Holden Problems

Brakes, both pads and discs, are wearing out at a much faster rate than they once did, but that's very low mileage, so would be very skeptical of what I was being told. Check the discs yourself and have them justify their assertion that they not serviceable.

The warranty covers you if the car has a problem, Holden is obliged to honour it and give you a car that is trouble free. Beyond that there is a requirement for any manufacturer, of any goods, to produce a product that is of commercial quality. If the oil consumption of your car doesn't improve you could claim it's not fit for the purpose for which you bought it. But I wouldn't rely on our consumer laws to get you a result.

No. The best way to take care of your paint is to keep it clean by regular washing, only using detergent when it's very dirty, and regular polishing.

The oil consumption is way too high. The engine should be pulled down to find the cause, and I would suspect that it is related to the problem you previously had with the engine.

We checked around and found that there are reports of fuel quality issues resulting in injectors being blocked. The issue is thought to be predominately caused by contaminants in the gas leaching plasticizers from flexible rubber hoses installed on some LPG vehicles, which then migrates to the injectors. The recommendation we were given is to inspect the car's fuel delivery lines and if they are rubber check their extractability rating. If the rating is not near zero, then have them replaced with either copper lines or zero extractable flexible lines.

So far I would say it's a frustrating fault, but the fact that the dealer can't fix it is of concern. If after being fixed this time if it occurs again then I would say you have cause to call it a lemon and demand Holden comes to the party with some form of compensation.

It can be harder for city dwellers to drive at the engine speeds needed for the DPF to go through its regeneration process simply because of the traffic snarl we have to contend with. It's something that diesel owners should be aware of, and know what they have to do when the warning light comes on. Check your owner's manual.

The average city consumption is around 9.2 L/100 km, less than you're experiencing, but probably within the ballpark. Diesels are at their best at constant speed, which is why the highway consumption is so low, but they're not that special in the city where you're constantly accelerating and slowing.

I would suggest you seek out a diesel specialist to work on your car. It is valued at about $8000 at best on the used car market, and that's when it's running well, so that should give you an idea of what to spend on it.