Holden Problems

If neither the key nor the central locking will lock the hard-tonneau, it’s likely the latch is not engaging properly. Which in turn means you most likely have an alignment problem between the tonneau and the rest of the tray.

I’m not sure if you have the factory tonneau (probably) or an aftermarket one, but these are big, fibreglass panels that can sometimes shift a little on their hinges and fixing points, leading to the misalignment that won’t allow the latches to line up and engage.

The factory HSV tonneau for this car has a quick-release hinging system allowing it to be removed easily for carrying higher loads. Perhaps removing and refitting the tonneau via this feature will return everything to its correct alignment.

The clicking noise is probably the central locking actuators that physically lock and unlock the doors. If they’re constantly cycling, it won’t be long before they fail. Which sounds like why the car locked you in.

The reason they’re cycling constantly is probably something to do with either the sensors that tell the car a door is ajar, or the body computer that controls a huge array of functions in a modern car. An auto electrician is probably your best bet to have this sorted.

Noises like this are mostly temporary and are caused by a small rock or some other foreign object becoming jammed between the brake disc and the brake pad. Often, a sharp jab of the brake pedal (when it’s safe to do so) will dislodge the object and peace will be restored.

But if you’ve replaced the wheel bearings, then you’ve already had to remove the brakes. So unless the stone or whatever is lodged deep in the brake pad material, that’s probably not the cause here. Which means you need to look more closely.

The ABS sensor is an interesting theory, but I’d imagine if the clip had broken and dived into the front end anywhere, you’d have an ABS warning light on the dashboard by now. Perhaps it’s something to do with the front hub or the front driveshaft assembly. Perhaps a CV joint? Check for damage to the CV joints’ rubber boots. Don’t rule out a pothole having wrecked your wheel alignment, at which point what you’re hearing is a front tyre being torn to shred.

And what about the power steering system. These can squeal when they’re low on fluid, have air in the system, the belt is slipping or the pump itself is worn out.

We have seen this problem before in at least one other ZB Commodore, so you’re definitely not on your own. The problem is very possibly caused by a misalignment of the micro-switch that detects the car is, indeed, in Park, and allows it to be powered down. If the computer can’t see the correct signal from this micro-switch or sensor, it assumes the car is not ready to be locked and left.

Given that yours is not the only example of this, perhaps your auto electrician has seen this before and will know what the fix is. Even if they’re not familiar with the problem, a good auto sparky should be able to sort this. If not, a transmission specialist would be your next port of call.

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.

The SVS light is otherwise known as the Service Vehicle Soon light. It indicates that there’s something wrong with the car’s engine management (in the case of your Statesman). In this make and model, it’s often triggered by a faulty oil-pressure sensor which is relatively cheap and easy to replace.

But that shouldn’t cause the misfire. Which means you need to look further and that would start by giving the car an electronic scan. It’s worth knowing that these engines used spark plugs that required replacement at 80,000km intervals. These won’t cause the computer to log a fault code, but they do fail remarkably reliably at this mileage, and a misfire is the first symptom.

This is the problem with just replacing parts without knowing the actual cause of the problem. If the third alternator and third battery haven’t solved the charging problem, obviously you need to look elsewhere. If a brand new alternator and a brand new battery aren’t talking to each other, you clearly have a break in communication somewhere in the middle.

Start with the battery terminals and cables. Are they tightly connected to the battery and not frayed or broken beneath the plastic insulation? Sometimes there’s a fusible link (a fuse, basically) built into the battery terminal that will break to protect the electrical system if there’s a short circuit somewhere. That’s worth a check too. The fusible link is usually contained within the battery terminal itself.

The next step is the check all the fuses and relays that connect the battery and alternator with the rest of the car. These can accessed via the fuse-box which is usually located under the glovebox or behind the kick-panel in the footwell, but there’s often also a second fuse-box under the bonnet. Sometimes the cause of non-charging can even be as simple as the little red warning light on the dashboard that has blown its globe, although that’s not often the case with more modern cars like yours.

If you still can’t figure it out, an auto electrician is your next stop, rather than simply throwing more new parts at the car which may or may not fix it.

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.

There’s a variety of ways for this problem to occur, so let’s start with the basics. Is the battery in good condition? Even though it may show 12 volts on a tester, when you actually apply a load to it (via the starter motor) you may find it loses the plot. And modern, fuel-injected engines hate having low voltage when they’re trying to start or run.

The next thing to check would be whether you have power at the coil packs. If you don’t, you need to work your way upstream to find out where the power stops. The fuses and relays for the ignition are a likely culprit. And don’t forget to make sure the coil packs are earthed properly. Bad earths are an incredibly common way for modern engines to go haywire.

The recommended coolant for this model Holden Cruze is the common, red OAT (Organic Acid Technology) coolant. This is actually really important to get right as the wrong type of coolant can damage the engine over time. The red OAT coolant is also a long-life product, so it’s the one to use.

As far as engine oil goes, the recommended grade is a fully-synthetic 5W30. Don’t forget to change the oil filter, too, as putting clean oil back through a dirty filter makes no sense at all.

All these products should be readily available at any decent auto part store, or you can buy them online form a variety of outlets.