Holden VE Commodore Battery Drain Issue
August 31, 2007 by Paul Maric
We have received several complaints from readers, and one of our motoring writers has encountered this particular issue with two press vehicles, so we would like to get a consensus of the severity of this problem.
From the data we have collected, this issue seems to be affecting all VE Commodore models, ranging from run of the mill Omega, right through to the top of the line HSV Grange.
The problem appears to occur when a vehicle is left for over one day without being driven, started or unlocked. When the vehicle is left in this state, a rogue component in the vehicle drains every last inch of charge from the battery, rendering it useless. The only way to alleviate the issue is to jump-start the car and depending on the model being examined, varied wait times are required to start the vehicle again due to additional components operating.
We have had reported claims relating to the following models – Omega, SS-V, Grange and Calais V.
If your VE Commodore is having a similar issue, we would appreciate if you could contact CarAdvice via the Warranty Complaints page with some details about your problem and how long your car is left alone before it drains the battery. One extreme case saw a vehicle’s battery drained after a 1-hour stint of radio operation, so results seem to vary between models.
From the affected users we have heard from so far, many have detailed the lack of retort from Holden. Those that have contacted their service departments have received below-par responses.
We appreciate your input and will hopefully be able to gauge the spread of this problem in due course. We will keep you posted with the results.
Tags: holden commodore
‘Those that have contacted their service departments have received below-par responses’
Has anything changed over the last twenty years
Camira mk2
they have the battery in the boot.
wonder if this has anything to do with it??
Troy, boot-mounted batteries are not new. My 1962 Morris Mini had the battery in the boot, and although it suffered many problems battery drain wasn’t amongst them.
I agree that the battery being located in the boot shouldn’t cause a direct problen, although it’s coincidence that the battery was relocated to the boot with the VE model.
This isn’t the first time i have heard of this issue since the launch of VE.
the ve commodore alternator dose not charge at more than 50% when fully flat if the car is used in short trips the battary will not get to full charge. so the battery will be in a state of discharge and will appeir to be draining or going flat
jamie, that’s no different to any other car.
Batteries don’t just drain if you’ve left the car sitting for a day. There’s obviously an internal issue with the car that’s causing this to happen.
Hopefully they will not look into a mirror and really look into it to resolve the issue it as it is a major problem and won’t go away
lack of retort?
english please?
Baz:
You should learn some English champ – I’ve done the hard work for you:
re·tort 1 (rĭ-tôrt’) Pronunciation Key
v. re·tort·ed, re·tort·ing, re·torts
1. To make a reply, especially a quick, caustic, or witty one.
2. To present a counterargument.
3. To return like for like; retaliate.
well done holden 1 billion dollars well spent
Remember the rumors of the Gen3 V8’s oil leeks and 20,000km engine rebuilds.
Holden are either very good at keeping things hush, hush or they are only rumors.
You know why there are these problems coming out with the VE commodore, it was over hyped, it was why to over hyped, even as a ford fan, i can say the commodore is a good car, but the fact the hyped so much calling it the billion dollar baby, the imperfections and minor problems are going to be turned into major problem by the media (no offence car advice).
But this is problem which should be fixed quickly, specially people with a ve commodore who catch the train all week and not drive their car, comes to the weekend and their battery is dead. not good
I agree falcon, and they’re not exacly cheap cars, and its really irritating to have to get out the jumper leads on a car that apparently we should buy instead of a 5-series BMW…
The typical never ending battle to resolve shortcomings in Commodores. Holdens are nothing more then just squeeky, rattly, troublesome vehicles to own and faults with them just never seem to end.
I can feel the 4th recall flapping in the wind in only a short year of being on sale.
With the exports of VE based cars to Brasil, the US and Middle East ramping up, I’d suggest Holden will be most anxious to resolve this before the complaints come from export markets as well.
We have steered right clear of crappy Holdens since our VT which was an unimaginable horror of a car. And then as now, Holden did not want to hear about it.
As I look across the website (Astra, Commodore, Captiva), and from personal experience, Holden never want to ackowledge / hear about warranty issues.
Their after sales attitude in general is argumentative and childish, and has resolved many faithful buyers (such as myself) to look elsewhere when purchasing new cars.
It’s a shame for a company so many of us grew up loving, and it’s time they lifted their game.
HSV is the only Holden I would buy
There was a Holden Recall on the b atteries, they did dnot hide this, nor have they hidden any recall. There is a website that shows all recalls. The people that have had the issues have just been unlucky enough to deal with a lazy dealer. A good dealer would have done the recall before delivery. My VE has been back & had the recalls & although there was some issues, they were fixed & I love it. I don’t care what anyone says the fact is this was the most publicised vehicle release anywhere in this part of the world, & a few issues will happen, IT IS MECHANICAL!. As long as your dealer assists you, move on, if they don’t go to Holden. I can name an issue with every vehicle ever released, but due to the publicity of the VE, the tall poppy syndrom kicks in!Holden is the only manufacturer in Australia that hasn’t required any assistance from the government in the past 20 years other then Toyota, & they only use Australia as a write off so all there profits can be sent to the USA.
Hahaha I love this… they advertised the fact that they extensively tested the VE in a documentary shown on TV yet the car has such a basic fault. Yet another reason why not to buy Holden.
GK
Bothe Holden AND Ford recieved help from the government late last year.
Where’s the claims of improved quality and such?
Troy,
I can promise you that Holden did dnot receive any requested handouts. If you can proove otherwise show me, otherwise shut up. Don’t come on here with 1 line with no proof. Holden funded the VE all by themselves. The government made a grant for the new factory, but that was 2 help out Melbournes unemployed, nothing to do with keeping Australias greatest manufacturer afloat!
Well I think it is time to call A Current Affair, because well let’s face it HOLDEN ARE SHIT, and need to come under scrutiny.
You guys see our Today tonight last night ? About lemon cars ? Alborz even had a bit to say on the subject ,looking HOT too !!
Oh and about battery drain,if we can mount a battery in the boot of our XA GT Coupe {and its been there for over ten years and still only had 3 batteries}and not get battery drain one would think Holden could. I do doubt that is the problem though ,maybe they bought a batch of faulty batteries ? Who makes them for Holden or more to the point where are they manufactured? Maybe some part of the engine management system isn’t shutting something off when being turned off at the key.
“Australias greatest manufacturer” Hardly GK there are plenty of manufacturers based in Australia that are ten times better in what they do for the country and its economy! Come on mate you sound way to Holden biased to be making statements like that. And YES Holden does receive government grants! Both SA and VIC state governments give Holden Tax breaks and concessions as well as direct funding! And if you want to be really technical General Motors US provided the funding for the VE.
Sorry but I think you need to get your facts straight before having ago at someone else on here!
GK – You are one nieve clown. Over the past several years, Holden has been a very happy recipiant of many Government handouts.
INFACT – were Research and Development (R&D)is the topic, Toyota Australia is the only company yet to have accepted government handout although they haven’t enied that they will not accept such a offer if they decide to persue the Camry Hybrid programe here in Australia.
Holden has recieved alot (it’s fair share) of government handouts over the past several years.
I think this battery issue is being over-hyped here. Seriouly how many cases have been reported? According to the article they have encountered two press cars and a few reader complaints. That probably makes around 5 faulty cars.
By my calculations, the VE Commodore has been on sale for 12 months, sells roughly 5000 cars a month – thats 60,000 cars delivered so far! (roughly speaking)
I don’t know if any of you boys (and girls) here are good at maths by 5 faulty cars over 60,000 deliveries is 0.0083% of cars affected! Not even worth looking into, or debating, if you ask me.
