Holden Commodore Recall - Information & Updates

Holden issues 11th recall so far this year, more than any other brand.Holden has issued its eleventh safety recall notice this year -- more than any other brand or any other time in Holden's history.Toyota has the second-highest number of recalls with six bulletins issued so far this year, while among the other Top Five brands Mazda and Hyundai have issued two each and Ford has issued one.The latest Holden bulletin is an expansion of a recall issued in January for the Barina Spark, at $13,990 drive-away the cheapest car in its range.In January, Holden recalled 102 Barina Sparks because the transmission mount "may develop a fracture" which could cause the manual gearbox to be unsupported and "lead to a loss of control of the vehicle".The latest recall has added 385 Holden Barina Sparks to the number of cars affected, bringing the total to 487 vehicles.Holden said it is a precautionary measure and there have been no reports of failures in Australia, "however we will always err on the side of caution … to ensure customer satisfaction and safety".It is the second recall for a separate issue for the Holden Barina Spark; last month it was recalled because the steering knuckle bolts may not have been tightened correctly and the steering could fail.Meanwhile, the Holden Commodore has been recalled five times in three months, the Holden Cruze has been recalled twice (one of which was the third recall for the same fault initially reported last year), and the regular Holden Barina model has been recalled once.The recalls.gov.au website has issued 11 Holden safety bulletins this year but, in a move likely to confuse consumers, it has removed the first one issued for the Barina Spark in January and replaced it with the latest one issued in August for the same fault.The Commodore and Cruze are made at Holden's factory in Elizabeth on the outskirts of Adelaide, but the Barina models are made in South Korea, where Holden is likely to source more cars from once it closes its Australian factories in 2017.Holden already sources most of the vehicles in its line-up from South Korea or Thailand but the company says in the future it will source vehicles from several divisions across the General Motors world.The next Commodore is likely to be sourced from Opel in Germany, say insiders, and Holden executives have already driven early prototype versions of the 2018 model.It means the Commodore will have come full circle; the first Commodore introduced in 1978 was an Australian-ised version of the large Opel sedan at the time.However, Holden is yet to confirm the new front-wheel-drive car will be called a Commodore.When asked why Holden had issued so many recalls, spokeswoman Kate Lonsdale said: "This is consistent with the approach being taken across (General Motors)."In North America, General Motors has come under fire for being slow to respond to a recall of defective ignition switches that have so far been linked to at least 19 deaths -- even though the company knew about the fault for 10 years.It has prompted US Senators to propose "life in prison" for car executives who try to hide recalls, and has led to a class action lawsuit against General Motors by at least 650 owners of the affected cars.Meanwhile, the Holden Commodore has narrowly avoided what could become Australia's biggest ever recall.The Chevrolet Camaro -- which shares its underbody and core components with the Holden Commodore -- has also been recalled because of a faulty ignition switch but Holden says the Commodore does not have the same defect even though it uses the exact same part.Holden Barina Spark recall

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has issued its latest round of safety recalls, led by American Special Vehicle’s converted Ram 2500 and 3500 pick-ups.

Australian cars not affected by faulty ignition which can cut out and disable airbags.

Some car brands are more open than others; some owners are in the dark. Australia is on track to post a record number of vehicle recalls this year. It has already eclipsed a 10-year high.In 2004, about 776,000 cars were recalled - so far this year, the figure is more than 800,000 and looks certain to surpass the 855,000 in 2001.So are cars becoming less reliable or are manufacturers more concerned about being sued for negligence, and so being more open about problems with their vehicles?The answer to both questions is yes.As car companies drive down costs, they outsource more parts that can be bought more cheaply due to global economies of scale.For example Japanese company Takata makes airbags for most leading car brands. But when something goes wrong, it's monumental.There is currently a global recall of 16 million cars from nine brands - including about 100,000 in Australia - because Takata airbags could inflate with excessive force and potentially spray shrapnel at occupants. So far, the fault has been linked to at least four deaths in the US.General Motors, meanwhile, recalled 2.6 million cars in North America because of a faulty ignition switch that could turn off the engine and disable the airbags. So far the fault has been linked to at least 27 deaths in the US, according to Reuters.US authorities found General Motors executives hid the fault for almost 10 years. Senior staff involved in the scandal have since been sacked.Recalls are in the spotlight in Australia because Holden - possibly spurred by the investigation into the parent company's handling of the ignition switch recall - has been more open than it might have been in the past. Holden's 13 recalls so far this year is more than any other car brand in a calendar year and more than half of these relate to Australian-made cars.Would you rather buy a car from a company that is more open about its faults and more likely to fix them quickly?The next highest on the local list are Jeep (nine recalls) and Toyota (seven). Some Holden recalls, such as a faulty windscreen wiper, may seem overcautious. Some, however, are disturbing.One of the latest recalls was issued because manual transmission versions of the Holden Trax compact SUV and Barina small car can unintentionally 'bunny hop' and then stall if the driver bumps the key when it is in the ignition - even in the off position.Authorities argue that safety is safety, though the definition of 'safety' is open to interpretation. Despite the tough wording, recalls in Australia are still voluntary.This is why some brands don't issue a recall and instead divert the repair work to a 'dealer service campaign'.For example, Hyundai Australia last year voluntarily called 227,000 cars to dealerships to replace a faulty brake light switch in eight models, representing most of its range. News Corp Australia exclusively unearthed the fault the year before.But the company stopped short of calling it a safety recall because the Federal Department of Transport advised the consumer watchdog that the brake light switch fault was "not a safety issue".Hyundai has previously shown a reluctance to recall.In November 1998 it refused to recall 46,000 examples of the Excel even though several were found to have a welding defect that could lead to the collapse of the front suspension.In words eerily similar to the brake light issue, Hyundai claimed at the time it was "not a safety issue".An NRMA technical report said of the Excel's suspension: "In extreme cases the right front wheel and drive shaft can become detached and jam the wheel in the housing." The Federal Government threatened to issue a compulsory recall - which it had never done - if Hyundai did not take action. Despite the seriousness of the fault, and the tough talk from government, Hyundai issued a dealer service campaign.Holden may be more transparent now but it too has recently avoided at least one serious recall. It insists there is no local recall required for a faulty ignition switch despite 46,000 export versions of the Australian-made Commodore and Caprice being recalled in the US earlier this month. In doing so Holden has avoided what would become the biggest recall in Australian automotive history as it would involve approximately 432,000 Commodores made since 2006.Holden engineers insist the GM ignition fault in the US does not affect Commodores in Australia because the position of the key is different.The risk of faults increases as cars become more complex and incorporate more parts from outside suppliers. Furthermore, the handling of recalls differs from brand to brand.Would you rather buy a car from a company that is more open about its faults and more likely to fix them quickly?The alternative is to hope for repair work under the guise of a 'dealer service campaign' - but that is contingent on taking the car back to the selling dealer rather than an independent mechanic.Federal authorities need to provide a clearer definition of what constitutes a safety recall to make the response more consistent across all brands.For now, some car brands are more open than others in this respect and some car owners are none the wiser.

