VF 6.2L - calling oil & engine gurus!

[vombil]

No oil will fix this unfortunately

well known performance engine build here was telling me the pistons have some kind of coating on the skirt from factory and it's likely this wears and then the noise kicks off

 

[vombil]

Contact Holden head office

Called customer care' they said go to your dealer - thats the process

 

[vombil]

Ill try find a number for head office as you mentioned. customer care were literally a big joke. i may of well been talking with a handful of dirt

 

[Paul Smedley]

Contact Holden head office

There's pretty much nobody left...

 

[VS 5.0]

Small claims tribunal in WA is now run through the Magistrates Court.....claims up to $10k IIRC.

Only a couple of hundred bucks to lodge and legal representation not permitted.

I would be going down that path.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/man-w...-v8-was-too-noisy/AA2C7CX3QDZBGLPYP4AS5WOZGA/

 

[Skylarking]

... i went to the dealer for cold start. the foreman said its piston noise. then both him and the service manager said íts characteristic. I said oh that's interesting - so it's characteristic for you to sell a car with a quite motor that becomes noisey during the warranty period? and neither responded. They went on to say I'd need to pay for them to strip my motor to find the cause (after just telling me what it was) and if Holden didnt come to the party, I'd be left to pay the strip and reassemble bill...

The fact the the foreman and service manager didn’t respond to your excellent retort (that it’s a characteristic which developers after purchase) is telling in itself.

The reality and unfortunate fact for the dealer/Holden is that there is no acceptable reply as it’s simply a defect.... The problem is how you get them to act accordingly and not place the large investigation cost burden and risk on you...

So, as a first step get things documented. I’d ask for the dealers reply to be in writing stating that the piston noise they found is a characteristic that developers after sale. I’d also ask them to state within their written reply that you have to pay for the investigation that may not be refunded if it’s not piston slap due to piston skirt and/or bore wear. They should also provide an estimate of the cost of such an “investigation”.

Them providing such a document, which reflects what they told you, will walk them into a bit of a corner. So they will either provide an estimate which doesn’t reflect what they stated verbally or change there tune, either way that’s also telling. (Keep detailed notes on all your contacts and discussions, date, time, who said what).

Its sad that the likely outcome may be you’ll have to prepare to go to court unless there is a miraculous change of mind (or another dealer see’s it differently and bats for you)... But if court is the only option, such written docs and your contact notes should be helpful BUT you’ll still likely need an independent assessment of the fault (which may require a strip down)..

So, if you’ll pay to repair the engine anyway, take it to a proper quality engine builder and get them to do a strip down and check and write a report then take the pricks to court. Hopefuly the engine builder can simply push the engine/car aside and stop it until your case is done. Hopefully the judge will award you the estimated repair cost, then your engine builder can continue to put it together in a way Holden couldn’t. Small claims in WA are capped at$10k.

(The reason I say hopefully the judge will see it your way is that the law is sometimes difficult and it’s always a bit of a gamble no matter how correct you are, small claims judges can be having a bad day and take i5 out on you... but you’ve got that NZed noisy engine case to learn from)

 

[vombil]

The fact the the foreman and service manager didn’t respond to your excellent retort (that it’s a characteristic which developers after purchase) is telling in itself.

The reality and unfortunate fact for the dealer/Holden is that there is no acceptable reply as it’s simply a defect.... The problem is how you get them to act accordingly and not place the large investigation cost burden and risk on you...

So, as a first step get things documented. I’d ask for the dealers reply to be in writing stating that the piston noise they found is a characteristic that developers after sale. I’d also ask them to state within their written reply that you have to pay for the investigation that may not be refunded if it’s not piston slap due to piston skirt and/or bore wear. They should also provide an estimate of the cost of such an “investigation”.

Them providing such a document, which reflects what they told you, will walk them into a bit of a corner. So they will either provide an estimate which doesn’t reflect what they stated verbally or change there tune, either way that’s also telling. (Keep detailed notes on all your contacts and discussions, date, time, who said what).