Jason – 5 faulty cars is your unsubstantiated claim.
What is possibly a real figure… 5 000, 10 000 or even 20 000 units – who knows.
I do believe however that a piss poor 5 cars from approx 60 000 units (as you stated)will not even be worthy of mention.
Maybe, just maybe… this problem is more prevalent then credited given it’s exposre but i guess time will be the only true judge of that.
The last time I ever dared to look or even consider buying a Holden or even a Ford for that matter was about when the HK Model in the seventies came about.
From that point on and in my view Holden has made cheap Crap, just not so cheap on the purchase price.
I steered away from Aussie made cars such to the more reliable Mazdas. Bugga Holden Patriotism when one gets crappy quality.
I have a SV6 . Purchased in Feb this year. I haven’t had any problems with it, as yet. Do have a strange noise in the front when I reverse. I have had it checked out by Holden and also an independant tyre place but no one could find any fault. I have also found there is a really bad blind spot. Makes it very dangerous when coming to a roundabout. I don’t know if anyone else has the same experience. I am of average height so don’t sit unusually close to the steering wheel. This is the 3rd holden I have owned and I must say that I was probably happier with my Berlina.
I work at a holden dealership located in sydney.
The issue does vary alot with the different models.
Holden have release updated BCM (body control Module) software to correct SOME of the charge problems, the new software changes the the rate of charge from the altenator and sets the BCM’s “state of charge” to a different tolerance.
We have had some cases where the batteries in new VE’s have been faulty from factory, with the batteries only receiving half charge.
When only given half charge from factory the ECU and BCM automatically see this as “default charge” and will only ever charge to that level.
This level is enough to start the vehicle and operate all the systems, but the drain becomes too much for a half charged batteries, so if the problem is presented to the dealerships, the battery is usually replaced and the updated BCM software is installed.
The drain issue changes from model to model, we have had a Calais V where we replace 2 modules of the electronic system to correct the battery drain issue.
The issue can sometimes be the computer system (the high and low speed buses of the ECU and other components), they have a shutdown timer as they stay active after the vehicle has been shut off for other features of the vehicle, like lighting features and security.
Sometimes they need resetting as they stay on for too long after the ignition has been turned off and can drain the battery.
My father had two vehicles that had a high amount of electronics in place of what was mechanical. Cadillac XLR and a Aston Marton DB9 Convertible. Both had push button start and electronic door handles.
Both cars would not start if left for any extended period uncharged. The Cadillac was jumped started numerous times over the year my father owned it. The Aston wasn’t as bad since the manufacturer included a trunk plug in batter charger that pluged into the house that was used if the car was going to sit for an extended period of time.
Both cars obviously had a power drain more than conventional cars. I wonder if this is more related to the added elecronics or something else.
The most probable things are immobiliser or starter motor solenoid that are chewing up the electricity, start with something simple. But considering its just on 5 cars its probably something small or the battery is just a dud. Having low water in a battery can make it have full power one day and go dead the next. Oh and off the topic, when you go to change your wiper blades on your VE expect to pay around $50, you have to change the whole arm not just the rubbers. The VE is a wonderful money making machine and only holden sell them and soon Trico, so expect to pay premium prices so you can see in the rain.
I’ve been driving a VE Berlina for the last 12 months without any battery problems. The longest the car has been left without use is 3 weeks we went overseas. On return the car started first time. After manufacture the cars sit in the delivery yard quite happily for upto a week without any obvious problems with starting.
I bought an SS in March after working for 2 years abroard in Nth America, Japan and the Middle East. I was fortunate enough to drive cars I would never be able to afford back here in Aus. But once seeing the new VE(Chevy Lumina)in the Mid East, i was extremely proud to see an Australian produced vehicle cutting it with the best car designs in the world, so I had to have one. Mine has done 30 000 hard klms now, and I haven’t hard a drama in the world, best bang for you buck, a car built for Aussie’s for our driving conditions.
Ive been driving an SS-V since March 07 and cant fault it, 12000 kms later and its going stronger than ever. Well done Holden not one thing to complain about.
Seeing as the Commodore is the most recalled Australian built car in history, then this is no suprise !
Holden just produce crap after crap.
Iam a Ford Fan and all car makers have niggling problems. What you state Rob is true nevertheless!
TO ALL THE TOSSERS BAGING THE VE. TELL ME A CAR MANUFACTURING COMPANY THAT DOSNT LAUNCH A CAR THAT HAS A MINOR GLITCH. NO ONES PERFECT. I DONT LIKE FORD AND TOYOTA AND THEY HAD THERE FAIR SHARE OF RECALLS WHEN THEY BRING OUT A NEW MODEL. LETS JUST WAIT FOR THE NEW MODEL FORD TO COME OUT (WHICH LOOKS CRAP FROM THE PICTURES IVE SEEN) AND ID BETCHA THERE GOING TO HAVE MANY MORE FAULTS TOO……………..
the wiper blades on a ve are also the same as ve as u need to buy the whole arm also and also these “minor glitches” yer all cars have tham and no dealer wants to hear it but the thing is that abs failing is not a minor glitch im a massive holden fan n i loved the new ve’s but the more i hear about bad things happening the more i dont want one just like vt’s i wouldnt buy one ever but i hope thay sort out the problems
I’m sorry my Calais V has this very same battery issue at irregular intervals but always in the morning. I don’t care why it happens but I do want it fixed. So far my dealer has had no answer despite replacing the battery and updating software!!!!! It still happens. I thought it was the SATNAV system but now I’m not too sure what it is.
Our Calais V has been plagued with random warnings since day one. The car has been back and forth to Holden and is heading back this weekend for a whole week to have a new BCM module installed as the car will not except any software updates. Whenever the car is started after waiting for the system check to complete, we see CHECK ENGINE, CHECK ABS AND CHECK ESP. We have also seen a big black X and CONTACT DEALER AND SVS (Service Vehicle soon). Its really annoying when you spend so much money on a new car to have these sort of warnings appear and to take 9 months to try and fix the problem and its still on going.
We had the cd player on for 1 hour, whilst washing car, went to start it to go for a drive, battery was flat.
we also have another problem with sv6 commodore and that is we seem to be loosing coolant. once topped up goes down to minimum level after 3 months. We are getting dealer to monitor the problem with us. anyone else having cooling system problem.
so judging by when you open something up for discussion Jason’s earlier theory of only 5 out of 60,000 holdens being defective just got blown out of the water
lisa, i would think you would have a loose connection somwhere, where coolant is slowly leaking out. I had a similar problem in my VZ Commodore ute, where it happened gradually.
I’m thinking of buying a new VE Calais in October/November 2007. Am I right in thinking that most of these battery problems seem to have been on 2006 cars ie the early models, and that perhaps the battery issue has now been fixed for late 2007 vehicles?
I’d appreciate hearing from anyone who has bought a late 2007 car.
Steve
steve,
my dad just got his brand new calais V yesterday and the battery was flat in 3 hours of being stationary in the garage.
we are hoping that it was just because it had been sitting around in the dealership for a few days while the paper work was being finalised. but it was running fine today and the car is fantastic.
sean.
