Holden Astra 1996 Problems

Holden's Astra remains a popular second-hand choice, and the late '90s model saw production shift to Europe with a design sourced from Opel in Germany.

If the theory holds true that the last model in the line is the best to buy, then the VS is the pick of the second-generation Commodores.  The theory is that by the end of a model the carmaker has ironed out all the production wrinkles, fixed problems that have surfaced during servicing and developed the car to its peak.If that's true, it's better to buy a VS Series II than a VT.  It's also said to be better to buy an optioned-up model than a bare-bones base car. You'll find it easier to sell later on.The used car buyer can buy a better model for not much more than a base car.  The Berlina, for instance, is the next model up from the Executive. A VS II Berlina cost $8230 more than an Executive when new, but now costs only about $2000 more.MODEL WATCHTHE final second-generation Commodore was the VS II, released in 1996. It was designed to keep attracting buyers until the all-new VT arrived in 1997.  The model began with the VR in 1993 and took in the VR II update in 1994 and VS in 1995.It was an improved car compared with the previous VN and VP models, but they were still being built to a tight budget.  VR was a major breakthrough. It was much more refined, better built and better equipped.The VS built on that success and the VS II update added gloss to a brilliant success story.  The big news in the VS was introduction of the smooth ECOTEC V6 engine. The same 3.8 litres in capacity, the engine produced more power (147kW) and used less fuel (six per cent).For those wanting more punch the 5.0-litre V8 was optional.  Buying a Berlina was about more comforts: velour trim, automatic airconditioning, cruise control, power boot release, power mirrors, power steering, trip computer, sports seats and radio cassette sound with six speakers.  Remote central locking improved security, ABS improved the braking, and alloy wheels improved its looks.IN THE SHOPBUILD quality improved dramatically with the VR and VS. A new paint shop in South Australia had a huge impact.  The ECOTEC V6 is generally quite reliable. Look for oil leaks around the timing cover, rocker covers and oil pan.Make similar checks on the V8. Problem areas are the power-steering pumps, which leak oil and are known to fail; the electric fuel pump in the fuel tank, which is known to break down; and the power-steering rack, which is known to leak oil.When checking the power-steering rack, check the rubber boots carefully for damage, tears, splits and cracks.  Damage to the boot allows grime in and that can cause damage to the rack and its joints.Many Berlinas were leased by company executives who could afford the upgrade. They were usually turned over quickly, but often received minimal servicing, so check for a service record.CRUNCH TIMEWITH the VS Acclaim and Calais, Holden was the first local carmaker to fit dual airbags, though the Berlina had a standard driver's airbag.OWNER'S VIEWSKIM Maxwell loves the power of the V8 in her 1997 Berlina, but not its fuel consumption.  Kim and husband Garry have owned it since new and it has been very reliable over 180,000km.  The engine hasn't missed a beat, but a noisy diff required rebuilding at 125,000km.THE BOTTOM LINEWELL-equipped Berlina better value for money than Executive, but Acclaim makes more sense with ABS, IRS and airbags standard.LOOK FORVALUE for money in extra optionsBETTER resale potentialCOMFORTABLE family transportRELIABLE, smooth, economical V6POWERFUL but thirsty V8

