Ongoing Issues with VFII SV6

[alex2_s]

Hi all,

hope someone may have some insight or had a similar issue.

Bought my VFII SV6 Auto Sedan brand new in March 2016. So far have done 18,000km.
Since December 2016 I've had non stop ongoing issues with;

Driving along fine from cold start, get to set of lights etc and upon trying to take off, Check engine light comes on with also:

- Going into limp home mode (I suspect, complete loss of power on take off and doesnt seem to change gears)
- "Power steering system failure" on the dashboard info screen. Steering still feels normal
- "ESP system failure" on the dashboard info screen
- Orange ESP off light on the dashboard (pressing ESP button does nothing)
- Tachometer fluctuating between 0 and 4000 (like it does when you first turn it on but only going halfway) .... engine is idling fine so its definitely inaccurate.
- Temp gauage going spastic between Cold and halfway (again like when you first turn it on and does its self-check but only halfway not the full way)

Turning the car off and on sometimes makes everything resolve completely, sometimes its still acting up when turning it back on and it takes 3 or 4 cycles to get back to normal.

This has happened on 4 separate occasions now since December. On every occasion its been to Holden and they just say "we dont know whats causing it, you need to bring it in when its doing it" which isnt always possible (9pm on sunday night etc).

They say they have tightened loose wires on ABS module on the first time it went in but since then the dealer just says, we have no idea. I took it to another dealer and they they just scratched their heads also.

Has anyone experienced similar issues and what was the outcome?

Thanks
Alex

 

[426Cuda]

Hi all,

hope someone may have some insight or had a similar issue.

Bought my VFII SV6 Auto Sedan brand new in March 2016. So far have done 18,000km.
Since December 2016 I've had non stop ongoing issues with;

Driving along fine from cold start, get to set of lights etc and upon trying to take off, Check engine light comes on with also:

- Going into limp home mode (I suspect, complete loss of power on take off and doesnt seem to change gears)
- "Power steering system failure" on the dashboard info screen. Steering still feels normal
- "ESP system failure" on the dashboard info screen
- Orange ESP off light on the dashboard (pressing ESP button does nothing)
- Tachometer fluctuating between 0 and 4000 (like it does when you first turn it on but only going halfway) .... engine is idling fine so its definitely inaccurate.
- Temp gauage going spastic between Cold and halfway (again like when you first turn it on and does its self-check but only halfway not the full way)

Turning the car off and on sometimes makes everything resolve completely, sometimes its still acting up when turning it back on and it takes 3 or 4 cycles to get back to normal.

This has happened on 4 separate occasions now since December. On every occasion its been to Holden and they just say "we dont know whats causing it, you need to bring it in when its doing it" which isnt always possible (9pm on sunday night etc).

They say they have tightened loose wires on ABS module on the first time it went in but since then the dealer just says, we have no idea. I took it to another dealer and they they just scratched their heads also.

Has anyone experienced similar issues and what was the outcome?

Thanks
Alex

Next time take a vid of it on your phone. As the engine light was on, did they find any error codes?

 

[tml678]

Can you leave it overnight with them so they can drive it cold and watch the problem develop themselves?

 

[kavallero]

A video is a good one, that's how I proved issues that I had with my old VE 3.6 one.

 

[dgp]

Yep, I have also used video that I sent to service manager who passed it on to Holden to approve repairs on my VFI CalaisV.
It does sound like you may need to leave it with them for a few days though so they can actually experience the issues. Holden will take the word of their Techs over a customer every day of the week.

 

[SavVYute]

Hi all,

hope someone may have some insight or had a similar issue.

Bought my VFII SV6 Auto Sedan brand new in March 2016. So far have done 18,000km.
Since December 2016 I've had non stop ongoing issues with;

Driving along fine from cold start, get to set of lights etc and upon trying to take off, Check engine light comes on with also:

- Going into limp home mode (I suspect, complete loss of power on take off and doesnt seem to change gears)
- "Power steering system failure" on the dashboard info screen. Steering still feels normal
- "ESP system failure" on the dashboard info screen
- Orange ESP off light on the dashboard (pressing ESP button does nothing)
- Tachometer fluctuating between 0 and 4000 (like it does when you first turn it on but only going halfway) .... engine is idling fine so its definitely inaccurate.
- Temp gauage going spastic between Cold and halfway (again like when you first turn it on and does its self-check but only halfway not the full way)

Turning the car off and on sometimes makes everything resolve completely, sometimes its still acting up when turning it back on and it takes 3 or 4 cycles to get back to normal.

This has happened on 4 separate occasions now since December. On every occasion its been to Holden and they just say "we dont know whats causing it, you need to bring it in when its doing it" which isnt always possible (9pm on sunday night etc).

They say they have tightened loose wires on ABS module on the first time it went in but since then the dealer just says, we have no idea. I took it to another dealer and they they just scratched their heads also.

