Common Faults on Vauxhall Cars

The faults listed below should not put anyone off buying a Vauxhall in general they are very reliable & good cars. All manufacturers have there particular faults Vauxhall cars are by far not the worst.

All Vauxhall's

Eco-Tec engines 1.8 - 2.0 Camshaft sensor failure & Crankshaft sensor failure (engine management warning light comes on). Idle speed valve sticking (erratic idle & cuts out).

CV boots, rear wheel cylinders, Delco distributors, water pumps, head gaskets, Alternator earth strap's, camshafts (not so much now). Ecotec camshaft idler pulleys, this fault reported on Watchdog has largely been cured now & all vehicles affected have been modified.

In general as long as the car is properly serviced there are not too many problems. It is only when the car has been neglected & you have a multitude of faults it becomes very expensive.

Nova's

1.2 & 1.3 Nova's distributor's are very prone to wear the vac advance unit diaphragm splits & the mechanical advance bob weights & springs fall to pieces. The distributor is very expensive to replace £194 from Vauxhalls or £140 for a reconditioned one (not very good quality though). A rattly distributor & general poor acceleration is a good indication of a worn distributor.

1.0 Nova's Timing chain tensioners tend to break resulting in a sudden & loud rattling sound from the timing chain area of the car. this normally damages the timing cover & creates a oil leak (the first thing some people notice).

Astra's

Late Astra hazard switches do not switch off.

Mk3 Astra's camshaft failure due to lack of oil changes (unfortunately a car will quite easily drive for 50,000 miles without ever opening the bonnet).

16 Valve engines sticking idle speed control valves.

Cavaliers

Hazard switches do not switch off.

Vectra

Camshaft sensor failure & Crankshaft sensor failure (engine management warning light comes on).

Idle speed valve sticking on Ecotec engines.

Carlton

Tend to go on for ever with no problems lots about with 150,000 miles on the clock.

Rear axle beam bushes.

Noisy rear axles.

Omega

Idle speed valve sticking on Ecotec engines. Camshaft sensor failure & Crankshaft sensor failure (engine management warning light comes on).

Air con ones tend to get a lot of condensation inside.

Senator

Easy to flood engine on 24v engines.

Oxygen sensors tend to fail on 3.0 engines.

Frontera

Idle speed valve on 2.0 & 2.4