Holden Commodore recalled because the LPG system may cut out or catch fire.

Windscreen wiper defect sees Holden Commodore recalled for second time in two months.

Holden is recalling 25,000 Commodores because the seat could wriggle loose.

On the day it was named as Australia's top selling car in 2007, Holden has recalled 86,000 current model V6 Commodores and Statesmans because of the risk of an engine bay fuel leak that could cause a fire.The recall affects all V6 VE Commodores and WM Statesman and Caprice long-wheelbase models built by the company since the new generation model was launched in mid-2006, following a $1 billion development program.Holden spokesman John Lindsay said the recall was a precaution to prevent a potential fuel leak under the bonnet."We've got a condition where one of the fuel lines in the engine compartment has the potential to rub against a clip on an adjacent hose, so over a period of time this could potentially - and I emphasise potentially - result in a leak in the hose and a fuel smell may become evident," Mr Lindsay said."The chances of this happening are very low but obviously we are erring on the side of caution and we are administering a recall of all (V6) VE and WM Commodores since the start of production..."The fuel leak problem had affected about 20 of the 86,000 cars affected by the recall, Mr Lindsay said.The recall includes about 53,000 Commodores and Statesmans sold in Australia, about 5000 in New Zealand, 27,000 sold in the Middle East and 784 in Brazil.But the lucrative export of its Pontiac G8 version of the car has not been affected because the US models use a different layout under the bonnet.Holden will launch a national advertising campaign to advise owners of the recall. The company will also write to owners individually.They will be asked to contact their Holden dealer's service or Holden's recall advice line - 1800 632 826 - to arrange for a simple repair to re-route the affected fuel line.A similar recall of 1850 V8 models of the same car was announced in October 2006, because of a fuel line in the engine bay that was supplied to Holden by an outside company that could, under certain circumstances, be torn.Then, a month later about 13,000 cars were recalled because of a minor fault in the rear seatbelt buckles on some cars.The recall comes as the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries officially announced the Holden Commodore was Australia's top-selling car last year.Last year was a bumper year for car sales, with more than one million cars sold in Australia in a single year for the first time. 

Holden is recalling 42,000 Commodores over a potential seatbelt fault.Holden issued the recall Monday afternoon after a confidential bulletin was sent to its network of 230 dealers late last week, instructing them not to sell any new Commodores or transfer them to other showrooms.Holden says the seatbelt pre-tensioner module can make contact with the seatbelt buckle assembly under the seat, causing an electrical short that can disable the seatbelt pre-tensioner mechanism in a crash.Pre-tensioners are designed to take up the seatbelt's slack milliseconds before an airbag deploys, giving the driver and front passenger the best chance of survival in a serious crash.Holden says there have been no customer reports of the seatbelt pre-tensioners not working."The investigation began following an isolated report received from the (production line)," the Holden statement said.The airbag warning light may appear in the instrument cluster on affected cars. Holden says the other airbags and safety systems are unaffected.This is the fourth Holden recall so far this year (of the 33 vehicle recalls to date) but this is the first sign of trouble for the new Commodore, which went into production in May 2013 and has enjoyed 10 months in a row of year-on-year sales growth.Commodore sales so far this year are up by 62 per cent, albeit off last year's record low base.The previous generation Commodore was recalled 10 times between 2006 and 2013, two of which were in the first three months of going on sale.In March 2006, more than 129,000 Commodores, Monaros and Statesmans were recalled after Holden discovered the seat-mounted side airbags in 13 customer cars activated "under circumstances which did not warrant inflation".In 2004, Holden recalled 115,000 Commodores in Australia (and 20,000 overseas) to replace faulty power steering hoses.But the Holden recalls are small compared to those issued by market leader Toyota.In April 2014, Toyota recalled almost 300,000 cars and utes for faults including a potential airbag failure and seats that may slip forward.Owners of 179,000 Hilux utes built between April 2004 and the end of 2009 and 118,600 Yaris small cars made between June 2005 and May 2010 have been caught up in global recall of 6.76 million Toyotas.In October 2012, Toyota Australia recalled almost 300,000 cars — from a 7.4 million global batch — across six models including the Corolla, Kluger, RAV4, Yaris, Aurion and Camry built between 2006 and 2010.That recall was to replace the electric window master switch because "the switch assembly may overheat and melt".