Should Holden Go?

[Astranomical]

VEs catching on fire??? Maybe I'm out of the loop, but I've never heard about that...if VEs were catching on fire surely people would have been talking about it...

[burnz]

70lt tank / 800kms = about 8.5ish/100km. That's plausable - i've seen 8.9 on mine once

6.9 is a bit.... out there. maybe it's got a barina motor.

I love my ute, the only thing i can pick with it would be the wierd stain on the plastic fascia of my speedo - everything else is just fine. I'd say i've had my door handles on and off at least 9-10 times and they're still fine.
Treat em nice and they wont break

8.9 once in fuel economy!!!

i'v gotten 8.5/100 , maybe it's your driving ?? you should be getting better than that.
i beleive a six potter should be aroung the 7/100 mark.

[jphanna]

Why is there a perception that aussie built cars are lacking in quality? Is this just aimed at holden and ford, because aussie built Toyotas never had a problem with quality.

If there is a problem, is it the design of the individual components or the actual process of assembly that’s letting SOME aussie built cars down?

What about the decades of crap quality cars coming out of Italy, England, Korea and USA? Is it only the Japs and Germans that have the good reputation for quality?

[one_and_only2004]

8.9 once in fuel economy!!!

i'v gotten 8.5/100 , maybe it's your driving ?? you should be getting better than that.
i beleive a six potter should be aroung the 7/100 mark.

It sits between mid 9's and mid 10's around town. Going to tamworth the lowest i saw was 8.9L/100km. Travelled at 100-105km/h the whole way with no silly business in between. Having said that i did reset the computer like a few other members have done and it seems to be a bit better, but none of this magical 6.5 stuff yet...
i was thinking of getting a t56 in the future JUST for the long 6th gear - that and the getrag won't like the torque of a charger/v8

[Tsunamix]

For the record, The VN used a TH700, produced in USA. The Inetrvening years commodores used 4L60E and a 4L80E Made in - france....... The VE uses a 4l65E in 6's and a 4l85E in 8's.... Noth made in France...

the plasticware's are often made in china which is why they don't fit. Or break. Ditto the french made gearboxes (auto's). Anyone driven a 4l65E equipped sv6 ? that is the worst first to second change ever.

The body, suspension, brakes, steering , diff and driveshaft are all local items. Funnily they don't seem to fail too often.

[andrewmac]

For the record, The VN used a TH700, produced in USA. The Inetrvening years commodores used 4L60E and a 4L80E Made in - france....... The VE uses a 4l65E in 6's and a 4l85E in 8's.... Noth made in France...

the plasticware's are often made in china which is why they don't fit. Or break. Ditto the french made gearboxes (auto's). Anyone driven a 4l65E equipped sv6 ? that is the worst first to second change ever.

The body, suspension, brakes, steering , diff and driveshaft are all local items. Funnily they don't seem to fail too often.

Are you reffering to the 4 speed in the exec, acclaim and Berlina or the 5 speed in the SV6 and Calais, cause the Sv6 only comes in a 5 speed the 5L40-E ?
If you are reffering to the 5 speed I have never been in or driven a Bad one and even the 4 speed is not that bad when new (not as good as the 5 speed but not too bad).

[andyman]

For the record, The VN used a TH700, produced in USA. The Inetrvening years commodores used 4L60E and a 4L80E Made in - france....... The VE uses a 4l65E in 6's and a 4l85E in 8's.... Noth made in France...

the plasticware's are often made in china which is why they don't fit. Or break. Ditto the french made gearboxes (auto's). Anyone driven a 4l65E equipped sv6 ? that is the worst first to second change ever.

The body, suspension, brakes, steering , diff and driveshaft are all local items. Funnily they don't seem to fail too often.

hmm you might want to get your facts straight first

v6's use 4l60es from vs through to vz's,

the 4sp auto in the omega and berlina ve's is a 4l65e (strenghtened internals)

the 5sp for v6's in the ve's and vz 190 motors use the 5l40e

pretty sure vt - vz v8's used the 4l65e, maybe models before the vz used the 4l60e's not sure

the ve v8 transmission in the 6sp 6l80e





for the record aswell, most of the parts i bought for my vz the other week is made in australia

[andyman]

I will agree the VE is very very nice. My car is getting on in life, but all in all it starts and runs like a new car and never been thrashed. However, over the years little things have broken or gone wrong that shouldn't have and every time the mechanics say "Holden use a cheap part here..." or "Holden made a stuff-up there" and I upgrade it to a h/d part. When I asked around about the VEs, this is when I started getting the secrets behind the shiny paintwork.

