Holden Problems

These cars used a fairly simply check-valve on the fuel pump to prevent fuel draining back into the tank when the car was parked. As the car ages, this valve wears to the point where it won’t maintain fuel in the lines going to the engine. If that happens, it will take some time and cranking to get fuel from the tank to the engine. This is the delay you’re experiencing.

The worn valve is only allowing a small amount of fuel to drain back which is why you need to wait six hours or so for the problem to show up. A new fuel pump will fix it.

When you say you tried another battery, was that second battery charged up, and what’s it’s condition. Even a brand-new battery fresh from the shelf of a parts store can be low on charge and may need a few hours on a charger before it’s ready to start a car, especially one with a large engine like a Holden Statesman. If the battery was just another one you borrowed from somewhere else, it could well be about as worn out as the one you replaced. Even a battery that shows 12 volts when you test it with a voltmeter, can suddenly drop its bundle when you place it under load (such as trying to start a car with it). You need to check the battery’s current while it’s attempting to turn the engine over.

Other possibilities could be worn out battery leads (do they get hot when you try to start the car?) a poor earth somewhere between the engine and the car’s chassis or even battery terminals that are old and crusty. Don’t rule out a failed starter motor, either. Often a worn-out starter can pole out internally, causing a huge internal short that will produce the same slow cranking we associate with a dying battery.

Seems like you might have two problems here. The first is that I suspect you’ve may have fried the computer in the Holden in the process of jump-starting your other car. Jump-starting a modern car with on-board computers is something that should only be attempted by somebody who is a specialist. There’s a specific technique that goes beyond simply hooking up the jump-cables and hoping for the best. It’s all too easy to send a voltage spike through the car and send the computers into melt-down. That would explain why the car will not restart.

As for the milky oil and the sludge under the oil-filler capo, that sounds unrelated but still serious. A blown head gasket can lead to this exact set of symptoms and it occurs when the engine’s coolant is allowed to mix with the oil (and vice-versa). Sometimes in these colder months (particularly in Tassie) it’s not uncommon to get a small amount of frothy, grey muck under the oil-filler cap, but not a huge amount. And if the oil on the dispstick is also covered in oil contaminated with coolant, then you’re looking at a new head gasket at a minimum.

I’m not sure I agree that all modern Holdens were problematic, but the Epica, which was really a Daewoo (it was built in South Korea) with Holden badges, is definitely on the suspect-reliability list.

Transmission faults in this model and variant of the Captiva are common. Holden actually issued a service bulletin for affected cars to check and replace components including the torque converter, electro-hydraulic control components and speed sensors. Symptoms included a loss of drive, flaring or slipping between gears and gear selection problems. I’d say your problems fall within those boundaries. Have the vehicle scanned and if error code P0776 pops up, you have the same conditions that caused Holden to issue the service bulletin back in 2016. From there, talk to a Holden dealer as to what can be done about it.

When talking about engine oil (as opposed to transmission, brake, power steering, differential, radiator or other types of oils found in cars) for your Holden TS Astra, a 10W-40 rating is best, though 15W-40 is good and 20W-40 is also OK. Make sure to go with a trusted brand.

Thanks for getting in touch. As we've outlined in earlier questions about the Cruze, the automatic in cars built between 2011 and 2013 has been an issue, and so the subject of recalls, repairs and/or full transmission replacement. If it starts to shudder, take its time shifting up under acceleration or not go into gear at all, then there's a problem.

If a Holden dealer carried out the repairs, then they should honour the warranty under Australian Consumer Law for a minimum of five years or 150,000km unless the car is then neglected and/or abused, given that the transmission and coolant system (known problem areas in Cruzes) are major components and thus come with a reasonable expectation of reliability and durability since they're new.

Unfortunately the Cruze has a reputation for unreliability beyond these issues as well, including ECU (engine control unit) and PCM (power control module) failures (often due to water ingress), positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) valve failure that makes the car perform sluggishly, and rough engine running due to faulty ignition coils.