Holdenwoo Commondore?? is a Bommodore which is the same as a Lemmondore, so you become a Dummodore. Next time buy a vehicle that when you drive it away from the showroom floor that she never has to return again only for service intervals, otherwise what’s the point there’s enough frustration and stress in the world without having to worry about stupid car’s like you have. ULTIMATE BRAIN DRAIN…
i brought a second hand 1989 model and my battery drains . have had 4 batterys in one yeah . i will go to start car and it seems to appear flat (normally on when i have a trolley of shopping or needing to go to work). i will then need to get some one to pick me up then return to car 3 or more hours later and car works . why is this? it is becoming a hassle
Behave Klink ,I know you want toooooo!
Maybe your alternator isn’t charging the battery when your driving it? Get it checked out!
Get your workshop to do a voltage check when your engine is running first,other wise it could be discharging from numerous things not switching off when your turning the car off. Car alarms,after market stereos ……..
Yes, ummm… aah indeed. Might be cause of the following conclusions:
1. Holden
2. Car is so old it was a reject off the Flinstones cartoons
3. Refer to point 1 when unsure
Yes it is only culprit. Thanks BM as no other answer!
BM…sounds like you are handy on the workshop and tools.
Barry said… “Holdenwoo Commondore?? is a Bommodore which is the same as a Lemmondore, so you become a Dummodore”
Too right, you need to be a Dummodore to buy any Dunnydore!!!
My Calais is 12 months old and has had the battery drain issue for 10 months.
They won’t / can’t fix it, they talk to me like a child when
I complain. I take the heap in for an oil change and they charge the battery while it’s there. Last time I checked in the handbook, an 3k oil change should not also require 6 hours on the battery charger.
All of the electronics in my Calais freezes up if I dare to start the car on a cold morning, or if it has been sitting for a couple of days.
The ABS and ESP lock up and error lights / chimes come on and my ABS / ESP don’t function and the car logs low voltage codes into the error log.
Mine is for sale, I’ve owned many Holdens, I’ve now had 2x major lemons, that’s it, no more Holden for me, it’s time to find something a little better designed and more importantly, tested.
Shame though, as when it works properly my Calais is a beautiful car to drive and look at.
My Calais is 12 months old and has had the battery drain issue for 10 months.
They won’t / can’t fix it, they talk to me like a child when
I complain. I take the heap in for an oil change and they charge the battery while it’s there. Last time I checked in the handbook, an 3k oil change should not also require 6 hours on the battery charger.
All of the electronics in my Calais freezes up if I dare to start the car on a cold morning, or if it has been sitting for a couple of days.
The ABS and ESP lock up and error lights / chimes come on and my ABS / ESP don’t function and the car logs low voltage codes into the error log.
Mine is for sale, I’ve owned many Holdens, I’ve now had 2x major lemons, that’s it, no more Holden for me, it’s time to find something a little better designed and more importantly, tested.
Shame though, as when it works properly my Calais is a beautiful car to drive and look at.
My Calais is 12 months old and has had the battery drain issue for 10 months.
They won’t / can’t fix it, they talk to me like a child when
I complain. I take the heap in for an oil change and they charge the battery while it’s there. Last time I checked in the handbook, an 3k oil change should not also require 6 hours on the battery charger.
All of the electronics in my Calais freezes up if I dare to start the car on a cold morning, or if it has been sitting for a couple of days.
The ABS and ESP lock up and error lights / chimes come on and my ABS / ESP don’t function and the car logs low voltage codes into the error log.
Mine is for sale, I’ve owned many Holdens, I’ve now had 2x major lemons, that’s it, no more Holden for me, it’s time to find something a little better designed and more importantly, tested.
Shame though, as when it works properly my Calais is a beautiful car to drive and look at.
vz or ve?take it to an auto elecrician not holden they dont care, it might cost 1 2 hundred you wont be able to sell if the problem is still there.take it to ford for a trade in im sure they take it.You might loose a few grand but holdens sell well and hold there value on the aus market.go fairmont ghia for luxury, or xr6 for sporty.
What state you in? i can point ya in the right direction.
I really do not understand why so many wankers get on here and bag Holdens for god’s sake ,every car has it’s problems otherwise the car manafactures would go broke due to know spare part sales or purchase of the new models with improved technology…
I wonder which one of you wankers that are bagging Holden’s can tell me what Model Ford ,Mazda,Kia,Nissan,Toyota,Mitsubishi,Subaru never had any faults with them ,I bet you’d be a bit confused about that one now wouldn’t you ….
Seriously grow up and leave this site to the people that need genuine advice about cars not read on and get a shit load of comments from people that probably dont even know how to change a set of wiper blades ..
I have been working on cars for a very long time and I can tell you they all have faults minor or major……
WOW!!! you’re calling everyone wanker’s, we pick on this subject because they are poorly built, have a look around do a search on google you will find genuine issues mainly centering Holden VE these day’s, always walking up #@$% creek, when a car company from Australia governed by GM can spend 1 billion dollar on lemons, surely to god they could give us a product that only needs service intervals not unschedueled visit to the dealer’s mechanic shop….
I remmember vividly Holden tosser’s would pick on Falcons door handles falling off the body, a fairly minor problem, I think the worst Ford model was EA Falcon, can you remmember some of Holden’s range engines would fall apart being unsatisfactory including the VL sourced with Nissin skyline internals the parts were expensive to replace and if you didn’t use quality fluids the alloy heads would suffer….overall and over the years even up until today Ford has produced a better product with less funds…seriously lol..
mate in case you didnt notice this is a post related to people discussing problems with their commodores
I know how to change a wiper blade on a VE ……replace the whole arm! That will be $52.00 thankyou!
Well pointed out Andrew M
I didn’t know that about the wiper blade/arm. Are we moving even further into a “throw away” society?
Someone has mentioned on the site before cause I was complaining that 2 wiper blades for my car cost $22 each from BMW! The oil filter was only $14.00
Wheelnut might know !
yeah ive heard that too BM
A possible reason for the price difference of two reasonalby basic automotive items such as an oil filter and wiper blades could be because There are a number of cars which can accept the same model Oil Filter.. which makes it similar to a one size fits all situation and therefore; basic trhow away filters are pretty cheap
However wipers are an area where designers can show a bit of flair.
I mean some cars have the standard double arm action as on Commodore and Falcon.. some cars have wipers which are hinged on the outer corners of the windscreen and sweep out from the centre as on the Mazda MPV [I think]
and others particularly euro sportscars have the single arm
Therefore the blades can be different lengths and the fittings can also be different some simply snap on some have a slide-lock and some its easier to replace the whole arm.. and its because their is so much variation in such a simple item that increases production costs > the price
The other reason of course could be because it’s for a BMW
I suggest however don’t use the “sports” models with two blades on the one arm.. if a gumnut or little rock gets caught in between the two blades it will scratch the crap out of your windscreen.
Hope this info helps
For examle some cars have the normal uniform double arm action as on Commodore and Falcon
some cars have a left right action where the arms are hinges on the outer left and right of the windscreen
Has HOLDEN fixed the problem yet?
