Holden VE Commodore recalled again
January 8, 2008 by Matt Brogan
The VE Commodore and WM Statesman series have again being recalled this morning following yesterday’s announcement of it being Australia’s top selling car.
Due to the possibility of an engine bay fire from a faulty fuel line, 86,000 V6 models will be recalled to address the issue. Holden spokesperson John Lindsay said the fault was due to one of the fuel lines in the engine bay having the potential to rub on the clip of an adjacent hose, which over a period of time had the potential to result in a leak.
So far this issue has only effected 20 cars though is not limited to Australian vehicles with some export vehicles also being recalled in New Zealand, Brazil and the Middle East. Fortunately the highly lucrative Pontiac G8 has not been affected with the issue affecting V6 models only.
This is the second such recall for Holden on the VE and WM series with the V8 models being recalled for a similar condition some months ago.
Anyone owning a VE or WM series Holden will be contacted forthwith.
Print it: 
AW some very good points made… but I GUARRANTEE you they fall on deaf ears. The local industry is known for one thing and one thing only, producing poor quality vehicles are premium prices. The day the tariffs and other protection of the local industry go, along with Ford and Holden Australia who wont be able to compete, we will as consumers be far better off in a market with a level playing field, not one who protects and provides govt handouts to the inefficient entities (Ford + Holden) within it.
Toyota Paul (TP), hates V8 supercars, but he likes V6 Supercharged FWD Supercars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ha!
Um,AW? You would have to be an idiot your self as you hate the Australian car market.
GROW UP
Sorry, AW is also a hippocrit.
Oz you are incoherent, now this is a fact not a claim like you have just made against AW. As for V8 Supercars, I dont mind them… not a finatic though. Also in relation to sponsoring someone made reference to V8 supercars, I hope your aware they seek to benefit significantly from that, its a money making venture… sponsorships that Toyota do aernt so directly linked to income (more advertising, rather then a income producing activity)
OZ. If you actually paid attention to what I have written, then you would know that I did not say I hate the Australian Car Market. I was making valid statements about the Car market, which is different to hating the car market. And a question for you, How am I a hippocrit? Thanks TP, for your comments as well.
Well TP, yes you would make a comment like that as you have a problem about Ford/Holden supporters.
OZ, you have shown your intelligence. I asked you a simple question and you didn’t answer it.
Oh sorry I’ll take back the word “hippocrit”
Just to change the subject back to recalls. Lexus yes Lexus has just recalled 4000 vehicles in the UK IS250’s & GS300. Guess what for faulty fuel pies likely to cause cars. http://www.fleetnews.co.uk/new.....ew_article
Well that says it all me thinks. Even the luxury brands get clobbered. Aren’t Lexus part of Toyota Mikka..
Just checked BMW as well. In March 2007 MY2006 3 series models were recalled for faulty master cylinders 13128 of them.
Yes but if the 40 odd thousand people who are directly employed in the auto industry in Australia lost there jobs if the local manufacturing operations were to close.. there would be 40,000 people who
Would spend their savings inorder to survive once that’s gone theres 25′000 less bank accounts – less transactions; less charges; less profits etc which would result in more sackings
can no longer afford to buy an [imported] cars LCD TVs Computers Furniture or Electrical items – downturn in retail.. more closures and sackings
can no longer afford to build or buy a home – result in a downturn in domestic construction or real estate activity which could mean more people being sacked
afford to go on holiday here or overseas – downturn in activity for airlines hotels and restaurants.. more people lose their jobs
I could go on about the impact in other industries but Hopefully uou get the idea.
By this stage due to the downturn in other industries there would most likely be at least an extra 100;000 sacking in industries such as Banking; Retail; Construction; Tourism etc. which it appears you believe wouldn’t be affected by the loss of such a major industry
20% max unemployment [thats conservative] haven’t you heard of the snowball or millpond effect. If the Auto industry goes the rate will be 8-10% then as the downturn in spending hits other industries the rate will gradually increase.
As I said the Auto industry directly employs approx 40000. [Holden employs approx 10000 - [x4]] so lets assume the other industries employ similar amount of people but the downturn only affects half of those in each industry.
