Vauxhall Astra Mk 5 1.8 Life, hatchback. 2008. - Auto gearbox stuck in park - Gear lever moves

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Fri 8 Feb 2013 15:03
Vauxhall Astra Mk 5 1.8 Life, hatchback. 2008. - Auto gearbox stuck in park - Gear lever moves - Paul530

So far we have been informed by a garage that both the gearbox and radiator need replacing (apparently oil has escaped from the gearbox into the rad). £1700+

A common fault we were told.

68000 miles. No problems with the car prior to this event which happened quite suddenly in a supermarket car park. The car was towed to a garage.

The engine seems fine and is working, apparently.

The car belongs to my daughter who lives 100+ miles away in Thetford, Norfolk. I have not been able to inspect the car myself but find the above diagnosis hard to believe.

Can anyone out there help?

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Fri 8 Feb 2013 18:00
Vauxhall Astra Mk 5 1.8 Life, hatchback. 2008. - Auto gearbox stuck in park - Gear lever moves - John Boy

If you look at the following page:

www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/vauxhall/astra-h-200...d

You'll find this text:

On torque converter automatics the joints of the heat exchanger in the radiator header tank can fail, admitting coolant to the automatic transmission fluid and wrecking the transmission. £4,000 replacement job.

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Fri 8 Feb 2013 18:03
Vauxhall Astra Mk 5 1.8 Life, hatchback. 2008. - Auto gearbox stuck in park - Gear lever moves - elekie&a/c doctor

Unfortunately this is a common problem across all models in the Vauxhall range with cars built at this type of age.May be worth a call to the main dealer to see if they can offer any goodwill,as it is only 4 years old and not particularly high mileage.hth

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Fri 8 Feb 2013 19:36
Vauxhall Astra Mk 5 1.8 Life, hatchback. 2008. - Auto gearbox stuck in park - Gear lever moves - Oli rag

I think if this was a toyota, they would be picking the bill up.

Shame on vauxhall with this known problem.

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Sat 9 Feb 2013 08:27
Vauxhall Astra Mk 5 1.8 Life, hatchback. 2008. - Auto gearbox stuck in park - Gear lever moves - Paul530

This is beginning to look like a risk assessment exercise by GM, so how do I change the odds.

On behalf of my daughter and the many others who struggle to finance the purchase and running costs of their cars, this message goes out to all GM dealers.

My proposal.

1. You offer to repair the car, at your cost and provide a courtesy car at your cost or you offer an identical specification permamnent replacement car at your cost.

2. You indemnify my daughter against a similar failure whilst the car remains in her ownership.

3. You agree to reimburse out of pocket expenses relating to this fault. The towing charges have so far have reached £130 and as yet the car is not at her home address.

I think that covers just about everything except a deadline, shall we say the middle of next week - end of Business Wednesday 13th February.

After this time I shall recommend she makes contact with 'Watchdog' or similar program for a general airing on television.

Providing this does not break any of the terms and conditions of 'honestjohn' please feel at liberty to post this thread elsewhere - to whom it may concern.

Thanks to everyone for their opinions.

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