Ask The Guide

It was a common problem and often reported by owners in years gone by. Take it to a Toyota dealer and have them assess it, and perhaps approach Toyota about repairing it for you. Toyota was reluctant to take action on the problem because they claimed it didn't affect the operation of the airbag. Other than that you could perhaps replace the dash.

It's annoying that this should happen, but I doubt that Holden would cover it. It's one of those things that can happen with age.

It's not uncommon for rotors to wear out at low kilometres, as yours have done. The wear varies from brand to brand, from car to car, and can depend on driving conditions.

If you bought it from a dealer and it's still within the time limit of the statutory warranty then take it back to the dealer and request that it be fixed. If you didn't buy it from a dealer, or the warranty has expired take it to an auto electrician and have it repaired.

For starters Holden is not shutting down. What it is doing is stopping local production, so there won't be any more Commodores built here in the future. Holden is committed to continuing in the Australian market selling cars it imports from Asia and Europe. Parts will continue to be available for the Commodore well into the future, and there wont be any change to quality of the service you receive from your Holden dealer.

The official fuel consumption (average) is 10L/100km, which is a guide to what you should get, but it will vary depending on the driving conditions, load carried etc. Yours isn't wildly out, and given that it's new and running in you could expect it to improve as it does more kilometres. I would suggest you report your concerns to the dealer and maintain a log on the consumption you get with the view of presenting it to them at the next service. If it hasn't improved by then you should have plenty of evidence to justify your claim that something is not right.

They aren't recalling it here in Australia because it doesn't affect the locally produced Territory.

It's not a safety issue. Your car is nine years old; pay the money to have it fixed.

The Patrol is a big, tough wagon and generally bulletproof, but I wouldn't recommend buying a 3.0-litre turbo-diesel model earlier than 2005. They had lots engine problems, but with your budget you should be able to buy a later model that isn't prone to engine failure.

As we haven’t experienced the problem ourselves it’s hard to comment on your concerns, but it does sound like a design problem that should have been identified and fixed before the car went into production. Now being in production it’s very difficult to fix, but we will contact Kia and see if they can suggest something that might help you. To fix it you could look at ways of shielding the dash when the light is coming from the direction that cause the problem. One thing you could look at is window tinting.