Holden Reviews

Technically, the Captiva operates in all-wheel-drive all the time. But there’s a centre differential that apportions the drive between the front and rear axles to allow individual wheels to rotate at different speeds. If that centre coupling isn’t working properly it could cause the noise you’re hearing, possibly from the tyres that are skidding or skipping as they turn, or mechanical noises caused by what’s known as 'axle wind up'.

The Captiva normally operates much as a front-wheel drive vehicle and only engages the rear axle when the computer detects any wheel slip or loss of traction.

We have seen this problem before in at least one other ZB Commodore, so you’re definitely not on your own. The problem is very possibly caused by a misalignment of the micro-switch that detects the car is, indeed, in Park, and allows it to be powered down. If the computer can’t see the correct signal from this micro-switch or sensor, it assumes the car is not ready to be locked and left.

Given that yours is not the only example of this, perhaps your auto electrician has seen this before and will know what the fix is. Even if they’re not familiar with the problem, a good auto sparky should be able to sort this. If not, a transmission specialist would be your next port of call.

There’s a variety of ways for this problem to occur, so let’s start with the basics. Is the battery in good condition? Even though it may show 12 volts on a tester, when you actually apply a load to it (via the starter motor) you may find it loses the plot. And modern, fuel-injected engines hate having low voltage when they’re trying to start or run.

The next thing to check would be whether you have power at the coil packs. If you don’t, you need to work your way upstream to find out where the power stops. The fuses and relays for the ignition are a likely culprit. And don’t forget to make sure the coil packs are earthed properly. Bad earths are an incredibly common way for modern engines to go haywire.