VZ Fuel Gauge Problem

[old mans ute]

When I first picked up my VZ SV6 I had this same fuel problem I drove the thing until it was about 30K's left showing on the meter and the car died on me .. stupid thing.

So I took it back to warranty as there's a known bug issue with VY/VZ which come from the factory that have this, all they did was replace a few things for me and now I can hit as low as 0-10K's on the fuel left indicator.

I can drive for 200kms with 0 to empty showing. How much fuel does it take you to fill when it is showing 10 kms left.

If its over/just under 70 litres your gauge is probably fixed and I/we would love to know the name of your deqaler so we can see what was done to remedy the problem

 

[Boeing777]

When I first picked up my VZ SV6 I had this same fuel problem I drove the thing until it was about 30K's left showing on the meter and the car died on me .. stupid thing.

So I took it back to warranty as there's a known bug issue with VY/VZ which come from the factory that have this, all they did was replace a few things for me and now I can hit as low as 0-10K's on the fuel left indicator.

Thats the 'normal' problem that the gauges have that is fixed with a recalibration, however the problem the ute's have is the opposite. I took my new fuel sender for a drive down the coast to brunswick heads (about 180km each way), got back and had to fill up after only doing 436km out of a full tank, at the time i filled up the Range was "3km" and flat on the bottom red line, but she still only drank 49L (which atleast proves its not a 45L tank hehe).

So we're back to square one!! Only thing left to replace is the gauge itself, which I'm calling to organise in the morning. On a good note the alloytec proved itself as fairly efficient, getting an average of 8.7L/100km over the trip, thats with plenty of overtakes etc.

I'm thinking about putting a 20L jerry can in the back and driving the car until it does die, atleast then I'd know how far I could get on a tank.

 

[steane]

Hi there Old Mans Ute. I haven't been whisked away yet but they might want to by the time I have finished with their crap fuel gauges...

I have worked out a fix for the fuel gauge issue. It's really very simple...if you want a new car that is basically working in a sound manner when you take delivery buy either Japanese or German!

It's taken Holden decades to work out what an overhead camshaft is so how can we expect them to come to grips with the perplexing issue of an accurate fuel gauge...?

I have just returned from a 2500 klm road trip over to SA and can report that the float arm adjustment and recalibration appears to have had some effect but there is still a serious issue.

On dead empty and with 0 klms to empty showing there is at least 120+klms left in it before running dry at highway cruising speeds. The fuel gauge appears to take longer to reach empty but still arrives there well before it should.

The dealer told me to let them know how it went as they may need to adjust it further...but it looks to me as though the only way to fix the issue is to sell the car and buy a decent one...

I doubt even the dealer can come up with a better solution than that.

 

[BobT]

Fuel pump in tank

I don't know if it's true but I read somewhere that Holden have the fuel pumps in the tank and like to have a bit of fuel sloshing around to keep the pump cool. It seems to me that if you ever run the tank dry, what you get is 75l of gasoline valour/air mixture, a 12V electricity supply and an overheating fuel pump. Can anyone else see a problem here or is it just me?

 

[RKZ234]

Hi there Old Mans Ute. I haven't been whisked away yet but they might want to by the time I have finished with their crap fuel gauges...

I have worked out a fix for the fuel gauge issue. It's really very simple...if you want a new car that is basically working in a sound manner when you take delivery buy either Japanese or German!

It's taken Holden decades to work out what an overhead camshaft is so how can we expect them to come to grips with the perplexing issue of an accurate fuel gauge...?

I have just returned from a 2500 klm road trip over to SA and can report that the float arm adjustment and recalibration appears to have had some effect but there is still a serious issue.

On dead empty and with 0 klms to empty showing there is at least 120+klms left in it before running dry at highway cruising speeds. The fuel gauge appears to take longer to reach empty but still arrives there well before it should.

The dealer told me to let them know how it went as they may need to adjust it further...but it looks to me as though the only way to fix the issue is to sell the car and buy a decent one...

I doubt even the dealer can come up with a better solution than that.

I'd file a written complaint with the head honcho at Holden, CC it to your family solicitor, the local newspaper and A Current Affair etc. Request Holden either fix your vehicle or refund your money if they are incapable of fixing their own design fault.

If this fails, signage in the form of a large sandwich board, informing people the VZ ute has a design fault, with the vehicle parked outside a dealership might get you a more appropriate response. Ring a local newspaper before you drive it down and speak to the motoring writer and get him to send a photographer down to take some photos of it parked outside the dealership.

Sadly, the level of customer service you receive will be driven by negative publicity it seems as Holden isn't interested in private buyers. They pander to Govt. departments and other big fleets giving them special deals and all sorts of freebies and treat the rest of us with contempt.

I'm just about to do exactly this myself, as I'm fed up with being fobbed off, ignored, bull**itted to and essentially insulted. This little worm has turned!!

 

[Boeing777]

I'd file a written complaint with the head honcho at Holden, CC it to your family solicitor, the local newspaper and A Current Affair etc. Request Holden either fix your vehicle or refund your money if they are incapable of fixing their own design fault.

