2005 Holden XC Barina Hatchback Warranty Complaint
August 31, 2007 by Alborz Fallah
2005 Holden XC Barina Hatchback Warranty Complaint
Name: Carol Brownlie
Car Make: Holden XC Barina Hatchback
Car Model: Holdend XC Barina Hatchback
Year of Manufacture: 2005
Warranty Complaint:
The ongoing problem with my car is that the emission light flickers on and off or remains on and the car runs as sick as to the point where it is dangerous to drive.I have kept up with the services and driven it to another town to have it fixed and bought a new battery etc for it including having the fuel filter replaced and it still has problems.it has done approx 17,000 kms since mid year 2005.Holden wont cover anything under warranty.I have paid for everything and the problems with the emission still are ongoing.
Print it: 
I reckon these are the worst car’s ever built,
I drove a 1 year old Barina a few years ago and what a disgrace, first the engine light came on every time you hit the brakes or came to a complete stop, smoke bellowing out of the exhaust, torque steered like a skateboard on three wheels, so that was it for me Holdenwoo make the biggest LEMONS on the road with poorest quality I have ever known, I wish not to be a passenger in such a time bomb either.
If you want to buy a Holden (rebaged Opel) car, remember this…
They are a real lemon of a car. Stupid old re-badged Opel.
Having worked for 2 years in a holden dealers workshop, we only ever came acroos 1 barina that constantly had warning lights coming on, running rough, and towards the end constantly stalling, and not be able to re start it. after trying everything under the sun (plugs, coil pack, ecu, fuel pump etc) we gave up, and contacted holden technical assistance. They had no ideas, so they sent a tech down from melbourne to have a look, his only suggestion was to try running premium fuel, if that made no change to send the head out to be tested. After running premium with no change, we sent the head out, and sure enough that was the problem, After changing the head, the customer never came back other than routine service.
My wife’s boss has the same sort of problems as mentioned above. She has had a new ecu and the coil replaced 5 times in 12 months. The problem still persists. She’s now going back to the dealer with “tank”s advice.
message for tank. re head on barina,
was head cracked or warped, we have car with same symptoms.
thanks mark.
It is a really good story for whoever wants to get a Holden Barina. I bought one 3 years ago, having the same symptoms as most as people had had. The worst thing is after 3 years warranty, I had to paid nearly $2000 for the starter motor and switch just 2 weeks after that. The car is completely breaking down …and holden service said they have no idea why ??? very regret for buying it.
Holden have trouble building anything half decent these days, they don’t really care anyway, just way too busy attaching lion badge’s on Daewoo’s then have the cheek to tell everyone it was made in Australia…hahahahaha yeah right, bottom line Holden means nothing to our precious country…
yeah I’ve just had the same problem with the emissions light flickering whenever i push the car a little then after it does that the whole thing shakes when i’m not accellerating.
I’ve taken it to be looked at 3 times; the first two times i was told it’s nothing, the third time they cleaned the plugs. although the problem still persists, and it’s quiet the issue since I’m a student and can’t really afford to be putting money into guessing what’s wrong with it.
any advice?
We have a 2005 Barina (New Model). At the 35,000 km service we needed the brake pads replaced – which is crazy for such a new car! We were informed by the dealership that this was in fact a manufacturer’s fault (similar to that with the commodore) however it was not yet recognized as by Holden as such therefore not covered by warranty etc. If you’ve had the same problem let Holden know!!
To top it off this week the fuel pump suddenly stopped working whilst driving in the middle of a highway – with absolutly no warning! Although this was fortunatly covered by warranty, for a new car this is absolute madness! Hopefully this is the end of our unlucky run with the Barina…
U cant talk ford!
I think these are the Opel Barina’s, the new ones are Daewoo’s.
We had a similiar porblem with all the same symptoms at my workshop on xc barina. We went over everything electircal and also checked the head but it was not the problem. The problem we discovered was a blocked/ melted catalytic converter which blocked the exhaust and set of all sorts of funny readings on all the electrical sensors, along with the engine surging/ lack of power and emission control light. Because of all the electrical problems with this model of car we didn’t even consider this. Make sure whoever you get to look at the car checks this. It only take a coupe of minutes to do this. Since thn we have seen it once more on another and numerous times on astra’s. If this is your problem then expect a big bill. They are expensive. And by law it must be fixed or your car will fail emision standards/ not pas rego
thanks David,
I went to holden a few weeks ago and they said that something (forgot what, but RPG comes to mind) was blocking the the emissions exhausts, they cleaned it up and the car drove alright.
since I only use the car every second day for short trips around, I didn’t realise the problem that crept up on me; he struggles to start, then is slow to respond and last night as I was climbing some hills it was on the verge of stalling and the emissions light kept made another appearances.
i’m hoping that it isn’t the catalytic converter, but the likelihood seems to be going that way.
