never wrong   10 #1 Posted October 11, 2006 I purchased a Vauxhall Zafira 29th. March 2006, and everything was ok until the 4th.October when I was travelling to Stansted.  Before setting off on my trip I checked the oil water and topped up the washer bottle as I always do before any trip of any distance such as the one I was taking. Apart from the washer bottle needing some water, the oil and water were ok. I had travelled approx ninety miles when the temprature light came on for approx 20 seconds and then went off. I decided to pull in at the first available moment to check the water, and I pulled in at the next garage which was approx two miles, as I pulled into the garage all the warning lights on the dashboard came on. every single one of them including the seat belt warning handbrake warning door open warning plus the usual engine warnig lights. On inspection the header tank was empty and the engine was hot I waited twenty minutes or so for the engine to cool down and refilled the header tank. After doing this the car would not start and never as done since.  The RAC transported the car back to Sheffield to Pentagon Vauxhall on Saville Street and I attended myself the following day. The service advisor said the fault was no water because it was empty,I informed him that it had been filled the previous day, and the engine had not been run since so where did the water go to and he just shrugged his shoulders. The car has been in the garage since that date and Vauxhall are refusing to repair the discussions re this are ongoing.  The point of this post is to get the following,should a car seven months old be expected to lose all its water without a there being a fault. I believe the EMS or the ECU units failed and caused the breakdown and I know someone on the forum will either agree or disagree all I want is your honest opinions and possible ideas on what to do next. thank you Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
littlebasher   11 #2 Posted October 11, 2006 Only so many places the water can go..  Either into the cylinders and out the exhaust Into the Crankcase Or a leak from the radiator, hoses or waterpump  If the water you topped the car up didnt leak straight out the bottom, it kind of suggests something more sinister.  All the dashlights probably came on as a result of the engine stopping (like they do when you turn on the ignition but dont start the car), sounds like you were lucky to get to a garage before it died.  It could be that the headgasket blew (due to a manufacturing fault) or worse still the cylinder head failing, again as a result of a manufacturing failure.  Either way, if its that new it should be their problem, not yours Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
never wrong   10 #3 Posted October 11, 2006 Only so many places the water can go.. Either into the cylinders and out the exhaust Into the Crankcase Or a leak from the radiator, hoses or waterpump  If the water you topped the car up didnt leak straight out the bottom, it kind of suggests something more sinister.  All the dashlights probably came on as a result of the engine stopping (like they do when you turn on the ignition but dont start the car), sounds like you were lucky to get to a garage before it died.  It could be that the headgasket blew (due to a manufacturing fault) or worse still the cylinder head failing, again as a result of a manufacturing failure.  Either way, if its that new it should be their problem, not yours  thank you for comments and they match mine perfectly Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Tomataheeed   10 #4 Posted October 11, 2006 Vauxhall's customer care line is 01582 427200. I used to work there a few years back.  Out of interest, have they supplied you with a replacement car whilst investigating? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
medusa   16 #5 Posted October 11, 2006 It certainly doesn't sound like something that should be happening with a new car- and the symptoms you describe sound very similar to personal experience of the cylinder head gasket failing, which should not happen on a new car. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
never wrong   10 #6 Posted October 11, 2006 Vauxhall's customer care line is 01582 427200. I used to work there a few years back. Out of interest, have they supplied you with a replacement car whilst investigating?  I have a car but it has not been supplied by Vauxhall My car is leased so the lease company supplied one. Just to make another point I wont even have to pay for the repair the lease company will, I am only doing this to get a general idea if Vauxhall should repair under warranty. the repair bill by the way is £3600+ VAT Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Tomataheeed   10 #7 Posted October 11, 2006 I have a car but it has not been supplied by Vauxhall My car is leased so the lease company supplied one. Just to make another point I wont even have to pay for the repair the lease company will, I am only doing this to get a general idea if Vauxhall should repair under warranty. the repair bill by the way is £3600+ VAT  I'd imagine they would pay it. I had to look into this sort of thing all the time. If there is no obvious sign of abuse, Vauxhall will pay it. by the way, its in the dealer's interest to get the manufacturer to pay - they don't want to have the difficult conversation with the customer. The dealer cannot automatically go ahead with big repairs like this however - Vauxhall's own engineers will probably want to take a look at it to see what's gone wrong - that's probably the cause of the delay. Vauxhall will more than likely refund the leasing company's hire costs also. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
never wrong   10 #8 Posted October 11, 2006 The age of the car is the main point no car less than a year old should sufffer these problems it is a warranty job without a doubt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
butchill   10 #9 Posted October 11, 2006 My mate had exactly the same problem a few months ago after about a month of arguements with Vauxhall they did it under warranty and changed some other things in the car that were according to them not connected with the breakdown "apparently" make,s you wonder does it not Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Tomataheeed   10 #10 Posted October 11, 2006 The age of the car is the main point no car less than a year old should sufffer these problems it is a warranty job without a doubt  Assuming there is no abuse, you are correct. You'd be surprised how badly some new cars are treated. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
butchill   10 #11 Posted October 11, 2006 Assuming there is no abuse, you are correct. You'd be surprised how badly some new cars are treated.  Which is why it was repaired under warranty I guess. The dealer and the manufacturer have to investigate - you'd be amazed how many warranty claims come in for faults that relate to problems after badly repaired accident damage. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
never wrong   10 #12 Posted October 11, 2006  Which is why it was repaired under warranty I guess. The dealer and the manufacturer have to investigate - you'd be amazed how many warranty claims come in for faults that relate to problems after badly repaired accident damage.  It has never been in accident and never driven badly and it as not got excessive mileage. the oil and water were checked perodically also IT as not been repaired yet this is the purpose of the post Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...