[garyndawn]

Hello all, first posting,
We have a 57 plate 2.0ltr ltx with 45,000mls practically fault free motoring so far.

However recently noticed a whistling from engine at low revs i can only describe as a distant ambulance siren, in fact had me lookin round for one when i first heard it.

A quick t'net browse tells me it could be a turbo problem, but not being mechanically minded have to take in to local chevvy dealer [wilsons bolton] tomorrow and wondered if we should be worried ,very worried or brickin it as it is just out of warranty.

Anyone had a similar problem, or any advice good or bad would be appreciated.

Thanks

Gary

 

[Captivabits]

Sounds like the turbo - and it could be very painful, financially - hopefully not, but be prepared.

Some basic advice with turbo's is to let them idle for a minute or so before switching off the engine - in order to let those bearing cool down a bit.

Personally, I think the 20,000 mile service interval is far to long for a turbo diesel. i made a point of changing the oil and filter every 7,000 - 8,000 miles. Overkill, probably - but I was planning to hang onto the Captiva, and wanted to nurse it a bit.

Now someone else will reap the benefit

Actually, the prospect of huge mechanical repair bills was a factor in changing our Captiva (the other being the poor fuel consumption, which is no longer tolerable at £1.40 per litre)

I could have taken the Chevrolet extended warranty - but I'm sure there are plenty of things that they wouldn't cover, and which might well need replacing at the cost of my arms and legs!

Lovely car - and a superb caravan tow car - but no longer a viable option for us, I'm afraid.

The other absolute kicker is depreciation. We were looking to part-ex a 2.5 year old LT 7 seater, with a full service history, in unmarked condition, 35,000 miles - and a Chevrolet dealer offered the princely sum of.....£9,000!

As it was, we got a couple of K more than that from a VW dealership - but it was only because we bought it brand new for just over £16,000 in late 2008 that we avoided taking a huge bath on the deal!

From about £23,000 list price, to £9,000? - and that for an exceptionally well cared for 7 seat car with some extras fitted? - they're having a larf, innit?

When I read the list price for the new LTX I was genuinely astonished! - £32,000!, Chevrolet must must have taken leave of their senses. Just how many do they expect to sell???

Having experienced the raid depreciation of a Captiva, thanks - but no thanks.

Anyway, enough of my moans - hope your own problem turns out not to be a turbo issue. I'd advise a second opinion to Wilson's btw. When I bought the Captiva I went to Wilsons for some mud flaps (£35 for a set of 4, back then)

Only having owned the car a for a couple of days i wasn't sure how to fit them. Wilsons gave me speil about the need to get the car up on a ramp and remove wheel arch linings (honestly), and wanted to book it in.

I decided to have a look myself, and fitted them in about 40 seconds per arch, simply by removing some screws and replacing them through the mud flaps!

A one-armed Chimpanzee that was high on crack could have fitted them while wearing a blindfold! - yet Wilsons wanted at least one hour's labour for the job

They might be better now (dunno, because they never saw me again after that little episode) but I'd still get a second opinion if I was you.

Regards

 

[bigiainw]

20,000 mile service interval- I think not- it's 10,000!

 

[Captivabits]

No - definitely 20,000

The 10,000 mile interval is only for the A/C pollen filter - the oil stays in (officially) for 20,000 (or 1 year) - which (imo) is lunacy for a turbo diesel.

I spoke to a contact at Chevrolet about it - and the gist was that it was aimed at presenting a perceived low ownership cost to potential buyers.

That's all very fine and well if you're the first owner and plan to get rid of it when the warranty expires - but it makes them potentially poor second-hand buys afterwards.

There's no way I could bear to leave oil (even fully synthetic 'long life' stuff) in for 20K

I picked up several 5 litre cans of genuine GM 5w 30 fully synthetic on ebay for £12.00 per 5 litres, and paid an independent dealer to do an intermediate oil change (using an exorbitantly priced £18 GM paper filter) between official services.

There was another reason for changing the oil - I *think* that the dealer used an oil extraction tube to suck it up via the filer tube. This always leaves dirty oil in the sump - and as the independent oil change was a traditional sump drain, I was reassured that it was being drained as much as possible.

I've had two official oil changes and two 'unofficial changes ( 35K total mileage) - and each time the oil was cleaner after the sump drain, which makes me think that the dealer was sucking most of it out, but not being too fussy about it.

Anyway - it goes tommorrow - so, as I said, if my loving care extends the engine life, it won't be me who benefits.

