VR VS worst model for reliability?

[Paiste402]

ive seen some people with some terrible runs with their commodores. Several people i know have seized motors, some have thrown rods. General shit just breaking all the time.

My bro has had the following go wrong with his VR (which is now mine EEK)

Motor exploded... litreally.
Trans blew up, internally.
Unis are gone, suspension is on the fall
Exhaust fell out on the road while driving
cooling system had to be overhauled
lights screwed up and needed fixing
camber is way out of wack at the back
interior fell out in areas
electric windows wouldnt work at times, needed fixing
A/C and demister buttons are stuck on and wont come out
interior fans wouldnt work at levels 1 and 2 only 3 and 4
interior has a coolant smell when vents r on
steering system needed replacing but still tracks to the right on the road and the brakes needed replacing but still not as good as old falcon
O2 sensor or something needs replacing cause its using alot of fuel
current new trans is flaring 2nd gear -__-, rebuilt my ass
engine feels rough compared to my old EF Falcon

and overall the car just has a cheap feel about it, is this just me?

[Vee-ard]

I found that my VY was a whole lot less reliable than my VR, but that could just be me. It all depends on how well its been looked after. My dad put 300,000 on his VR, and besides regular servicing every 5000kms all he ever needed to change was rotors, a radiator, 2 radiator caps and 3 crank angle sensors.

[jokerflingo]

Id say VR/VS would have to be the most reliable out of the whole commodore range.

But thats just me.

[Brett_jjj]

Ive owned 3 commodores,a VN,a VP and a VS and the only thing really gone wrong was a blown inlet manifold gasket.(on the VS Ecotec)Thats pretty good I think.I also do all of my own work on them.Theres nothing worse than handing over a fistfull of money,only to find the problem returns because it was'nt fixed properly.Certainly doing better than a mate who is on his 4th engine and 3rd Auto in an EB Falcon.

[VS 5.0]

I've had my VS (5 ltr) for 11 yrs now. In that time I've done about 120,000 kms (total kms around 183,000). Aside from the usual wear and tear of brake pads & tyres, I've replaced/repaired :-

Radiator (12 months ago) - holes in the core - green spew everwhere !
Inlet manifold (around 3 yrs ago) - corrosion around thermostat.
Trans cooler line (that sucked, couple hundred kms from home and trans fluid all over the engine bay and the road !)
Rear dimister switch
Fuel pump
Starter motor
Water pump and fan clutch hub (6 yrs ago)
Struts / shocks
Seals in the rear axles (about 7 yrs ago) - diff oil leaking onto brakes !
One rear muffler
One centre muffler

Gets serviced every 5000 kms.

All in all I think it has been pretty good in that regard compared to some stories.

Look after your baby and she will look after you. Preventative maintenance is a wonderful thing.

[ryno_vrx]

ive seen some people with some terrible runs with their commodores. Several people i know have seized motors, some have thrown rods. General shit just breaking all the time.

My bro has had the following go wrong with his VR (which is now mine EEK)

Motor exploded... litreally.
Trans blew up, internally.
Unis are gone, suspension is on the fall
Exhaust fell out on the road while driving
cooling system had to be overhauled
lights screwed up and needed fixing
camber is way out of wack at the back
interior fell out in areas
electric windows wouldnt work at times, needed fixing
A/C and demister buttons are stuck on and wont come out
interior fans wouldnt work at levels 1 and 2 only 3 and 4
interior has a coolant smell when vents r on
steering system needed replacing but still tracks to the right on the road and the brakes needed replacing but still not as good as old falcon
O2 sensor or something needs replacing cause its using alot of fuel
current new trans is flaring 2nd gear -__-, rebuilt my ass
engine feels rough compared to my old EF Falcon

and overall the car just has a cheap feel about it, is this just me?

well maybe someone should of looked after their vr a little better cause it sounds like that things been thrashed to the shit house

[Philthy]

I've had my VS ecotec for 2 years ro so with 260k and I've replaced the auto, water pump, climate control vaccum solenoid and control unit....nothing else that springs to mind. There have been a lot of minor niggles but its an old car so its expected
Gee, looking at that list maybe I need to stop whinging about how often things break

EDIT: Oh, diff is clunky too. I'll blame the previous owner for that one

[mitch1989]

theres ya prblem its a buick motor i have owned number of commodores and vs are the best i love em vrs are buckets with there buick motors no were near as comfortable

[VRW]

I've had 3 VR commodores, and about 7 commodores in total. I had dramas with my old VR SS, blew the box 2 weeks after buying it from Holden (used car warranty), same car, whingy diff, alternator packed up, melted some fuses, but, that was about it, then the others have given me years of happy motoring, no problems. My current VR only has an issue with one electric window not working, and the washer motor not working.

Find all the issues with your car, fix them properly, and maintain it, it'll be a great car for you.

[Paiste402]

Lol hate to be a traitor but im selling the girl for a falcon. I had an EF Falcon and the commodore comes no where near it in quality and running. Just about all of those problems are fixed minus the O2 sensor and the unis and im just not a fan of the car.

[greenacc]

I'm with Ryno. If you don't look after your car it will punish you back.

