Purchased a 1997 R reg Vectra 2.0 Di LS Envoy in 2002. Have been driving it ever since, with one minor hiccup which was rectified at minor cost by our local garage. Having driven it hard for the last 3 and a bit years, the rear suspension is about due some attention, but I am hoping to PX the car for somethings more MPV-ish before needing to spend the money. If we weren't upgrading, I would definitely buy both a Vauxhall and a Vectra again. Jeremy Clarkson may have a problem with them, but I definitely got my money's worth from this car!
Had 1997 P plate 2.0 litre LS "IDLE CONTROL VALVE" recalled for this original fault when many vectra,s in this range had constent stalling problems because of this part . A airfow filter was added to front of rocker cover to try to stop this but all it really did was give you maybe an extra couple of months depending on the milage you do. Once it had clogged the filter you were back to square one.a new valve is approx £160 which vauxhall will happily sell you all day long but bin there done that dont bother,get rid nitemare motor not missed.looks good performs bad,dangerous when stalls especially on a roundabout or at a junction.I tried in vein for a long time to clean valve and filter but failed,lasted about two weeks and went again ,do yourself a favor and get rid.
After having owned numerous Cavaliers, I thought it was time to buy into the Vectra name! What a bad move that was.
After 4 steering column joints, a water pump, power steering pump and 2 anti-roll bar links, all in the space of 9 months on a car 4 years old with only 57000 on the clock, I am absolutely sick of Vauxhall and once rid, I will never return.
Bought a 1995 N reg Vectra 1.6LS in 1996 under Network Q. It had 15,000 on the clock and was a garage forecourt demo car. One day before Network Q was due to run out the cam belt tensioner went. Vauxhall admitted liability and replaced cylinder head. Car was never the same again always using up oil (I've been topping up every 2 to 3 days).
Despite that its been a reasonable "war horse". It now has 140,000 miles on the clock and still gets me to work and back, 20,000 miles a year. Coolant leaks ocasionally (when not used for a week or so), have had to replace the battery once and have had to replace a hose whose hole caused the engine to rev up without touching the pedal. Scary. Water pump replaced a couple of times and cam belt replaced every 40,000 miles. All wear and tear I guess. Servicing done by main dealer every 10,000 miles.
On the whole have been happy with it for the past 8 and a half years.
6 months ago spent £5,500 on a 1999V Vectra 140 sri 2.0. Thought it looked great on garage forecourt. Since then have had nothing but problems! If anyone is thinking of buying one my advice is don't bother unless you have very deep pockets. I have had problems with steering rack, front brakes that keep going out of balance and Vauxhall can only suggest changing the abs unit, handbrake, cam belt tensioner, £90 worth of exhaust, and tonight nearly lost control of car as leaving roundabout as veered towards kerb. Worst buy I have ever made in my life! Got to the point with it now that I don't want to drive it again as such a heap of rubbish!
I have owned a 95 1.7TD LS for 4 years now. People kept telling me that this was the worst possible model i could have bought. It had 65K miles on the clock when I bought it and cost me £3500. Have done some serious mileage in it as i have travelled through various parts of the country and europe. So far the vectra has notched up wait for it....... 262578 miles! And the only things to have gone wrong or needed fixing were the bearings and the front electric windows!! Nothing has gone wrong with the engine, brakes, suspension etc, just replaced them because of the age and mileage. It just proves that if you show love and attention to this car it will repay you. Obviously it has been serviced a few dozen times because of the age and mileage. It still runs like when i first bought it and all the body work is still in pristine condition and i will admit that it isnt the best handling car on the road nor the fastest but it has made up for that in so many ways.
Well, what can i say...i bought my 1.8 gls saloon in july 2002 with 113000 on clock. it i now nov 04 and 5000 mls later i have had £600 gearbox rebuild, new idle control valve, new exhaust, bushes, dis module, etc. for all of you having problems with erratic idling, stalling usually the idle control valve is the primary suspect. this car does have design problems and i agree that vx didnt care.
