2007 Holden Captiva SX Warranty Complaint
August 30, 2007 by Alborz Fallah
2007 Holden Captiva SX Warranty Complaint
Name: Rob Dunbar
Car Make: Holden
Car Model: Captiva SX
Year of Manufacture: 2007
Warranty Complaint:
Emmission control warning light coming on & the engine running rough.
Returned to the dealers 4 times in the first 6,000Kms, for a total of 6 days in the workshop. Replaced all oxygen sensors. Replaced computer. The car seems to run great for 4 – 5 days & then does the same again. Problem still not fixed.
Tags: Holden Captiva
Sorry I had to disturb the dust again but it’s everywhere I’m staring to choke on the holdenwoo lemon crap. warning light keeps coming on, oh my god it’s too late boom!!! bang!!!! clunk!!!!! ahhhhhh, I knew those voices in my head where right loser! loser! FORD is better…..
Go Woz!!
Don’t buy a holdenwoo, they make lemons!!
We nicknamed our Holden Captiva A Craptiva in the first Week, We have had numouros problems with wheel allingments, Dash lights coming on, An Engine leak, what next the tryes have all but scrubbed out after 30 thou. They cant seem to give this car a propper wheel alingment.
I am over it its a crap car and a crap Design reversing is dangerous Have nearlly hit 4 pedestrains you cant see…..Its a LEMON going to trade it and buy a ford.
mate ford and just about every manufacturer has lemons too.
True. The early EA Falcons were lemons. As were VN Commodores. And the Camira I owned once :-(
Yeah other manufacturers build the odd lemon but noway have they had or produce the problems Holden (daewoo) generates consistantly across the board this is fact, which tells me that Holden employer’s don’t give a crap, including the dealers having the worst record for customer satisfaction, cheap attitudes with cheaply made cars…
All the comments about lemons are good to know but does anyone have anything nice to say about Captiva? In particular the deisel Captiva SX, manual. A friend of mine says it’s the best car he’s ever owned. He had to have the computer replaced but that’s all (so far). It drives well but I agree about the reversing problem (Denise).
Also, does anyone have any experience getting their captiva (or any other holden) serviced at some place other than the dealer?
Should’ve bought the Santa Fe SUV… Quality Award winning from a high quality (3rd highest internationally.JD POWER) manafacturer.
Put Perceptions aside.
Car First. Badge Second.
I purchased a Captiva Lx in Feb 2007. It has been back to dealer to be repaired a total of 6 times over the past 7 months to rectify a problem apparently with the ‘accelorator sensor’ which leaves it practically undrivable as the vehicle looses over 50% of its already lax power.
After having the car back on this occasion for only 5 days, today the vehicle yet again played up, this time with all the warning lights coming on, leaving the tachometer, speedometer and fuel guage inoperable. I will yet again return it to the dealer, but how long does one put up with this before vehicle is deemed defective and replaced?
If I was you I would go to consumer affairs tribunal and try resolve it, then give Holden GM Daewoo a big rev for supplying you with a lemon with rotten egg smells, the two don’t go together and you have every right to be angry, if this was a Ford Territory your problem wouldn’t of surfaced…
I have had the same problem with my Captiva Lx petrol from day one, all the dash lights appeared and the car would not start,lacks power and emits a fowl rotten egg smell in the cabin. I have lodged a complaint with consumer affairs because HOLDEN cannot or will not rectify the problem. I am sick of dealing with holden who are just giving me the runaround.
I’ve had enough, at approx 4.45 melb time my wife and young daughter were travelling through a roundabout when her CAPTIVA suddenly stopped,she tried to press the accelerator down as another car was approaching them,lucky for them the other car braked in time.All it takes is that split second for someone to get killed or injured, but HOLDEN will not Address that their is a problem with my car.So i will make it well known that my CAPTIVA LX MODEL is a LEMON.
LOZA67
Geeeeeeeeeeez Laurie and family, you are lucky to get away with that, I would be pissed, as I said earlier, don’t let Holden or Daewoo walk all over you put that down, not the accelerator but on the manager, someone could of been in an accident and I surely don’t need to be tangled up with a Captiva anytime soon…
Peolple are saying Daewoo platformed Holdens don’t have recalls which makes them a superior build, though often for the blind roped in by advertisng jingles, well everything I buy these day’s is researched, I want to know what I’m buying, where it came from, who built it, etc etc etc, no recalls for Daewoo because they essentially build cheap quality crap, continuously hearing bad stories from owners scares the hell out of me and others who purchase lemons.
To Laurie’s comments from Jan 21st…
I am a LX Captiva owner and have done 20k km in just 8 months. Yes I to experienced the error lights and loss of power and was a frustrating problem.
My Holden dealer has todate rectified the problem and todate this has not occurred again. I was informed it was a sensor issue where the sensors needed to have some adjustment made.
HOLDEN DEALER CALOUNDRA CITY AUTO Sunshine Coast QLD
I have a rough idle on start up on some occassions where it appears to choke…..have made sure I use good fuel like VPOWER (Shell) and appears much better.
No other issues and love my CAR.
In answer to the original post about the emmision light coming on … check for a vacuum leak from the brake booster. On a few Captivas, it has been found to be the case. You can check this by applying the brakes first thing in the morning with the engine off. If the pedal is as hard as a rock, then chances are you have a vacuum leak. You should still get 2 or 3 “vacuum assisted” applications even with the engine off.
FYI …. I took a diesel Captiva evaluation vehicle away for an off road test trip. There were 4 adults and 3 kids in total and even with lots of slow, rough terrain, it still returned 10.6 litres/100km. This was a brand new car (64km on the clock), so it’d improve further once it loosens up a bit. Only complaint was that 5th gear torque converter lock up doesn’t happen until 116kmph light throttle cruising, which means that in most states, you have to break the legal speed limit to return the best fuel consumption figures. My figures were done at 100-110kmph for my highway stints. Torque converter lockup dropped the rpm by about 400 rpm, so I wouldn’t be at all surprised if 9.0litres/100km couldn’t be acheived.
Captiva 7 monthys old – 12 x’s into garage – fed up- Holden will not budge _ i want a new car – and will take them to court:
O2 sensors changed
crank shaft changed
ECU changed
rear lights do not work
rear lights have water in them
bonnet clasp broken
blue tooth car kit doesnt work
rear wiper comes on by itself
revs too high…… and the list goes on.
DOES ANY ONE THINK I HAVE A LEMON – HOLDEN DON’T
0400 240089
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!Chris, this is terrible, that sounds like genuine Holden service, look after your money first then customers last…should of looked elsewhere first, not on a trust base only, much better products out there. the Holden Captiva is Korean Daewoo don’t forget….
I’ve driven 3 different model Captiva’s as company cars, the latest is the 08 Turbo Diesel LX, prior was the 07 V6 LX and prior to that was the 06 V6 CX.
The Diesel has only 3K on the clock and is going great, with only 1 problem fixed so far and that was a small overflow hose to the coolant tank.
The previous 2 Captivas I had were faultless, both did numerous trips towing heavy trailers (camping) or jetski.
I find them a well built and great handling car with plenty of room for my family (7 of us!)
I understand that there may well be some cars that aren’t up to scratch (as with all manufacturers), and don’t think it’s fair to label the whole product range as a ‘lemon’ when clearly this is not correct.