In relation to the battery drain issue. A mate of mine has replaced the battery in his VE SS with a “dry cell” batery – like the ones you see powering those custom in car entertainmnet systems – usually found in haymarket hot rods.. the stereo is has more power than the owner has IQ
He did it not because his car had the problem but he wanted to try and prevent it.. and so far it seems to have worked.. So if your VE is affected I suggest you contact your nearest reputable Car Audio Retailler – who is a CAE member [Not Strathfield]
yes wheelnut the common and continual use of parts for a long time will see the price of parts fall.
i was only comparing that new years eve actually when i was staying down at a mates place and he had the bonnet of his VL ans VS popped ans sitting side by side doing a few little “fix ups” (it seems to be a daily thing fixing stuff on the VS though, what a troublesome car)
oil filters was one thing that came up and it reminded me of how long ford has been using the Z9 oil filter.
does anyone know how long they have been using it? i think they were around before the motorvehicle ha ha ha ha
but anyway the Z9 is certainly one of the cheapest.
also we were trying to track how many changes the commy has had. im guessing 3 when you include the VL am i right wheelnut?
also i had to buy a radiator cap for mine a few weeks back and as you cast over the little book they have (cause i couldnt remember what psi the falcon uses i thought it was 120psi but felt better to check) it was found that every damn falcon uses the same cap.
whats a dry cell battery worth by the way? im guessing not cheap.
had to buy one the other day for the other halves car and it was $160 for the ricer. lucky repco had 20%off.
im sure my battery was cheaper than that for the falcon and i got the absolute ducks nuts of batteries.
once again i suppose that comes back to how many vehicles can use the same battery aswell
In terms of appearance of the commodore there has been 5 changes
VB-VK: [even though the VK differed slightly from the VH with its rear 1/4 window.. its still pretty much the same]
VL: was a one off which still looks modern 20 years on
VN-VS: same overall body just differnet head tail lights
VT-VZ: ditto
VE:
ha ha ha yes i do know a bit about the commys you would be surprised.
i actually meant how many oil filter model changes ha ha ha
just re read my question and i suppose it wasnt specific
I’m guessing 3 or 4 in the 6cyl models.
202
nissan6
buick ecotec
alloytec
Yep I agree on the filter even though I doubt it would be used on anything else though! Its made in Austria so you would think it would also cost more! The blades however didn’t even come in any BMW packaging!!!!! So could have been
anything! Should have gone to Auto One but I hate squeaky wipers!
You have a Optima or a CAT racing Battery AndrewM!!! We had a Cat Racing one that lasted around 3 years in the Yellow car…..was a great battery!
The original battery in my AU lasted almost 7 years. I was very happy with that.
7 years…………wholly crap! I thought 2-3 was it normally!
A cousin I rarely see anymore got 12 years in a, geez what was it, Excel or Accent.
WHAT??????????
I have never had a battery that lasted more than 4 years, must be my bad luck.
Yeah, I don’t know how he got 12. I thought 7 was great until he told me that.
A mate had a RHD converted Trans-Am for a while, had an alarm and stereo fitted, and it kept crapping batteries every few months, had to jump start it EVERY time. Never resolved the alarm/stereo issue (if that was the prob) and so got rid of it.
Oh all those Commodore buyers, when will they ever learn?
Correct; In terms of oil filters it’s 3 [due to the gradual increase in engine capacity - obviously..2.2 > 6.0]
I stopped reading at the part where holden gets hand outs…. name one person in australia who doesnt at one point in their life, MORE to the point… Weather or not holden get hand outs is off the fricken topic.
to thos people saying such things as “when wil lthey ever learn” – Al Juraj
Define what htere is to learn, I owned a BF falcon and a VE omega, I had some battery issues with my VE but gees its a better car to drive, its more comfortable, it feels safer and it certainly has value for money… I brought my BF for 28grand privately and sold it 6 months later and I couldnt give it away, only got $12,000 for it. im selling my omega now for a ssv and though i brought it at a dealer fer 32k i think getting the 28500 i have been offered is fair gain for a 2 year old vehicle – dont you?
FYI for everybody who actually cares about their VE take it to your holden service demand a new ignition barrel…. that is the culprate.
OMFG! I paid $88,000 for a new E-Series LS3 HSV GTS in Oct ‘08 and immediately noticed and reported digital instrument cluster issues. The battery died on the GTS before I took delivery and it took a day to recharge it.
20 days after delivery I ran over some broken windscreen glass remnants on the road and two shards pierced the bridgestone tyre and by time I stopped the vehicle 150 meters down the road to investigate the wheel noise,
I had destroyed the $1,000 tyre and following
bridgestone’s argument against replacement or part reimbursement they will never see a cent from me again!
Yesterday the car was towed back to the dealership after another battery discharge. The day before that I’d called the dealership complaining of two more issues that seemingly manifested after I drove away from the 3,000km “checkup” service on Monday.
I freely admit I’ve had professional and expensive
installation of alarm upgrades and audio equipment between taking delivery of the vehicle and now but it should be noted that the battery discharged whilst sitting at the dealership before I took delivery and the pre-delivery digital instrument cluster issue, now confirmed, awaits a replacement part and issues are mounting since the “checkup”.
I’m also going to boldly proclaim that the rwkw has decreased 10-25% since the “checkup” service and I’m somewhat concerned the tachometer is churning 4,000rpm to
propel the vehicle along at 40kmph.
Haha! This baby has an agreed insurance value of $105,000 and that’s a conservative estimate. To be perfectly frank I’m concerned that I may not be able to start this vehicle in the morning.
I live for this shit and by hell or high water somebody is going to pay if these mounting issues are not resolved before I even consider getting a headache!
Look! If you’re a wuss buy something else or otherwise HTFU and enjoy the ride!
Holden’s are Sh*t all i have heard is problems with them, really you get what you pay for the are cheap and nasty. Cut a long story short BMW s*it all over Holdens :)
In October 2006 I took delivery of VE SV6. The very first weekend in the garage – battery went flat. Took it to Holden numerous times and they always claimed everything was fine.
After calling Holden Assist (RACV) for the 5th time to jump start me in mid-2007, I was advised by the RACV guy that BCM needed re-programming as Holden have now finally found the fix. Went to dealership and they did their magic. For the next 6 months everything was fine and I thoght the problem went away. Well – I was wrong. Left the car at airport for 2 nights and couldn’t even unlock it when I came back from Brisbane. Over the following 12 months I had to jump start the car another 3-4 times. In addition to this, in 2 years I had the car, I had numerous dash cluster/Air Con/Radio resest mid driving :(
In November 2008 I replaced SV6 for the brand new Calais-V Sportwagon. I had thought the problems would have been fixed by now (My SV6 was one of the first off the production line) and again – I was wrong. First flat battery I got in Calais-V was in December. My wife just had to be jump started again yesterday :(
I have a friend at work with early 2008 Calais and he had flat battery 2 times.
These bloody things are LEMONS! Great cars to drive – if/once they start (what a shame).
Since the new Commodore is not coming out until 2012, and based on their current track record with not fixing the fault, there is no way in hell that I’m ordering another Commodore next time I’m out of lease in 2010.
It’ll have to be some Euro based or Japanese car. Maybe Ford releases some decent wagon that looks as good as Holden Sportwagon!?
Had Holdens all my life but this did it for me…
We have a VE Commodore that we purchased in April 2008.
Earlier this year we had a flat battery. We took the car to the Holden Dealer, the service department kept the car overnight to fix the issue. Last week, while on holidays, the car’s battery died again. The RAC mechanic who came to jump start our car told us that he starts at least five VE Commodores a day.
The piece of cramp is back for an overnight visit at the Holden Dealer so they can “fix” the issue again.
I honestly don’t care what the problem is with these cars I just want ours fixed or I don’t want it at all.
my mates EF falcon has a R&J battery fitted in it and still goin after 7 years. Best batteries out there. Holden must be using duracels or energizers. What a joke by holden
I have an october 2008 SSV sportswagon and have numerous times had a flat battery yesterday being the worst left the car with the keys in the ignition but nothing on had driven 150k day before went out to move the car into the garage and found its as dead as no interior lights or dash lights haven’t approached the dealer yet but i will post information if i have any joy finding out the problem.