Given for example there are 20 other “major” industries in the country that would mean 20×20000=400000 people which would take the unemployment rate to well over 20%.. it would be within the
And as the rate rises there will be a greater dependancy on Social Welfare. Thereforel inorder to cover it the govt will have to inrease taxes on those who still have a job
Which means they too would have less to spend which would hit the industries like Retail Building Tourism for a second time resulting in possibly more job losses and an even higher unemployment rate
Otherwise they’d issue a defecit budget [spend more than they receive] which would also have a negative immpact on the economy..
Another opption for the govt would be more increase foreign borrowing However given the interest rate which they have to pay they would probably increase taxes again.
The reason the govt sinks so much money into it is because its a major industry and they want them to stay.. in the same way they offer the farmers and miners tax breaks or other incentives.
FYI I don’t work in the Auto Industry its just that I have an interest in what goes on in Australia and the impact [good/bad] the possible outcomes could have.. and no I am not a govt employee or an economsit either!
Andrew – Ford Motor Corp is currently the single biggest recalled company not Toyota … get it right. They recalled 3.5 million is one foul swoop remember.
And another point – if Holden is ‘SUPPOSEDLY’ so Australian (beside the fact that they are 100% American owned and import thousands of vehicles annually themselves) then explain why Toyota sponsors own very own national sport (AFL) – of which cricket is not.
No Name – i am all for local production – just not Holden crap … that’s all.
AW – you are the dude man … with you here i can take my hat off and rest for awhile.
Duck – liking highly refined FWD performance cars is bad because … !!
TP – our local market is not entirely known for building poor quality cars because Toyota and Mistsubishi put together damn fine cars. Unfortunately – Holden and Ford with thier efforts tarnish that for others … regrettedly.
Holden and Ford are making poor quality products not Toyota or Mitsubishi whom are also local manufactuers of equal recognition.
ps … a note for the regulars – who know who you’s are : I take it that you people should be getting the message load and clear by now that not everybody actually wants a Holden or Ford !! Infact, going by the very latest statistics of December 2007 and 2007’s overall results … that is becoming more true every year. Infact, did you people see how poorly the Commodore sold in December – 3600 units – must be a record for the least in how many years … !!
he, he, he, ha, ha, ha … i’m lov’n it.
Guess your not to worried about a small recall then Wheelnut. I don’t think it will harm much in the long run. The bigger problem is selling cars that people really want and not gas guzzlers.
My view is (and I’m not slagging the average Australian off) is that you don’t want to move off the traditional large 6/8 cylinder cars, whereas in reality you want to spend less on fuel, thereby needing smaller engined cars. Holden don’t offer you a decent alternative that you’re happy with at the moment. Rebadged Korean make will not suffice.
Mikka,
who are you saying recalled 3.5 million in one swoop? i know toyota did is that who you mean? if you mean ford you better tell me more about it
here is a quote on recalls………
“Toyota has once again passed Ford in worldwide auto sales and may
pass GM sometime this year.
But what you may not have seen is that Toyota has already passed both Ford
and GM in a different category – automotive recalls.”
it went on to display figures and blab on heaps of other crap but it made it clear toyota was well and truely out in front with recalls for this year AGAIN and this year was set to pass their previous years record breaking recall figures
also how did other makes compare to the commys lower december sales?
i doubt car sales enjoy their boom season during the holiday season. who can afford to buy cars when they want a plasma for chrissy.
i’d assume the percentage drop in sales for the commy would be seen over all makes during christmas.
I realise not everyone may not want a ford or holden and who am i to push the idea on others. as long as their is one for me i wont complain.
I’ll tell ya why toyota sponsors AFL……..
well its effectively the biggest Billboard in australia thats why. i love how you try to make out toyota gives them heaps of money out of the kindness of their heart. if i saw toyotas books and it reflected no tax deductions for sponsorship then yes I’d say they are good blokes.
also criket is more of an australian tradition than AFL. just because it isnt solely an australian played sport doesnt mean that australians dont hold it close to their heart.