 

[garyndawn]

Captivabits, thanks for reply,
Starting to fear the worst now , agree we have used ours for towing from 1,000 mls onwards with no problems pulling 1600kg van. Could this have had a bearing on the turbo problem though with the extra effort required.

Also agree re poor mpg but was prepared to put up with that as we like the car and would have kept it , but now not so sure.

Know what you mean about wilsons,bought the car with a 3 yr servicing deal included but each time service was done we were presented with bill ? Service book not stamped, usual dealership crap, dont trust any of em really.

Only ray of light is a mate who is a mechanic says he could price up required parts and do job where he works.

Just as a matter of intrest what have you changed to ? how does mlieage compare ,towing e



Regards

 

[bigiainw]

I've owned Renaults with 18,000 service intervals for years before the captiva and there has never been any issue with longer service intervals. That said my dealer does a full service at each interval and it's a drain down, not a suck out job.
The only bit of the equation that remains for 2 services is the pollen filter!Edited by: bigiainw

 

[garyndawn]

update,
returned from dealers, following 1and halfour while u wait check up, the duty of care report states,



"engine noisy due to turbo-whinning req new and gaskets and oil and filter change 4.0 hrs" £2,175.00



They said it was the bearing, in my ignorance i asked if just the bearing could be replaced ,..."no the whole turbo would need replacing"



When i asked what the cause was they said oil or dirt??

when i pointed out there was only 45,000 mls done and wasn't it unusual for a turbo to go so soon and that they had serviced it from new there was a nod a shrug of the shoulders as if to say sh*t happens!!



Not happy, have an appointment with a turbo specialist fri am for a second opinion andpossible evidence of improper oil change as been told the only dirt can come from the oilitself??



If so then its back to dealers.



Gary

 

[Speedy]

Ouch! That sucks. Hope you get something sorted with the specialist. 45k should be nowt for a modern diesel surely??

Edited by: Speedy

 

[Captivabits]

update,
returned from dealers, following 1and halfour while u wait check up, the duty of care report states,



"engine noisy due to turbo-whinning req new and gaskets and oil and filter change 4.0 hrs" £2,175.00



They said it was the bearing, in my ignorance i asked if just the bearing could be replaced ,..."no the whole turbo would need replacing"



When i asked what the cause was they said oil or dirt??

when i pointed out there was only 45,000 mls done and wasn't it unusual for a turbo to go so soon and that they had serviced it from new there was a nod a shrug of the shoulders as if to say sh*t happens!!



Not happy, have an appointment with a turbo specialist fri am for a second opinion andpossible evidence of improper oil change as been told the only dirt can come from the oilitself??



If so then its back to dealers.



Gary

Sorry to hear that - what about contacting Mark Terry (Chevrolet MD) email: [email protected]

He's genuinely one of the good guys in the motor business, and he might be prepared to assist with repair cost, especially as it's relatively low mileage and has s service history.

Worth a shot - he can only say no.

It's probably my deeply paranoid nature, but I've always had nagging doubts about the standard of work performed under the fixed price service deal.

There is certainly not as much profit in such a service - and would some dealers cut corners because they're not getting full price?

Who knows? - and more to the point, who can prove it?

When one considers that some dealers cut corners even *if* the customer is paying the full rate, it has to be a possibility that a fixed price deal would pose an even greater temptation for the dealer to save a bob or two.

Sincerely hope you get this mess sorted as easily and cheaply as possible - email Mark Terry.

 

[evo 370]

My son's Toyota Aygo automatic 1 week out of warrenty had a serious gearbox problem. Toyota picked up the bill, however I was told that Toyota and Vauhall are good when something out of warrenty goes wrong, Chevrolet are not. I hope the that what I was told was wrong. PS. From personal experience it is not inconcievable that your garage used the wrong oil, my last Mazda had to go back in to the dealer to get the oil changed. The oil recommended by Chevrolet is dexos 2 however there is a better turbo diesel oil made by Mobil. Remember our cars are not Chevrolets they are Daewoos running I believe Fiat designed engines.

 

[K.L.Richards]

Fiat designed engines

In all but name they are the Vauxhall Antara with different trim. Which has beentaken from the Holden Captiva, which I read somewhere online was the best selling SUV in Australia.



Saying this, I know the Daewoo link through GM, but cant see the link to Fiat

. But I could be wrong....wifes says usually am.

(under the thumb)...