As David so accurately described, my wife and I have just experienced the same thing. We bought a 2nd hand late model Barina (60 days warranty through dealership), and no sooner did we drive away that problems started! lack of power, failure to start when cold, etc etc. Lo and behold we take it to our mechanic and discover we have a ‘melted’ catalytic converter. We’ve owned the car for 70 days now and haven’t driven it more than a couple of weeks. It’s currently back in the shop getting fixed again!
Barina’s. Hmmm, my mum has had two with the first purchased over 20 years ago. It lasted until after my sister drove it into the ground. The second is 12 years old and is just starting to show signs of wear.
I bought a 2005 (Opel) model about five months ago, and just this morning, went to go off to work and first gear has decided not work properly. I’ve been driving 15 years and never experienced this? It’s like first gear has decided not to understand it’s power. It’s like it thinks it’s 5th gear. It worked a couple of times like normal, but then, nothing again. What on earth could it be? The gear stick did start acting strangely a few months ago. It was very hard to get into first, but once in, all fine, and from first to second it quite tough too. Any advice?
check syncro mesh or gear selecter bearings
Yep, exactly the same thing has happened with my 2nd hand 2001 Barina which i’ve had for 5 months now.
The emissions light started last week and the car feels like it’s shaking unless i accelerate but loses power over 50km and feels like it’s going to break down.
I started using E-10 fuel about 3 weeks ago and am wondering if this has caused the problems??
I was told the car would run a little rough when first using E-10 as it cleans out the engine filters so i had the fuel injectors cleaned out and it ran fine until a week later when the emissions light started??
Well where does one start on this “worst choice of car”! Our daughter purchased her brand new XC Barina in July 04. In Feb of this year (08) all problems began, 1st with need to replace timing chain & kit + everything else that had to be done along side total cost to us of $1464.05. At that time the car had only done 72,000 ks but of course was not long out of warranty. Just recently when booked in for it’s 80,000 service was brought to her attention that gear box was faulty & brakes also faulty (mechanic’s words were – car is nothing but a lemon all problems been seen b4 & HOLDEN should have recalled this model). Obviously all costs had to be met by us. But no good for young girl studying @ uni to be burdened with or anyone for that matter. I am so pissed off for want of better words & wondering where to turn for advice on what if anything we should do! Can anyone pls advise! Am sure is something in what have mentioned that can also help others as well.
thankyou & hopeful of some insight.
I have a 2005 model barina with 45,000kms. If i am at traffic lights or stop even for a few minutes the car starts shaking ALOT and my emissions light comes on once i take off the light goes off, this only started a couple of days ago and im booked in to see a mechanic. After reading everyones stories im a little scared…. Hope its nothing too bad, like some people here im a student trying to put myself through university, i don’t have the money either to ‘guess whats wrong’ and fix things that dont need fixing :(
shit……. my girlfriend just bought a 2005 model
Wish i had seen this site before i bought mine. so far the car is two and a half years old and i have had to replace the front bearings twice ( dealer said it was tyre noise ) and am now having problems with the airbag light coming on and staying on ( dealer commented that the airbag won’t go off anyway even if it crashed ) all of this within the warranty period oh and last but not least have also been told that the front discs and pads have to be replaced due to wear and ( you guessed it ) the discs are not covered by warranty.. what can i say i regret ever buying this rubbish that they call a holden barina.
I have had the 2005 Opel Corsa 1.4l ‘Barina’ for 3 years now minus 2 days. I am of the opinion that the rear brake shoes do not contribute to braking under hard but progressive braking. I have around $2500 damage to date because of collisions with traffic islands and curbs.
Well I have had my Barina (2004 XC) for 12 months now and have had not one single problem “apart from bonnet cable breaking”. I was looking for costs on replacing cam belt, that’s why I came here. I have an extended warranty on my car till 2012 but sure hope I don’t need it, must admit last week when the car started it felt like it was running on 3 cylinders maybe I should get shot of it before it falls to bits.
i to have a 2004 xc and have had no ploblems so far. had a friend mechanic do the 60000 klm service which required timing belt change however he found that a timing chain was fitted instead so we didnt replace it. but since fitting new spark plugs the car wont start first go when cold, have to turn off ignition and try again then starts no problem and has a small miss in the engine at idle and sometimes at constant mid throttle position
Hi I just bought a 2001 Barina SRi, first the check engine lights up and took it to Holden dealer service,told that maybe thermostat sensor coolant leaking.But I check my coolant,never leaking…took to Ultratune,check the engine,told maybe oxygen sensor fault…But the check engine light not always pop up,some times it’s fine,but mostly it pop up at low speed high gear…one day,the emission lights up,but the check engine light gone…I am not sure what happen but no mechenical told me what the exactly cause….