I have also left the radio on for an hour and the car doesn’t start but not as dead as yesterday.
I own a 2006 VE ‘V’ Series Commodore, which I purchased new in Jan 2007.
This morning when I tried to unlock the car it refused to do so. I then unlocked the door with the key, thinking that the remote had packed it in. I then put the key in the ignition and attempted to start the vehicle only to find that the battery was as flat as a tac. Contacted the Holden dealer and was told to book the vehicle in for a battery recharge and a computer update, even though an update was done on 13/01/09 at the 30,000K service, which was to fix the battery drain problem. I’ll take it in tomorrow and see what happens. Not happy at all this is my sixth Holden. I had no such problem with the others.
The time period between battery manufacture & its delivery in a vehicle to the customer is excessive. The batteries in new vehicles are often flat while sitting in the dealers yards. They get partly charged as & when needs arise, i.e. to move the vehicle around, delivery to a customer, etc.. Battery that is flat for long periods of time (several weeks) can NEVER be charged to 100% capacity. From experience, batteries in most new vehicles sold in Australia can at best be charged to only about 50% of their capacity.
Charles,
my last car went through 4 years of service to myself before i needed to replace it
I said “most”. Lucky you.
I used to run a small company providing automotive electrical design services. More detailed answers to the battery issues can be found in the above blog.
To the smart asses out there your turn will come and I hope you will be as fustrated as I am in trying to resolve whatever issue.
My SV6 VE Ute (Battery in Cabin) is great to drive once started.
Park it for seven days and battery is totally dead and I guarantee you can set your clock by that.
It has been to the dealer three times for this issue still no fix and I still can’t work out fact from bullshit.
Over 40 years of car ownership and have never experienced regular battery problems until now.
To ensure that this will start whenever required I now make sure a battery charger is connected and operational everytime the car is garaged.
No more Holdens for me after this.
Your problem has been described a few entries ago. Invest a few dollars in battery electrolyte hygrometer (at autobarn or similar shop) and check the density in your battery. All cells must return nearly identical reading. I am sure the readings are not above 1200, indicating about 40% charge. Try & charge that battery, & you’ll discover that the density remains the same, which indicates that your battery is & will remain only 40% of its original capacity. And, sadly, you have to invest in a new battery. This new one, prior to installation, should be fully charged & density checked with the hygrometer (before & after charging). After full charge the density must be in the green field of the hygrometer. The new battery should the last for at least 3 or 4 years. More details can be found in our blog at cdpl1.blogspot.com/
Charles,
I would just like to correct a couple of points you have made.
“Invest a few dollars in battery electrolyte hygrometer (at autobarn or similar shop)”
Why anyone would want to measure the relative humidity (which is what a hygrometer measures) of a battery is beyond me. Maybe a Hydrometer(which is used to measure the specific gravity of electrolyte) would be much more useful,although,as the batteries in the VE are maintenance free calcium batteries with no access to each cell, this would be impossible.Also, if anyone wants to buy a hydrometer, I would strongly suggest you buy one from a battery specialist or solar shop(preferably GEFO brand)as the cheap glass ones sold in parts shops and the like are extremely unreliable.
“I am sure the readings are not above 1200, indicating about 40% charge. Try & charge that battery, & you’ll discover that the density remains the same, which indicates that your battery is & will remain only 40% of its original capacity.”
What a lot of rot. Batteries with a specific gravity of 1120(which is 0% capacity or 11.85volts or less)can be recharged back to (or near) 100%, depending on age and length of time it has been sitting flat.
“From experience, batteries in most new vehicles sold in Australia can at best be charged to only about 50% of their capacity.”
Not sure where you get that gem from. 50% capacity is roughly 12.2volts or 1190sg.If this was the case(depending on engine size and air temperature among other things) most cars would not get through the 12month warranty period without the need for a replacement battery.This simply is not the case.
I could go on…..maybe later.
With apology, I stand corrected about the hygrometer. Let’s wait for Fremann’s report.
I’ve worked in a dealership for a few years now, and the only time I’ve seen this flat battery problem in the VE Commodore is when people have left the keys in the ignition. For some reason this drains the battery within even just a few hours. Anyone else come to this conclusion?
One would have thought that your electrician – any auto electrician – is able to pin-point the leak in 5 minutes.
Just purchased a Oct 2007 VE SV6, same problem, Bit concerned after one night. Its hard when you cant rely on a battery because we left the key in the igition for an hour while we were cleaning it and listening to the radio. Not impressed at having to jump start it and defintely not impressed with the thought that it now has to be something that is considered everytime I go to start the car. Used to be a big fan of holden, something so simple shouldnt be enough to put people off. Quiet disappointing
my 08 VE SS V had the battery drain problem back in july. Took it to the dealer who did a re-flash and charged the battery overnight. Since then it’s been ok until middle of last week when it happened again.
I sent customer service an email with Choice magazine, Motor & Whee magazine copied in and got reply back from them the next day telling me the usual stuff about the dealer needing to diagnose the problem etc. Now this morning it’s happened again and i’ve sent them another email telling them to pick the car up themselves and that i want a load car while they fix mine.
Will wait and see what happens but frankly i am amazed and incredibly disappointed that this is even happening. I switched from Ford to Holden because of rubbish customer service and now it’s happening with this car.
I purchased a 07 VE Calais international, and also encountered the battery drain problem after 3 days of ownership, very disappointing. What I worked out is that if you turn the radio or CD on without the ignition key in the accessory position, the CD will keep playing draining the battery, even if the car has been switched off and locked.
If however you turn the radio/CD on with the ignition key in the accessory position, the audio system will shutdown when you open the door or lock the car.
Most Jap cars I have owned will let you listen to the radio etc without a key in the ignition, but the radio has a timer that will shut the system off after 30 minutes or so, it seems with the Holden this is not the case.
I have not had any issues since, touch wood as I would have to dismantle half the back end of the car just to change the battery.
It’s a great car though.
I think they have fixed it if it was the radio issue,my brand new sv6 turns off the radio as soon as door is opened no matter what position the key is in when radio turned on,find it hard to believe that it wasnt always that way with a car that cost well over a billion $ to develop?!
000
I’d put my money on some computer/software problem that some lazy bugger in the factory didn’t pick up. Example… Systems stay on when the door is locked or a ‘lock door’ command stuck in a continuous cycle. The possibilites are endless with computer glitches.
revised if i turn on the radio after removing keys it stays on for one hour
I have a Holden Berlina and when I loaded my CD stacker while the car was in the standby position. I then tried to start the car and found that the battery was flat I had to call out the road service to jump star the car it stated immediately and when the battery was checked it appears to be fully charged. Can it be the CD player draining the battery or is it because I have not driven the car for 2 days
How do I get into the Boot to replace the battery of oiur VE with NO power
Jack R,
Open the car with your key (the old fashioned way), open back door, pull down centre seat and there is a yellow boot release on the left hand side as you are facing the back of the car.