Wheelnut nice economics but you neglect the positives. For starters your 40,000 people unemployed is a complete exaggeration, without production in Aus of course there would be a downsize (didnt ford and holden sack ppl only recently?) but there would still be many positions left over within the companies to operate within Australia. Further supporting this is the fact that importing will create more jobs in this area. Lastly and the most important given your massive economic ‘downturn’ as a result of it, with a more competitive market consumers will result in cheaper vehicles, savings for consumers. Here is some Year 11 calcs for you…
Lets say cars will reduce in price by $5000 (not that much considering in the U.S cars are $10k+ cheaper then ours… including imports), now we know 1,000,000 vehicles were bought this year and previous years, so this results in the following figure being kept by consumers to be spent in other areas, thus proving your little theories about decreasing spending and downturn wrong:
1,000,000 x $5000 = 5,000,000,000
FIVE BILLION DOLLERS IN THE WALLETS CONSUMERS
Now this is compared to the 40,000 jobs, which mind you are an exaggeration… and mind you wouldnt all be lost n e way… with the average Aussie income of $55,000p.a
40,000 x $55,000 = 2,200,000,000
TWO POINT TWO BILLION DOLLARS
A pre-school kid could tell you which figure is higher… and thus which would benefit the economy more…. and this shows how your little ideas about it resulting in all this unemployed are totally misguided. Mind you this is just a simple example, Im not going into detaisl… keep it simple, but I have done economics both at school and uni.
no name,
i for one dont want to move off my 6cyl because a small car cant do what a large car can.
and if im worried about the cost of fuel i’d be laughing as i drive by small cars, in my large car with a little red LPG sticker on the number plate
TP,
if you think cars will lose 5K off the price overnight then you need to stop worrying about grade 11 maths and start thinking about “post school” life facts.
cars wont get cheaper end of story. the taxes have already reduced and the aussie dollar has gone high yet no decrease in vehicle prices.
also dont forget all the other taxes the government will impose on vehicles such as the stamp duty increase.
its kind of like toll roads where they say its to recoup the money invested in such road ways yet 10yrs after the fact the infrastructure could have been paid off 3 times yet we still have to pay the toll
Hi Andrew
Big cars don’t necessarily need big engines. Remember we (UK) had the omega (same as a Commodore) with engines from 2.0 litre to 3.2 litre, the former being more common plus a BMW sourced 2.5litre. Same car smaller engine. Worked OK here with many doing high mileages. I have in the past done 77,000Kms per year in a 1.8TD Mondeo, with no problems at all other than regular servicing, and that was banging around at 130 -140Kkmh. How about 11K kmh in 6 weeks commuting to work on a 380K daily round trip.
Nuff said, its up to you mate, I personally don’t have a problem about big cars but why moan about fuel prices. Yes I spotted you gas.
RECALL
Commodore 1989 – 1997
Transmission Fluid may overheat, leak and catch fire
(V6) L645621-L979936
(V8) L645621 L986809
Commodore 1997 – 2006
(1) Fuel feed hose may leak which is a potential fire hazard
VS & VT (V8) Models
(2)Brass nuts on LPG supply line may crack causing leaks and fire risk.
VT & VX (V6)
(3) The seat lifter motor may short circuit and the seat may catch fire.
Another recall, same model, sorta related problem
(4)Front brake hose may dislodge causing break failure
VE – 2006 -
I think we are all aware of these 2 recalls…
Same issues keep popping there heads up guys, Holden refines problems, it does not rectify them apparently.
James,
RECALL
Falcon- All AU models
(1)AU models have longer braking distance due to loss of of the front brakes
(2)May lose all brake fluid
Falcon- Models from Sep. 2002- Mar. 2007
200,000 vehicles affected
(1) Brake hose in all 200,000 cars
Falcon- From 2006-2007 all recalled
3,788 vehicles affected
(1)LPG Service Valve Tap was the problem and it may have caused the LPG to leak
Whats your point james!
Duck, possible fire risk thru inept fuel system design is an inherent trait of the commodore, almost like DNA, last 3 models have had this issue, fix the bloody problem is my point, are you retarded?
TP – just wanted to correct u on something earlier – the fact that ford have laid off workers recently is not a bad reflection on them incomparison to holden – for unlike gm they have continued to utilise and manufacture the i6 here in australia for production in the falcon. Whilst they have now announced the switch to an imported v6 post the orion – the i6 continues production until the focus comes into production here. So whilst some workers will lose there jobs – ford has minimised the impact as much as possible by A) holding out aslong as they have and b) providing a viable alternative demand in a growing not shrinking market segment (ie small cars).
Furthermore Ford has maintained great build quality in small cars and safety to boot by choosing the european not korean built small cars. once again a car which will be built in Aus in future. Ford also do support sporting events. probably already mentioned buyt have u heard of the FORD Ranger cup perhaps, a smaller domestic competition showing ford’s commitment to developing leagues.
