Advice Needed - 69 Plate Vauxhall Astra issue

dannywaugh1

dannywaugh1

dannywaugh1

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Newcastle upon tyne
Hi all,

Looking for some advice,

Bought a Vauxhall Astra new in Feb 2020 the car has just over 20,000 miles on the clock. Last August while driving the car I get a message on the dash saying ' Reduced Engine Power' and the engine management light on. Took it to my local Vauxhall dealer (Evans Halshaw) and they sorted it under warranty. Great!

Same thing happened this June (2023) but now out of warranty, had to pay just over £300 for it to be sorted, they plugged the car in to check the fault code and replaced a turbo solenoid valve, done - road test and all sorted.

And its happened again this weekend while driving, exact same thing ' Reduced Engine Power' and the engine management light on.

I've called my local Vauxhall dealer (Evans Halshaw) again and explained this is concerning same thing for the 3rd time, the lady on the phone who wasn't bothered in the slightest went on to say we can book the car in but would have to pay another £120 to plug in the car and check the fault codes, I asked what have I actually payed for before then? Explained this has already happened for the 3rd time, to which she replied to say if the code is the same as before there will be no charge but if the code if different I will need to pay again!

I understand that the engine management light can mean different things hence the codes etc but to me this is the same issue for the 3rd time.

I have booked the car in for next week.

Any advice would be great, In my eyes for a car that has only done a little over 20,000 miles the same issue im experianing should not be happening at all!
 
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Do you have any paperwork saying that it was the same issue the first 2 times?
If so I'd have expected that to be sorted under the warranty of the part/fitting which I would assume is at least 12 months and again if it's the same this time it should be sorted under the warranty from the previous repair but like you've said it could be throwing a totally different unrelated code which therefore seems reasonable for them to charge you if that's the case.
 
can you get the error codes from the dash - at all. ?
as tom said part/repair should have a warranty, I'd probably investigate DIY(clean it?/replace it) or 3rd party garage to do the repair if another £300 was genuinely in prospect
 
The dash only displays the error message. I'm tempted to call in to the garage and ask for all the details related to my car as I have never been given a copy of the details. Only details of payment. Quite bad really.
 
I know on my old 57 plate Astra you could press a pedal combination and it would bring up the actual code on the dash might be worth seeing if it's possible on yours or spend a tenner on a odbc dongle and check it that way
 
Might be worth spending £10/20 and getting a code reader could give you some indication if it's the same issue as the last time (turbo solenoid valve).
 
Hi all been a while,


Thought I would update you all on the now fixed issue.

Took the car back to Evans Halshaw was not able to get a code reader prior. Again, mentioned the whole thing about 'we'll see what the error code says and investigate' blah blah.

I let them get on with this and decided to call Vauxhall direct to explain the issue, they wanted car details reg etc and they contacted Evans Halshaw themselves.

2 hours after that conversation Vauxhall customer services call back to explain they have instructed Evans Halshaw to give all details of service and repair done to the car (I only ever used the same Evans Halshaw since getting the car) and to complete a full investigation etc.
Next day another call from Vauxhall to explain the issue has been found, firstly the turbo solenoid valve needed to be replaced again plus there was an issue with the turbo also. The first repairs had not been diagnosed properly in the first place.

So new turbo, solenoid valve and an oil change the car is all sorted, with all costs related to the issue refunded also.
 
good to hear, it's quite a common issue on what I'll assume is a 1.2 Turbo. Similar thing happened to my wife's car, but the dealer did a software update and it's cleared the fault, also seems to drive a bit better at lower speeds and problem hasn't come back.

Glad to hear you got somewhere with VX - their customer service team can often leave a lot to be desired.
 
OldKitMan said:
good to hear, it's quite a common issue on what I'll assume is a 1.2 Turbo. Similar thing happened to my wife's car, but the dealer did a software update and it's cleared the fault, also seems to drive a bit better at lower speeds and problem hasn't come back.

Glad to hear you got somewhere with VX - their customer service team can often leave a lot to be desired.
Click to expand...
1.4 is the one that encountered those issues commonly, especially in the early days.

@dannywaugh1 - worth a look on the astrakforums if you’re not already a member.
 
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