After a number of unsuccessful attempts to market small cars drawn from other car makers Holden turned to its Euro cousins for what has become a rip-roaring success in the form of the German-designed Astra. The Astra badge was a part of the Holden range before the arrival of the European Astra in 1996, but they were rebadged Nissan Pulsars produced under an arrangement with the Japanese car maker who was the building the Pulsar locally.Holden later turned to Toyota under the doomed joint venture between the two companies and sold rebadged Corollas as Holden Novas for a while, but that ended when the deal went sour.Both deals were struck in times of trouble when Holden was in effect a one-car car company struggling to stay afloat in an increasingly competitive local market in the 1980s, but those days are a fast fading memory and Holden is forging ahead like never before in its history with a range of models that virtually covers the whole market.The Astra was already successful before it arrived on these shores, being the second best selling small car in Europe behind the VW Golf at the time. Those early Astras, designed in Germany, were built in England by Vauxhall, which was sensible really given that the Brits drive on the same side of the road as we do.At launch Holden offered two body styles, a four-door sedan and a five-door hatch, but there were three levels of trim and equipment which was enough to suit just about everyone’s needs.The entry level model was the City 1.6, which was available in both body styles. The mid-range model was the GL 1.8, which was also available in both body styles, while the range-topping model was the sporty GSi 2.0 that was only available as a hatchback and came with a sexy Zender body kit.Inside, the Astra was roomy with plenty of space for four adults and luggage. Rear seat room was particularly praised by road testers at the time of release, as was its luggage carrying capacity, which was boosted by a 60/40 split-fold rear seat.Power for the Astra came from a range of four-cylinder engines, all adapted to local conditions by Holden’s engineers, and featuring multipoint fuel-injection.The base engine in the City was a 1.6-litre single overhead camshaft four-cylinder engine that produced 74 kW at 5800 rpm and 135 Nm at 3400 rpm, which delivered a blend of performance and economy.A 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine powered the GL. This one was produced by Holden in Australia, and boasted twin overhead camshafts with four valves per cylinder. Peak power was 85 kW at 5400 rpm and maximum torque was 165 Nm at 4000 rpm.The sporty GSi packed the biggest punch in the range. With twin cams, and 16-valves, it put out 100 kW at 5600 rpm and 188 Nm at 3200 rpm.City and GL buyers could choose between a five-speed manual gearbox and four-speed electronic auto, which was a $1950 option, but the only choice for those signing up for the hot GSi was the five-speed manual.Under the Euro skin lay a well proven suspension arrangement with MacPherson Struts complete with gas-filled shocks at the front, and compound torsion beam axle at the rear with progressive rate coil springs and gas shocks at the rear.Spring rates, shock settings and the diameter of the stabiliser bar were optimised for each engine variant.Power steering was standard across the range, with the GSi getting a faster rack for a sharper feel.Brakes were a combination of front discs and rear drums on the City. The GL and GSi boasted four wheel discs, and the GSi had the added benefit of standard ABS.Inside there was attractive fabric trim, a multifunction display, and a locally developed Eurovox six speaker sound system. The GSi also had sports seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and power front windows.Standard equipment included a driver’s side airbag, an immobiliser, and central locking although it couldn’t be activated remotely. Missing from the features list was an adjustable steering column.On top of those features the GSi also boasted a passenger’s side airbag as standard and a security alarm.The options list included a passenger’s side airbag for the City and GL, and air-conditioning.The Astra was criticised for its high level of noise and vibration, which reflected its lower refinement than was being offered by the benchmark Japanese cars at the time.The manual trans gearshift was thought rubbery and imprecise, but the Astra’s overall ride and handling was praised, as was its steering, which was direct and well modulated.Being three years old when it arrived here the Astra was trailing the competition a little when launched, but was still regarded as a good small car choice that offered good interior room with plenty of performance while still returning admirable economy.Reports from the trade suggest the Astra is robust and reliable with few problems with the engine or transmission.One complaint often heard is the rate of wear of the brakes. The Astra’s European origins should have alarm bells ringing if you’re concerned about frequently replacing brake linings and discs. Some owners report having to change disc pads at around 30,000 km and discs at 60,000 km.It’s possible to extend brake life by fitting alternative pads and discs available on the aftermarket, but you might affect your car’s braking performance in the process. Before you change it’s best to check with your local brake specialist.The Astra’s body and trim stand up well, but check carefully for signs of a crash. Check panel fit, body gaps, smooth opening of doors and hatch or boot, and paint matching. Particularly check bumpers for bumps and scrapes, taking care to check bumper mountings to make sure they are intact.Check for a service record to verify odometer reading, which on average will be between 100,000 and 130,000.• Smart European style• Roomy interior and lots of luggage space• Robust mechanical package• Relatively high brake wear

