Vy Calais General Enquires

[redlion05]

Hi Guys and Girls,

I've owned a VY calais for 2 weeks now and just finding out different things to my old vn commodore.

Just wondering if my v6 ecotec can be serviced at 15,000 kms or is it best to still do it at 10,000 kms?

Also my front headlights seem misaligned, with my front passenger light projecting angled lighted beam, while my front drivers side light it straight. Is that normal or do I have to re-align it? What the best way to test the lights for re-alignment?

Thanks in advance

[wortus]

The servicing set out in the log book needs to be done at least when specified things like lubing door checks and hinges are important and need to be done with the correct lubicant.
Oil change intervals depend upon the type of oil used and the type of driving you do ie frequent stop start or highway and the condition of the motor. As a rule the 15,000km is the max. Stop start driving or driving in peak hour traffic I would change it every 5000 to 7500km. My car generally goes the 9 months with less than 15,000km so the oil gets done at the specified interval regardless and usually again half way through but that depends on how many KM I have driven.
I use a good oil like Caltex Magnatec.
I'd also consider servicing the auto more often than specified, it specifies about 105,000km I think. I would do it every 45,000km at least.
Coolant and brake fluid every 2 years and power steering fluid at least every 12 months.

Headlights are adjusted on the back of them under the bonet, You can just sit th ecar level against a wall and move the one you reckon is out you can get another VY if a friend has one and mark its pattern on a wall and distance fromthe wall and then put oyur car in the same place and check.

[Sean880]

Agree with Wortus on all points.

Definitely change the oil about every 5000 kms with 7500 the absolute max with regular oils(and if kms are low never go over 6 months before changing the oil again).
Also change the OIL FILTER at least every 2nd oil change. GMH specify a 10W/30 grade oil for VY engines. Regular oil and oil filter changes is cheap engine maintenance.

In addition to the Wortus list, change the engine air cleaner element once a year. These do get dirty quickly. They are very cheap to buy and quick and easy to replace yourself. Optimum air flow will help fuel economy and performance.

[redlion05]

thank you for your help guys. I like to seek second opinions and what you have provided me is great. I travel alot of highway kms but was unsure wether to abide by the 15,000kms rule since I had the dealership change the oil. Although, in the past, i've always used castrol magnetic on my vn calais and it was good stuff. My car was running strong at 357,000 kms until somebody smashed into my car recently. Those engines were made to last (even if other disagree).

Also, I don't know anybody else who has a VY, so unfortunantly i'll have to adjust it to a comfortable setting i think.

[wortus]

Yes the Buick engines in the VN were made to last. My old VN had just done 302,000km and the actual engine was going ok and the body had no rust and good paint. I traded it in due to the cost of fixing other things that needed replacing such as fly wheel (the teeth had worn off in 3 places), aircon lost it's gas, engine was starting to leak oil, engine mounts, exhaust, roof lining was just about to let go and new tyres were needed or soon to be to bring it back to scratch and all that would have cost more than the car ws worth and these VY's are so good love driving mine and abig step up from a VN. whether it will last as long time wil tell as it has niggling things that go wrong like central locking not working properly in the rain or if the car left out in the hot sun etc. Have you found your VY uses a hell of a lot less fuel than the VN as well?

[redlion05]

I still love my VN and would still be driving it if it wasn't involved in an accident. All of the faults you listed were found in my car too, but I was very particular with attention to detail and yes i spent a lot of money. Although I am loving this VY and yes big differnece in fuel consumption, my best so far has been 650km to a tank and thats not even at completely empty. What's your best fuel consumption?

[dah_man_ben]

My VY Berlina gets about the same (600ish) to a tank in the city. But I can get from Adelaide to Melbourne and still have just under a quarter or a tank left if I chuck cruise control on.

[GenReaper]

If your using synthetic oil 10k
Mineral oil 5k
Spark Plugs NGK 10k

Auto Trans between 20-40k

[keza87]

Hi Guys and Girls,

I've owned a VY calais for 2 weeks now and just finding out different things to my old vn commodore.

Just wondering if my v6 ecotec can be serviced at 15,000 kms or is it best to still do it at 10,000 kms?

Also my front headlights seem misaligned, with my front passenger light projecting angled lighted beam, while my front drivers side light it straight. Is that normal or do I have to re-align it? What the best way to test the lights for re-alignment?

Thanks in advance

I have noticed all VY/VZ commodores with projector head lights do the same. This is actually how a normal head light is aligned but is extremely noticeable with the projector headlights.
You will get used to it over time.

[redlion05]

well im glad im not the only one to relise that the headlights are misaligned and i'm glad it normal. Thanks for your help with that issue mate

[John_ls1]

the headlight is like that so you can see the curb/footpath better when driving at night.

[wortus]

My VY Berlina gets about the same (600ish) to a tank in the city. But I can get from Adelaide to Melbourne and still have just under a quarter or a tank left if I chuck cruise control on.

I can get 680 to 700 around town and 950 to 1000 on the highway. That's around 10.51 L/100km around town and 7.51 L/100km on the highway set on cruise.

