Australian Car Advice | News Blog

Sanyo Electric and Volkswagen have announced they will jointly develop lithium-ion batteries, joining an intensifying race to provide the key component for the next generation of hybrid cars.

Sanyo, which has the biggest global market share of lithium-ion batteries used in personal computers and mobile phones, said it would spend $790 million over the next seven years for the project, which aims to begin mass production in 2009.

In our recent discussions with Suzuki, we were informed that the company’s micro-car - the Splash - would not make it to Australia for some time. There was talk of another car coming and we suspect its based on this, the Suzuki A-star concept:

Although not confirmed for Australia yet, the A-star concept is the ideal candidate for a new micro-car.

Volkswagen’s highly successful Golf GT TSI which was released earlier this year now has a permanent place amongst the ranks of VW.

Under the new guise of Golf GT Sport to emphasize its performance credentials, it will now be available in two sporty yet economical models - the TSI and new 2.0 TDI.

The TSI maintains its twin-charged 1.4L engine which produces 125 kW and torque figures more commonly found in larger 2.3-litre models of 240 Nm from 1750 to 4500 RPM with 20 percent lower fuel consumption. This is thanks to its unique combination of an exhaust turbocharger with a mechanically driven supercharger.

The new 2.0 TDI model again focuses on efficient performance, featuring a four-cylinder TDI engine with an output of 125 kW at 4200 rpm and maximum torque of 350 Nm from 1,750 to 2,500 rpm, covering 0 to 100 km/h in a surprising 8.2 seconds.

The Golf GT Sport features sports suspension, exclusive 17 inch alloy wheels “BBS ClassiXs”, 225 tyres, 16 inch brakes, distinctive bumper and radiator grille design, twin tailpipes, sports seats and a sports steering wheel which mimic the sporty styling of its older brother, the Golf GTI.

Additional styling features of the Golf GT Sport include a new grille surround in charcoal (formally body colour) and GT Sport badge.

The 125 kW 2.0 TDI engine also makes an appearance in the new Passat Range, where the 0 to 100km/h time is only slightly increased to 8.6 seconds in the sedan version despite the extra bulk.

Pricing

Golf GT Sport TSI six speed manual from $34,990
Golf GT Sport TDI six speed DSG from $37,290

Golf GT Sport TSI six speed manual from $37,490
Golf GT Sport TDI six speed DSG from $39,790

Passat 2.0 TDI 125kW Sedan six speed DSG from $44,990
Passat 2.0 TDI 125kW Wagon six speed DSG from $46,990

Following our initial story about an issue many VE Commodore owners have experienced with regards to a lack of battery charge, we received many complaints from owners agreeing that the issue was getting long in the tooth, especially when vehicles would be dry of charge at inconvenient times.

This information was forwarded to Holden Australia with the ambition of resolving the matter and hopefully putting owner’s minds at ease.

Thankfully, Holden issued a response to our article with some information about the issue, along with the steps owners can take to resolve the matter.

We would like to thank all the owners who e-mailed in with their stories, along with Holden for a prompt and detailed response with regards to the problems plaguing some owners.

Holden’s Communications Manager - Kate Lonsdale - responded to our queries with the following information:

Mrs Lonsdale told CarAdvice that, “we [have] identified a battery related issue with some of our early production VE and WM models, whereby under certain driving conditions and customer usage patterns the battery state of charge may deteriorate and may not be fully recovered by the vehicle’s charging system.”

Further to that, Mrs Lonsdale went on to say, “A fix for this issue was identified and released to the Dealer Network in July. Subsequently, all vehicles brought in for a routine service and those where customers have specifically reported the issue have been fixed.

If any customer has experienced this matter and has not reported it we encourage them to contact their Holden Dealer or our Customer Assistance Centre to have their concern investigated and corrected.”

When asked about the proper procedure of jump starting vehicles affected by a loss of battery charge, Mrs Londsale said “the vehicle’s owners Handbook explains the correct procedure including the location of the jump start posts which are on the left hand side of the engine bay.”

For those interested in a technical explanation of the issue; a technical adviser for a Sydney Holden dealership explained the following to CarAdvice:

“The issue does vary alot with the different models.

Holden have release updated BCM (Body Control Module) software to correct SOME
of the charge problems, the new software changes the the rate of charge from the
altenator and sets the BCM’s “state of charge” to a different tolerance.