Oh by the way, the earlier model Captivas were built in Korea, but are a GM Global design, not a Daewoo. The newer 08 models are built either in Korea or Thailand now.
What my dealer told me anyway!
Dealers will tell you anything Wireless as long as they get your money why would they care, still risky to buy a rebadged especially from Korea car so many problems occur from this process…
I have NEVER understood why one would pay ~$40k for a Craptiva.Its way OVER the odds and well underdone [Test vehicle for Wheels BROKE-DOWN, as have other press vehicles....Gold!!]
You can buy a PREMIUM Japanese engineered and built Mazda CX7 for *around* the same coin.Also a Kluger etc
BIG-DEAL if its even $5k more,its the BEST $5k extra you would ever spend.The CX7 is a generation ahead [at least]
I heard that C/A will be testing a CX7 soonish, as promised during the Mazda test day in Queensland last year!
The punters are *brained* by the Holden label, they deserve what they get [Reap what you sow!]
Cheers
F-0
PS For those with issues, stuff Holden, file a VCAT [or your states similar consumer dept.] claim, post-haste go to war with them, i would its YOUR money!
Wireless, Nope dealer is BS’ing you. Captive remains Daewoo designed and built. Daewoo is part of GM worldwide, and they have had some input into stuff there, but it is still Daewoo.
Holden are trying to spin the Daewoo isn’t Daewoo thing big time, I know salesmen who have been trained what to say.
PLEASE COULD ALL PROBLEMATIC CAPTIVA CAR OWNERS CONTACT VIA email as HOLDEN NEED TO BE TAKEN TO COURT – I NOW HAVE TO GO TO THE GARAGE AGAIN – BAD SMELL IN CABIN (probably catalytic converter) ……
phone 1st 0400 240 089
cheers
General Motors Corporation has been announced several recalls this year. Most of the GM vehicles called for recall in the US car market were found to have faulty car parts — prompting government agencies like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTHSA) and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) to ask automakers like GM (maker of GMC egr valve) to conduct recalls on their malfunctioning vehicles.
Just recently, the General Motors Daewoo Auto & Technology Company based in South Korea was reported to have received a warning from South Korea’s state-run consumer protection agency because of growing complaints over malfunctioning parts found in its Captiva Sport Utility Vehicle.
According to the Korea Consumer Agency, these cars were found to be dangerous because of the unidentified flaws found on the GM Daewoo’s Captiva SUVs. The car is being sold in South Korea under the name of Winstorm. Officials are worried that if these car problems are not fixed, it will cause accidents and in worst cases, maybe even death. “Though no exact reason has been identified so far for such defects in the engine area, it could undermine a consumer’s driving safety,” said the agency.
According to the news, the car problem can also be causes of major engine problems like power loss which will result to the reduction of speed when the driver speeds into the accelerator.
No injuries or death has been reported. However, several complaints were received coming from customers about an unexplainable change of speed in the car.
The General Motor Daewoo Officers did not make any comment about this matter.
General Motor Daewoo Corporation is the third largest car maker in South Korea, and is a joint venture of General Motors Corporation and Daewoo Motors. General Motors Daewoo is also on among the distributors of vehicles of GM worldwide. Almost 10% of the cars produced by General Motors are made in GM Daewoo. The most famous car brand made under the corporation is the Winstorm SUV which shares its platform from the current Chevrolet Captiva in the US car market.
Eyma Teapot Says:
February 28th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Wow, this is truely scarey stuff. I cant believe holden are selling so many captivas with so many bad reports coming through on the captiva. Even owners are bagging it! Its amazing that Daewoo couldnt even give away cars in this country yet stick a lion on the badge and consumers are crazy enough to buy them on trust value.There is a good reason Daewoo didnt make it here, Reliability and safety come to mind!!. If your looking for a good value AWD with a far better track record, you cant look past the Hyundai santa fe. Yes, like the Captiva, it may be made in korea but that is where all similarities finish.
bought sx diesel feb of this year done few thousand ks doing 110 ten on freeway hill desent light comes on , making awful grinding noise took to holden could not fix
feltgrindinfg noise through steering took to holden took for test drive said drives ok left woith serv ice to check rang back to find needs comnplete new rack and pinion steering totally shot have to wait for new steering , also pulling to left service says in my imagination
good to see i was not the only one led down the garden path when buying captiva and once they have got your signature who cares what a joke
Its sad to see the great Aussie brand has plummeted so far.
I find it hard to see the brand surviving given that the local produced stuff is so poorly produced and the rebadged stuff is Daewoo crap. I would be embarresed to drive a holden today. Sad but True
Yes, well, my ‘new’ Captiva is in the shop for the 3rd time in less than 4000Kms. Loss of power, engine warning lights etc. Just rang the dealer to be told they are trying to contact Holden tech support. Apparently they tried yesterday and gave up after 45 minutes on hold. Doesn’t give me much confidence in the brand when a) the dealer doesn’t seem to know what is wrong and b) Holden support don’t appear to want to answer the phone. On the bright side, with the lousy fuel economy, I’m saving heaps of petrol by not driving it………
Perry, sorry to say that it dsoesn’t get any better as i purchased a Holden Captiva LX model in 2007 and have had the same issues, Holden have got no idea on how to rectify the problem. Good luck and i hope you have better luck than me as i’m just banging my head against the wall with Holden.
i also had the same problem with the hill descent coming on, while driving in Albury i almost had a accident. i’m know taking the matter to the consumer advisor about these dangerous faults in this not so gr8 craptiva’s
Granted there are issues, and obviously highlighted in a concentrated manner in this forum, I still have yet to experience ANY issues, and I have had 3 different models since Nov 06.
Until such time there is evidence that the car is unsafe and causing accidents, my opinion of the car remains the same.
I prefer the diesel over the V6, it has heaps of power and is nice to drive. I also have had 2 situations whereby I had to brake extremely hard to avoid collisions with other ‘motorists’ and it pulled up great. In a less capable car I fear the end result would have been expensive.
Well, I may have had a break through with my issues. My Holden dealer has been in contact with Holden tech support who are aware of an issue with the main wiring harness. Apparently there is a chance (more than a chance I would guess judging by the number of problems) of a loose connection between the throttle pedal sensor and the engine management system. Also, there is a good chance of moisture entering the harness around this point as well. The solution, apparently bypass the wiring connector and apply a sealant around the lot. Seems to have worked so far (1 week). Fingers crossed.
Perry,Hopefully your right as this does make sense as one of the problems was the emission light coming on and the car did not start for a good 5 minutes and i do remember that day being pretty wet. Your not in melbourne by any chance as i would like to get the location of your dealer so i can converse with them. What i don’t understand is why Holden have’nt got this information on a data base as i was talking to the Holden rep just last week and he said they are still waiting on the techs who are still working on it. We can only cross our fingers.
Reported previously….
I am a LX Captiva owner and have done 20k km in just 8 months. Yes I to experienced the error lights and loss of power and was a frustrating problem.
My Holden dealer has todate rectified the problem and todate this has not occurred again. I was informed it was a sensor issue where the sensors needed to have some adjustment made.
