Recall: 86,000 Holden Commodore's Recalled To Fix Potential Fuel Leak

[Ssom]

Originally Posted by Club327

I'm a motor mechanic (and yes I can spell) and have worked in Holden dealerships. Recalls are a part of automotive life that effects even the best (such as Lexus). The general public love nothing more than a recall to get the tongues wagging - the news is celebrated very much like when a famous 'nice married couple' break up with a scandal. A fuel line that has the potential of wearing through is a serious thing, no doubt. But no way is it a result of poor quality. I would put it down to incomplete interpretation of the engineers instructions given to assemble the components in the effected areas. Assemblying cars is incredibly complex and it does not take much for methods to evolve in the wrong direction. Consistent quality control should see stamp out such things as listed, but ultimately normal everyday driving would reveal the truth. I've inspected a used VE Commodore for a buyer and let me say that I was very impressed with the build quality, specially seeing that it was an early build model. But don't take my word for it. When the car hits your land give it a good look over. For quality it's no Lexus, but it's as least as good as the current locally built Camry. Check it out, and if you don't like it walk away!

You're dead right about recalls, but try telling the Seppos that... According to them a recall = disastrous reliability and the car is going to fall to bits. Never mind that the dealer asked them to bring it back to fix the engineering flaw for free...

Recalls =/= Reliability.

[asylum]

i'm guessing no-one would rush down to the dealer to have theirs replaced, it will all be done at the next scheduled service... which could have been done anyway, and they wouldn't have even needed to inform anyone, even the customer

but no, holden have issued it as a recall and dealt with it properly. good on em

[Ssom]

Originally Posted by asylum

i'm guessing no-one would rush down to the dealer to have theirs replaced, it will all be done at the next scheduled service... which could have been done anyway, and they wouldn't have even needed to inform anyone, even the customer

but no, holden have issued it as a recall and dealt with it properly. good on em

Trust me, it's not worth the backlash that would eventuate should Holden have kept it under wraps, look at what happened to Mitsubishi with the ball-joint recall a few years back (Though it affected the Galant/Legnum mostly, neither available in Aus, so it may be less well known over there).

[silken058]

The VE has had 2 fuel system related recalls, I believe there were 4 on the previous model and 2 on the model before that. They don't fix them, I'm sure they refine them, that almost 2 decades, and they are still struggling to get it right. The seatbelt issue isn't much different sadly. The party responsible is the part that bolts it together, forget 3rd party contracts, whilst Holden may recover from them, you and I would recover from Holden.

[silken058]

Ssom, what about the battery drain issue, did they deal with that correctly?

[redTT]

Originally Posted by silken058

The VE has had 2 fuel system related recalls, I believe there were 4 on the previous model and 2 on the model before that. They don't fix them, I'm sure they refine them, that almost 2 decades, and they are still struggling to get it right. The seatbelt issue isn't much different sadly. The party responsible is the part that bolts it together, forget 3rd party contracts, whilst Holden may recover from them, you and I would recover from Holden.

Have the look at repeat recalls for Toyota and other manufacturers.

Also wasnt the previous fuel recall for V8's while this one is for the V6 models - totally different recall.

Put it this way, Honda, Ford and Mercedes were the most recalls vehicles in Australia. Honda and Mercedes had around twice as many recalls than Holden while selling far less cars.........are these bad quality cars?

If the commodore was as bad as you paint them out to be then why do they continue to be the most popular car in Australia for 12 years running (even with the current fuel prices)? Put simply apart from internet domestic haters, people and companies trust Holden products.

[silken058]

RedTT, I don't think I would actually ever suggest that Mercedes and Co
actually do a better job in terms of build quality. It was only a few years ago that the CEO of Merc was apologising for build quality!

Toyota is in the middle of a nightmare, they are hoping it will end soon

Mate the point I was making is that where there is a indicative history of problems(read fuel sys) perhaps some special attention should be pointed towards these area's to prevent repeats. Holden has had almost 20 years to work on getting this right, stop working on it, and get it right!