Hope this helps
Jack R
JUMP START YOUR CAR AND THEN YOU HAVE FULL CONTROL,If you didnt already know there are jump starting terminals under the bonnet,Iknow the battery isnt there but there are terminals to do it
Have an SV6 I got in March from Brisbane Holden dealer. Had done 15000 k and belonged to Holden factory staff. Got a warning saying “battery saver mode” a few times lately but not all the time. Owner’s manual says very little usefull stuff about that.Car was left idle for two days over weekend, battery completely flat.Does anyone know what that whining electrical noise is that goes for about 3 seconds after you lock car? Its been getting louder.
I have a 2008 40th anniversary E series 1 HSV GTS and guess what the same problem…off to nissan i go
We have started switching the radio off manualy radio before switching off the ignition, and have had no battery drain issues ever since. Went Overseas for 12 days and on return the car started no problem. Worth a try for other Calais/Commodore owners etc with the same battery drain issues, as it helped restore my faith a little.
Hi Giys, This issue with Ve Commodore’s just hity home with me tonight. I have just arrived home from a few days away, and Yep. You guested it. It was Dead as a Doddo.
I too at first thought it was simply a flat remote battery. Grabbed my wife’s key to find that they didnt work either. RAQC call later to find out from him after jump start, that yes common fault. I will be talking to holden tomorrow. However from your comments, i dont expect any support from them. Perhpas a great issue to bring to the media’s attention.
i Had the same problem on my VE SSV Ute last week 4 times in 4 days ,i then went into the menu section of dash computer and in the lighting section i disabled the the timer on the lighting from 30 sec to disabled and so far so good for the last 3 days
I have a 2009 VE International, no problems with the battery, but this is the second time in 4 weeks the check engine light has gone on and it has gone into limp mode.. typical on a sunday so towed home and will be off to dealer again tomorrow. Last time it was a faulty injector. Bet it is the same this time has anyone else had this problem.
I have an 08 SV6. Had no idea that this sort of thing was happening until yesterday. Got in the car and it wouldn’t even kick over. The dash and instrumentation lit up though. Came back the next day and now everything is completely dead. The only thing I’ve done different was start it two more times than usual that day… now battling to get the battery out. Ill take it to a auto electrician tomorrow and have the battery tested. Ive heard that Holden have been using a few second rate batteries of late, with even the slightest drop in volatge or current causing the cars not to start. Shall see what this battery test shows up.
I have a 07 VM Caprice and a year ago, after not using the car for 24 hours, completely dead battery. This continued over a three month period, with about another four Roadside assist calls, always if I had not used the car for over 24 hours. Holden charged the battery and replaced the wire looms in the rear doors, did lots of testing and all seemed okay until a few weeks ago, other than sometimes when starting, sounded not quite charged, but it started. I accidently had the keys in the ignition and headlights on, car not running and this caused the battery to become completely flat in 10 mins! Not a happy camper. Roadside assist again and then a week ago, vacuuming the car with only one door open at a time and no keys in the ignition and then completely flat in 15mins. Back to Holden, nothing wrong with battery, something is draining it and they’ve now had the car for two days and they believe the problem is the remote unit in the back parcel shelf (pulling 40amps not recommended 10amps)… I’ll let you know how I get on.
We have recently bought a holden berlina ve 06 model at pickles auctions and are experiencing the same battery problem. At first pickles warranty didn’t cover the batter so got NRMA to fit a new one in. Then after 4 days the battery is flat. We had listened to music in the car for about an hour or so without the car being turned on. After reading most of the comments i realised it was holdens fault as many are experiencing the same problem. Will holden be able to fix it without charge? or how much will it cost? Holden better pick up their game or i couldn’t care less if competitors from overseas take out the market, because they simply make better cars. you cant expect people to buy it because its made here, it has to be worth it or no one will care at all.
Mate you said it yourself. You were listening to music for an hour without the engine running.That would drain the battery in any car. Thats a stupid thing to do and even an L-plater would know that.
If you went to the drive in, speakers are now thru the radio – wouldnt most cars have a flat battery after a 2hr movie then. Engine isnt running but radio is?
Hi everybody with the flat battery problem. I would like to know if some can measure voltage on a battery while the motor is running at some 2500 rpm at minimum. At first when the motor is cold. Then second measurement when the motor is really hot, after a long ride. I suspect the cause of your problems is to to low charging voltage that becomes really problematic at lower temperatures. I guess you are through the winter season now down there in AUSTRALIA.
My wife and I purchased an 07 Calais V 6.0 with 35K on the clock three months ago. We had no problems until 2 days ago, when we went to start the car and the battery was dead. After removing the battery and charging it overnight, I had it tested and it was found to be OK. So I took the car to Holden and they found no problem. Half an hour after picking it up the stability control, started switching itself off and then back on. The car is back at Holden.
We are starting to regret trading in our VY which never gave us any problems.
o
Hi everyone,
I think its fair to say Holden have had major issues with their batteries over the past couple of years,i have seen my fair share from poor connections, software issues, modules staying awake or waking up, water ingress into connectors waking the low speed bus, and probably poor communication from dealers to customers explaining that you can’t leave the ignition on or listen to the radio for extended periods of time. These vehicles pull 8 amps of current with the low speed bus awake, so if your radio is on, the low speed bus is awake. This is why we are seeing people with problems driving down the street, locking their cars, going shopping only to return to a flat battery, happens very fast when there is a problem. Holden have only just identified the latest software problem in the instrument panel causing it to wake the bus, if you have had POWER SAVE MODE come up whilst driving contact your dealer to have this software programmed…
I am the owner of VE SS ute, Clocked over 14000 k’s and 14 months of ownership now and it has been hassle free until about a month ago, On 2 consecutive mornings it came up on the dash Power Save Mode, Which led me to think ok its low on power, i checked the manual which said low battery power, Since then no warnings or hassles until yesterday , I last drove the car on saturday night @ 9.30pm for my 10 drive from work to home, The car sat all day sunday and all day monday up until 4.30pm when i went to start is waddya know FLAT BATTERY
I am the owner of VE SS ute first registered 24/10/08, Clocked over 14000 k\’s and 14 months of ownership now and it has been hassle free until about 6 weeks ago, On 2 consecutive mornings it came up on the dash \”Power Save Mode\”, Which led me to think ok its low on power, i checked the manual which said low battery power, Since then no warnings or hassles until yesterday , I last drove the car on saturday night @ 9.30pm for my 10 minute drive from work to home, The car sat all day sunday and all day monday up until 4.30pm when i went to start it waddya know FLAT BATTERY, Roadside assist (NRMA)came out and gave me the boost it needed to turn it over, speaking to the NRMA guy he said it has been a problem of late, doing about 5 VE’s in the last week all ranging from sitting for 1 or 2 hrs to 2 days like mine and getting a flat battery, Like a few of the other comments i have read it unlocked the drivers door under command of the remote and only had dash lights thats all, I did however around the same time of the \”battery saver mode\” warning come on set the egress lights setting to 30 seconds( in other words the headlights will come on if its night time to see where you are walking when approaching or leaving the car after using the remote to unlock or lock it) since then making sure the lights are going off to ensure no battery drain.And yesterday turning the feature off, to see if that will fix the problem, I will update here in a couple off weeks to let you all know.
I have a 2006 VE Omega that is showing 23litres/km on city cycle.
Does anyone have any clues? It used to use around 10.5.
Scan shows low throttle position “unlearned”
Car is out of warranty (135000km on clock)
Have bought & fitted new throttle switch assembly, same result! HELP?
vz commodore…zero battery problems. Sorry to hear of the mess.
should I be suprised that the holden commodre has yet another problem? Nope and im not either lol
Crap cars, crap warranty and crap service. Holden = crap
I have a 60th aniversary 08/08 – no probs except once centre console/radio etc was nobody home till i restarted about 6 months ago. My mate has a 07 csv and was dead one morning, RAC (in WA) said was Bluetooth not disconnecting from phone – all issues seem to centre around same panel.
