WM Caprice Problems

[EvokeWM]

Unfortunately I've had quite a few problems with my WM Caprice. I'm interested to know whether other WM Caprice owners have had similar problems.

The knocking noise from the front suspension is the most annoying problem. Its been in 4 times to have the problem fixed and each time the dealer says "fixed it this time". When I drive it out, it's still doing it. This week I'm taking the foreman for a drive so we can all agree what it is we are trying to fix (in the past the workshop has said it heard the noise and was fixing it). Has anyone else had this problem? If so, what was the fix?

Here is the list (so far).....

- Battery goes flat for no apparent reason - can't unlock car without alarm going off (occurred twice) - fixed after BCU reflashed with updated s/w.

- Key remote buttons fail, remote's clamshell splits open - both remotes replaced twice then replaced with new design remote (design flaw)

- Speed alert changes set speed all own its own (unresolved)

- Handbrake cover falls off - new handbrake cover fitted (design flaw)

- Driver's seat control panel warps showing seat control wiring

- Tyre pressure monitoring system fault - unit "recalibrated" by dealer.

- Knocking noise from front suspension over uneven roads - been in for this to be fixed 4 times and still unresolved (although they found an engine and gearbox mount loose !

- Roof mounted DVD player faulty from Day 1 - took 4 months for a replacement unit to be ordered in - no spares were available.

- 6sp transmission has harsh gear changes - reflashed twice but no improvement (unresolved)

- Engine idles at 1,000 rpm when cold - takes off rapidly unless brake pedal firmly depressed (unresolved)

- Cruise control speed set switch often unresponsive - need to turn off then turn on again cruise control in order to change cruise speed (unresolved)

- Passenger seat lumbar support motor driven adjustment intermittent (unresolved)

- Auto dipping passenger side mirror (for seeing gutter when reversing) does not always dip (unresolved)

- Front mp3 input socket has a poor electrical connection (unresolved)

- Radio channel change scroll wheel often intermittent (unresolved)

[Freebaggin]

Hmmm, what month and year was it made? Long list.

[LSX-438]

I've had no issues with my WM, it was built October 07. We've only travelled a couple of thousand k's though.

[Carby]

A few of those problems are familiar to our VE SV6 - Holden has to smarten up it's quality - a good ride will soon sour if the stupid thing needs to go back to the dealer all the time.

[CapriceMe]

I'll be watching this thread for sure - I was looking to purchase one in Feb this year... Maybe I'll wait till the update?? Thoughts?

Evoke - any luck with Holden on these matters, as opposed to the dealer?

[EvokeWM]

Hmmm, what month and year was it made? Long list.

It is a Dec 06 build delivered in Feb 07.

[German Statesman]

Only dramas with my flatmate's new limo is the stupid dealer put the paint protection over a dirty car LOL

[EvokeWM]

I'll be watching this thread for sure - I was looking to purchase one in Feb this year... Maybe I'll wait till the update?? Thoughts?

Evoke - any luck with Holden on these matters, as opposed to the dealer?

I haven't raised any issues direct with Holden yet but will if the suspension knocking sound isn't fixed the next time I take it in to the dealer.

Frankly I had high hopes for this vehicle, given all the media reports on it, but its been disappointing. I previously had a Statesman before the Caprice and the Stateman was a more comfortable (and reliable) long distance drive. Ignoring the quality issues I've had, the vehicle's achilles heel IMO is the 6sp auto. It has very harsh indecisive gear changes and makes it impossible to drive the vehicle smoothly. I think the extra weight and hence inertia of the Caprice over a Commodore exacerbates the 6sp box problems. For example, when moving off from stationary, initially the throttle is unresponsive then the vehicle will move off quickly. Backing off the throttle a little to slow down the vehicle after the rapid take off results in the transmission immediately changing up gears with a loud thunk that can also be felt in the vehicle. If you need to accelerate quickly, the throttle has to be pushed well down while the transmission thinks about it for several seconds. It will then rapidly change down two gears and the vehicle will rocket off. This, along with the noisy suspension, takes away from the vehicles luxury feel. (Shame as the Caprice is a great looking vehicle).

By the way, two more issues to add:

- water entry into LED side turn indicators (this probably won't be an easy fix as the LED bar is mounted on a vehicle coloured plastic piece).

- engine operation warning light comes on and off from time to time. Handbook indicates that this is an emission warning indicator (oxygen sensors faulty??)

[Titanium]

Your car sounds possessed, try an exorcisim ......

Shame about the bad run of luck.

The handbrake cover breaking is an issue right across the VE range.

PS - A lot of the issues sound consistent with water submersion, not a car from a flooded dealer up north is it?

[STATIE]

- Tyre pressure monitoring system fault - unit "recalibrated" by dealer.

- Knocking noise from front suspension over uneven roads - been in for this to be fixed 4 times and still unresolved (although they found an engine and gearbox mount loose !

The tyre pressure monitoring fault is a carry over from the WL's and we have replaced every component in the system and it still faults occasionally.