This post is about the VE recall, so thats what I'm posting, there are internet Hater's, I agree, there are also people fed up with reading about these recalls. Dont put us all in the same box.

Were you going to comment about the battery drain issue?

[redTT]

Originally Posted by silken058

RedTT, I don't think I would actually ever suggest that Mercedes and Co
actually do a better job in terms of build quality. It was only a few years ago that the CEO of Merc was apologising for build quality!

Toyota is in the middle of a nightmare, they are hoping it will end soon

Mate the point I was making is that where there is a indicative history of problems(read fuel sys) perhaps some special attention should be pointed towards these area's to prevent repeats. Holden has had almost 20 years to work on getting this right, stop working on it, and get it right!

This post is about the VE recall, so thats what I'm posting, there are internet Hater's, I agree, there are also people fed up with reading about these recalls. Dont put us all in the same box.

Were you going to comment about the battery drain issue?

So why all the complaints directed towards Holdens, as far as I can see they are doing a slightly better job than its direct competitors and better than many other high sellers in Australia including Toyota, Honda and Ford etc. Vehicle wise both Holden and Toyota camry are close, the Camry has the advantage of having multiple factories and multiple markets which help reduce defects in one region. Holden on the other hand has most of its defects show up since its only manufactured in Australia.


VEHICLE RECALL FOR HOLDEN COMMODORE IN AUSTRALIA ONLY
Problem: FRONT BRAKE PIPE FAILURES
Problem: BREAKAGE OF FRONT SUSPENSION BOLTS
Problem: LOOSE THROTTLE CABLE WHEN CRUISE CONTROL ENGAGED
Problem: INCORRECT NUT FITTED TO RHINO ROOF RACK LADDER
Problem: INSUFF CLAMP LOAD TO AUTO TRANSMISSION COOLER HOSE
Problem: WHEEL STUD FRACTURE
Problem: BRAKE PIPE DAMAGED
Problem: INSTRUMENT WIRING DAMAGED
Problem: POWER STEERING ASSEMBLY FAILURE
Problem: BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER FAILURE
Problem: STEERING KNUCKLE CRACKS
Problem: REDUCTION OF SEAT BELT STALK STRENGTH
Problem: INADEQ. CRUISE CONTROL CABLE RETENTION
Problem: BRASS NUTS ON THE LPG SUPPLY PIPE MAY CRACK



VEHICLE RECALL FOR TOYOTA CAMRY IN AUSTRALIA ONLY
Problem: FUEL HOSE LEAKAGE
Problem: BRAKE BOOSTER FAILURE
Problem: UNINTENDED RECLINE OF DRIVER'S SEAT
Problem: BRAKE PROPORTIONING VALVE LEAKING FLUID
Problem: THROTTLE FAILS TO CLOSE
Problem: REAR BRAKE HOSE CHAFING
Problem: FAULTY POWER DOOR LOCKS
Problem: STEERING WHEEL RETAINING NUT BECOMES LOOSE
Problem: KINK IN THE WIRE OF THE FRONT SEAT TRACK LOCK
Problem: Headlamps may extinguish momentarily.
Problem: Charcoal canister vent blocked. Fuel tank creases
Problem: Rear suspension No 1 arm may break
Problem: ERRATIC OPERATION OF THE HEADLIGHTS



If you want me to comment on the battery drain issue, simple, ECU settings meant that there was grater drain even when the vehicle was turned off.......easy and quick solution. For the Pontiac GTO also ECU but also keys being left in the ignition whilst shipping. Dont clump the GTO with the VE since the GTO and the VE are two totally different vehicle.

[redTT]

Originally Posted by silken058

RedTT, I don't think I would actually ever suggest that Mercedes and Co
actually do a better job in terms of build quality. It was only a few years ago that the CEO of Merc was apologising for build quality!