I have a 08 SS VE AUTO with 50K on clock.Had the battery issues twice. Second time jump start, I drove it for about a 100ks and then parked, over the next week shift patterns in the auto were slow, hesitant and on two occasions very dangerous as it refused to shift down for approx 2 seconds leaving me in a very interesting position.Back to Dealer they said :The battery would only be charged to 75% capacity and it would affect shift patterns, then informed that they fullly charged battery, remapped auto module and all Ok.. That was 3 months ago no probs since… ( must say at the time thought it was a load of crap)Any one else simalar situations?
I’ve had the battery drain problem with my VE commodore.
Initially thought to be related to the BCM but my software was updated.
They checked the car door harnesses but despite being the older unsealed type, there were no issues (lucky as my car is not garaged!).
The service manager eventually talked to someone who suggested wires being pinched by the rear-view mirror mount and/or sun-visor. By touching the mirror or sun visor the multi-meter reading ‘bounced’.
I managed to get a look at the holden tech-line about the problem. The rear view mirror problem is NOT in the normal VE omega tech-line but is listed in the Calais etc tech-line as they have powered mirrors in the sun-visor.
I’ve had the door harnesses replaced just in case!
well i was reading in the local paper that holden sent out a letter dl 63/09 on november 30 that has a check list for the dealer to go through and a revised software for instrument-panel cluster. Just like it says up the page abit.So i might have a look at a secondhand one now that someone is looking into.
Ive just experienced this problem. I have a Calais V just under 3 years old.
My CD player was becoming unreliable and ejecting CD’s so the local dealer opted to replace the entire radio unit under warranty. That was yesterday. I picked up the car at 5pm last night and drove it about 3 kms to a local restaurant to meet friends for dinner. I then drove it about 8 kms to home about 11pm last night and left it locked in the garage over night. At 8AM this morning the battery was flat. The NRMA came out to jump start it and measured the battery voltage at 3 Volts.
Its been at the dealership today and I’m about to collect it. They’ve told me they’re just completing a software update. We’ll see if it works as I have a 4 day country trip this weekend and I’m not looking forward to being stranded.
I must be the lucky one then as I have a 2007 V8 Caprice and had no problems at all with the battery.
I often park it on Saturday and don’t use it again till Monday morning and have had a few trips overseas where I don’t drive it for 4 weeks at a time. It starts every time.
I’ve probably jinxed myself by writing this though!
Well were do you start, I have had all of those problems and more. I own a 2007 VE Calais V with lots of optional extras and my problems started at 3 months of owning the vehicle. And when I say something to Holden Service dept, they give me the run around, and I feel that they don’t listen to me. My dash warnings area is forever having different things flash up on it and it switches things on and off in between times of driving the car. I have had a replacement battery at 3 months and then I replaced the battery myself just before Christmas with a heavier duty battery from a Battery shop.
The latest episode occur last night, the interior light switched on and I tried to switch it off, only to realise that the door open warning light was on. I thought this strange as I had been moving and the automatic locking of the doors once the car was moving had already been activated. So I stopped the car, went around and reclosed all of the doors and still the same, once home I thought that this would fix itself and reset as it had done so on a previous occassion. But no last night, it alarmed to say that a door was open when I tried to lock it the interior light stayed on and also the console lights, the dash instruement lights had switched of when the car was locked. I reopenned and locked the vehicle several times with the same result, but did manage to get the interior light out by switching it off so when the door opens it will not activate. I thought that maybe overnight it would reset itself and all would be good. Well every 10 minutes the car alarm activated, and I had toyed with the idea of letting it do so over night as pay back to my neighbour, but that meant that I also wouldn’t get any sleep.
RACQ come out and the solution was to disconnect the battery, with me to reconnect it this morning before taking it to the workshop. I know that I will be less than happy with there service and will be given the run around, and be made feel that I am imagining the whole thing.
Had this issue this morning when I went to start the car this morning at 6:30 on my way to work. I’ve got a Nov 2008 VE Commodore SV6 and alarm bells started ringing when the remote unlock wouldn’t work.
The car had been parked up since Friday evening so it was idle for a total of 2.5 days. I unlocked it manually and got absolutely no response, no lights or sounds when I turned the key in the ignition.
2 things have happened in the last 2 months in the lead up to this. About 2 months ago I started the car and got the ABS not in Operation warning. About 3 weeks ago when I started the car I got the “Battery Operating in Stealth mode” or something to that effect.
Had to call NRMA whom I must say were very responsive. Car started no worries with jump start but immeadiately displayed the ‘Check Engine’ √ sign and the alternator light came on too. Brought it straight to Holden and 2.5 hours later they have reset the ECU. They said that the ECU had been programmed not to charge the battery below a certain level which had caused the error. I asked the question regarding how the battery had got to such a low/completely dead level but this was not really answered. Left Holden and drove for 15 minutes and no warning lights have shown. Will see if the issue raises it’s ugly head again over the coming days. Thanks to everyone for their help already on this issue…
I purchased A NEW VE SSV Commodore during September of 2007. I have encountered numerous problems with this vehicle over the 24 Months or so that I have had it. These problems are listed below.
Window Washer bottle needed replacing,
Stereo Unit was replaced as it blanked out,
I had to have a bolt removed from my door which they say wasn’t even from my model vehicle and that my door has been replaced (How this happened I do not know as I have never had an accident in it),
I have had two fan belts thrown of the wheels at once, (this was repaired by roadside assistance),
I had defects in my paint on the bonnet of the vehicle,
My air conditioning belt came of and I was told it was the Harmonic Balancer,
My car has been tested a few times and has on occasions lost 1.2 litres of oil over 2000 kilometers (this happens occasionally between services) I am not entirely sure what is going to be done about this.
I think the rear brakes needed replacement due to a factory recall.
Stereo has been replaced again.
Clutch plate replaced as it was slipping only in 4th gear.
Suspension clucnks aswell
Full motor rebuild was carried out from the 7th December 2009 until 22nd Jan 2010.
When the car was returned to me on that date I drove home and the car broke down and wouldn’t start again. People behind me said that smoke came from underneath the car not from the exhaust. When the car broke down there were no indications in the dash of any problems. After it was restarted the check engine light came on. Spoke to service department this morning and they said that they found an oil leak in the motor and were working to fix it. This repair meant that my car was off the road for a month and a half and I am still not sure when I will get it back. I believe that this car will never be the same again and Holden’s 50,000 Kilometre warranty on new parts is terrible as I drove it only 20 Km and it broke down. I am concerned that this car when purchased new for around $50,000 is going to keep giving me problems. What troubles me is how Holden let my car be off the road for the last part of 2009 and the first month of 2010. It is a long time to be without my vehicle when a new motor to be put in would only take about a week and probably be more reliable than a rebuilt motor which obviously hasn’t gone to well as I have had to return it to holden on the same day that they returned it to me. I am waiting on an itemized list of parts replaced during the second attempt to fix my car. When you contact me again I should have that list.
Broke down again last night i Think the starter motor.
But my service team were good they thru in two engine belts because they found them frayed. that was good will from them and after the first break down when my engine was rebuilt from bottom up.