This among many other issues and experiences is why i buy and continue to support ford whilst they are present in the australian market. A company which imports quality when neccessary, considers safety of austral;ian motorists to be important, and will minimise the reduction in employment numbers if possible whilst remaining as independant and individual of its american counterparts as possible. Admitedly they are not in the best finacial shape, but never the less i love the v8 supercars (dont own a v8) and will continue to support the most australian of brand names while they continue to have the right business attitude towards australians
JAMES,
Loss of brakes can cause people to crash……………are you RETARDED?
oh dear duck, you really are retarded, hmmm, brakes and steering, lets go shall we;
1.1989 -19997
cruise control may jam the throttle open
L811209-L876948
front suspension strut to knuckle attaching bolts may break
812212-815124
steering rack may break, reducing steering control
2. 1997 -2006
There are so many
Front brake hose may become dislodged causing brake failure
6h8vtx69pwl262756 – blahblah
Heres a beaut for you duck :)
brake pedal may stop working
L2876211 – L321633
COMPUTER CONTROLLING SAFETY SYSTEMS MALFUNCTIONS
AIRBAGS AND SEATBELT PRE TENSIONERS MAY NOT WORK PROPERLY………. BUT wait when you may be getting out of the car..
The front side airbags may deploy when an occupant is exiting the vehicle
There are some more btw, you think im a ford fan, lol, you are a tool holdenboy :) I just detest shoddy workmanship.
How stupid are you duck, 2 and a bit models, almost 40 recalls, perhaps you should have posted your stats for Lada instead of Ford, hahaha
Ducky btw thanks for the ford worries, really, why would you buy either of these?
QUACK QUACK
I love it. I think this is Holden at its best. Will make people think before they buy a new holden n they might wait for the ford. The commodore is good but next time i hope they dont rush it because they always have to do recalls.
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at both the problems listed for both Falcon and Holden, and the comments made from one person to the other.
One could get hooked on this entertainment.
I cracked up about the electric motor wiring on the seat adjuster short circuiting and possibly setting the seat on fire. Would’nt It be great to read in the news that a senior GM official was recovering from severe burns to his arse as a result of his seat catching fire! I bet that problem would be fixed forthwith and heads would roll.
Unfortunately it would only happen to some poor consumer.
JAMES,
I’m not just sticking up for HOLDEN i also stick up for other car companies, but it just sounds like that you are making Holden sound like crap and just like one companie….all the time!
And what car would you prefer to own JAMES?
Cobra 302,
i thought you would prefer ford, rather than Holden?
funny story: guy from my office wants to buy a new car, spends 70% of his working week in it so wants a bit more space than his current mazda astina, trips to melb (from Launceston) to buy the calais, against my advice, gets to biggest holden delership in vic and speaks to sales person who i quote “the second hand vz calais or berlina i have here are far better cars than the new ve u r looking at, there is less commission in for me, but trust me i have driven both and the ve just doesnt compare”
whilst i am sure i will get plenty of comments regarding this story it is a true story. Made me wonder how it gets car of the year from Wheels, an award i held in high regard until recently. He is now back in tassie and has gone to the local honda delership to buy a new accord or a ex demo liberty.
Andrew – you have just absolutely blown me away with your shear lack of knowledge.
The biggest ‘one hit’ recall Toyota had last year (or was that the year before) was 2.2 million globally yet Ford toppled that with 3.5 million recalled globally because of a potentialy faulty cruise control mechanism/switch.
SURELY … SURELY you must have know that !!
Please tell me that you did !!
Oh yeah – Andrew … did yo also know that Ford has ‘one of’ or ‘the biggest’ fatality list because of faulty comnoents on thier cars – does the Firestone tire drama ring any bells in the US killing something like 280 occupants in total.
Oooch !!
bought a VE V6 COMMODORE last July and was unlucky to be punted up the rear on Dec 6,the car is still in the panel shop awaiting a new exhaust pipe which for some reason Holden cannot suply until the end of Jan.Calls to Customer service have not brought any reason why so long, and sorry we had to cancel holiday plans.We feel that Holden have sold their car & taken our money too bad! now a recall as well First and last time ,should have stuck with Mitsubishi!!!
DUCK, I dont need to make Holden sound like crap, they can do that so very well on their own :)
Cars, for me? Well, just so you can fire away, Jetta turbo(petrol), also a 1999 lexus IS200 (manual), I know its old now, and somewhat underwhelming performance wise, but I just love it and cant get rid of it. Also share an outlander with the wife 2.4M.
