2.2 vauxhall vectra auto 2002

Hi all

I purchased a 2.2 vectra glsi last june from Vauxhall. Until now
have had no problems, have now been getting a management light warning
on dashboard,took to Vauxhall dealer who said it was the gearbox sensor
cost 176.22 to replace. 3 days later the light came back on took it
back and have now been told that the radiator coolant has gone into the
gearbox and will now need a new gearbox and radiaor total cost 2,265
pounds. Has anyone heard of this problem before.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Dereck

 

Don't Vauxhall Network Q deals give a 12 month g/tee ?

Gio

 

as it is down to wear and tear therefore not covered

 

Might I suggest a combination of 98 Octane, milk bottle, matches and running
shoes....

 

How on earth does a bit of water in the auto box mean it needs replacing?
Can't it be flushed through etc...?

As for "wear and tear"... I think they're taking the Mickey.

What mileage has the car done, what does the warranty exclude, how much did
you pay...?

As a start, if the original diagnosis was wrong, shouldn't you get your £176
back?

I'm not very techy, but this all sounds like a con....!

 

I agree with Martin, the Vx web site says :-
Comprehensive cover as standard Your Network Q Guarantee provides you with
comprehensive cover for all mechanical and electrical components for a full
12 months / 20,000 miles - whichever is sooner. We even cover your brakes,
battery and clutch for 12 months - another first from Network Q.

Now if brakes and clutch are covered then an auto g/box / replacement
radiator will be on the books too. Now do not forget to use the quote they
gave you against them i.e do not except anything less than the £2265. The
big question is:- was the fault caused by something other than a standard
failure. I suggest you give the radiator a good look over (and perhaps take
a few photos) to ensure the radiator was not damaged by a stone etc. I know
my auto gearbox uses the bottom of the main zafira radiator so I put gauze
over the air intake below the bumper to prevent stones hitting the core.

Gio

 

The problem is caused by the gearbox oil cooler that is built into the
normal radiator leaking and letting coolant and box oil mix together. You
end up with something that looks like chocolate milk shake in your gear box
and a coolant expansion bottle that has oil staining in it.
You can't see the leaking cooler and by the time you realise there is a
problem it is too late.
The reason they replaced the sensor is that there is a problem with the
input sensor ( it has 2 the same - input and output) it gets water in it and
puts the warning light on and drops the box into limp home. The fault code
you get in the gearbox ( 715 or 705 I think) is the same as when the box oil
gets contaminated.
PLEASE PLEASE make sure they changed the input sensor and not the output
one by mistake as I have seen it done - the input one is the harder one to
do and is nearer the front of the car than the rear most output one.
Also, Vauxhall bought out a gearbox ecu remap to cure a horrendous banging
noise when it changes gear so make sure that has been tried. - all of this
is cheaper than the box/ rad change which will run into thousands.
I find it very hard to believe this isn't covered by Network Q????????????

 

Thanks for all the messages, it has gave me some thoughts. I have been
assured that the sensor (which they are now going to refund had been
changed. Theu have also stated that they sent a sample of the gearbox
oil away to midlands transmissions in Kettering, and the results were 75
percent water 25 percent oil. which has resulted in the gearbox changed
and radiator. What is amazing is the fact that it has taken 3 weeks to
come to this conclusion and three weeks im without transport (as they
say they havent got any courtesy cars available), what has happened to
the good old fashioned mechanic who could do everything,and not like big
dealerships franchising out their work. Thanks all for the information
will let you know the outcome.

dereck

 

We hope it goes well for you and the car comes back as good as new. To get
a 75% mix of water in to a 4.5 L or so auto box would mean you would loose a
lot of water and I would have expected either some form of odd gear change,
obvious oil leaks or most probably frequent topping up of the expansion
bottle / coolant warning lights coming on.
Just for my own knowledge, did you notice anything untoward prior to the
given the large amount of water that entered the g/box ? As Me140 says it
is often too late but to I would hope the coolant level would give a clue or
perhaps the engine temp gauge would show something ?

Gio

 

As usual, a very helpful explanation. But it sounds as if this is often the
early sign of a bigger problem... so shouldn't Vaux repairers be directed to
look for the root cause, rather than just sensor failure? Maybe far
costlier repairs could thereby be avoided?

 

Hi Gio

There was no apparent loss of coolant as for engine warning lights,
the only light that came on was rhe engine management light, and the
gears went from 2nd to 5th gear.
Have been in contact with Vauxhall and they have stated that they
will pay 500 pounds towards the repair bill and they will also deduct
the 122 pound sensor money and will service vehicle andvalet it prior to
me collecting it from Vauxhall on Friday. So fingers crossed lets hope
this saga is finished with.

regards

dereck

 

dereck was thinking very hard :

Get the old radiator off the dealer to find out why it failed (and
ascertain it really has failed). The only reason for refusing a
warrenty claim would be a stone hit but surely that would cause an
external leak?

All sounds very dodgy. Surely you would have noticed the coolant level
drop or the coolent would go a funny colour?

Paul

 

I'm rather worried because all of the above sounds very familiar to me
- i'm now wondering if my car has the same problem.

I've got a 2.2 litre Vauxhall Vectra Elegance on an 02 plate and it's
been fine up until recently. It's now developed a weird fault where
on longer journeys the ECU light comes on and the vehicle will only
change between 5th and 2nd gears (using tiptronic). If I leave it in
auto mode then it simply stays in 5th all the time (not much fun
trying to pull away in traffic in 5th gear).

On short journeys the problem never occurs. But when I get to
journeys which are over 30 miles or so the fault occurs. There is
also a strong smell of warm/burning gearbox oil.

It's already been into the dealership and thus far it's had a new MAF
Sensor, Gearbox Oil Change and Glowplug Replacement (the fault code
saying that this needed doing cropped up whilst it was at the
dealership - I felt I was being fleeced so I took it elsewhere for a
second opinion and to get the work done). The gearbox oil change was
interesting as they found that the oil was 'cooked' but there was no
evidence of gearbox damage. This is all pointing to a gearbox oil
cooler fault from what I can see - but I don't know much about cars.

Any views please people?