HOLDEN DEALER CALOUNDRA CITY AUTO Sunshine Coast QLD
I have a rough idle on start up on some occassions where it appears to choke…..have made sure I use good fuel like VPOWER (Shell) and appears much better.
No other issues and love my CAR.
Reported Previously # Fab Says:
February 4th, 2008 at 11:40 am
In answer to the original post about the emmision light coming on … check for a vacuum leak from the brake booster. On a few Captivas, it has been found to be the case. You can check this by applying the brakes first thing in the morning with the engine off. If the pedal is as hard as a rock, then chances are you have a vacuum leak. You should still get 2 or 3 “vacuum assisted” applications even with the engine off.
I must say surely HOLDEN need to LOG the FIX ON THIS ISSUE
My 2007 Captiva Lx has been displaying faults, power loss and all warining lights coming on,gears not working, for nearly 12 months now and I am now at my wits end. I went before the CTTT (Dept of Fair Trading NSW) and the Holden representative agreed to look into a replacement car due to the intrinsic faults my car has displayed and the fact that no one can repair it. He contacted me yesterday and said as the car was not currently displaying a fault while at the dealership they would not assist me any further. I was in tears at the thought of having to drive that car again and place myself and my 8 month old son in danger. The car is unreliable and unsafe. I don’t know what to do, I will have to pursue this through legal avenues now. Shame on Holden for leaving a consumer who purchased a new car in good faith, high and dry.
BELLE OR ANY ONE ELSE CONTACT HOLDEN AUSTRALIA AND SPEAK TO ALAN ON 1800033349
TELL HIM YOUR DRAMA AN HE SHOULD FIX IT DONT SPEAK TO ANY ONE ELSE INSISIT ON SPEAKING TO HIM HE IS IN CHARGE HE FIXED ME UP WITH ALL MY DRAMAS SO FAR SO GOOD
Kelvin,
I started dealing with Alan 5 months ago and it has gone along way above him, and I am still left with a car I refuse to put my son in as it is dangerous and I have no faith in it’s safety or reliability. I have no idea what to do now as I am paying off a ‘lemon’ I can’t drive.
Belle,i can sympathise with you as i have had issues with my Captiva from day one. I too had the emmission light come on and the car would not start,my wife nearly had an accident going through a roundabout when she went to accelerate and there was no power at all. To top it off, we are averaging 17/100klms and that damm…. Rotten Egg Smell is annoying. I brought the car in to the dealership a few weeks ago to get a fuel consumption test done and according to the dealership,they took it for a 100klm drive and the car averaged 14.6/100klms, which apparently is the norm, i reckon its a far cry from the 11.6/100klms. I also asked whether he had a pleasent drive with that rotten egg smell, and he actually admitted that the smell was pretty bad and mind you my wife has kids in the car. I have now been told that Holden are aware of the issues and that the technicians are working on a fix. If i was you Belle, i would write a nice letter to the media, Today Tonight or A Current Affairs and bring it to there attention, the more people complain the greater chance these faults will come out. Its a pity it has to get to this as i have bought Holdens cars all my life and have never had any issues with previous cars. Good Luck.
Hi all – seems like i am not alone in the issues i have had.
We have experienced the lack of power – but Holden says “no fault found” – we thought as it was only the once it may not be an issue but looks like there is a major issue there
The car wouldn’t start the other morning as the battery was on about 11 volts – for no apparent reason – again with “no fault found” (they tried to pass it off as us having left something on in the car but i wasn’t going to cop that as i checked it all when it wouldn’t start.)
We had the rear spoiler “pop” off and damage the roof when we opened the rear with an almighty bang – we where advised the wrong spoiler was on there – this was replaced and the roof section resprayed – i think the new spoiler lasted a week and then it broke – still waiting for a replacement.
The reversing camera – while not holden genuine but recommended and installed by the dealer broke 3 times.
Every time i have to take the car in it cost me money – in time i have to take off work to get in there – but the dealers don’t seem to appreciate that.
How on earth can Holden continue to sell these Captivas in good faith? It is beyond me and many others who have had NOTHING but trouble from these apparently inferior and defective vehicles. Shame on Holden.
Belle, there isnt alot of people winging about the Captiva its just the people in this article. Ive heard a fare few people like and have had no problems at all with the Captiva.
Believe me Duck, it’s not only people at this website complaining, it’s all over the net on loads of websites, search and you will find, oh and by the way, yes I am also the driver of a defective Captiva that Holden has no idea(how) or inclination to fix.
Could be worse, could be like my 04 Territory and rusting away. I think there will be nothing left of it come 2010. Thanks Ford.
work for Holden Wireless?
DID YOU KNOW THAT CAPTIVAS HACE NO CAMBER ON STEERING UNABLE TO GET CORRECT WHEEL ALIGNMENT HOLDENS REPONSE I MUST BE DRIVING ON ROADS THAT HAVE A CABER TO MAKE VECHILE PULL TO LEFT WHAT A LOAD OF S.H.I.T.
Duck,
Your post; “Belle, there isnt alot of people winging about the Captiva its just the people in this article. Ive heard a fare few people like and have had no problems at all with the Captiva.”;
is partially true, I too am sure there are a FAIR few people who like and have had no problems with their Captiva, I would hope there are many people who are happy with their Captiva…I was one of these people who loved their Captiva for the 3 months trouble free motoring I had with it.
As ‘Troxen’says…the instances of problems people have had with their Captivas is very well documented and Holden are only too aware of it, yet don’t seem to be too concerned.
I just hope, for that’s all we can do, that no one has a serioius accident as a result of the Captiva’s faults/defects.
Laurie; Kelin P; Troxen; Mike; Simon; Perry G; Kim; Chris Kirwan; Wireless; Loza 67…or anyone else who is dissatisfied, disappointed or disillusioned with their Captiva please contact me at shame_on_holden@live.com
Unhappy,
what issues do you have with your Captiva as i have to put up with that dreaded Rotten Egg Smell every day. My wife drives the car with the kids in it more than me and we have tryed all types of fuel mainly Premium, which is not cheap. I have been informed by Holden that they are waiting on a new Cat Converter from overseas, apparently when they did their tests it was done overseas which doesn’t have a high amount of sulphate in their fuel as will do in australia. That is their explanation. This may also explain the high volume of fuel i am using and it feels like it lags and rides the gears. I have had these issues for over a year now how do think i feel.
Laurie,
My Capiva LX 2007 has spent more than 4 months off the road and been back to be reapired 10 times in the past year due to gross electrical faults greatly afffecting the safety of the vehicle that appear suddenly with no warning. I fear for mine and my families safety each and every time I get into this car.
Holden have assured me on a dozen occasions that the car is repaired, each time only to take it back and place me and my young family in danger. It is unacceptable for a new car to exhibit so many latent faults. I am sure these defective Captivas are a minority but it is time for Holden to take action and rectify these issues. Who has over $40000 to waste on a substandard product? It’s not even about the money anymore…I HATE driving this car. I just want a safe and reliable car which is what I thought I was purchasing a year ago…how wrong I was to be!
I feel for you and your family Laurie, it is not right and Holden should be deeply ashamed of burying their heads in the sand their approach to this matter in general….Captiva/Holden buyers beware.
shame_on_holden@com
^it’s not Holden its Daewoo!
1 word…………….
“KOREAN”
Told you to buy a Toyota!!