Has anyone experienced similar issues and what was the outcome?

Thanks
Alex

Hope you get a Holden tech who knows his stuff.
Does sound like a loose wiring loom connection or pin, earth or broken wire somewhere on the car (losing connection as the engine bay heats up maybe?)
They hate chasing those sort intermittent problems.
An aftermarket accessory incorrectly fitted could cause problems too.

 

[RiCeY]

Definitely sounds like a voltage issue, make sure the battery clamps are tight if you haven't already. Sometimes the simple things are missed.

It's near on impossible to diagnose an issue if it isn't faulting for you apart from checking everything which can be time consuming and Holden doesn't reimburse dealers for time spent if no problem is found.

 

[Tori-rose]

Hi all,

hope someone may have some insight or had a similar issue.

Bought my VFII SV6 Auto Sedan brand new in March 2016. So far have done 18,000km.
Since December 2016 I've had non stop ongoing issues with;

Driving along fine from cold start, get to set of lights etc and upon trying to take off, Check engine light comes on with also:

- Going into limp home mode (I suspect, complete loss of power on take off and doesnt seem to change gears)
- "Power steering system failure" on the dashboard info screen. Steering still feels normal
- "ESP system failure" on the dashboard info screen
- Orange ESP off light on the dashboard (pressing ESP button does nothing)
- Tachometer fluctuating between 0 and 4000 (like it does when you first turn it on but only going halfway) .... engine is idling fine so its definitely inaccurate.
- Temp gauage going spastic between Cold and halfway (again like when you first turn it on and does its self-check but only halfway not the full way)

Turning the car off and on sometimes makes everything resolve completely, sometimes its still acting up when turning it back on and it takes 3 or 4 cycles to get back to normal.

This has happened on 4 separate occasions now since December. On every occasion its been to Holden and they just say "we dont know whats causing it, you need to bring it in when its doing it" which isnt always possible (9pm on sunday night etc).

They say they have tightened loose wires on ABS module on the first time it went in but since then the dealer just says, we have no idea. I took it to another dealer and they they just scratched their heads also.

Has anyone experienced similar issues and what was the outcome?

Thanks
Alex

Hi Alex

Just wondering if Holden ever found the problem and fixed it?
Im currently going through the exact same problem with my vf and have been told the exact same stuff as you
No one can tell me why this is happening it’s been going on for over a year now been to many places and to Holden 3 times! It’s currently back at Holden now and has been for a week and still no answer
The car is a lot worse now than it was when it first started doing this I can’t even drive it down the street without it playing up so I really need Holden to fix whatever is going on

Thanks

 

[Forg]

A year or so after we got our VS, it started with extremely intermittent stalling … probably 6 months interval between the first few times, it started becoming more frequent yet it was still over a week between when it’d do it. Dealer found nothing in the logs, couldn’t diagnose it … eventually we left it with them for a week & they had the tech who lived furthest from the workshop drive it home overnight with the laptop plugged-in.

When it occurred with the laptop plugged-in they were able to know straight away that the issue was a crank-angle sensor, and I was surprised how little it cost to get that replaced given all the rigmarole in working-out the cause.

Mebbe the dealer you’ve been going to can do this?

 

[Skylarking]

Hi Alex

Just wondering if Holden ever found the problem and fixed it?
Im currently going through the exact same problem with my vf and have been told the exact same stuff as you
No one can tell me why this is happening it’s been going on for over a year now been to many places and to Holden 3 times! It’s currently back at Holden now and has been for a week and still no answer
The car is a lot worse now than it was when it first started doing this I can’t even drive it down the street without it playing up so I really need Holden to fix whatever is going on

Thanks

When lots of separate vehicle systems start to find faults, one should first look at any commonalities that they share.

And since the VF is heavily reliant on a good battery and charge system because the vehicle is controlled by computer modules that need a good steady voltage, that’s where I’d look first.

So I’d remove the battery and fully charged it before have it load tested. Doing this will server two purposes, (1) rule out loose battery terminals and (2) rule out battery voltage issues due to a worn out battery….

It would also be a good idea to alsohave the charging system tested.

Note that there was a BCM firmware update released quote some time ago that improved on some battery charge algorithm that the BCM uses to decide how/when to charge the battery. If you always serviced your car at some place other than a dealer, such updates may never have been applied. So ensure that a dealer checks that vehicle has the latest updates for all modules within the vehicle.

If you found that your battery was at 60% capacity (after charge and rest for a few hours) or failed the battery test, I’d strongly consider replacing it. The battery in our commodores can last between 3 years and 10 years depending on how well it has been cared for. Many batteries can start to cause issues after 5 years.

PS: if you click on @alex2_s handle, you’ll see he hasn’t been on JC forum since August 08 2019 so don’t hold your breath for an answer from him