Hi all, I had a look at a 2010 Series 2 SV6 yesterday for sale. It ticked most boxes albeit upon taking it for a test drive I noticed the car made a whirring/buzzing noise when giving it some brisk acceleration (not flat out) up to between 50-60km/h and rev ranges 2500 and 3000. At speeds above this speed (80km/h) it didn't do it, however I couldn't take it up to 100km/h because of the location I was in. It only seemed to do it when accelerating up to this speed (50-60km/h) from either a stand still or putting along at 30km/h then briskly accelerating. I'm thinking it might just be an exhaust resonance or something major in the gearbox. I asked the owner and he said he thought it was normal as its been happening from when he bought it new. However I've recently hired one of these cars on an interstate trip and it didn't make this sound. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated as I don't think its normal and I don't want to buy this car if it isn't an easy fix. Cheers, Ben.
NO but if it sounds like a faulty gear box to you after the test drive then it most likely is. Walk away. There are plenty of S2 VEs for sale so I would not waste time on a car that has an obvious fault. If you are really keen on this item then have a professional inspection done on the car which you should do before buying a used car in any event. I would rather pass on this one though and look at some other cars.
My MY09 and MY11 SV6 manuals had what I determined to be an exhaust resonance between 1500 and 1900 rpm with a fair bit of throttle. It did not affect the way the car drove or accelerated at all, so I lived with it. That said, my MY12.5 SV6 Z manual does not have this resonance. In the various write-ups on the VF, I noted a comment that the firewall was redesigned to create a bigger gap between the engine and firewall, and to allow insulation to be fitted. The stated aim of this was to reduce intrusion of engine and exhaust noise into the cabin. Your issue is at a different rev range, so probably not the same. But it could be as resonance is a strange beast. If you are in doubt, look for a vehicle that does not present the issue. They will be out there.
Will be heaps of the faulty ones out there for sale as the warranty expires. Bit of a risky lucky dip unlike buying earlier model Holdens. Service and low km mean nothing as all the faults were from new.
I have a MY11 SV6 Manual as well, around those revs under load it sounds terrible like it's unhealthy for the engine. I avoid accelerating through that rev range. Light cruising/coasting only Probably due to the integrated headers on the LFX engine. Could be interesting to see what extractors on the LLT would do around those revs.