Cheers
F-0
Why you all not coming together and lodge a complaint to GM headquater in USA and beginning from there?
I heard lot complaints like left pulling, warning lights, powerloose, sudden stopping, smell and so on.
I’ve had a Captiva LX petrol for 10 months now, just had 15k service. Have the rotten egg smell issue (dealer getting the fix in Sept), a few other minor problems that were fixed as soon as they were notified. I love the car.
As always, you generally only hear about a product when there are problems with it. People who have nothing to complain about usually don’t go looking for a place to praise a product. I’m sorry that so many people here have problems.
Is there any way of finding out how many Captiva’s have been sold and what percentage have been ‘lemons’?
I’ve had a Holden Captiva CX Diesel for 6 months now, I’ve done 25,000 k’s. Have had no trouble what so ever with it, it is very reliable wagon getting me from a to b with good looks, firm handling and excellent fuel consumption. Our company has 12 of these and has had no trouble what’s so ever. I can only but praise.
I feel really sorry for those who have had problems with their Captiva’s.
But our 12 are definitely not ‘lemons’ they are the best fleet car we’ve had!!!
I must be the lucky one of sorts, My Holden Captiva LX is almost 12 months old. I’ve had a couple of the problems people mention with my Captiva but have all been fixed quickly and when car was in for extended period (waiting on air conditioning compressor as weather was too hot to drive, mine is a black one after all) the dealer lent me a new demo to drive round in no questions asked. Port Macquarie Holden is excellent for after sales service and really care about the customer. I would definietly buy another car from them. I cannot be as flattering about a Gold Coast dealer when the dreaded emssions light came on (faulty sensor) which the Gold Coast Dealer did not fix (problem re-occurred on return from Gold Coast but my local Port dealer fixed it and no recurrence. I’ve done 25000km in less than 12 months and am achieving 9.9 ltrs/100km on the highway and 12.1 around town out of the V6 petrol. I love the car and now the sensors and air cond are fixed its great. My cousin has a Territory and he has had no end of problems so all cars can have their problems. What I find though is the larger the dealer and town the less they provide good old fashioned after sales service. My local dealer still gives that good old fashioned bush backup which is sadly lacking in the big city dealers. My Captiva is a good honest drive with lots of extras that would cost thousands more if in a Territory or Kluger. The difference with mine is my dealer listens to the problems and fixes them. That way when I come round to buying another car they will probably get repeat business, makes good business sense in the bush where the buying public is a lot less than the city.
We purchased a Captiva LX diesel in June 2008. Had no problems in 8,000km’s and just love it. I would recommend it to others who are looking at SUV’s. I love the 7 seat option but would have liked some more bells and whistles and buttons to push.
We purhcased a Captiva LX in December 06 and from word go we complained about apparent wheel alignment issues. We took it back to the Holden dealer in Coffs Harbour who couldn’t find any fault. We then paid for an independent wheel alignment some months later and the problem appeared fixed for a very short time before we had it in at a Holden dealer in Adelaide who said there was no problem. They just repositioned the steering wheel to mask any issues. Well at 20,000k’s both rear wheels had scrubbed out completely and Holden said it wasn’t their fault. Well Holden Mildura then inserted toe adjusting bolts in the rear and sent us to a tyre dealer because they didn’t have the ‘Hi-tech’ wheel alignment equipment to fix it. Alas this didn’t fix the problem and we were back at Holden who ground out the front strut housing so that more camber adjustment could be achieved. You guesed it they then adjusted the steering wheel to centre to mask any problems. Well the car still pulls to the left and the steering wheel is off centre to the right. Holden Mildura then kept the car for a week to examine any issues and allegedly couldn’t find any faults. The car is not right and I am afraid I am going to scrub out more tyres needlessly at $450 each. Holden have been woefull to deal with. Would I recommend another Holden? Not on your life. Holden are in the process of reimbursing us for the toe adjustment bolts but that’s it. We are out of pocket for two tyres despite complaining about the issue from day one.
Purchased a deisel LX 14 months ago and have done just over 17000klm’s to date. Yes it’s been back to the dealer for 2 very minor things so I can’t say it’s been a perfect car to date – probably not many makes out there have 0% faults anyway.
So with a couple of interstate trips done with ease and mostly transporting kids to school in Sydney trafic we are very happy with the Captiva. Town consumption is 9.7 – 10.2 ltrs/100klm and on the trips it averages around 8ltr/100klm. which is not bad for a 1800kg SUV. Not taken it off road so not sure about the 4wd capabilities. I have found the Captiva to be a great value, comfortable, and reliable package so check it out for yourself. Oh almost forgot, the servicing charges are SHOCKING so come on Holden – get your act together!
Don’t worry. GM is going to bankrupt, important thing is that they continue to produce such shit vehicles.
In the meantime I congratulate the 2 young engineers who are sent to Korea and did a great job designing CAPTIVA’s
chassis. They have the experience now to do better jobs next time.
Craptiva Issues (and No that isn’t a typo)
1. No Parts In Australia – when we got the craptiva as a work car it had been driven about 3,000km and was involved in a crash. Needed to have the steering rack replaced, and the air bags, and the seat belt tensioners. Was Towed to Toowoomba Holden on the 9th of January and it took 4 MONTHS to get it back. 4 MONTHS!!!!!!!! The excuses were – there aren’t any of those parts in Australia – they have to come from Korea. Yep – like whatever
2. After 3 weeks the steering rack that had been replaced failed. 3 weeks later. And there were no parts in australia (again) so that took another 6 weeks to get back. new rack and pinion steering (to stop that awful grinding noise)
3. The inter cooler hose has failed 3 times – due to it rubber against the turbo. Each time it took 2 weeks to be replaced. (Llewellyn Motors)
4. Last week the radiator failed. 150 km away from the nearest town. On a road that is very rarely used. Slept in the car. No Holden Roadside assistance where we were. Took it to Roma Holden – called back 3 hours later to see how long it would take to get the parts to fix it. Told by the Service advisor that it was fixed. Disbelief abounds. Because you see – we could see it up on the hoist. Told it would take one week. Saw them yesterday only to be told that there had been no approval to go ahead with the work as yet. But no one rang us, or melb head office of our company or the fleet company.
This car is a piece of crap – fuel consumption very high, shit keeps breaking and the service through ANY of the dealers we have taken it to (Toowoomba Holden, Llewellyn Motors and Roma Motors) has been abysmal.
The vehicle is unsafe to drive and is costing time and therefore money for us.
This car is a work car – so we didn’t pay for it, or have to pay for the servicing and this is how pissed off I am.
Craptiva – the name says it all.
Thankyou !! Craptiva owners for the great advice, i always go to the audience before buying a new vehicle, this many owners can’t be wrong.
I WILL NOW CANCEL MY TESTDRIVE FOREVER.
Very hard to get a true aussie family vehicle these days, assembled totally here in Aust.
I bought a Captiva in February this year have done 17000km and not a single problem love the car and 3 people from where I work have since bought one and have had no problems at all. The good ones oughtweigh the bad ones by a mile.