As most of these problems have already been dealt with in the car you're considering, we reckon you might at least have a few years of reliability given the warranty work performed under Holden.

We hope this helps. Good luck.

It could be a computer problem, but it could also be a mechanical one with the driveline of the car which is faulty and is triggering the warning lights you’re seeing. If the body computer is the problem, then those lights on the dashboard and the symptoms you can hear are a distinct possibility. But the noise you’re hearing is more likely to be the anti-lock brake mechanism triggering than the vehicle trying to select four-wheel-drive as the Captiva has constant four-wheel-drive, so it’s always engaged.

The reason it moves slowly when the warnings are present is because it’s going into limp-home mode – probably - to prevent any more harm coming to the vehicle itself. I’d be having it looked at promptly, as any problems with the braking or ABS hardware are, obviously, a safety issue.

Believe it or not, Matthew, a check-engine light illuminated on the dashboard is actually a roadworthy item. Did you buy the car through a used-car dealer? If so, it would have come with a roadworthy certificate, but I fear the car yard has simply cancelled the engine-light warning without actually fixing the cause in order to get the RWC and sell you the car. And some time down the track, the car has detected the same fault and switched on the light again.

That said, a change of alternator can also sometimes throw up a fault code (which would illuminate the engine light) but a proper auto electrician should know how to either avoid this, or cancel the light if it did occur. There are many reasons for a check-engine light to appear including a problem with the car’s emission controls or various things to do with its electronic functions. However, the Captiva model you have was especially prone to a stretched timing chain in the engine. When the chain had stretched far enough, the on-board sensor that detects the camshaft position got so confused, it told the computer that something was wrong and the check-engine light would appear.

With the mileage your car has covered, I reckon that a stretched timing chain is a distinct possibility. That would also explain why the car feels like it’s not making enough power and why it runs roughly. Have the car scanned and if either codes P0008, P0009, P0016, P0017, P0018 or P0019 show up, then you do, indeed, have a stretched timing chain.

There are two possibilities here. Either the shifter mechanism has jammed or failed and will only allow you to select second or fourth or, the gearbox itself has failed internally, and the ensuing mechanical carnage has jammed it up. The wild-card is the clutch which could have failed. If that was the case, though, I’d imagine you wouldn’t be able to select any gears at all with the engine running.

The first step would be to check from underneath whether the gear linkages and selectors have somehow got tangled up in each other – it can happen – but if that’s not the case, then I’m afraid it’s probably a gearbox-out job. Make sure you fit a new clutch when it all goes back together.

ZS pros include cheap pricing, an easy driving experience and a comparatively spacious interior compared to other direct rivals like a Mazda CX-3. The dash is pleasant, there is a decent amount of equipment and the controls are all simple to use. It should also be fairly inexpensive to run and service, though earlier ZSs like yours require six-monthly rather than 12-monthly service intervals.

There are two engine options - a 1.5-litre four-cylinder model with a four-speed auto on the base Excite, or a 1.0-litre turbo three-cylinder version on higher-specification Excite Plus and Essence grades with a six-speed auto. Note that the latter powertrain is more expensive to service.

Plus, there's still a fair chunk of the manufacturer's warranty left, which is seven years, while capped-price servicing is also offered.

But the ZS does not offer AEB Autonomous Emergency Braking, so only rates a four-star ANCAP crash-test rating.

Additionally, the ZS's suspension is on the firm side in terms of dealing with road bumps, which might upset some occupants, yet there is not much of the 'fun factor' in regards to steering and handling finesse that rivals like the CX-3, Suzuki Vitara, Honda HR-V, Hyundai Venue, Holden Trax, Ford EcoSport and Hyundai Kona offer in spades.

We've also heard complaints about the interior's perceived quality being sub-par, cabin storage isn't generous and Android Auto isn't supported (though Apple CarPlay is).

Finally, the ZS' resale value trails all of the aforementioned competitors by a significant margin, meaning it's on track to be worth less when the time comes to on-sell it.