If this fails, signage in the form of a large sandwich board, informing people the VZ ute has a design fault, with the vehicle parked outside a dealership might get you a more appropriate response. Ring a local newspaper before you drive it down and speak to the motoring writer and get him to send a photographer down to take some photos of it parked outside the dealership.

Sadly, the level of customer service you receive will be driven by negative publicity it seems as Holden isn't interested in private buyers. They pander to Govt. departments and other big fleets giving them special deals and all sorts of freebies and treat the rest of us with contempt.

I'm just about to do exactly this myself, as I'm fed up with being fobbed off, ignored, bull**itted to and essentially insulted. This little worm has turned!!

Yeah I've got a letter written up ready to shoot off, but I'm going to wait until the dealer tells me they can't fix it, that way I can't be accused of anything!

On my current tank of fuel, its taken 190km for the gauge to move off Full, and it moved directly down to 5/8ths. I've called the dealer and they've ordered my new gauge array, so we'll see how that goes.

Funny thing is I never got my 1 month satisfaction survey, but my mate who got a VZ Lumina at the same time/dealer as me got his...I think its been snatched by the dealer some how after all the ****ups with my delivery :unsure:

 

[RKZ234]

Yeah I've got a letter written up ready to shoot off, but I'm going to wait until the dealer tells me they can't fix it, that way I can't be accused of anything!

On my current tank of fuel, its taken 190km for the gauge to move off Full, and it moved directly down to 5/8ths. I've called the dealer and they've ordered my new gauge array, so we'll see how that goes.

Funny thing is I never got my 1 month satisfaction survey, but my mate who got a VZ Lumina at the same time/dealer as me got his...I think its been snatched by the dealer some how after all the ****ups with my delivery :unsure:

Aren't we a funny lot - consumers I mean. We work hard for our money, pay GST and Stamp duty on top of GST (we get taxed on our tax) make a significant purchase like a car and when it fails to live upto basic expectation, we still focus on being accused of somethng by the manufacturer. Why is that? Why do we feel apprehensive about demanding what we paid for and why do we also expect and or tolerate manufacturers making accusations as an automatic counter measure to our complaints??? Yes we are a funny lot us consumers.

 

[OBMAR]

Happy with My VZ One Tonner

I have a VZ one Tonner and I have been keeping a log everytime I fill up. In the first 5000 kms the fuel gauge and trip meter have shown a discrepency of only 7%, and as low as 2%, compared to my calculations.

 

[old mans ute]

Power in numbers - Let's do it properly

If we are going direct to Holden in a formal manner then let's do it properly.
There is power in numbers.

I plan to run up an A4 flyer (as an Acrobat pdf file) which I will make available to any member who wants it.

I plan to place it under the wipers of any VZ V6 that I see with a short questionnaire about the operation of their fuel gauges and asking them to contact me if they are having any problems.

Something like

Hi. Hope you are enjoying your new car. A number of owners have reported dissatisfaction with extremely inaccurate and erratic fuel gauges and have not been able to have it remedied by their warranty dealer. For example showing empty after only 40-45 litres used.

We are planning to go direct to Holden as a group on this matter as we feel that it is an issue beyond the control of the dealer service at this time.

Could you please answer the following questions and let us know of your experience.

I have experienced inaccurate operation of my fuel gauge YES/NO

My dealer has been able to remedy the problem YES/NO

VZ Model (example S Ute)

Rego Number (optional)

Name (Optional)

I agree for my rego number to be used in a joint complaint to Holden YES/NO

I will also provide personal contact details for return of the form and a FREE MAIL envelope (at my expense)to encourage the return.

Also I will undertake to provide a copy of the final submission to all participants for comment, modification etc before sending it to Holden.

Will also discuss with my dealer who I believe will honestly tell me if they believe they have a fix or just want to play trial and error once more.

Depending on his answer I may chance one more try with them before proceeding with the submission.

I would be pleased to receive comments on my intended action from any members of this forum.

 

[old mans ute]

No fix available from Holden

Just had a long discussion with my service manager. Asked him the question. "Does Holden have a fix for the VZ fuel gauge problem apart from trial and error".

The answer was No. Was informed that Holden are well aware of the problem and that they have assigned an engineer to this task as his sole responsibility and that his brief is to have a solution within 6 months.

When a fix is found he says that Holden will contact owners and fix will be free (warranty). May involve a redesign of the measurement system, sender and software... who knows exactly what.

Sounds as close to the truth as anything I have seen so far.

So meantime don't waste your time leaving your car at the dealers while they play with it. Holden are insisting that dealers "do something" when a buyer complains about the problem, so the dealers play along with Holden to keep face with the customer.

How gullible do they think we are. Think my dealer was pretty embarrassed by the whole Holden approach to the problem and obviously wants to remain nameless.

He was more than annoyed that they have a few service bulletins with upgraded software and they are compelled to make the software adjustments even though Holden and the dealers know that they are not going to work.

He was pretty wide eyed when I mentioned that some owners had reported that the float arms had been adjusted as part of the attempted fix and said he had seen no instructions along these lines.

I wonder if this has been done or the owners who were told this were just fed a line to placate them.

All in all. quite an unsatisfactory way to do business.






So guys