I bought a Captiva in Nov 2006. Big mistake, it is a crap car beset with problems. Rotten egg gas smell, steering wheel squeeks constantly (dealer had 4 goes at fixing it but I have concluded they are clueless). Temperature display doesn’t work (dealer clueless)…outrageous fuel consumption, ( if I knew it was going to be that high I would have bought a Range Rover instead). Can’t wait until it’s time to replace it. For Holden’s info I have managed to dissuade two people from buying one due to my experience with the car and the dealership responses.
Pity…. the Jackaroo Monterey I had before the Craptiva was fantastic.
Well I bought my Captiva in October, done about 4000kMs now. It has been back 3 times to get the following fault looked at. Just seem to have this anoying lack of power for a second when I want to change lanes in traffic and go NOW, similar to the early 80’s cars with EFI (injector lag).
I am assuming that the computers used in these vehicals take a while to figure out how much power you want (all of it NOW please), that you are not going to spin the wheels (traction control), how much power to transfer to the back wheels (lets assume 50 50 split), and what gear to be in to deliver that power demand (a gear that is reving the engine at around 3500rpm or higher to start with).
Due to this delay in delivery of power I have come close to causing accidents on 3 occations now, so I have since given up on any attempt to over take or change lanes in traffic, and I am assuming this car is in fact a Volvo 240 a late 70s model in disguise ;)
Joking aside, what happens if you are in a situation somewhere and you need to put your foot down to get out of it. Pulling away from a standing start is similar but intermitant.
A second delay in responce and people could be dead.
Surely in the programming of the computer firmware, if the throttle is between 95 ~ 100% to the floor, it means you are having some sort of emergency and need everything its got right now, split the power to the front and rear wheels to 50 50, shift gear to 3rd or lower, and stuff the traction control, the tires are that wide and with the 50 50 power split the wheels arent going to spin anyway.
The delay in the power delivery is very worrying.
I also have an old Commadore 3.8 VS series 1, I can’t fault this car except the A/C is crap but so was the A/C in my VP. But to drive it delivers power now with no hesitation, alot to be said about older tech’ I drive it to work every day (except the hot ones) as I can rely on its performance (250000Kms still strong).
The Captiva sits in the driveway ready for slow Sunday driving only. $40,000 or non enjoyment driving, good for Grannies only!! Oh hold on I’m a Grandad!
hi,regarding paul’s comments about his lack of power in his holden captiva,i have a 18 month old bmw 325i, i to have exactly the same problem,lack of power for a split second,this to has been dangerous on a few occasions,especially at traffic lights when you need to turn left or right and you find a (safe) gap in traffic and decide to accelerate quickly ,bang no power for spilt second ,by then the safe gap becomes a suicidal gap.Have told BMW about this problem/flat spot ,there response car’s safety features cut in to avoid over power to rear wheels,i will remember this next time when i have lack of power and im about to have a collision,no wonder the car has so many airbags ,so if you cant accelerate at least the airbags will cushion the impact (yeh right)
I have read all of these comments about the Holden Captiva with much interest. I have owned my diesel sx for nearly 2 years. During this period it has not missed a beat, I unlike most of the complaintants on this site, actually use my suv as intended, It makes trips to and from our property in the wheat belt with a 8 x 5 tandem trailer intow full of motorbikes and other required items. I have nothing but praise for the vehicle, its funny I can guarentee most of the people that have encountered problems are the type who buy a 7 seat vehicle with two kids to use a Toorak taxi. I am always amazed how some people view 4 x4s and SUV’s as a mark of success, get real if you want to look like a yuppie buy a luxury sedan ie:BMW, mercedes, audi or whatever tickles your fancy, leave the suvs and 4 x 4s for the people that wish to use them for what they were designed to do. I have no doubt people have encounted various problems with their Captivas but dont tar them all with the same brush, get real all cars of all types have encountered problems.
You wont persuade me to sell my Captiva, I haved passed many a yuppie in Ford Territories with my trailer in tow.
Cheers.
I have hated this car from the first day I drove it. Not sure why i bought it? No real problems except bad fuel economy and poor ride. Never get it serviced at Holden dealer. Way to expensive. Don’t but it, what ever you do. I called it Craptiva before I even found this site.
People who love it work for Holden.
Bought my LX petrol Capy in mid 06, problems thus far:-
Dash lights staying on intermitantly in first 6 months, not since.
Cruise Control would not work when towing on one occasion
Temperature guage takes 20 mins to register on most occasions.
Decent control light stuck-on on 2 occasions.
3 times now the car refused to start, engine just turned over like it was flooded, takes up to 5 mins before it slowly comes to life.
Rear window wiper became stuck on whilst on holiday, had to remove it until returned home 2 weeks later.
2 Safety recalls for things I cant remember.
Pulls to the left badly, dealer tried fixing it and even worst tried to charge me for some bolts that you need each time its done, I told them where to get-off.
Tyres rooted after 40,000 so badly that I had a blow-out as I was not aware they were through to the steelbelt on the inside and not easily visible.
Very heavy on fuel (400km/tank) and onboard consumption meter is a laugh.
Apart from that its great…
Murray
you are joking,
you didnt realise that your belts were showing???
the outside edge of the tyre would have been preety low aswell unless the camber was at like 45degrees
Seems like most of the problems here occur on 06/07 built models. Seems pretty normal for any of the manufacturers to have teething probs in the first series, ie ford falcon/territory, etc. from these comments it appears holdenwoo have got their act together on the 08 models and addressed these issues
Have a 2007 LX Diesel. 35000K. Towed and driven fast. Had rear alignment checked and replaced a blown rear brake light globe. Would like better economy as advertised but getting around 10/100 average.Have recommended to friends as we havent been able to fault. Have Ford one ton ute on LPG. Please dont tell me Ford is better. This is my workshop and should have been bolted to the ground rather than mobile. Would like to find something that hasnt gone wrong.
I’m telling you Ford is better, Holden build below standard cars and rebadge decade year old Korean Daewoo junk, one of them is called Craptiva…
Clearly the above whingers have too much time on their hands and love to bag the General. I have owned an LX Diesel for 18 months now, 23,000 on the clock and the car is great. It’s mainly used around town (Sydney) to shuffle kids to school and then back and forth in peak traffic to work. It could use a bit less fuel, I average about 11.3l/100klm, although I may be a bit fussy because it uses about 4l/100klm less then my last petrol soft off roader. So can I recommend them – ABSOLUTELY.
I own a 2008 captiva turbo diesel with 9,000kms. It is a great car with no problems so far. Previously owned an SS commodore & was worried re power etc but have been pleasantly surprised. The only query I have is the leather marks really easily – fingerprints etc. Can anyone help with this one? I love the 7 seat capability, I find it uses a little more fuel than advertised but overall I am really very happy with my car.
Hi Didi. I use a good quality leather cleaner and conditioner every 6 or so months. I got mine from the Holden Dealer but you can pick them up from Supa Cheap etc, mine is a presure pack aplication. This protects and conditions the leather and I dont have any problems with the leather making. You may want to give this a go.
Cheers Gazza
Gazza, so your small-mid SUV (Captiva) uses about 1 l/100km MORE than than the large 4.5l V8 Diesal Landrover and you’re happy with that?
11.3 l/100km for a small-mid sized diesal SUV is terrible.