The salesperson I spoke to was a friend of a friend who told me they had people coming back with issues, then Holden had to recall them because they could catch on fire, and I have friends who have bought new VZs and VEs which have had engine and parts issues.

I have been told by a mechanic that a lot of the VE gearbox has been upgraded, but essentially it is pretty much the old gearbox with some icing on it. Historically, Holden has cut corners on Commodore (like no camber kit in the VT), and it is lagging behind other car companies in terms of eco-friendly engines (they only now have a eco-friendly engine in the planning stage).

If you ask a mechanic, they will be sure to confirm the issues with commodores: cheap plastic parts, cheap engine parts. But you can't argue with the figures: people are turning away from Holden and Ford and going for the European cars.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Commodore, but I feel Holden is letting the Aussie icon down.

the catching on fire thing was only a precautionary thing done as a recall, it was a fuel hose that may "potentially' rub on another part and in an extreme case cause a fire.


i will agree, if something breaks that plastic piece is 'cheap' to buy, and most engine components are 'cheap' too, so it makes repairing them a very 'cheap' exercise,

lets compare some 'euro' car prices, the ones that come to mind cause i had to price some the other day, so we have a ford transit, rather popular fleet vehicle used small buisness and industry, in either say a SWB van or tray back

alternator = $890
Vacuum pump (about the size of a tennis ball) = $750
but the best bit is, diesel injector pump = $7300
Brakes = roughly $4-500 for front rotors and pads


hmm i dont agree with the non eco engines, if they weren't eco the alloytec wouldn't nor would the l98 be used, as far as im aware the alloytec meets the very stringent and not yet enforced euro 6 regs?,

if you look at the exhaust pipe on a euro 4 spec vz you will notice zero carbon build up on the exhaust, if the exhaust can stay clean after 80,000km it must be running pretty good,




i dont think holden is letting the commodore down, general public is letting it down by general heresay

[sleek_vp]

I'm hearing all this talk about Holden going down the toilet? It does seem a shame, but like the stereotyped Australian, it seems Holden are a bunch of lazy asses that don't mind selling a dodgy product and not giving a shit.

Lately, its been the small things for me. An oil leak here, a broken piece of plastic there. But it adds up and I don't think I would ever buy another Commodore. Even the VE is having its issues with re-calls and engine parts blowing. A holden salesperson even told me not to buy one!

Issues I have encountered, and it seems everyone encounters, include:

* cheap plastic door handles that break
* cheap parts in gear box that break
* countless engine faults from sensors to oil leaks to ECU issues
* camber/toe issues resulting in tyre wear
* instrument/dash problems
* anything electrical will go wrong
* VN parts still being used in VE (I guess $1billion doesn't buy much these days)

The list goes on and on. This is Australia's icon, like what BMW is to Germany.

Is it just me, or is our beloved icon going down the tubes? The look great, but under the bonnet... yuck!

i gotta vp and a vz and theyve both been great vehicles, very reliable and what can i say i stick to what i trust in large cars- a commodore and so far i havnt been let down- i have had 1 problem though with with the vz, the diff was faulty and they were great about it (under warranty) and it was fixed within 2 weeks of me notifying them (they had to ship a diff up from adelaide)

[sleek_vp]

I'd like to see a pic for that! I know the 3.6L is better on fuel, but come on 6.9L/100km, you have to be joking! It might be possible IF you fitted a 1.5 ratio diff and coasted down hill for 700km.

it can happen mate i got no proof of my experience but a week after i bought my vz i took it down to byron bay from northside of brissy, also did a bit of hinterland driving down there as well and achieved 6.8/100 , the mrs said it got 780km out of that tank of fuel

[Sabbath']

Atleast we're not driving cars where the brakes could fail at any moment.