The front suspension knock is another common commodore/statesman fault that I have had in the WH11 & the WL easily fixed by a competent mechanic.

[HSV Listy]

I hired one for 2 weeks. Just a statesman with 9000km. Found a few issues but nothing too nasty. V6 version. 5 speed

1. I found the glovebox would not close without both hands pushing hard to get the right hand side to lock. (warranty I would say)
2. The air recirculation did not make any difference. Smells still come in wheater it was on or off.(warranty I would say)
3. The boot did not come up on its own. Pressed the button and you had to manually lift it. I presume it should pop up under its own weight as there is no where to lift it from.(warranty I would say)
4. The steering was terribly sensative sitting on 100km. Found it very difficult to corner smoothly for a good ride
5. Highway economy over 2500km was 10.5l/100. Most was 100km/h driving. Nearly 0 city driving. I was expecing better but it is a heavy car
6. The auto box confused itself when on a hill with cruise on. It seems to always kick back 2 gears and take off. Scared me on a couple of occasions taking off up a hill around a corner. Later my bro told me to use the manaul setting and put the gear back before the hills. It worked very well but a pain to do all the time.
7. Handbrake angle and grip was too sharp and you had to lift your elbow to access it but this is common on all models. I could not get used to it
8. The high beam was rubbish. My old GTS has better. For a luzury car it should be better. Go the upgraded lights.
9. I am a taller bloke, the inside leather stitching on the door opening handle hit right on the corner of my knee. Real pain as this is how it was with the BA falcons. Silly to put hard leather sticing right there. Should be padded or somthing.
10. The rear seats not a cosy as I would have thought. Seemed a little more padding would be good. You also sit quite low in the back and suffer from lack of view out the window.
11. The power steering pump wined when at full lock. Did not sound good.
12. The throttle was touchy when the car was cold. Seemed to take off.

Good things

1. Looks really good. Grills looks flash all be it a little plasticy
2. Really confortable both in front seats and ride. Lacked a bit of side susport in the seats but good for sure. Trim was nice.
3. Handling not as good as I was expecting but they are cruisers and this was exactly what it was.
4. The boot is massive and really long but a camry boot is higher. You can not stand up most suitcases. Camrys I could
5. The flick key ring was cool. My 2 year old spent most of her time playing with it. Me too.
6. When you start the car all you have to do it click it to the start position and it will crank over until it is started. Great thing. The old models it used to be a pain if you did not hold the key there long enough and the electronics got confused.

7. Best thing I found was the auto sencing wipers. Bloody brilliant and calibrated perfectly. All the weather I run into it wiped as fast as I wanted to perfrection. Stupid weather over most of QLD so it was great to have. If you put an option of you car get these. Just watch out for insurance and make sure you get a free windscreen each year and I think they are about $900 a pop

Good car over all but way too many drawback for me. Hertz rent them a really good prices if you get the free upgrades through RACQ or NRMA etc.

Hope you sort out all your issues.

[EvokeWM]

Your car sounds possessed, try an exorcisim ......

Shame about the bad run of luck.

The handbrake cover breaking is an issue right across the VE range.

PS - A lot of the issues sound consistent with water submersion, not a car from a flooded dealer up north is it?

Exorcism.....not a bad idea

Re the water submersion. no ivehicle was ordered direct from factory (not a dealer stock or SA holding yard vehicle). Had to wait many months for it. The water in the indicator only came after it first rained. It then got condensation trapped in it and never dries out.

I hired one for 2 weeks. Just a statesman with 9000km. Found a few issues but nothing too nasty. V6 version. 5 speed

1. I found the glovebox would not close without both hands pushing hard to get the right hand side to lock. (warranty I would say)
2. The air recirculation did not make any difference. Smells still come in wheater it was on or off.(warranty I would say)
3. The boot did not come up on its own. Pressed the button and you had to manually lift it. I presume it should pop up under its own weight as there is no where to lift it from.(warranty I would say)
4. The steering was terribly sensative sitting on 100km. Found it very difficult to corner smoothly for a good ride
5. Highway economy over 2500km was 10.5l/100. Most was 100km/h driving. Nearly 0 city driving. I was expecing better but it is a heavy car
6. The auto box confused itself when on a hill with cruise on. It seems to always kick back 2 gears and take off. Scared me on a couple of occasions taking off up a hill around a corner. Later my bro told me to use the manaul setting and put the gear back before the hills. It worked very well but a pain to do all the time.
7. Handbrake angle and grip was too sharp and you had to lift your elbow to access it but this is common on all models. I could not get used to it
8. The high beam was rubbish. My old GTS has better. For a luzury car it should be better. Go the upgraded lights.
9. I am a taller bloke, the inside leather stitching on the door opening handle hit right on the corner of my knee. Real pain as this is how it was with the BA falcons. Silly to put hard leather sticing right there. Should be padded or somthing.
10. The rear seats not a cosy as I would have thought. Seemed a little more padding would be good. You also sit quite low in the back and suffer from lack of view out the window.
11. The power steering pump wined when at full lock. Did not sound good.
12. The throttle was touchy when the car was cold. Seemed to take off.