I assume you weren’t asking if I would prefer a holden or a ford? Seriously, just in case, none, would go the 380 if I had to.
your story probably warrants a post on the complaints section of this page
Thanks for the comments here Mikka. But I think I may as well give up as most people are so dumb that they will ignore all the valid points that people like you and I make. Anyway, they can waste their money on cars with problems. Their problem, not mine.
mikka – ford us is completely different from ford australia and always has been. what was those firestone drams in the common us lincoln – not likely to occur in the local falcon – in otherwords completely irrelevant. Fair enough if your going to have an iopinion and make an arguement, but make relevant points
Actually, I don’t see how you can state Falcon as “american” Mikka. If FordUS weren’t so arrogant they would already be using our local product, as GM is finally starting to use Holden.
AW, my car had a minor leaking water pump (needed topping up in 2 months) replaced under warranty. ONLY problem in 7 years and 107,000kms. Toyota has its fair share of recalls too.
The problem is Watto…is that we as Ford fans and Holden fans admit we have down falls.Toyota lovers…..cover it up!
And to be fair to Toyota lovers on this site………..theres really only about 3 that let you down as professed supporters/extremists!!!!
The thing is most of the 3 wouldn’t buy a home grown Holden or Ford EVER…..but would support a Toyota in all its down falls and recalls cause simply they are extremists…..Us….the rest of the norm……Ford Fairies included! We look at what suits our needs and likes!Simple!! Weigh it up with our wants and go buy it!!!
Right on BM, I can appreciate Toyotas (not the Hilux or Corolla tho). If someone walked up to me and said “here’s a TRD Aurion for 30% off”, I sure wouldn’t say no.
But for a similar price bracket tho, I want an F6 Typhoon. Orion because it’ll be the last of the I6’s. To quote HSV “I just want one.”
Hahahaha Ford fans admit they have down falls Hahahahahahah. The problem is, the Ford fairies are finally being shown up, previously when this place was 100% Ford alot of misinformation was floating around, especially related to Toyota, now the truth is coming out as we ‘keep the bastards honest’.
Andrew.M you are quick to attack my post re to local industry yet nothing against Wheelnuts. The fact is reducing protection and govt handouts will result in a more competitive industry. You give an example of how they have reduced taxes and its had no effect, on the contrary, in previous years we were decades behind other countries in terms of features (such as ESP) now we are in line with the world. One example of what competition results in. What it can also result in is a reduction of price, as I said its very possible given the U.S has cars $10k+ cheaper then ours, showing it can be done. So please dont attack me becuase your just making yourself look like a fool, I provided a valid example of how Wheelnuts little calcs are a joke in terms of what effect either scenario will have on the economy, in reality its far more complicated.
Watto you dont like the Corolla (Worlds most popular vehicle) but even more unusual the Hilux (Worlds Toughest Vehicle). Anyone watch top gear the other week… that thing took an absolute beating, not only running in -35degs which is crazy but being smashed about. Meanwhile Fords cant even run in our relatively mild conditions.
Shown up!!! U no nothing u little daewoo lover. It took holden over 1 BILLION DOLLARS!!!! To build a car that is only marginally better then the current falcon range. Sorry but come March Holden will once again be OVERALL be the maiden bitch to it supriour FORD. Oh and buy the way, Holdens biggest mistake was to put them weak as piss V6’s in the rail of there clown car and the V8 is nothin but a piston slapper. N u tp, ur a typical one eyed holden/hsv holden fan with a big mouth, u r the type of guy that gives holden/hsv the name that they have now. HSV I just want to HUMILIATE one!!!!
How is the Hilux the “Worlds Toughest Vehicle”? Sorry, but i’ll take the facts thanks.
Duck, i do prefer Ford, but im not one eyed n get pretty fired up when i see things been writen like what tp has been writting. I will give credit to any car where it is due.
Still waiting….
To the person that wrote the comment as Cobra 302 first in this page, please change your name as i have been using this one for ages, how about GTHO, that’ll be a good one i havent seen
Hay oz, what car manufacturer do u prefer?
Cobra 302. You know….FORD, allthough I’m not biased.
Toyota Paul: Looks like you just had a down fall, Saying the Hilux is the Toughest Vehicle in the world. verry, VERRY WRONG!