One other thing was that whilst they had my car I was stupid enough to leave my E-Tag in it and the service department used it on 3 occasions totaling $20.20.
I think I will get service department to pay back that money but once again just because it is in the car doesn’t mean they can use my Tag. What could be worse is I wasn’t told that they used it. I knew that they were going to drive home in it once for test driving but I notice he did it twice because I was charged on two separate days for a trip to Liverpool. My car was returned with just over half a tank of feul when it was handed to them full as I had just filled up before it broke down.
My vehicle is regularly serviced and has always been kept in good condition. As you can see I am not happy with the Brand New Holden.
Wife asked me to fill up Window Washer bottle on our VE Calais and noticed water leaking from underneath car whilst filling.
I have read about Window Washer bottles splitting, was this your problem?
one of the problems was the split water bottle
Muzza said: “I had to have a bolt removed from my door which they say wasn’t even from my model vehicle and that my door has been replaced (How this happened I do not know as I have never had an accident in it),
I have had two fan belts thrown of the wheels at once, (this was repaired by roadside assistance),
I had defects in my paint on the bonnet of the vehicle.”
I would bet that it was damaged in transit from the Holden factory to the dealer and sent to a panelshop for repairs and still sold as new. It happens often with new cars. The dealers should be forced to inform when this happens and offer substantial discount.
You certainly seem to have your hands full with problems. Stay on them and insist on them doing the job properly.
I hope they offered you a loan vehicle to sweeten the aggravation!
They did give me the biggest piece of crap car to use for two months.
It is back in the shop again this time with a corroded spark plug lead.
Holden offered me a new 2 year 75000 warranty on top of my 100000 but I still dont think it is enough. the door part could of happened in transit but noone can tell you that. will not get car back untill Monday hopefully with no more problems.
I wish we had the Lemon law here in Aus.
Shak and Chris, firstly, it’s more likely a faulty batch of batteries which discharge quickly. Possibly a shorted plate. It will start OK and the alternator will power everything. Once the engine is switched off, the battery self dicharges into the shorted plate. These are a sealed lead acid batteries and quite common to happen in the industrial versions which are actually more robust than the car variety which have wafer thin lead plates. There is nothing in the car short of the headlights being left on that would do that sort of discharge to kill it to 3 volts. The average battery is around 80 amphours, so a CD player will definitely not do it over a couple of days. Secondly, it is very common for dealers to repair new cars befor sale and just as common for customers complaining about finishes and getting them resprayed under warranty. I know a dealership that commonly sends their new cars before sale to a local panel shop. Believe me, all the car dealers do it, and yes, it comes out perfect, as good if not better than the factory. I had a scratch repaired on a metallic voodoo and you cannot tell. This panel shop also does all Fords, Holdens, Brand New imported Mustangs with new body kits which need colour matching. He gets all the dealers work because he is so good. His name is Kim Rhode. Rhodes Panels, Ferntree Gully, Victoria. he is also recommended by Toyota Grey Imports becuase of his matching ability. He does a paint job exactly to the factory standard, single colour, two pack, clear. he’s amazing. All the dealers within cooee send him their new car work because he is perfect. There is no such thing as a discount if your car was resprayed or touched up before sale. It has been going on since time began. The dealer doesn’t get a discount if it was scratched on the truck. I suspect up to 30% of all new cars are damaged in some way before sale. They are all repaired to new standard before sale.
Muzza, I am not surprised that a number of things have failed on a new car but I think after you put it in not before. You also have one of the first series before a lot of the bugs including software have been fixed. Not so much the car being faulty originally I would say but the apprentices working on it. Probably, your car became a project. Holden should have shipped a new motor, which they won’t do. Instead they would have drip fed the dealer with advice on what to work on and paid just that. Your suspension has a fix. The dealer has a fix, it’s called Techline, for anything sent down from the factory, so a techline fix to change bushes front end to stop the clunks but only if you ask. The rear could have damaged striker plates. Ask the dealer to check for these. It happens if you jack the car on a slant one side and it stuffs the striker plate rear on the other with all the cars weight. Great design. Bloody annoying. There has been a problem with the stereo come airconditioning facia and there is a replacement facia now supplied under warranty. There is also upgraded airconditioning software available. There is also a fix for the hesitant change down on auto’s. New auto transmission software available for that. Your car has a three year warranty, not a perpetual warranty, so you can’t, even though you might like to, have a warranty 4 or 5 years out from purchase with parts that were replaced at 2 years and 9 months. The dealer has the right to give you warranty up to three years from purchase, new, so the 50K km parts warranty is still good if it takes you past the three year mark but it doesn’t have to. You paid for a three year warranty. That’s it. My advice to all of you is if you have a clean garage or driveway, give up dealer servicing and save yourself hundreds. Buy a genuine oil filter, air cleaner and oil from your dealer and do it yourself. It will cost about $100. Only put it in for warranty work. Don’t thrash the thing! yes it’s a high performance car, no, it’s not a race car. i find it takes about 12 months to settle any new car with warranty issues, software, squeaks and rattles then they seem to be good. I have a VT Exec, VX supercharged, and SSV, all since new and after the initial WTF? this is supposed to be a new car! They all settle down to be enjoyable pieces of machinery as long as you don’t let a mechanic near the FN thing other than warranty work. I am an electrican and probably take more care cleaning a sump plug than you ever thought possible. Never let them touch your spark leads either as the carbon breaks with rough mechanic’s or apprentice hands. cars seem to leak oil after mechanics touch them too. Never seen a leak in 10 years of servicing my own cars with genuine parts after the first dealer service. I actually have one unresolved issue in my SSV, still under warranty, and that is a coolant smell after stopping. The dealer believes it to be steam which only eminates when hot. Ha Ha. In 14 months it has not dropped the level in the filler bottle though so I am not too concerned but they cannot find it even after pressure testing the system. So be it. I still have another 16 months warranty and its only done 2,000kms. Well I actually like driving my supercharged better. OK? The VT and VX I still own and they are absolutely brand new in every detail. Shows what a good mechanic i am. FTG Holden even offered me a job they know I am so meticulous about cars and their spare parts and service guys always asking when they can buy my cars for their wives when I have finished! Read my blog about the panels above. Very normal for your car to have been repaired before buying it new. They should tell you if it was serious though. More likely it will be the dealer special that weekend though. Have a good one.
Hi.. i have an 06 Ve Berlina with remote key problems,the last time it worked i had the door open and hit the lock button and the horn sounded, so unlucked the doors again , shut the door and locked it again , and have had this problem since…. cant open the car with the remote, untill i put the key in the door and turn it anti clock wise, when i have done this the remote works until you leave the car for a minute or so, then it doesnt work. until i put the key back in the door and turn it anti clockwise again ? have tried changing the batterie didn;t fix it, tried my spare remote it does the same thing???? any ideas ????
Left my HSV Senator for almost 2 days locked etc. Came back and flat as a tack. Rang Holden and they have booked iot for an urgent service. Did not seem surprised etc
I have a 2006 SV6 that has been reasonably good. Yes I had the early battery issues and the warning lights now and then.
Comes a time to sell it, who would guess, the check engine light has started to come on. If this effects my resale value be sure GMH will know about it. No one can find the fault so ill be asking for that in writing so the purchaser can be well assure the manufacturer has no idea what is going on with their own vehicles.
I bought an ‘06 VE Berlina last july and the altenator light just came on, can anyone let me know what the actual problem might be before I take it to Holden, no doubt they will give me the run around.