We have had some cases where the batteries in new VE’s have been faulty from
factory, with the batteries only receiving half charge.
When only given half charge from factory the ECU and BCM automatically see this
as “default charge” and will only ever charge to that level.
This level is enough to start the vehicle and operate all the systems, but the
drain becomes too much for a half charged batteries, so if the problem is
presented to the dealerships, the battery is usually replaced and the updated
BCM software is installed.

The drain issue changes from model to model, we have had a Calais V where we
replace 2 modules of the electronic system to correct the battery drain issue.

The issue can sometimes be the computer system (the high and low speed buses of
the ECU and other components), they have a shutdown timer as they stay active
after the vehicle has been shut off for other features of the vehicle, like
lighting features and security.

Sometimes they need resetting as they stay on for too long after the ignition
has been turned off and can drain the battery.”

With that, we urge VE Commodore customers that have been affected by the battery drain issue to contact their Holden dealership and arrange for the aforementioned works to be undertaken to ensure battery charge remains at an optimum level for the vehicle to operate.

2006 Holden Crewman Warranty Complaint

Name: Chris Geddes
Car Make: Holden
Car Model: Crewman
Year of Manufacture: 2006

Warranty Complaint:

Battery replaced within first month of having car, still get flat battery if not driven for two days.

Name: Michael Perich
Car Make: HSV
Car Model: E Series Senator
Year of Manufacture: 2006

Warranty Complaint:

I have had my car to Holden to complain about the battery being drained overnight. They were unable to diagnose any issues and the problem went away. In the last 4 days we have had to either jump start the car or place it on charge for 1 hour prior to starting. We now leave a battery charger connected overnight to stop any issues.

2006 Holden VE Commodore Omega Warranty Complaint

Name: GARY VANAGS
Car Make: Holden
Car Model: Commodore Omega
Year of Manufacture: 2006

Warranty Complaint:

Had to have battery replaced due to battery failure, my car was only idle overnight and i had no indication until getting into the car to start up. It was also a difficult job to remove the battery as 2 panels and boot mat had to be removed.

I have had on 5 times failure of dashboard electrics eg, ac switch,radio dash lights. I have had many commodores over the years and this car reminds me of the poor quality of the vn commodore from 1989.

Local dealer Newcastle City Holden while courtious with their customer service are not interested in getting poor feedback about this car. I know I will be looking at other makes when next sourcing a new car.

2003 BMW X5 Warranty Complaint

Name: Shane Holmes
Car Make: BMW
Car Model: X5 4WD 4.4-litre V8 petrol
Year of Manufacture: 2003

Warranty Complaint:

The Auto Transmission completely disintegrated and the vehicle is inoperable at 65,000kms. I understand the Statutory Warranty is 36 mths and/or 60,000kms but for a vehicle that cost me $127k and i was the first owner and the car has never been off road nor been mistreated and the service history is up to date i am shocked and dismayed at the lack of any GOODWILL by BMW Aust.

2003 Hyundai Santa Fe Warranty Complaint

Name: Helen Mccready
Car Make: Hyundai
Car Model: Santa Fe
Year of Manufacture: 2003

Warranty Complaint:

This vehicle was serviced as per the service schedule by sunco motors my local hyundai dealer. At the 90000km service in feb 06 both the timing belt and the balance shaft belt were replaced. Car was still under factory warranty. The balance shaft belt snapped in july 07 causing major engine damage to the vehicle.

As the car had done 145000km sunco motors said the car was not covered by warranty. Car was repaired by another mechanic. it was discovered that the balance shaft belt that was replaced by sunco motors was not a genuine hyundai part. Sunco have informed me that the belt had a 12 month 20000 km warranty but the vehicle had done 50,000 since it was replaced.

According to sunco motors they can use non genuine parts any time they like and not void any warranty. It seems that they call most engine parts “consumable” and therefore the only warranty is 12 months.

I have always been under the impression that to keep your new car warranty genuine parts had to be used. So why can they get away with using whatever parts they like? If a genuine part was used at the 90000km service i am sure it would not have snapped after 18 months - especially since hyundai say they do not need replacing until 90,000kms.

2000 Nissan Patrol 3-litre diesel Warranty Complaint

Warranty Complaint:

Well known for blowing motors around 130k km.
Mine blew right on cue 3mths outside extended warranty. Nissan paid only for parts to fix, despite this being a manufacturing fault. They didnot supply complete motor and I now have a motor that has a dubious longevity as is it a mixture of old and new parts and put together by small dealer in Broome.