[Brett_jjj]

If your gonna get a falcon 6 cylinder,make sure you get about 10 head gaskets with it.You will need em.Ive fixed heaps of these f@#%^*g things. they always blow the head gaskets.And it seems to be from EA falcon right through to AU.And always seems to be automatic ones.Very strange.

[Paiste402]

Oh this VR was babied, serviced every 5000kms and had fistfuls of money thrown at it to keep it happy. and ive heard of the head gaskets although havent experienced it. I just think the ford 6 is smoother and torquier

[VRW]

rust, rust is bad in them, check under the brake booster, and the sills. Sills are a big one.

[levymetal]

Motor exploded... litreally. - not maintained properly
Trans blew up, internally. - probably not serviced regularly
Unis are gone, suspension is on the fall - new unis $30 each. 16 year old suspension will be worn in any car
Exhaust fell out on the road while driving - not maintained properly. exhausts wear out... new 2.5" exhaust $189
cooling system had to be overhauled - again, 16 years old
lights screwed up and needed fixing - lights $20 from wreckers
camber is way out of wack at the back - is it lowered? get a wheel alignment
interior fell out in areas - probably not looked after very well, never had any bits fall off in my vn or vp
electric windows wouldnt work at times, needed fixing - this one you couldn't have prevented. common problem.
A/C and demister buttons are stuck on and wont come out - were they bashed? $10 from wreckers
interior fans wouldnt work at levels 1 and 2 only 3 and 4 - replace fan speed resistor
interior has a coolant smell when vents r on - another one you probably can't have prevented. dash out, new heater core / heater box.
steering system needed replacing but still tracks to the right on the road and the brakes needed replacing but still not as good as old falcon - i've never driven a car that tracks straight. brakes need replacing in every car
O2 sensor or something needs replacing cause its using alot of fuel - new o2 sensor $50
current new trans is flaring 2nd gear -__-, rebuilt my ass - shitty rebuild, not cars fault. second hand $300
engine feels rough compared to my old EF Falcon - i'm assuming it's a buick? they're rough but tough

all it needs is a bit of TLC and it'll be sweet

[Paiste402]

also i hate the gauges, not as responsive as the falcons. Fuel gauge wanders so much, i have to wait a few hours before i get a correct reading which is always less than i thought -__-

[combatantsomeone]

+1 on the Headgaskets in falcons my mates dads has blown 2 in 2 years (EF)
+1 on rust my BA is only 6 yrs old and i had to get a 50c size rust chunk cut out of the boot XD

[ryno_vrx]

also i hate the gauges, not as responsive as the falcons. Fuel gauge wanders so much, i have to wait a few hours before i get a correct reading which is always less than i thought -__-

pfft rubbish, my mates old au is about a responsive as mine and mine doesn't even work, if you want it to respond straight away add at least 20lts of fuel and it will respond immediately

[Paiste402]

pfft rubbish, my mates old au is about a responsive as mine and mine doesn't even work, if you want it to respond straight away add at least 20lts of fuel and it will respond immediately

not a chance, even with a full tank it takes ages to get a reading. and after an hour or 2 the level always drops and while driving it doesnt budge, its a head**** . my EF's gauge darts to the level immediately, takes .5 of a second. VR commodore 5 mins of driving up the road. and all commodores that ive had take the same time

[customvt]

Lol hate to be a traitor but im selling the girl for a falcon. I had an EF Falcon and the commodore comes no where near it in quality and running. Just about all of those problems are fixed minus the O2 sensor and the unis and im just not a fan of the car.

ive had a ef fairmont ghia and it was more comfortable and reliable than my old vr but it6 was still a shitbox compared to both of my vts i have now

[Nobody Actually]

Lol hate to be a traitor but im selling the girl for a falcon. I had an EF Falcon and the commodore comes no where near it in quality and running. Just about all of those problems are fixed minus the O2 sensor and the unis and im just not a fan of the car.

have fun ford boy

[Andrew426]

not a chance, even with a full tank it takes ages to get a reading. and after an hour or 2 the level always drops and while driving it doesnt budge, its a head**** . my EF's gauge darts to the level immediately, takes .5 of a second. VR commodore 5 mins of driving up the road. and all commodores that ive had take the same time

Pull apart a cluster and have a look at how the fuel guage works, and you will see exactly why it does that, also why it reads higher on hot days.

[Disturbed_vegeta]

hmm ive had my senator for 7 months now and ive gone through:
t5 box
4l60e box
cooling hoses
raditator
coil
dizzy

and the cars only done 135xxx kms
overall i dont care how much i have to spend, i love my senator lol

[stockyvrcalais]

my old vr v6 was a bit rattly on idle, but apart from that it was great, and pretty responsive for what it was, sounds like your car has been hammered

[Wombles]

I have driven an old EF Fairmont Ghia. Wrecked it and got my VS now.
Lovin' the VS so much more than the Ford.
Ford was slow, not enough power didnt have anything that I liked apart from it's interior...
Thats probably the only thing I liked about the car. It's interior. It was beautiful woodgrain and leather.
Needed too many things in it to be fixed...
Geh.
All a car needs is TLC and it will love ya back.