After several less-than-successful attempts to market small cars drawn from other carmakers, Holden turned to its European cousins for the German-designed Astra.  Before the arrival of the European Astra TR in 1996, the Astra badge was a part of the Holden range in the '80s.  But they were rebadged Pulsars, produced under an arrangement with the Nissan factory in Clayton.After Nissan, Holden turned to Toyota and sold rebadged Corollas as Holden Novas.  Both deals were struck in times of trouble, when Holden was in effect a one-car company struggling to stay afloat in an increasingly competitive local market.Now those days are a fading memory and Holden is forging ahead with a range of models that virtually covers the whole market.  The European Astra was successful before it arrived here. It was the second-best-selling small car in Europe behind the VW Golf.Those early Astras were built in England by Vauxhall. This was sensible, given that the Brits drive on the same side of the road as us.At launch, Holden offered two body styles, a four-door sedan and a five-door hatch.  But there were three levels of trim and equipment, which was enough to suit just about everyone's needs.The entry-level model was the City 1.6, which was available in both body styles.  The mid-range model was the GL 1.8, which was also available in both body styles.The range-topping model was the sporty GSi 2.0, available only as a hatchback but with a sexy Zender body kit. Inside, the Astra was roomy, with plenty of space for four adults and luggage.Rear-seat room was particularly praised by road testers, as was its luggage capacity, which was boosted by a 60/40 split-fold seat.  Power came from a range of four-cylinder engines, all adapted to local conditions by Holden engineers, and featuring multi-point fuel injection.The base engine in the City was a 1.6-litre single overhead camshaft four-cylinder engine that produced 74kW at 5800rpm and 135Nm at 3400rpm, delivering a blend of performance and economy.A 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine powered the GL. This was produced by Holden in Australia and had twin overhead camshafts with four valves per cylinder. Peak power was 85kW at 5400rpm and maximum torque was 165Nm at 4000rpm.The sporty GSi packed the biggest punch. With twin cams and 16 valves, it put out 100kW at 5600rpm and 188Nm at 3200rpm.  City and GL buyers could choose between a five-speed manual gearbox or a four-speed electronic auto, which was a $1950 option.But the only choice for those signing up for the hot GSi was the five-speed manual.  Under the skin was a well-proven suspension with MacPherson struts complete with gas-filled shocks at the front; and a compound torsion beam axle at the rear with progressive-rate coil springs and gas shocks.Spring rates, shock settings and the diameter of the stabiliser bar were optimised for each engine.  Power steering was standard across the range, with the GSi getting a faster rack to give it a sharper feel.Brakes were a combination of front discs and rear drums on the City. The GL and GSi had four-wheel discs, and the GSi had the added benefit of standard ABS.Inside were attractive fabric trim, multi-function display and Eurovox six-speaker sound system.  The GSi also had sports seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and power front windows.Standard equipment included a driver-side airbag, an immobiliser, and central locking, though it couldn't be activated remotely.  Missing from the features list was an adjustable steering column.On top of those features the GSi had a passenger-side airbag as standard and a security alarm.  The options list included a passenger-side airbag for the City and the GL and airconditioning.The Astra was criticised for its high level of noise and vibration.  The manual trans gearshift was thought rubbery and imprecise.But the ride and handling were praised, as was the steering, which was direct and well modulated.  Being three years old when it arrived here, the Astra was trailing the competition.But it was regarded as a good small-car choice with interior room and plenty of performance while returning admirable economy.Reports from the trade suggest the Astra is robust and reliable, with few engine or transmission problems.  One complaint often heard is the rate of wear of the brakes.The Astra's European origins should have alarm bells ringing if you're concerned about replacing brake linings and discs often.  Some owners report having to change disc pads at 30,000km and discs at 60,000km.It's possible to extend brake life by fitting alternative pads and discs available on the aftermarket.  But you might affect your car's braking performance in the process.  Before you change, it's best to check with a brake specialist.The Astra's body and trim stand up well, but check carefully for signs of a crash.  Check panel fit, body gaps, smooth opening of doors and hatch or boot, and paint matching.Particularly check bumpers for bumps and scrapes, taking care to check bumper mountings to make sure they are intact.  Check for a service record to verify the odometer reading, which will be 100,000 to 130,000 on average.Smart European styleRoomy interior and lots of luggage spaceRobust mechanical packageRelatively high brake wear

Holden Astra is a small medium car that was popular in Australia for many years.