations etc.
I also need to replace the front engine mount and replace rear brake pads. LOL!

That's about it... after all that it should be a decent car.
It is sad because in so many ways they are really nice cars it is just due to all these problems that non technical people can't live with them.

About me:
I am a family man with two kids and twins are on the way.
I am a car enthusiast.
I have an old 1990 Ford Laser TX3 (Non turbo) that I am rebuilding and my most memorable ride that I sold (after returning it to standard) due to expanding family was a little red 2000 model Suzuki Baleno with custom turbo install, forged internals, Adaptronic ECU, WRX injectors and more. It made 135KW at the front wheels and was great fun. God I miss that car.

Cheers,
Damian

welcome. as you're a car enthusiast and quite clued in on electronics and OBD-II fault diagnosis, i hope you will find the maintaining the Astra easier than it was for your mum. i'm shocked that all those components have failed at only 81500km.

interestingly on my Barina SRi, i have also had the coil pack fail, the ECU fail, the air compressor fail, and the thermostat fail. coincidence, i think not :yikes: to be fair, on my car they started failing at 120000km+.

next thing to watch out for is the cam sensor, which will probably require replacing at the next timing belt change.

good luck and enjoy your time at Opelaus :smile5:

also how on earth does a Holden dealer break the clips connecting the injectors?? holy crap that's bad work.

when i pulled the injectors it required removing most of the wiring loom which meant unplugging about 10 sensors. which was a huge pain. maybe next time i'll just butcher the injector clips...after all it looks like it's what the pros do haha

ps. congrats on the twins and say hello to even less sleep once they are born :)

Welcome to OA.

welcome to oa mate.

welcome to OA Damo.. I followed your turbo build on the suzi forum with a lot of interest, nicely done :thumbs:

My partner also had a GY1.6, great fun to drive and brilliantly designe, so easy to work on too (unlike our eurotrash!)

Welcome Damo, sorry to hear you had all those problems...ide say alot of people get away without any problems and some (like your mother) get stuck with them all. My folks had one since new and the only prob it ever had was the ignition barrel and it had done 100k by the time it was sold. It wouldnt surprise me that the boys at Holden could have fixed the problems but just let them slide, thus resulting in more problems. But hey for a free car your laughin and with a bit of TLC it will be just fine for you :) ....touches wood