Holden Commodore Problems

The front pillars are certainly wide, to accommodate the airbags as the dealer said, and it's something you need to be aware of when driving so you don't have those close calls. You could try moving the seat to minimize the blind spot. It's also something prospective buyers should be aware of and check during a road test to see how it affects them.

I would put my money on the Crank Angle Sensor, even though you are willing to rule it out. It does sound electrical and the CAS is often the culprit in these deals.

The VH was built in the days before we had unleaded fuel. In standard form the 202 cubic inch six had a compression ratio of 8.8:1, so it would have been running on the Super fuel of the day. Fitting an aftermarket head is probably going to increase the compression ratio, and you’ve got a sports cam, so I would tend to run it on 98-octane fuel, and it will need an additive like Flashlube of Valve Saver if you don’t have hardened valves and valve seats. If you don’t have those I would recommend you fit them in the rebuild, that way you could use unleaded fuel without an additive.

It does sound like a loose timing chain as the Holden dealer has suggested. We've had another report of a broken timing chain on an Alloytec engine and the result in that case was a badly damaged engine, so I would act quickly and have the chain checked and replaced if worn or loose.

It’s probably the battery. The cold snap we’ve had in recent weeks has been a tough test for batteries, and your battery was probably down a little. That it starts without a problem when warm is further evidence that it’s the battery. Your experience is one we should all take note of, and make a mental note to check the batteries in our cars each year before winter sets in, but we tend to forget about it until we have a problem starting our cars.

You shouldn’t have any trouble with doing that.

Vapour-injection kits are more expensive than the old venturi/mixer systems, but they work well on the Gen III. If you go for good quality brand and have it installed by a competent gas mechanic you should have no problems with it.

The presence of exhaust gases in the coolant suggests it's either a head gasket leak or perhaps a cracked head.

I’ve experienced a similar problem myself and I was told there was a software upgrade available to fix it. I suspect that the upgrade was installed in your car on the second dealer visit, but it would be worth checking. Have you been able to demonstrate the problem to the dealer so they understand what it is you’re complaining about, or are they taking a stab in the dark? I would drive the car with the dealer and show them exactly what it is you want fixed, then you’ve got something to go back to when they claim to have fixed the problem.

It doesn’t sound like there’s anything wrong, the ‘smoke’ is pretty normal for most cars during the warm-up phase.