My advice is DONT buy any car from a guaranteed finance company, as i have had numerous arguments with mine thankfully resulting in a £1000 reduction from the price.
also to agree with other members that the car is wallowy and you are prone to seasickness when driving on uneven roads. My experience with this car ha been a painful and very expensive mistake. i just cant believe that this is the only car i have ever had that is being sold in better condition than when first bought. As ever, have a hpi report and an independent inspection done, and also read ALL reports on a car before you buy. also ring the garage that previously serviced the car, as my history is dodgy. other than that, good luck and happy motoring.
i own a r reg 2.0 vectra diesel and until recently i have had starting problems.after it has been left for about 24 hours it starts first time runs lumpy for about 3 seconds and then dies off like it is not having fuel then it takes ages to start. but now it doesnt even start at all only with a tow. i have changed the fuel seals, new glow plugs and the rubber pipes that come from the injectors and it is still the same.i have noticed people have also said they have changed the fuel return pipes is it the ones that are rubber with a type of cloth braid if not where are they and what else can i do? i need to sort this out asap cause my missus is using my car GULP'
The problem of not starting after being left for 24 hours sounds to be the valve seals leaking which requires the head to be removed.Try parking the car on an incline with the engine pointing down.
Vauxhall vectra 20 Di (DTL) 20 DTI (DTH ) at about 80K suffer from starting problems. The first thing to check is the leak off pipes. If this is done and the car does not start when left for long periods ie 3 days. Then it is the injector seals this is a common problem on any car fitted with this engine ie All Vauxhall and Saab diesels. The cost to replace these seal by a vauxhall dealer is £300 Max. Do not get conned by third party deisel garages. And if you car starts ok but gets sluggish check all the vacume pipes as one split and you lose power. If you car is still slugish relace the air mass metre. That is about £99 from http://www.autovaux.co.uk but check vauhal prices first as prices change model to model. Hope this helps
I have owned a Vectra 2.0DI club for a while now and have found it to be very reliable. It's my first diesel after being a petrol head for the past 10 years but I havent found it to be a disappointment. Theres plenty of torque and once you get past 45MPH put it in top and forget about it! Much better than my previous petrol mondeo!
The handling on the vectra is much improved on the post '99 models, I find it much more responsive and lighter than the mondeo.
Overall I am very pleased with the car. It gives my 50MPG all day and will cruise at 80+ with hardly any engine noise.
Reading all the reviews it would seem that the diesel vectra is the better choice for reliability as there are far fewer problems reported than with the petrol variants.
Had a 2001 2 litre DTI for 90,000 miles. Does 49 to the gallon, has never broken down, and is cheaper than an equivalent Mondeo to insure. Had a few niggling faults though, Air Mass sensor has gone once (that can happen on any modern car though) and it has also had the irritating problem of having to have the diesel return pipes replaced as they leaked and let in air, which is common on a Vectra diesel but simple to fix. Only other problem has been a couple of minor bushes in the suspension being replaced. In general I am happy.
Ive owned a 1996 P Reg 2ltr GLS for just over 5 years. I had nothing other than the usual sensor light problems go wrong with it until tonight. I bought the car with 25K on it and it now has 83K so Ive been lucky looking at some of the reviews here.
Tonight I lost the entire contents of the oil tank in less than a mile after a leak at the bottom left side of the engine. Needless to say it wont be going to a main dealer as Ive yet to find one that hasn;'t ripped me off on servicing costs. I also refuse to take out any worthless extended warranty that when it comes down to it ,doesnt actually cover anything worthwhile.
Ironically ,yesterday I started looking actively for a new car ,thinking its better to change it before something does go wrong.
I have recently bought a 2.0L 16V GLS Automatic vectra estate (R Reg) from Yes Car Credit who, told me it was fully serviced & had a 100 point check. Two months later the cam belt went on the A1,(AA Recovery!!) 8 valves later & 1 month off the road later i put the car in for a main service imediatley after having the repair done, this was with vauxhall and I also advised them that the car was slow to pick up.
They advised me it was the ECU and updated it for me,as well as replacing the full exhaust system. The main Vauxhall service was two weeks ago, and today i had to stop on the M11 with my 16mnth old daughter and be towed back home by the AA (Best company in the world!)as the car began to judder and every so often lose power. We got the car home and as it was still driveable revsed it back into my drive and the engine sounded horrendous with poppoing noises and even slower to pick up and large amounts of juddering - I shall be taking it back to Vauxhall tommrow and apart from going off my nut at spendng over £500 only 2 weeks ago will try and sort the problem out.I would be interested in any experiances other people have had and what the problems were - and if they were resolved at all.
I dont think Vauxhalls are bad cars overall and I have being invloved in an accident with one where it sustained hardly any damage and we were unhurt, but the drivers of the Ford Escort were not so lucky, neither was there car!! Have i just got a bad batch?
ive bought a stolen/recovered vectra 2.0 di V-reg, can anyone help with any info on the airbag system, sensors, seat belt pre-tensioners, and will the parts fit from a pre facelift model {n-s reg} fit, does anyone know of anyone who can fit the parts apart from the dealer.the drivers and passenger airbags werent missing, but the interior, seat belts, seat belt plugins/pre-tensioners modules under the seats etc. the cars been built just airbag needs soting, can anyone help. it would be much appreciated. bobby.