Since my last post on 21/7/08 I’ve had another 8 months of trouble free motoring out of my Captiva LX. Best AWD I’ve owned. By the way my cousin’s Territory which cost him more than my Captiva for less standard kit has had the brakes replaced twice and also has rsut issues around rear doors. Check out the Territory brakes issue which Ford seems determined not to issue a recall on even though people like Graham Smith (Saily Telegraph) seems to belive they should. All models will have some cars that have problems. This site is full of those who have had problems (me included) but my dealer did his job and fixed them quickly with no recurrence. Get a life and stop complaining about a car. It can be fixed. If your dealer won’t fix it report them to Fair Trading as its more than likely there taht your frustration lies. My dealer will certainly get repeat business from me as they listened and fixed my problems.
Hi,
I own a 2007 Captiva Maxx purchased in March 2007. It has done about 28,000 km. Until recently I had absolutely no problems. Apart from a slightly higher than expected mileage consumption I would have had no hesitation in recommending the car to anyone.
Over the past 3-4 months however I have been experiencing the power loss/warning lights problems that everybody has been describing which really make the car unsafe and undrivable. The first time I took it to my dealer (City Motors) in Perth I was told there was nothing wrong with the car. The second time they had to believe me because the warning lights and power problem was there for them to see. They said they consulted with Holden and had it fixed. To our surprise the problem was back the next day. We took it again today and now the car has to stay over the weekend waiting for some part. To their credit City Motors have provided us with a loan car on both occasions.
My point and my concern is that given the posts on this and many other forums, there has to be be a fundamental fault with the electronics of the vehicle. Having a trouble free period, as I and many others have had, does not mean the problem is not there even with the newer models. It can surface any time.
What is really worrying is the inability of Holden to come up with a credible explanation or a fix for the fault even after their customers have been reporting it for the past 2 to 3 years.
If they don’t know what the problem is how can they eliminated it from their current or future models.
Would I buy or recommend the Capriva again? I am not sure, it depends on what kind of response I get on Monday. But without a fix and a credible explanation the best advice I can give is to stay clear of the Captiva until Holden take ownership and fix the problem.
I will let you know how I go.
By the way for all those that think they have full leather seats in their car, as I did, I have some bad news for you. Only the the front base and the back rest is leather. All the rest is plastic.
As I mentioned on October 10, 2008 GM is going bankrupt
now. Its not a joke anymore. He, he , he.
They’ll not be able to suck people’s money.
Go BANKRUPT GM.
I would going to buy a LX petrol,but its a lot of bad reputation in the past.
2009 model improved?
Hi, I too am a very disapointed and let down Captiva owner. LX 2007 model. since the first week we have experienced
knocking sounds that cannot be explained let alone fixed, it pulls to the left, (Roma Holden say this is due the roads not being flat!)
We got the car may 2007 on the 23rd of may it was in for the suspension.
Two months later it was back again. The from june 2008 it has become a regular visitor.
We have had the oxygen sensor replaced twice, now it is in for it’s third replacement as I type! It has been in for the transfer case, steering rack, steering shaft, power steering pump, door activator just to name a few. It has had two wheel alingments within a matter of two weeks.
Until I found this website I felt I was just getting fobbed off as I am female, now I realise that it is just Holden’s after service.
This weekend when I started the care all dash lights came on with at least four staying on, the dreaded oxygen sensor being one. Then the car locked itself. I actually had to turn it off and take out the key to unlock the car so I could get out! While all these lights were on there was a very noticable lack of power with the feeling it was going to just stop. I pulled into the nearest service station and turned off the car. all but the oxygen lights went off and then the car was driven to the dealer where I refused to drive it anymore. I have been given a car to drive over the weekend, it’s a toyota and very nice! I am going in tomorrow to see what is going to be done.
To those who class us as whingers, what happens when the warranty runs out and I have to pay for these repeatable repairs? Or worse, I am driving it with my young child in the back out here in the bush and it just stops and we have another vehicle or a truck run into us. Will Holden give a dam then?
BRING IN THE LEMON LAW
DON”T BUY A CAPTIVA
I bought a 2007 Captiva LX Diesel model, have almost done 70,000km and initially loved it (I still do, as its great to drive)…but my issue is the Malfunction Indicatior Light..This has come on about 10 times in the last year, more so being in the last 6 months. I had my car in service On Monday 11th May to fix the clock as there was a short circuit and the MIL was on. That was fixed, apparently the sensors were changed. This morning 13th May the MIL came on again. So again its gotta go in to be fixed. I was wondering who we can go to… Dont think I will buy a Captiva again…
Can anyone tell me if the 2008 models are any better than the previous ones.
I have just read all of this bad news on the Captiva – I do wish that all future authors would identify whether their models are petrol or Diesel. I have a 2 year old LX Turbo Diesel and have done 82000klms. It has been off road numerous times on both Sand (Noosa North Shore – Rainbow Beach) and mud and dirt (farms South of Beaudesert). My single and only complaint is the pulling to the left which is rectified with with wheel alignement every 15000klms. I too only got 40000 klms out of the first set of tyres but the Bridgestones i have on now look like new with only a little wear. Yes it allways pays foy buyers to be aware of issues – but lets not muddy the water and be clear on whether your Captiva is a petrol or Diesel. I would, given my experience recommend a CAPTIVA DIESEL LX to anyone.
We have a 60th Anniversary diesel 2008 model. So far all ok except a fuse keeps blowing and disables our radio, heater controls and reverse camera viewer on the dash. Car had done 7000km. Being repaired this week, so see what the cause may be? On a plus side, compared to the X5 BMW $120,000 SUV that the Captiva replaced, we have had the Captiva back less for warranty work that the BMW, which had electric mirrors replaced, tow bar fitted upside down, sun roof that poured in water when closed etc etc. The diesel X5 also had the short lag when suddenly accellerating, so this is typical of these types of cars with gearboxes and diffs trying to work out in a millisecond what the driver wants to do? All cars have faults, but once fixed, they should not reoccur. Seems the V6 early petrols are the cause of distress with owners. Ask me in about a year again and see what I am thinking of the car..My wife loves the Captiva and fuel economy is never over 10L/100 under any circumstances? BMW was 8L/100km for a heavier car – a 6th gear on Captiva would have been a good option.
I too have a 60th Anniversary diesel 2008 model. Unfortunately, I too am having problems. First time I couldn’t open the doors and it looked like the battery in the remote had died, but when I tried to start up the car none of the console lit up.
It turned out that there was a fault in the console, so the whole unit was replaced. I was assured it was all fine……
Well, guess what…..This time the power cut out while doing 60km/h…..Exactly the same problem…..More dangerous situation…..
It’s in for repairs again…..
If it happens one more time……I intend to get the car replaced at Holdens expense.
I must add that overall i do love my captiva…
It has been a good car so far ish..especially when i read every one elses comments and when i compare it to my mum’s 97 astra so this car seems like a dream compared to that.. i do miss my commodore the deisel doesnt really have a grunt factor, but i have four kids a family of 6 cant very well squezze into an omega..:)
Ever gone to a car yard and the sales person rolls out the red carpet for you; they bend over backwards to make a sale but the minute you sign on that dotted line and they have there money there attitude changes. It’s almost like they are screaming out sucker. I am the owner of a 2007 VE SV6 that has had 10 warranty issues with it. What you don’t know is; it is my second 2007 holden. the first I bought in May 2007 it was the base model for that year, I sold it back to Andersons Auto City 8 months after I bought it and got the 2007 VE SV6. In total i have had 19 warranty issues on 2 cars that were brand new. Yes i did ring Holden customer complaints and as usual they played dumb. I do not believe I got what I payed for!! I bought a brand new car with the price tag that goes with it; in reality I got a brand new car with second hand issues and I paid full price for it. Holden don’t care and the dealership I bought the car from don’t care either, because they have there money.
