VF Holden Commodore Issues and Faults

[Sabbath']

Flick the selector into M. Will help keep it at a decent speed.

 

[Reaper]

Another fault found albeit tiny.

The left hand Side Blind Zone Alert is dimly lit after turning car off and locking doors. The light is very dim and appears to flickering slightly should be an easy fix but just another to the list.

Haven't contact Holden yet.

Lolwut?? Who would use blind zone alert on a stationary vehicle when it's turned off anyway?

I've never driven a car with cruise control that brakes when you go down hill, let alone a Commodore.

E3 Senator does.

 

[cfour]

Thanks for all the informative posts in this thread, a bit concerned about the Hud/Console having a fit issue, but hopefully it can be diagnosed and fixed if it happens again.

 

[Krustyone]

Lolwut?? Who would use blind zone alert on a stationary vehicle when it's turned off anyway?
.

A blind person I guess!!

 

[zappaboy]

What do you mean by flick the selector into M. Please excuse my ignorance. thanks

 

[Mecky]

What do you mean by flick the selector into M. Please excuse my ignorance. thanks

He probably means that you can shift some gears down manually to let the engine brake a bit more.

All automatic cars I have driven always 'ran away' down hill. To my knowledge no cruise control will apply the brakes for you. The cruise control may shift a gear down to enable engine braking - but that is all...

 

[68vet]

He probably means that you can shift some gears down manually to let the engine brake a bit more.

All automatic cars I have driven always 'ran away' down hill. To my knowledge no cruise control will apply the brakes for you. The cruise control may shift a gear down to enable engine braking - but that is all...

Not true at all !

I've just spent the week looking for a replacement car for my wife.....
The FG G6ET holds speed in cruise control, it even shifts down automatically to minimise braking, and gently applies brakes to hold speed. I did this coming down the freeway into Adelaide.
The Calais simply kept gaining speed till I applied the brakes, at which point it disables the cruise control.
With all the tech gadgetry and computer power and interconnectivity onboard the VF I would have thought it pretty simple to add speed control on descents.

A couple of other things: the floppy roof lining (on the Calais V which has a sunroof). Needs to be more rigid... it really feels cheap.
I also find the steering wheel far to thick. I'm an old f@rt and I found it affected the arthritis in my hands and forearms.
These are minor things that affect my overall driving sensation.

I love the new F-series Calais V, with all the high tech gadgets, but I'm concerned about the reliability of all these new systems.

 

[Benboy]

Speed Control on descents !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAAAAT - you must be joking. Surely such safety issue(s) rests solely with the driver !!!!!!

 

[68vet]

Speed Control on descents !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAAAAT - you must be joking. Surely such safety issue(s) rests solely with the driver !!!!!!

When driving interstate on open road with cruise control set at the speed limit, YES. I would expect the car to hold the set speed when I'm travelling down a long descent.
Speed cameras are all too often positioned (especially in Victoria) on downhill sections of road, or at speed zone change points entering/leaving towns on the highway.

What is your expectation of cruise control? If you have to continuously brake and reset the cruise control, where is the advantage.
The better systems on some vehicles now even have radar sensing of the vehicle in front (Mazda 6 Attenza) so that speed is matched to vehicle ahead (up to your set speed)
If you travel interstate on the highways you know what its like having to readjust speed set to match a vehicle ahead of you travelling that 1~2 kph slower until an opportunity presents to overtake.

This is a feature which just makes distance driving just a tad better.

Hopefully in a future revision of electronics the VF may include these features.

 

[Pollushon]

What is your expectation of cruise control?

And this is the crux, it's subjective, personal preference. There's a fine line between safety features and computer control and these days it seems computers are controlling more and more and drivers sucking more and more. Which is fine if that's your thing, but for many of us we want the control. When a cruise on the highway requires intervention due to other drivers, gradient, road condition or hazards, that intervention is going to be me. Has done me well for the last 20 years, I managed to survive many years of negotiating devils elbow pre South Eastern Freeway in my LX Torana and VB Commodore without incident.

OT - I had to giggle when a work colleagues Skoda smacked the LHF into the gutter for the third time, while auto parking. It was also funny watching the near two minutes it took to do that whilst blocking off half the road.