1. Following an M1 cam belt snappage experience (sorted for 14 new valves, head skim and £600) there's a nasty oil leak coming from the right of the engine block somewhere (drips onto exhaust and smells!)... any ideas where this is coming from as a rocker cover gasket fix failed...
2. ECU light comes on after engine warms up... Idle fluctuates between 500 + 1500 at random... Occasionally dies altogether at idle (but starts all the time (touch wood). A £30 "Plug In" tells me it's the crank shaft sensor (how much and where from??)...
3. Overall a superb car... sadly neglected service wise over my 3 years of ownership with the above cam belt issue the only major problem (touch wood yet again)
4. Standard speakers absolutely superb when driven by a better performance head unit!
5. Reverse and 1st gear selection occasionally requires a double clutch
6. The air con has NEVER worked (previous history documents substantiate this!)
7. Previously owned a 1.6 Cavalier which was run into the ground and hardly ever failed (apart from when the alternator cog jammed in the engine causing a slight fire hazard!!)
1. Following an M1 cam belt snappage experience (sorted for 14 new valves, head skim and £600) there's a nasty oil leak coming from the right of the engine block somewhere (drips onto exhaust and smells!)... any ideas where this is coming from as a rocker cover gasket fix failed...
2. ECU light comes on after engine warms up... Idle fluctuates between 500 + 1500 at random... Occasionally dies altogether at idle (but starts all the time (touch wood). A £30 "Plug In" tells me it's the crank shaft sensor (how much and where from??)...
3. Overall a superb car... sadly neglected service wise over my 3 years of ownership with the above cam belt issue the only major problem (touch wood yet again)
4. Standard speakers absolutely superb when driven by a better performance head unit!
5. Reverse and 1st gear selection occasionally requires a double clutch
6. The air con has NEVER worked (previous history documents substantiate this!)
7. Previously owned a 1.6 Cavalier which was run into the ground and hardly ever failed (apart from when the alternator cog jammed in the engine causing a slight fire hazard!!)
Ii said car was juddering / hesitating at all speed ranges.
Foys replied ' could be air control valve, does car stall at idle or revs fluctuate between 500-1000 rpm'
The engine doesn't stall at idle, but I have noticed then putting cluth in, revs drop ti idle (700ish) then raise to 1000 rpm before dropping back down to and settling at idle (700ish). The revs do fluctuate slightly at idle if load applied e.g. rear window heater.
I stated car was juddering / hesitating at speed ranges.
You responded 'does it cut out at idle or fluctuate between 500-1000 rpm'.
The car doesn't cut out at idle, but the revs do fluctuate at idle if load applied e.g. rear window heater. I have also noted that when putting clutch in to change gear or going to neutral, the revs drop to idle (700 ish) then go back up to just over 1000 then back to a steady 700ish.
Dont talk to me about the Vectra. I have a 1996 N reg 1.8. I have had it three years and since I have had it I have nothing but problems with the ECU and sensors. I have had
three engine sensors replaced, a new idle value (and cleaned several times I am a dab hand at this now!), the fix issued by Vauxhall for the idle value problem and still the car either conks out or the revs fluctuate up and down, one rear passenger door the lock jams and wont even let you lift the lock from the inside, the central locking has failed on the other rear passenger door, the glass in the drivers door has fallen out of the mechanism (can anyone tell me how to take the door panel to bits to repair this), new driving panel lights as they all went, 2 new alternators, new suspension, full exhaust, the zapper unit on my key fob does not open the car despite being reset, have been told that the ECU is losing voltage to the mass airflow hence the car stalls, engine over runs when the key is taken out, I seems to replace a bulb at least once a week, heater has stopped putting out hot air, the engine temperature keeps looking like it will over heat even though it has enough water and the thermostat is working, the stalling while driving is dangerous especially if I happen to be going round a bend as you lose the power steering,
the list is endless. It has cost me over £3000 so far. Aaggghhh!!
My local garage have been feeling so sorry for me that they have been looking at it for free as I am down there so often! They offered to take it off my hands and scrap it for me.
Seriously though, if you can help with getting to door panel off so I can fix the drivers window it would be much appreciated. [Log in to view email]
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