Holden Commodore 2005 Problems

HOLDEN made changes to the throttle control, engine calibration, induction and exhaust systems on the VZ SS to lift the power by 5kW to 250kW at 5600 revs. The torque was also increased by 5Nm to 470Nm at 4800 revs.

I WOULD rule out the Commodore immediately because its six-cylinder engine will be too thirsty for your budget. But any cars fitting your price range will almost certainly be unreliable and expensive in the long run. Even though you're stepping up in price range, $5000 will buy an old car that is only marginally better than the cheapies you've been driving. You'll be better if you can spend $10,000 on a car that's still got some life left in it. I'd recommend a five-year-old Nissan Pulsar, Ford Laser, Mitsubishi Lancer or Toyota Corolla. They will still accommodate four and will be much cheaper to run than the Magna, Camry or Commodore.

YOUR problem is a common one with the VS Commodore. Geoff Clay of CPA Automatic Transmissions says your problem was most likely caused by wear in the auto trans valve body, which results in a loss of oil pressure and increased slippage in the torque converter, which leads to your problem when under the load of towing. It would have happened whether you were in third or Drive. His recommendation is to tow in Drive as you were doing. The problem is a result of Holden changing from a cast-iron valve body to a die-cast one in the VS models.

TO BEGIN with, the general experience with the Alloytec V6 is it doesn't handle LPG well without the hardened valves and valve seats Holden installs in its LPG-compatible engines. LPG industry insiders tell me they are seeing head rebuilds at 30,000km, which really means the conversion isn't economically viable. There will be installers who will disagree with me, but ask them to give you the evidence the VZ V6 is OK on gas. The best system is the injection system, but it is more expensive than the old valve/mixer systems. There is little difference in output when running on LPG with the injection system, so there is no loss of performance.

WITH $3000, your son shouldn't be choosy. Cast a wider net and search for the best car you can find for the money. It's better to have a car in good condition, though it might not be a cool choice. That might sound boring, but he'll get better service out of a car in tiptop shape than one that might have a better image but is run down.

SOME engines use oil, others don't. In your case I would accept Holden's view that the oil usage is not that high. Based on your figures, you would use a litre between services, which isn't much. If it was 400ml every 1000km, I would be concerned.

I WOULDN'T buy the BA Falcon with the dedicated LPG system. It's old LPG technology and suffers stalling, stumbling, surging and lack of performance unless it's well maintained. A better alternative is to buy a regular BA wagon and have it converted to dual fuel using one of the latest gas-injection systems that have no drive-ability problems. I get too many complaints about the Falcon to recommend it. The VZ wagon was available with a dual-fuel LPG system developed by IMPCO and using a gas-injection system. That is a good way to go, but I wouldn't recommend buying a VZ wagon and having it converted, because there are said to be problems with the regular Alloytec engine when running on LPG. The Mazda6 is a good car with a good reputation for reliability, as is the Corolla, and I'd be happy to buy either.

FOURTEEN litres/100km is a little high, but it depends on the driving conditions. I would continue to run your tests in town, and on the open road, to see if it changes over time. You should get 10-11 litres/100km on the highway and 12-14 litres/100km around town.

I'M AFRAID it's dead. It was dropped from the range almost two years ago when Holden was gearing up for the VE. The company is only producing models on the VE architecture, and the one-tonner really can't be done on that platform.

THE 190kW version has continuously variable camshaft phasing on the inlet and exhaust camshafts. The 175kW engine has it only on the inlet cam. The 190kW engine also has a variable-length intake manifold.