Hi, just wondering if anyone has come across this problem with their Barina. The dash board completely dies while you are driving. Speedo, tacho, temp gauge, fuel gauge does not work. Odometer no longer shows on the dash. Indicator lights on the dash don’t work. Then it will all start to work again (for a while). It can also happen when you go to start the car, no ignition lights come on, only the engine warning light & the car will not start. If I hit the dash board on the left hand side just behind the tacho, the dash board works and I can start the car.
Hi Craig – my friend is having the exact same problem with her 2003 Barina. Have you discovered the cause?
i own a sri and it happened to me holden know of this in there techline in house training magazine it costs bout 240bucks to fix its a special terminal glue that needs it be replaced it drove me mad
Hi, I went to a couple of Holden dealerships and they said they have never heard of the problem and would charge me $125 per hour in labor + any parts with no cap on how many hours thy would use to find the problem. So I went home pulled out the instrument panel and plug it back in. It has been about 3 weeks since I have done this and it has not played up since.
Craig my car does that all the time.It can go for ages without doing it then bang,starts doing it again.I might get someone to do to my car what you did to yours and see if it helps.
is it worth buying a 2005 barina xc
is it worth buying a 2005 xc barina
Hi. I drive 160 kms a day in my barina 04 SXi hatch. I have had it since 2005 and it has a total of 169,000 kms on the clock. It hadn’t missed a beat for 3 yrs but since this year 2009 I have a timing chain that sounds like its cutting through timber and it’s leaking about 45mls of oil A DAY. This particular model has not been made as well as in previous years and I am dubious as to whether I will drive a Barina again. A shame because they are the only cars I’ve ever liked and wanted to own (have done since 1998 where my first car was an 92 BaRINA – the old ’swift’ model). Unfortunately this will be my last Barina, nay Holden.
Today i took my XC (2004) Opel Version (last before the Daweoo), it has 75000 km on the clock, For the past two years i have noticed a noise which some have said to me sounds like your car is a diesel engine. I ad asked both Brian Kelly Holden and McGrath Holden both times to check the noise for me and both times they have said there is nothing wrong with my car.
Today thinking i would just have to get the normal 75,000 km service i was called 1hr later saying that we need to do a fuel system clean and the noise i had been asking about for 2 years, was the timing chain.
Advised that the chain should have been service (replaced) at 60,000 Km service and that the condition of the timing chain was BAD, and lucky that it had not broken and gone through the engine block, to which would have meant a new engine.
So a $250.00 service, has now turned into a $1800 service and three days with out a car.
I must admit, this is all i have had gone wrong with my car, so i can not complain, just wished Holden had picked up on the timing chain whilst in warranty, i think they did it on purpose to get more money once the car came out of warranty.
My days with olden are over, the next car will not even be from holden or ford, i have my eye on a Honda Euro
I bought a 03 SXI about 9 months ago. WIthin a month I had problem with the gear box not wanting to go in gear and sure enough the linkage needed to be replaced and Holden wouldnt cover this under their second hand warranty so that cost me $600. Absolutely ridicullous. Next thind to go was the coil pack. I was driving and then all of a sudden the light came on and the car started misfiring etc. So this time I bought a second hand coil pack as I am selling the piece of crap. Ive bought myself a XR8 ute, back to the good old ford. But my hubby went to drive my little BB and low and behold its doing the same crap again. I have not replaced the timing belt and the car has done 84000kms so could this be the problem?
I’ve owned my 2005 XC Barina (Opel Corsa) since it was 4 months old, my new car warranty ran out on the 20th of Dec last year and so far this year I’ve had 2 breakdowns (only this week mind you) and have had to jump start it.
I’m disappointed that this is happening now after having such a dream run with it the last 3 years and that there are so many other people with similar problems coming out of the woodwork.
I noticed that the starter motor seems to be a fairly common fault, which is what went on my beep beep. I live 25kms away from the nearest city and I was driving in to meet a friend, started my car – no air con.
I was a bit ticked because I thought that I would be up for paying for the air con to be fixed, didn’t think of anything else happening.
Continued driving – about 15kms down the road (going 100km/h mind you) my car seemed to switch off (gauges, stereo, clock) and the car shuddered and then everything switched back on again;. I had a minor coronary which only grew as smoke started flying out of the front of the bonnet.
Long story short, turned out the starter motor blew up and the switch is faulty. Compared to some of you out there I got out fairly easy – first 2nd hand starter motor failed 2 days after I got my car back, now have a new aftermarket starter motor and still have yet to take it to an auto locksmith to get them to service the switch.