I got a sticker made for my car “42,000 Australian made lemon” I just felt obligated to do some advertising for Holden. They don’t care that I paid 42,000 for my car and I’m sure there not going to care I paid $140 for this sticker. But if you seen a car with that on it would you rush out and buy one? ummmmmmmm NO!!!
I have started a petition for LEMON LAWS. I need 15,000 people to sign 0437 331 705
Captiva
I have just purchased a new CG MY 9.5 SX Diesel 7 Seater, so far very happy with it. I am getting a “pool” of clear water dripping from the engine bay after I stop, this only happens when I have the A/C or Heater on? Any Ideas? The dealer said it was condensation, but there seems to a lot of water for just condensation
Also I have read through all the complaints people have in regards to the Captiva, what would be interesting is to compare units sold to number of “un-satisfied customers” in order to get an overall perception of this car. So far I have seen hundreds of these vehicles on the road.
I have a Captiva LX 2007 Petrol for 25 mths from new, and the biggest issue has been the wheel alignment and tyre problems. First 2 tyres scrubbed out dangerously quick inside 27,000 kms!!. A noteworthy concern to me back then, because my Dad worked in the tyre business most of his life, and I have been more used to getting 70,000 kms+ from most makes and models of cars and tyres. Holden denies alignment problems, but one was required with new tyres. Holden ‘mysteriously’ calls in Captiva for strut bolt warranty repair. I of course ask the question. They of course, deny any connection with poor tyre wear!
Got a flat tyre today, at 59,000 kms and Roadside Assist found it the toughest wheel to ever get off a car. Alloy virtually ‘rusted’ on. Glad I wasn’t in the bush without a big rubber hammer. Guy shows me both rear tyres scrubbed out and showing wire. Dangerously unsafe. Scares the daylights out of me that I drive the highways at 110 kph, with Semi Trucks and B Doubles coming at me. Suddenly I feel very vunerable and Holden need to explain and rectify. Jay (Melbourne)
Hi,
I am back again to look at similar Captiva complaints. My 2008 60th Anniversary Diesel Captiva is showing very poor tyre wear. At 13,000km, the rear tyres are almost worn out on the outer edge. I have had a wheel alignment done and been told it appears the pre-delivery alignment was not done at all. This has pretty well written off a nice pair of tyres that should have lasted 40,000km plus. I am very annoyed as replacement tyres are nearly $400+ each. It appears this problem is common among owners. My dash black out gremlin has disappeared now and the reverse camera still blacks out when the dash is very hot on hot days. It soon comes back later in the day. Like other owners we have a radio sound system that increases in volume on its own. Sort of funny as it drowns out the kids. We just turn it down again and it does not happen for weeks then. Appears that dash electronics are a common issue. Not very happy about that. The engine is so far fine along with all other parts.
i just brought my captiva last week and already it has broken down,im so angry with my-self that i brought this car it a heap of c***.Im now thinking of buying the new 2010 mazda cx9!!!!
i hate this craptiva!!!!!!!!
ALL I CAN SAY IS NEVER BUY THIS CRAPTIVA!!!!!!!!!!
Don’t buy the CX9 a person I know bought one and has had it back to dealer every week
I purchased a diesel Captiva in Nov 2007, have had traction control fixed 3 times fuel pump connection 3 times whole new fuel pump fitted this week and the rocker arm broke fell into the head, they replace the arm and cam and resitted the valves. I have done 65000km. apart from those problems not a bad car.
I purchased a Diesel 60th Aniversary Captiva in September 2008, and like many others are having tyre wear issues, scrubbing outside edges off in less than 10,000kms, like many others having a problem with Holdens accepting resposibility and are just wasting time to hope you go away. The car has done 38,000kms now and has gone through three front sets of tyres and one rear set, has been back to the Dealer on many occasions and they cannot find any problems with the wheel alignment, has had the modification to the front mounting holes etc. like the others mention. Also has had many other electrical problems, dash lighting up with all of the warning lights and havinf no all wheel drive, ABS or traction control, Radio volume goes flat out now and again or goes right off now and again, Climate Control Air Conditioning is terrible it is either cold or hot nothing in between, auto headlight s are too sensitive and turn on and off reglarly at evening or morning time, often annoying the driver in front as he thinks I am flashing him for some reason. The Car is unsafe to drive now as it is pulling left again with the tyre weat and Holdens are still reluctant to do anything about it.
Warning the car is a piece of crap do not buy one, and on the support from Holdens I will nhevr buy another Holden again and they wonder why they are losing sales,
General Motors Corporation has been announced several recalls this year. Most of the GM vehicles called for recall in the US car market were found to have faulty car parts — prompting government agencies like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTHSA) and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) to ask automakers like GM (maker of GMC egr valve) to conduct recalls on their malfunctioning vehicles.
Just recently, the General Motors Daewoo Auto & Technology Company based in South Korea was reported to have received a warning from South Korea’s state-run consumer protection agency because of growing complaints over malfunctioning parts found in its Captiva Sport Utility Vehicle.
According to the Korea Consumer Agency, these cars were found to be dangerous because of the unidentified flaws found on the GM Daewoo’s Captiva SUVs. The car is being sold in South Korea under the name of Winstorm. Officials are worried that if these car problems are not fixed, it will cause accidents and in worst cases, maybe even death. “Though no exact reason has been identified so far for such defects in the engine area, it could undermine a consumer’s driving safety,” said the agency.
According to the news, the car problem can also be causes of major engine problems like power loss which will result to the reduction of speed when the driver speeds into the accelerator.
No injuries or death has been reported. However, several complaints were received coming from customers about an unexplainable change of speed in the car.
The General Motor Daewoo Officers did not make any comment about this matter.
General Motor Daewoo Corporation is the third largest car maker in South Korea, and is a joint venture of General Motors Corporation and Daewoo Motors. General Motors Daewoo is also on among the distributors of vehicles of GM worldwide. Almost 10% of the cars produced by General Motors are made in GM Daewoo. The most famous car brand made under the corporation is the Winstorm SUV which shares its platform from the current Chevrolet Captiva in the US car market.
Be warned do not buy one of these vehicles – 24 months i have been into the garage 15 times – different problems-
O2 sensors
ECU changed
stereo changed twice
bluetooth failure
ABS failed
Engine malfunction light to many times
Windows let in water
Lights let in water
Bonnet clasp broken
( due to the amount of times service had been in and out of the engine)
auto window not working- driver side
Reverses awfully
PLEASE DO NOT BUY ONE OF THESE CARS – HOLDEN HAS A PROBLEM WITH THEM , AND WILL NOT RECALL THEM…..
ps im not bitter, just angry – that i am putting my family in an unsafe car – as it powers down as well…
Hi CT,
I would love to have a chat with you about the problems your having with your Craptiva..
If you could send me an email so I can get in touch that would be great.
