Failure of fuel injector, LS3

[darrenj9413]

Good afternoon everyone, My WN2 Caprice went into limp ode late last week and was running rough, warning code was something about something off and engine light was on. When I took it to the mechanic he thought it was probably spark plugs or leads as the car is nearly due for them anyway. The car was running normal with no warning lights at the time so diagnostics did not show a problem, when I booked it in and bought it back it was playing up and diagnoses said failed fuel injector, number 7 or 8, can't remember. My question is, is this likely to be a freak occurance or are these motors prone to failed fuel injectors. I whole new set fitted would be in excess of 2.5K $ Regards DarrenJ

 

[lmoengnr]

Good afternoon everyone, My WN2 Caprice went into limp ode late last week and was running rough, warning code was something about something off and engine light was on. When I took it to the mechanic he thought it was probably spark plugs or leads as the car is nearly due for them anyway. The car was running normal with no warning lights at the time so diagnostics did not show a problem, when I booked it in and bought it back it was playing up and diagnoses said failed fuel injector, number 7 or 8, can't remember. My question is, is this likely to be a freak occurance or are these motors prone to failed fuel injectors. I whole new set fitted would be in excess of 2.5K $ Regards DarrenJ

It has been known to happen, there are a few threads about it in this forum.

 

[BlackVXGTS]

From VF Commodore Recalls & Faults:

 

[Skylarking]

To add further to @BlackVXGTS ’s post, many LS3 vehicles outside factory warranty that were impacted by injector failures also had their injectors replaced at Holden’s expense (or had money they paid to fix the problem refunded).

Unsurprisingly Holden often called such outside factory warranty repairs “good will“ but the reality is that it’s just your Australian consumer law statutory warranty rights at play as Holden knows they can’t be selling defective products.

Really, fuel injectors are a life of vehicle component. Like any product, early failures can happen but generally all products follow a bath tub failure curve. As such, injectors should either fail early within the warranty period (and thus be unquestionably covered by factory warranty) or should last for many many 100’s of 1000 kms.

UnfortunatelyHolden doesn’t place much weight in ACL and have reverted to giving owners a hard time with statutory warranty claims but it’s always worth while talking to the selling dealer if you have had what could be described as a premature failure.

 

[jonb]

I’ve had 2 go on my SSV in 2 years, although I think the l77 ones are more prone to fail.

2.5k to change 8 injectors seems harsh! I bought single genuine injectors each time for like $70 and fitted them myself which was a 15 minute job start to finish.

 

[darrenj9413]

I’ve had 2 go on my SSV in 2 years, although I think the l77 ones are more prone to fail.

2.5k to change 8 injectors seems harsh! I bought single genuine injectors each time for like $70 and fitted them myself which was a 15 minute job start to finish.

Thankyou everyone for your replies. I guess the only other thing to consider is, if another one goes should I replace all or am I just buying more that will probably be no more reliable than the original ones. If possible I want to avoid chasing my tail.

 

[Auzziephoenix]

To add further to @BlackVXGTS ’s post, many LS3 vehicles outside factory warranty that were impacted by injector failures also had their injectors replaced at Holden’s expense (or had money they paid to fix the problem refunded).

Unsurprisingly Holden often called such outside factory warranty repairs “good will“ but the reality is that it’s just your Australian consumer law statutory warranty rights at play as Holden knows they can’t be selling defective products.

Really, fuel injectors are a life of vehicle component. Like any product, early failures can happen but generally all products follow a bath tub failure curve. As such, injectors should either fail early within the warranty period (and thus be unquestionably covered by factory warranty) or should last for many many 100’s of 1000 kms.

UnfortunatelyHolden doesn’t place much weight in ACL and have reverted to giving owners a hard time with statutory warranty claims but it’s always worth while talking to the selling dealer if you have had what could be described as a premature failure.

Has any had this enacted recently?

Just had this exact issue and was told by Holden dealer they would no longer honour goodwill as car is too old.

Nov 2014 VF R8.
50,000 kms.

Quoted $1600 including labour to replace all 8 Injectors.. and there is no guarantee the issue will go away. The injectors will fail again as it is "common" for these vehicles.

Have agreed to pay for the faulty injector to be replaced and then take the fight through other channels.

If anyone has an idea on where to start or who to talk to. Support would be much appreciated.

 

[Skylarking]

Read the following thread(s) as lots of comments and suggestions have already been made.

https://forums.justcommodores.com.au/threads/fuel-injector-failure.273845/

https://forums.justcommodores.com.a...rematurely-failed-on-your-v8-vf.274904/page-4

https://forums.justcommodores.com.au/threads/faulty-fuel-injectors-on-the-ls3-motor.293961/

https://forums.justcommodores.com.au/threads/injectors-issue-again.280743/

There are problebly more threads w.r.t injectors so search if the above aren’t enough. And lots has been discussed ad nausea re ACL, small claims courts etc within the sudden loss of eps power assistance thread.

Reading the above threads may or may not help… ACL may or may not help... It all comes down to how you structure the arguments, your negotiation skills and how far your willing to take it.

Good luck as Marco from Tropoja says

 

[Smitty]

Has any had this enacted recently?

Just had this exact issue and was told by Holden dealer they would no longer honour goodwill as car is too old.

Nov 2014 VF R8.
50,000 kms.

Quoted $1600 including labour to replace all 8 Injectors.. and there is no guarantee the issue will go away. The injectors will fail again as it is "common" for these vehicles.

Have agreed to pay for the faulty injector to be replaced and then take the fight through other channels.

If anyone has an idea on where to start or who to talk to. Support would be much appreciated.

my Dec14 (Oct14 hSV build) R8 Clubbie manual had both #4 and #6 injectors die within about 2-3 weeks of each other last year

thankfully first time, I bought 2 off my bro (he works for a Bosch parts distributor so nice price) but time wise... takes 30-40 mins
to replace one ( and yeah I am a slow ol'dude with these things) I did this coz' the service manager at the dealer where I bought the car new
simply said Holden won't cover it (car had just gotten to 80k) Since then... zero issues

Holden are charging you full retail for the injectors plus several hours labour based on that price

HTH

 

[Auzziephoenix]

I guess some more background. When I called the dealer I explicitly mentioned the amount of cases I found experiencing the issue. Along with the drive.com.au article. When I asked about if Holden would cover it, I was told they would need to examine the vehicle first to determine and then lodge a good will request with Holden.

When I was called to be told of the issue, the issue was confirmed and was told they wouldn't even bother with asking, not what was agreed to over the phone. Was also told the car being "10 years old" which it isn't.. they wont assist at all.

So I guess now there is no reason to go to the dealer for services or anything of the kind. Have had trouble with every dealer I've been to, from completing tasks I explicitly requested not to be done. To adding in extra items on the invoice I had not agreed to, even after I signed their digital agreement remotely.

Now, I'm going to replace the remaining injectors myself. The P/N for the injector they installed is 12686278. However with a bit of research, I can only find reference to P/N 12576341 for the LS3. Is anyone able to enlighten if this is indeed an updated P/N or even a place to source them at a reasonable cost?