As for the problem re- turbo. I think garyndawn need to take this up with Chevrolet, quoting the Trading Standards ruling that goods must be fit for purpose during the realistic lifetime of the goods. I would argue that 45k (and assume just over 3 years, if warranty is out) is not realistic life expectency for a Turbo. Therefore the part was not fit for purpose, and should be repaired at cost to the manufacture or at least the manufacture should contribute a considerable portion of the repair cost.



Ok this link (http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2006/mar/25/consumernews.howtocomplain)is about "electrical goods" as I cant find the one on "cars", but the principal is the same. If you had done 100k miles then there is an argument for wear n' tear, but 45k and a new Turbo, is not realistic. Ask them how long is a Turbo expected to last. If they say 40 to 50k, then cover that argument against the 2nd cars the dealer is selling with more than that mileage. If they say thery expect a turbo to last more than 50k miles (which I would expect - even more than 50k) then argue the fact that the Turbo must have been faulty as it hasnt lasted it's normal expected lifetime. If they argue service, you have the ace with a full service history, so they must have failed with their service.



Personally, I think you hold all the card, but I suspect you will have an argument ahead of you, but at a quoted cost of £2175, then it is an argument that is worth having.



Good luck....

 

[Captivabits]

Fiat designed engines

Fear not - they're not Fiat engines.

The orginal 2.0 diesel was a joint development between GM Powertrain and the Italian firm, VM Motori.

Fiat did take a 50 per cent stake in VM Motori earlier this year - so if future GM stuff has a VM Motori input, it will probably also have a Fiat input by default.

As far as I know, though, Fiat weren't involved with the Captiva 2.0 tdi.

Everything is global now - the Captiva 4x4 system is sourced from Toyota ( probably RAV 4)

I never see a Saab without thinking, 'hello cousin'

- although you'll never find a Saab owner who likes to talk about his car being made up of bits from the GM parts bin....

 

[evo 370]

Captivabits, you have obviously never had a Fiat Diesel. I have. I owned a 2007 Fiat Bravo between 2007 and 2010. It was 150ps diesel remapped to 186bhp. It was superb, the torque and powere were sufficient to out accelerate most cars. The fuel consumption was up to 60mpg. I traded it in for an Audi A3TDI sportback Black Edition, The Audi engine is not as refined as the Fiat, however the Audi only needs to be serviced every 2 years, my garage gave it a free check this year. My Grand Cherokee 3.1TDI similar to the Captiva ran a VM engine, it was noisy and not the most fuel efficient. The reason I bought the Captiva was because I knew it was a VM enginewhich had its base in Italy not America or South Korea.

 

[Captivabits]

I owned a 2007 Fiat Bravo between 2007 and 2010.

Yes - I've heard that some Fiats do last three years

The Audi engine is not as refined as the Fiat, however the Audi only needs to be serviced every 2 years

Probably best to start saving for a new turbo, then.

 

[dean100yz]

Sorry to hear bout ya turbo. Go to a specialist if all else fails, turbo's can be rebuilt at a fraction of that cost. Look at £300-£500 for even a replacement turbo and gaskets. Labour will be the only kicker

As for services as prev. mentioned they are 20k/1yr. All other Chevy's from memory are 10k except Captiva...just check ya handback it shows in there

 

[nik1]

That is a big bill. I'd go to a specialist. They'll be cheaper and they'll do a better job. Its generally acknowledged that dealers claw back profits from after-sales as their sales margins are much lower nowadays. I've owned Italian cars for years (yea, I know..) and always took them to a specialist for the reasons above.

 

[bigiainw]

There is a 20,000 service interval in the service book, but none of the dealers recommend this, and having seen the possible outcome, now I know why. Mine has always been serviced on 10,000 intervals, even before I bought it, so they clearly know something and for once it seems it might not all be about money.

 

[evo 370]

Captivabits this is a friendly forum, if all you can do is sl*g me off, I suggest that one of us stops using it.

 

[K.L.Richards]

evo think captivabits was only having a joke. Sometimes not easy to see in text form.





If not... how about an apology and shake hands........

 

[evo 370]

I have 5 cars in my household; a 2000 Subaru Legacy B4, a 2002 MG ZS+ Stepspeed, a 2008 Toyota Aygo MMT Platinum, A 2010 Audi A3 Black Edition and the Captiva LTZ. The 2 older cars are only used occasionally,therefore the Captiva is the only car which I have little faith in, perhaps it is because I have read to many worrying things on this forum! Bye bye.