Holden Problems

The recommended fuel for the 1.8-litre AH model Astra is 91-octane regular unleaded.

Owners complain about many things, most of them relate to build quality, but one problem hat stands out relates to the automatic transmission. I would be cautious about buying one, but you'll get a good picture of all Captiva issues on our Captiva problems page.

It’s in the zone, so I would be very cautious about buying it. If you can, check its history to see if there has been any trouble with the automatic transmission, and consider having it checked by an automatic transmission specialist.

I’d say it’s got the dreaded Cruze automatic transmission disease. It’s common in that model and it’s likely the transmission will have to be replaced. Contact Holden Customer Care on 1800 033 349 and see if they do.

Yes, the VE Commodore is a sound car and with just 155,000 km on the clock there should be plenty of life left in it. The value ranges from $8000 to $9500.

The car is six years old, and was bought used, so you are unlikely to get any sympathy at Holden. You need to negotiate with the dealer who sold it to you, but I doubt that you will get any support there either. Your choices are to persist with it and hope that it doesn’t have any more gearbox issues, or unload it.

The Holden Trailblazer is built in the General Motors Rayong facility in Thailand.

The Holden Trailblazer carries a maximum tow rating capacity of 750kg of unbraked trailer, or up to 3000kg if the trailer has brakes.

You need to remove the timing cover on the engine, remove the old belt and fit the new one, it’s not terribly difficult. Costwise I would expect to be around $400-$600.

The first thing to check is the fuse. The location of the fuses panel will be shown in the owner’s manual; that should also show which fuse is the one for the instrument panel.