Thanks for your feedback on your experience with the Statesman.

Re your issues:

1. Glovebox - agree it needs two hands to generally close it (or slam it shut with one hand!)
2. Air Recirculation - I've found that if you have it set to recirculate then turn the fan down to minimum (because it gets too noisy for example), it will automatically revert to fresh air (safety design)
3. Boot release - no, the release just pops it about 1cm. You then need to lift it the rest of the way. Agree, there is nothing to grab to lift it apart from the chrome boot strip.
4. Steering - agree it is too sensitive and it has too much spring loaded self-centering. Makes driving tiring as you have to continually pull on the wheel when off centre. (a friend who has a Monaro told me this was the case with his Monaro as well and it made country driving tiring)
5. Fuel consuption - yes it is thirsty.
6. Cruise control works well slowing the vehicle from running away down hills but agree it scares you when it decides to drop two gears near the crest of a hill and rockets off. This forces you to hit the brakes which of course deactivates cruise control. Ahhhhhh....
7. Handbrake, yes weird when up but neat solution when down.
8. Xenons on Caprice. Very nice
9. Had same problem with hard stitching in wrong place. Also door armrest too low and sports steering wheel has hard narrow edge under your palm in normal driving 9 and 3 position. Makes hands very sore on long trips.
10. Rear seats in Caprice are different - almost bucket seats. Very nice and great place to snooze when wife driving on long trips.
11. Power steering - on full lock often loses power assistance (dealer said its a known issue - how helpful !)
12. Touchy throttle when cold - same issue I have.

[Janus]

Hey EvokeWM,

Yeah I saw that we have many of the same issues.

I am booking my car in for service tomorrow. I will be faxing them my list of problems when I do to make sure that they know what I want done and get the stuff in that they need, as previously I have taken it in and they say that they don't have the parts etc and I will have to bring it back in in like a weeks time.

Will let you know how it goes and if they actually fix anything.

[Slimbo]

Yikes.......

Have i bought another lemon like my WL Caprice, i hope not, lt's ok at the moment.

I had 5 engines in my WL, i think i was the only one in the country to have 5 engines, the first 4 services in that car was a new motor for a oil change, funny now but wasn't at the time.

The only things i don't like about the WM are,

1/ I'm not tall, 5ft 10" and my head touches the roof
2/ The steering wheel is hard to the touch compared with the WL
3/ Handbrake Lever is weird, keep hitting my knuckles on the console when i release it
4/ Don't like the black trim on the inside of the car, roof and pillars that is, guess i will get used to it.
5/ I can't install my very extensive Pioneer ODR Sound System, although saying that, i am quite impressed with the way the Bose ????? sound system sounds, about the only thing i will do is replace the speakers that are in the car with the Pioneer ODR speakers, that will improve the sound even more, including removing the ???? subs in the parcel shelf and putting the ODR 12" Sub in place where the rear seat folds down.

Apart from all that, great car, just hope i don't end up having another 5 engines with this one.

Yikes.......

Have i bought another lemon like my WL Caprice, i hope not, lt's ok at the moment.

I had 5 engines in my WL, i think i was the only one in the country to have 5 engines, the first 4 services in that car was a new motor for a oil change, funny now but wasn't at the time.

The only things i don't like about the WM are,

1/ I'm not tall, 5ft 10" and my head touches the roof
2/ The steering wheel is hard to the touch compared with the WL
3/ Handbrake Lever is weird, keep hitting my knuckles on the console when i release it
4/ Don't like the black trim on the inside of the car, roof and pillars that is, guess i will get used to it.
5/ I can't install my very extensive Pioneer ODR Sound System, although saying that, i am quite impressed with the way the Bose ????? sound system sounds, about the only thing i will do is replace the speakers that are in the car with the Pioneer ODR speakers, that will improve the sound even more, including removing the ???? subs in the parcel shelf and putting the ODR 12" Sub in place where the rear seat folds down.

Apart from all that, great car, just hope i don't end up having another 5 engines with this one.

Did i say WL Caprice, i mean WH Caprice

[hdj105]

Unfortunately I've had quite a few problems with my WM Caprice. I'm interested to know whether other WM Caprice owners have had similar problems.

- Tyre pressure monitoring system fault - unit "recalibrated" by dealer.

- Knocking noise from front suspension over uneven roads - been in for this to be fixed 4 times and still unresolved (although they found an engine and gearbox mount loose !

- Engine idles at 1,000 rpm when cold - takes off rapidly unless brake pedal firmly depressed (unresolved)

- Radio channel change scroll wheel often intermittent (unresolved)

Those above are familiar, don't know if the reflash at the recent 15k service fixed the LH scroll wheel, I read here that it was supposed to. (Dealers are supposed to also keep the vehicle overnight after reflashes to ensure the battery doesn't go flat ;-)

He's also had a split fuel tank and a split / cracked washer bottle.

On top of those Dad's rear tyres are stuffed, although no one is admitting so it appears to be an alignment issue.