Holden Captiva Problems

There’s a variety of ways a turbocharged engine can lose boost. You might have a problem with the intercooler or even something simple like a dirty air filter. Don’t rule out a fuel supply problem which is causing the computer to reduce boost to account for a lack of fuel.

But one thing that has been noted in these cars is a cracked or broken boost pipe. If that happens, the boost will be lost to the atmosphere before it can get to the engine. Black smoke from the exhaust is a common accompaniment to this problem.

Let’s get something straight right from the off: The Holden Calais and Holden Captiva are not close family members. While the Calais was an Australian-engineered and built car, the Captiva is a rebadged Daewoo and not a very good one at that. So don’t be tricked into thinking that because they both have a Holden badge and a V6 engine, that they’re peas from a pod.

The reality is the Captiva has an absolutely dreadful reputation in the trade for poor build quality and sketchy reliability. Most mechanics wouldn’t travel 500 metres to look at one, let alone 500 kilometres. I’d take a 231,000km Calais over any Captiva, old or new, any day.

Holden actually sold a lot of Captivas back in the day, mainly on price alone. But many who bought them then stood and watched as they things fell apart and soon began to cost plenty in repair bills. Doubtless there will be some out there who own and love their Captiva, but the reality is that these cars are best left well alone.

This sounds like a fairly simple case of the engine setting up a harmonic vibration through the car. It’s not an uncommon thing and diesels are worse than petrol engines purely because they vibrate more, particularly at idle. By revving the engine slightly, you’re changing the frequency of the engine’s vibrations and moving them out of synch with what’s called the 'natural frequency’ of the rest of the car.

Why does it manifest at the steering column? Because the column is a long, flexible (in a micro sense) shaft that is far more prone to picking up vibrations than a short, more solid part of the car. Why is it happening now all of a sudden? Probably because there’s some wear in the car somewhere. Your call to change the engine mounts was a good one as these can wear and cause this very problem. But, equally, the wear could be in the exhaust system or one of the points where it attaches to the car, a heat shield, the torque converter, or maybe even a piece of the car’s sheet metal that has come loose and is moving slightly.

The quickest fix is to bump the idle one or two hundred rpm and see if that moves the engine out of the vibration zone at idle.

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.

You haven’t told me which engine is fitted to your car, but if it’s the turbo-diesel engine, then the cause may be a pretty simple one. This engine has a habit of splitting the plastic trunking that takes the pressurised intake air from the turbocharger to the engine’s inlet manifold. If that happens, the air is free to escape to the atmosphere, and doesn’t make it’s way into the engine.

That’s why you’ll hear a noise like air escaping (because that’s precisely what it is) as well as a lack of power, because the engine is not receiving all the boost from the turbo. You’ll probably also notice that the car is blowing more black smoke than it should.

The fix is a new piece of plastic pipe that should be well within the abilities of any workshop to fit.

No, it shouldn’t be difficult at all. Plenty of online advertisers list the ABS module for this vehicle, including second-hand, reconditioned and brand new examples. Prices range from a few hundred dollars for a second-hand unit (that might have the same problems as the one you already have) to about $1300 for a reconditioned unit and up to $3000 for a brand new module.

Despite its patchy reputation, the Captiva sold well for holden (mainly on price) so there’s plenty of knowledge and spare parts out there for them in the repair industry. Don’t forget to try traditional auto parts stores, either, as these can sometimes be a better bet than an online seller, particularly if you need the part in a hurry.

This looks like a classic case of a body computer that is in the process of dying. Any time you see random lights coming on, or the stereo switching itself on, suspicions are always that the body computer as the culprit.

This computer controls literally hundreds of functions from the wipers, climate control, lights, entertainment system, even stuff like the rear window demister and central locking. And when the computer starts to fail many of these functions can go haywire, which is pretty much what you’re seeing.

The tail-lights staying on and the stereo witching itself on are what’s draining your battery, but the body computer is very likely the root cause and probably needs to be replaced. But before you do that, try this: Disconnect the battery overnight and then reconnect it next morning. Sometimes (but not always) this swill reset the body computer and might stop it playing tricks. The fix might be temporary, but it’s definitely worth a shot.

This is not an unknown problem with the diesel Captiva. The root of the problem is probably within the fuel system which is over-fuelling the engine. You need to check the fuel-pump pressure as well as make sure all the relevant filters and clean and there are no leaks anywhere in the system. Even then, the actual cause is most often worn out fuel injectors which need to be either reconditioned or replaced. Conventional wisdom suggests that reconditioned injectors will last about half as long as brand new ones before needing attention again. That said, reconditioned injectors are cheaper to buy.

Worn out or dirty injectors have been by far the most common cause of diesel over-fuelling, and the problem is not confined to the Holden Captiva.

It’s certainly strange behaviour and your theory that because it works perfectly some of the time, it’s probably not terminal is a decent one. If something internal was broken or worn out, the transmission wouldn’t work at all. Which leads any mechanic to suspect you have either a gear selection problem or an electrical glitch.

Scan the car electronically to see if any fault codes are thrown up. But also check for things like bad earths or blown fuses and relays. You can’t rule out a major internal failure until you get inside the gearbox itself, but starting with these simple things can help eliminate other possibilities. You may find the ECU (the computer than controls the driveline) is the culprit, and is having random melt-downs.

Holden’s own service schedule for this model Captiva doesn’t specify a change interval for the differential oil. Instead, it recommends the oil be changed when required according to how the car is behaving. Which would suggest that your car is, indeed, ready for new differential oil.

As far as the scan goes, be sure not to confuse a sticking or non-engaging rear differential with the same behaviour from the centre differential. These are both technically differentials, but have vastly different roles to play. In the case of an electronically operated differential, the clutches can sometimes be replaced separately, but in any case, you need to go deep inside the differential, so while your mechanic is in there, have them check out the whole unit.