Cheers,
Stephanie stephanie.picone@gmail.com
We bought a 2007 captiva second hand 6 months ago – belonged to a posh boys school & all servicing done by Holden. On Friday at 4pm we discovered that the rear tyres had scrubbed out on the inside – one to canvas!. My husband knows heaps about cars, and there were no visible problems when we bought it (or we would have kept our money) but he works away and they haven’t been checked for about 6-8 weeks, as he always keeps an eye in the tyres of our cars. Almost impossible to get the tyres required – no one stocks them & they would have to ordered – found an independant tyre place who had them, right next to a Holden dealer. They said that the wheel alignment in the back is the worst they have ever seen and Holden need to put a ‘kit’ through it. They couldn’t align them because there was not enough adjustment available. The tyre place said Holden next door bring lots of Captivas to them for this work, and they had one on the hoist when we were there. Ended up costing $1000 for 2 new Dunlops – ludicrous, but the other tyres places said similar prices, even though not in stock. Soooooo, off to tackle Holden tomorrow (Monday) because their service departments are not open on Saturday in WA – car is still under new car warranty – lets see what happens!! PS I found putting premium fuel in it boosts the fuel economy heaps
Hi,
I have a 2007 Maxx Captiva (60,000kms) – have we had some troubles!! We must have been back to the dealer 15 to 20 times in 2 years and I am sick of the dealer telling me that my issues are a “feature of the vehicle”.
Problems so far.
1. Steering wheel replaced 3 times (leather came off).
2. Roof lining replaced 2 times – brown stains caused by glue.
3. Door inserts replaced – leather came away.
4. 4 wheel alignments finally some modification carried out but only got 40,000 km out of tyres which are $400+ each. New set is wearing badly also – all Holden does is rotate them and say “yes my goodness they are expensive”.
5. Rear parking sensors replaced – after 7 trips to the dealer – who reassured me they had fixed the problem – like every other problem this car has had.
6. The front bonnet protector had to be removed due to a whistling noise it created in the car.
7. The roof racks I purchased as extras cannot be used due the wind turbulence at high speed – “a feature of the car”
8. The gearbox and engine do not talk to each other even with the latest update it still doesn’t know which gear it want to be in when you decelerate around a roundabout – “a feature of the car”
9. The accelerator – some times it responds one way to a certain amount of pressure the next time with the same amount of pressure it responds completely different. This is dangerous as it is very difficult taking off from traffic lights- but the dealer says “a feature of the car”
10. Numerous panels and seals changed due to faulty panel work or poor fitting.
11. Front seat – the front seat adjuster is to be replaced for the 2nd time – it just groans.
12. Front seat falling apart – passenger seat was actually loose!!
13. Interior ceiling light faulty
14. Numerous lights on the dash coming on.
15. Gear shift hard to get in due to poor alignment of safety switch.
16. Nuts that hold the back door trim on have come loose and some were missing.
17. Fuel gauge not reading right.
18 Turning indicator lights do not turn off – they have to be manually turned off.
19. And the fuel use around town – 18 to 20 l per 100km!!!!!!!
and on and on …!!!!
The most frustrating thing about all this is that the dealer principle won’t show to discuss – nor will the service manager – I am left to talk to the lady on the front desk – who is very polite but obviously taking the heat for these other 2.
I have contacted Holden who put me onto their customer service department – believe me once you have had that experience you will never, never buy another Holden ever. I did manage to get one Holden rep to take some interest – but I quickly came to realise he didn’t even understand the original “features” of the vehicle despite caring about the free ones Holden had bestowed.
I think Holden should come clean and recall these vehicles and fix some of the known problems. The accelerator and the gear shift will kill someone if they don’t.
Ian
Hi Ian,
I would love to chat with you in regards to the problems your having with your Craptiva…
Can you please send me an email so I can get in touch.
My address is stephanie.picone@gmail.com
Kind regards,
Stephanie
… and now you can add 2 split oil filters which have dropped oil all over my garage floor – apparently this is a problem with Captiva’s
What next!!!!!
Ian
… and now you can add 2 split oil filters which have dropped oil all over my garage floor – apparently this is a problem with Captiva\’s
What next!!!!!
Ian
My husband and I have purchased a new captiva 08 LX, off a damaged car auction, car was a repairable write off caused by flood damage. We responsibly had all the work needed to get the car on the road done by our local holden dealership who informed us that there was limited warranty on the vehicle. The car past all their tests and also past the VIV. 3 months on the road nothing to complain about…..then on highway doing 110km car shut down and emission light came on, was a terrible rainy day and we were overtaking in the right lane. Very scary! It took them alot of time to find the fault as all the computer connections were saying that the car should be running…??? My husband called the dealer again this morning and they have said that the belt tension failured and may have caused damage to the drive shaft. I am not a mechanic….but my dad is!!! And he seems to think that this is a mechanical motor problem, doesnt seem to think it was caused at all by the flood damage…and how far up the water went into the car we willnever know!! Now the dealership is telling us that the car has NO warranty….what to do…yes we knew that there was a risk by purchasing this vehicle but we weren’t expection this!! Have read of other capitva’s losing power and slowing down with emission light coming on…please let me know if this has happend to you!
I would ask this of all the Holden lovers that bought this vehicle. If it had a Daewoo badge on it would you have bought it? I wouldn’t even consider one for this reason alone. Daewoo were going bust until GM bought them, now GM may go bust. Daewoo have made crap cars since day one and still do. Good onya Holdenwoo.
Companies go bust for a myriad of reasons including poor management, high overheads, and taxation issues. So it really makes no difference to the product if a company has/was/is bust.
The engine is an italian VM motori RA420 made under license by Daewoo. Powertrain is GM. Suspension tuned by Holden engineers in Australia.
Biggest selling SUV in Nov 09
I have a 07 Captiva. apart from only getting 400klms from a tank and wheel alignment problems others have documented my main issue is that for the entire life of the vehicle the engine malfunction light and o2 sensors and air flow have malfunctioned and each time it went back to Holden dealer they said they fixed the problem with it to reoccur no less than 6 times in 100,000klms… it is now out of warranty (over 100,000klms and they now present me with a bill for over $3500 to replace o2 sensors and catalytic converters by 3. The dealer says the malunction light and the present problem are not related… what do u think? I have contacted holden and they r revising their decision but I think I will continue to be disappointed.
The captiva is a lovely car to drive when there are no mechanical problems (of which there are many) and as long as u have deep pockets for the EXTREMELY poor petrol consumption… I WOULD NOT BUY ANOTHER CAPTIVA OR FOR THAT MATTER HOLDEN EVER AGAIN AND HOLDEN HAVE LOST MY BUSINESS FOR LIFE and did I mention I will continue to tell this experience forever!!
We just purchased a 2nd hand captiva 6 weeks ago lx 2007, wish I had been here first.
The day we drove it out of the car Dealer we heard a noise, Took it to holden as it still had 7 months warranty, Guess what not just a small problem it was….the transfer case.
Two weeks later when the car was returned the noise was still in the steering wheel I presumed all connected somehow….Oh no took it back again and now it is the rack from the steering it will be replaced this week.
CRAPTIVA IS RIGHT…..I WILL BE CHECKING MY RIGHT REGARDING THIS PURCHASE