[wortus]

I just kept my VN maintained, clean and well polished. It wasn't used to go to work and spent most of the week in the garage for the 9 or 10 years I owned it. There's some pics of it somewhere on the VN show your ride page. My Old VN Vacationer Sedan

[redlion05]

Thanks john LS1 for you advice. I'd never heard of the projector lights before and it just seemed odd to me. I'm glad there functioning normally.

Also, Wortus, your vn vacationer was a gem. It's really hard to find well maintained vn's these days and i'm glad to see yours was well looked after. Btw, that phenominal that you can even get those amount of kms in your car, i haven't depleted my car totally to see how many km's i can get to an empty tank yet. My best fuel reading taken by the trip computer was 7.3l per 100kms but then again, i'm not entirely sure wether my trip computer is calibrated correctly. Is yours? I will be calibrating it on my next fuel stop.

[redlion05]

btw, i'll have to post some pics of my old vn calais to show everyone. The only reason I hadn't when i owned the car was due to my slow internet speeds.

[redlion05]

Hey Guys. Today was a beautiful day so I decided to take my first photo of my new car. Isn't it a gem? I love this photo, what do you think?

[wortus]

Thanks john LS1 for you advice. I'd never heard of the projector lights before and it just seemed odd to me. I'm glad there functioning normally.

Also, Wortus, your vn vacationer was a gem. It's really hard to find well maintained vn's these days and i'm glad to see yours was well looked after. Btw, that phenominal that you can even get those amount of kms in your car, i haven't depleted my car totally to see how many km's i can get to an empty tank yet. My best fuel reading taken by the trip computer was 7.3l per 100kms but then again, i'm not entirely sure wether my trip computer is calibrated correctly. Is yours? I will be calibrating it on my next fuel stop.

The speedo is fairly accurate going by the speed indicators onthe Hume in VIC and at road works. I think the fuel consumption is worked out from that and the injector pulse so it shoudl be pretty accurate. I worked those figures out based on the consumption rate. I did drive it from Echuca to Sydney via Wagga last year and it made it back with about 15 litres of fuel left in the tank. drove from Syd to Melb and it cost about $50 in fuel to get to Glenrowan via Rutherglen.

[wortus]

Hey Guys. Today was a beautiful day so I decided to take my first photo of my new car. Isn't it a gem? I love this photo, what do you think?

Nice looking Calais, how many K's and what did ot cost? Hope your going to leave it pretty much stock?

[redlion05]

That is awesome milage and fuel consumption. Was that left on cruise control? $50 doesn't seem to bad from melbourne to Sydney. My question to you though, was the car full with passengers and the boot loaded but also, did you get there with one tank? Thanks also for the kind compliment about my car. I purchased my 04 VY Series 2 Calais at a dealership for $15,600, which included a free basic service and 175,000km warrenty, roadworthy included, 120 point safety inspection and all at a drive away price. The milage was 142,000 kms (now at 143,500kms) and is in immaculate condition, no scratches or dints and the engine runs and looks really well maintained. I'd say got a a really good deal...what do you think? I'm thinking of only changing the six cd stacker to a pioneer head unit (later down the track) since all my cd's keep on jumping. How much did you purchase your car and how long have you had it for?

[wortus]

Sorry it was 50 Litres of fuel not $50 to get as far as Glenrowan via Rutherglen, the next fuel stop was about 20L in Springvale which is kind of in the south of Melbourne.
My car is a 25th Anniversary model and is pretty much like a S2 Berlina inside except there is no climate control, executive bumper covers and it has it's own trim pattern on the doors and seats. I got it for $11,000 in November 2008 with about 122,000km on the clock. It has a few stone chips on the front and 3 tiny parking dents and very minor parking damage on the rear bumper cover but otherwise it is in really good condition.
It was serviced properly and had a full service history. I just got the standard 3 month warranty.
I've given it a good polish and it looks a lot better than when I got it, here's some pics;
My VY 25th Anniversary Model
and here's a link on the model;
25th Anniversary Commodore - Autotrader New Zealand
I would prefer a CD player that did MP3 or even had a USB input but I think the stock unit suits the dash better tan anything I have seen around. Mine is a 6 stacker and it works fine, it occasionally spits out burnt CD's but they always play when you I put them back in.

[redlion05]

Lol I thought there must've been a typo error. Still thats not too bad for a commodore. Thats not to bad of a buy really and as long as your happy with your purchase, thats all that should matter. I'm loving my vy calais and the fuel economy its giving. I found out today that my old VN Calais will live to see another day...which is great!!! Its going to be powered by a v8 instead. I can't wait to test drive it when its finished.

The CD player is quite good and i do agree that it looks good and suits the car. It really is a shame that the lens are so sentitive to my cds and that it doesnt have an auxily input or mp3 compatibilty. Didn't they release a 30th anniversary edition commodore too for the VE commodores?

[wortus]

You can get the head units modified so they have an IPOD input. there's a few threads on this site about that and also look on e-bay for the kits. Not sure about a 30th anniversary Commodore edition but there is a 60th Aniversary in a lot of Holden models.

[redlion05]

I dont own a ipod and would rather not. Not a big fan of the apple products as there designed to die quickly. I would just like an mp3 function on my head unit, so the best alternative would be to by an aftermarket headunit. Thanks for the heads up though