Its sad that the likely outcome may be you’ll have to prepare to go to court unless there is a miraculous change of mind (or another dealer see’s it differently and bats for you)... But if court is the only option, such written docs and your contact notes should be helpful BUT you’ll still likely need an independent assessment of the fault (which may require a strip down)..

So, if you’ll pay to repair the engine anyway, take it to a proper quality engine builder and get them to do a strip down and check and write a report then take the pricks to court. Hopefuly the engine builder can simply push the engine/car aside and stop it until your case is done. Hopefully the judge will award you the estimated repair cost, then your engine builder can continue to put it together in a way Holden couldn’t. Small claims in WA are capped at$10k.

(The reason I say hopefully the judge will see it your way is that the law is sometimes difficult and it’s always a bit of a gamble no matter how correct you are, small claims judges can be having a bad day and take i5 out on you... but you’ve got that NZed noisy engine case to learn from)

thanks for the comprehensive reply. I've been to small claims more than once and yeh - it can go either way but often seems a case of compromise. So I reckon if the cost to remedy is say 10k they will probably argue that one or two pistons only are noisey and reduce the claims by a portion and then again by looking a either warrant-able life or life expectancy and reduced again. who knows until you get there and which cranky pants you get on the day! the dealer is refusing to put anything in writing - unless I want to make a time for them to strip it!! absolute dogs mate.

 

[Skylarking]

thanks for the comprehensive reply. I've been to small claims more than once and yeh - it can go either way but often seems a case of compromise. So I reckon if the cost to remedy is say 10k they will probably argue that one or two pistons only are noisey and reduce the claims by a portion and then again by looking a either warrant-able life or life expectancy and reduced again. who knows until you get there and which cranky pants you get on the day! the dealer is refusing to put anything in writing - unless I want to make a time for them to strip it!! absolute dogs mate.

Your 2017? commodore may be just out of factory warranty while other 2017 commodores like mine which got the 7 year warranty for probably similar money, which the judge may find somewhat interesting.

In any case, no one expects a petrol powered vehicle to sound like a diesel on a cold morning, especially after taking a test drive in a demonstrator which showed not of this “normal characteristics” that the dealers seem to spout, something yje judge may also find interesting (product not as demonstrated)...

Being that corrective action isn’t to rebore the block for just a couple of oversized pistons, as all must be done to balance the engine, I can’t see how a judge in his right mind would discount a rebuild cost due to only a couple of pistons slapping about.. Engines aren’t simply repaired in such a way, not if they repair is to some standard other than back yard bodgy...

The best repair from a Holden warranty perspective would be engine replacement as Holden did for @Ron Burgundy, or a replacements vehicle or full purchase price refund as the **** product (in your case) wasn’t as demonstrated by the dealer... Dealer mechanics aren’t engine builders, so one can’t expect them to do such in a quality manner.

Whatever you decide, god luck and let us know how things progress.

 

[vombil]

Your 2017? commodore may be just out of factory warranty while other 2017 commodores like mine which got the 7 year warranty for probably similar money, which the judge may find somewhat interesting.

In any case, no one expects a petrol powered vehicle to sound like a diesel on a cold morning, especially after taking a test drive in a demonstrator which showed not of this “normal characteristics” that the dealers seem to spout, something yje judge may also find interesting (product not as demonstrated)...

Being that corrective action isn’t to rebore the block for just a couple of oversized pistons, as all must be done to balance the engine, I can’t see how a judge in his right mind would discount a rebuild cost due to only a couple of pistons slapping about.. Engines aren’t simply repaired in such a way, not if they repair is to some standard other than back yard bodgy...

The best repair from a Holden warranty perspective would be engine replacement as Holden did for @Ron Burgundy, or a replacements vehicle or full purchase price refund as the **** product (in your case) wasn’t as demonstrated by the dealer... Dealer mechanics aren’t engine builders, so one can’t expect them to do such in a quality manner.

Whatever you decide, god luck and let us know how things progress.

cheers mate. Ron's new engine is noisey to def rather a build + keep it numbers matching ay. will keep the thread alive!