Toyota is in the middle of a nightmare, they are hoping it will end soon

So why aren't Honda, Mercedes and Toyota being labeled as unreliable cars with bad quality when they have a higher recall rate than Holden (whilst selling less cars - bar toyota)?

Also please point out the repeated Commodore recalls for the same item, take note of the different engine, different configuration, different model etc. For example don't include fuel problems on a V6 model with fuel problems on a V8 model.

[silken058]

redTT, Toyota is having a BAD time, no doubt about it, personally I wouldn't touch a Merc with a barge pole, god help you after warranty, more to the point, you should not have to put up with this crap when paying those sort of dollars.

Past history, sure, here you go;

RECALL Commodore 1989 - 1997
Transmission Fluid may overheat, leak and catch fire
(V6) L645621-L979936
(V8) L645621 L986809
Commodore 1997 - 2006
(1) Fuel feed hose may leak which is a potential fire hazard
VS & VT (V8) Models
(2)Brass nuts on LPG supply line may crack causing leaks and fire risk.
VT & VX (V6)
(3) The seat lifter motor may short circuit and the seat may catch fire.
Another recall, same model, sorta related problem
(4)Front brake hose may dislodge causing break failure
VE - 2006 -
I think we are all aware of these 2 recalls...



Listen, I don't want to get into a posting war, you ask for model and engine size's, who cares, its perception that counts.



Toyota is starting to be looked at more closely, another year like that and it could be interesting. Has not been Great for Honda either, but last 10 years they have been a pretty decent performer so they can wear it I suspect.



redTT, Holden did not handle the battery issue well, I'm sorry, but they took their time and gave little feedback on it. As an aside, was this a recall? Should it have been?



The last Comy Model had 23 recalls, isn't this a record for AU manufactured cars? The last 2 and a bit models(VE) are almost at 35 recalls, think about that, because I can guarantee you that by the time the VE has finished its run, that total will be somewhere around the 45 mark. 81% of VE's sold are fleet sales, wouldn't economy of scales make it easier to get right? By the way, lets not even get into brakes, seatbelt's and airbags.

[Generation IV]

Whoa Whoa Whoa, take it easy here. silken, you really should be a little more forgiving. The VE has an entirely new Fuel system, different to any previous model so any recall associated with the fuel system should not be associated with previous fuel problems, its a new system and there's bound to be a few recalls. The V8 was the first to suffer the fuel hose recall, now the V6 is, however, Holden recall the cars before complaints come in so it shows they're engaged. The seat buckle was a third-party supplier problem where Bosch (i think) incorrectly put the buckles together. The battery drain issue was I think associated with ECU tuning (which redTT has already posted), however this problem wasn't widespread enough to call for a total recall. The problem was a timer which starts after the ignition is turned off which allows lighting features and security to stay active, the timer would fail erattically due to a flawed ECU tune and the ECU would allow power to stay on constantly to these components therefore draining the battery, the fix was a resetting of the module which takes about 5-10 minutes at your local dealer.

To be honest, for a brand spanking new car and the first model of a series, the VE is holding up quite well with minor recalls taking place before any incidents, I say congrats to Holden for their rather quick response to the potential problems. They have performed much better than the local rivals of Toyota (with its various problems) and Ford (mainly with its rather severe turbo malfunctions) and even against international companies like Lexus, Merc, and even BMW.

[silken058]

excuse me GEN14, redTT asked if I could provide a list of historical problems relating to the fuel system and possible fire risk, which is merely what I have done.

As for the new fuel system on the VE, I'm afraid you seem to be missing my point, that being;

that the Commy has had fuel system issues with the last 3 models, so here's a thought, if there are historical indicators that problems (read recalls) will arise from a new design, double check, triple check it and get it right for...once.

Fair enough?

By the way, the battery drain issue was fairly widespread, possibly should have been a recall.