Vectra DTi Starting .. the last straw

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Tue 23 Mar 2004 09:48
Vectra DTi Starting .. the last straw - stackman
I have a 'W' reg Vectra 2.0 DTi which has had the common problem of not starting if left for a while.

Accepted wisdom on this problem is that it is caused by air leaks in the fuel system. This is generally cured by replacing the bleed off pipes, changing the injector seals, replacing the filter housing and fitting a non-return valve in the fuel pipe.

So we tried all that. No joy.

Annoyingly enough the problem doesn't occur if the temperature is low enough to trip the glow plugs. (This occurs at 4°C)

Then last week we heard from a Vauxhall related source what the real problem is with these cars. Apparently the introduction of low-sulphur diesel has resulted in a coating within the diesel pump being washed away. The solution to this problem is to replace the pump.

The cost to do this is £1,400.00 plus VAT and fitting.

So far I have spent in excess of £500 trying all the conventional remedies. Last week I could have sold the car through a retail source but had to pull out when it was clear what the consequential costs of the car failing on a retail customer would be. (My dad is a motor trader and was selling the car for me.)

I have therefore had to sell the car to a trader with no come-back for £900 less.

If you own a Vectra or Zafira 2.0 DTi then get out of it soon before the problem becomes widely known.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 23 Mar 2004 10:03
Vectra DTi Starting .. the last straw - Malcolm_L
Couple of points here:

Implication here is that the fuel isn't getting to the injectors because the pump is not performing as it should, if so why is the car starting when the temperature drops below 4°C?
Apart from the glowplugs tripping in - does anything else happen?

If a diesel pump is affected by the very fuel it's supposed to be pumping, then it's clearly not fit for it's purpose.
Presumably the new (£1,400!) pump has been altered so it is unaffected by low-sulphur fuel, this clearly makes Vauxhall aware of the problem.

Your Vauxhall related source needs to substantiate this.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link

10 warranty myths exposed

Here’s how to sort the fact from the fiction when it comes to car warranties.

Cheap Car Warranties