So my beloved little beep has cost me $400 (so far – still have yet to find out how much the switch will cost) and I have had the pleasure of not having a car for the last 5 days…
What’s the go?
I have a BARINA 2008 and its giving me so many problems. The abs light comes on and stays on sometimes for days, within the first 3 weeks of this brand new car the spedomoter stoped working. And the topping on the cake is my warning lights coming on and off when everthey please. They stay on while the car in on and starts when i start the car. please if anyone has this problem or has had please contact me. I have taking my car in four times and keeps getting the respone “we dont know why” or “can’t see a problem”
Got a 2001 XC Barina. Trans problem like all of you out there, picked up revised trans linkage kit for $290 and installed myself. Much better now.
Had the emissons problem too, holden replaced the spark plugs and igntion module and finally replaced the head
(I don’t believe Holden). Problem went away, but then problem came back (shock – horror!!!).
I replaced the timing belt myself @ 60,000km but made an error and killed the head (valve clearnace are so small). Cost me nearly $2800 to fix head but the positive is that the emission light issue and shuddering went away – go figure.
Have a 02 Barina. Timing chain, coil pack fixed under warranty pre 20000k. Has run perfectly since. Accident a few weeks ago with a hit at the front. Well known Queensland insurance company currently refusing to complete repair (ie: get it back to a driveable state because the coil pack has gone) because “this is a common fault of this car”. Trying to find this in my policy – but if it is the case need to let Barina owners know of this situation and check their insurance policies.
The outcome of the above. Insurance company spent $240 getting 3 opinions on what was actually wrong with this car – one Holden dealer, a Honda dealer (don’t ask why) and an independent. All three claimed it was a coil pack, although the Holden dealer claimed it was stale fuel and a coil pack. All three of these places claimed to have run a “full diagnostic test” on the car. Took car to my regular mechanic who cleaned the fuel injectors – and now everything is running just fine. Lesson here – stay away from RACQ and, if you can’t do it yourself, find a mechanic you can trust.
Hi there,
I have a 2001 XC Barina and it has a slight miss in 2nd and 4th gear. I have replaced spark plugs, and given it a full service and even changed fuel to the dearer one. Still happens at start of acceleration in these gears.
Can anyone shed some light as to how to fix this problem.
Thanks
Katrina
Hey Katrina…………..who is looking after your car ?
I have a brand new TK Barina Hatch automatic
1350kms on the clock and I have already some problems: stuck in Park: the dealer said faulty solenoid????
The sale of Barina is a crime, as it can cause accident. However those big companies get away with it
I have a brand new TK Barina Hatch automatic
1350kms on the clock and I have already some problems: stuck in Park: the dealer said faulty solenoid????
The sale of Barina is a crime, as it can cause accident. However those big companies get away with it
I have a 2005 xc barina (daewoo one) i have been searching the internet for days now as my mechanic has just let me know i will have to replace my whole engine.
My car too sounded like a tractor/diesel motor. I took it to Holden’s twice & they couldn’t fault it. I then took it to another mechanic and he changed the timing chain, tensioners and oil pump as these were all apparently knackered. Since changing this my oil pressure has dropped. The mechanic advised me that he removed some bearings from the engine that were also knackered, but he is still unsure as to what is causing the oil pressure issue. If anyone has any ideas on what the issue would be, it would be great to hear unless my next step is to replace the whole motor.
Thanks
I’m sorry Aleesha. It would have not been a Daewoo XC Barina. Maybe that’s why youre search results are wrong. The XC Barina’s were made by Opel. And the Daewoo you would be talking about is a TK Barina. Two different cars, made in two different countries.
See Duck, that’s what happens when you teach Holden fans to read – they then think that they’re smart enough to advise their girlfriends on what car to buy: “Buy the XC Barina, she’s a beaut Daewoo ya know.”
ferodo.. completely useless info but whatever makes you feel important…!!!!
Thank you for your advice mumble duck but it was my mechanic who advised me that for half of the year that the 2005 barina was in production, holden’s switched to the daewoo motor as it was cheaper. I was told that my motor was one of the daewoo engines.
FERODO YOU BIG KEYBOARD WARRIOR PEOPLE COME HERE FOR ADVICE NOT TO READ YOUR BABBLE, WELL DONE….. ALEESHA THERE ARE A FEW HOLDEN/OPEL FORUMS THAT MAY BE OF ASSISTANCE I THINK THERE IS A CORSA ONE AS THAT IS WHAT YOUR CAR IS IN EUROPE DO A SEARCH ON GOOGLE HOPEFULLY THEY CAN CLARIFY WHAT IS WHAT.
I’m glad I could help Aleesha.