Spoke To Local Vaux Dealer Today About Warranty Work lol

[after_shock]

I see what you all mean about dont take your car to Vauxhall, wasnt going well after the first 15seconds over the phone.

I rang Vauxhall at Darlington as that is the nearest one to me that deals with Monaro's/VXR8's, got put through to service and introduced myself as being who I am and who I work for (local main dealer of another brand)

After the introduction the conversation went along these lines:

Me - I have a few issues with my Monaro and would like to know if you deal with the warranty work on them?
Vaux - Well, ahem, mmmmmmmmmmmm, sort of some of the time
Me - So is that a yes or a no then?
Vaux - Well we can do
Me - So thats a yes?
Vaux - Depending on what the problem is

I was rather annoyed already and thought im going to give up on trying to get them to say yes so moved on to the actual problems, picked 3 off my list to mention.

Me - The issues that im having are the 3rd brake light in the spoiler only half works
Vaux - Thats not covered as its a trim item
Me - second problem is a horrendous vibration from the front under braking
Vaux - we can send off to get the discs skimmed if its proven they are warped
Me - Final one is the paint is peeling off from the drivers door handle which im aware is a common problem
Vaux - that can be looked at by our bodyshop and they can make an assessment on it, how old is the car and what is the mileage?
Me - 2007 and 9k miles
Vaux - Ah right the brakes wont be covered as the car is more than a year old and are wear and tear

By this point im on the verge of being pi**ed off, how many monaro's are around that are under a year old ffs?!

Me - so to summarise the 3rd brake light is not covered as its a trim item? The brakes arent covered as the car is over 1 year old and are wear and tear? And finally the paint issue is down to you inspecting it and deciding whether it is covered or not?
Vaux - yes
Me - Can I just point out the fact that the 3rd brake light not working correctly is actually a safety issue and ive never known a lamp unit be classed as an item of trim.
Vaux - Hang on I will speak to the manager - on hold for about 2 mins
Vaux - If the bulbs can be individually replaced then no its not covered if the lamp unit needs replacing then yes it is
Me - its a sealed unit so how can you change the bulbs?
Vaux - well its covered then

The conversation went on and it was suggested I take the car across to have the light and door handles looked at.

Personally would rather pay for it to get done elsewhere than have that bunch of muppets look at my car, no doubt get overspray all over it anyway when painting the door handles!

Does anyone know how to replace the brake light in the spoiler as the wire is extremely short when trying to take it out and I have no idea where it goes to?

Thanks

[Drew SS]

just on the subject of brake lights does anyone no how to remove the light on the back of the ute the led one behind the cab...thanks

[paramoreg]

Have you tried giving Picador (Southampton) a call?

I know I bought my car from them only 4 months ago, but they did my '07 VXR8 Carbon door seals (water ingress), replaced the clutch plate and did me a good deal on respray of entire front end due to stone chips (bonnet, wings and front bumper) for £350 and did a great job - though I should probably have argued for that before agreeing the deal!!

I dropped it off to them again today, might be there for 2-3 weeks probable piston slap so engine out and they might need to replace some bits! They did ask what boost it was running, so I said I thought 9psi, to which they said Vauxhall only cover up to 6psi, so it will be down to them, not vauxhall to cover.

I have crappy Meriva as loan car, but I've found them helpful and friendly so far!

[wolfracer]

After shock - if you pop off the black clips holding the boot lid lining in place ( will just come off once all clips are popped out) you can get to the wire that connects to the loom - there is a male/female double socket to connect the 2 and can just be pulled apart if you need to get more length of wire freed up.

[Bonnie and Clyde]

I cant believe how shabbily we are treated by these idiots. There stories never match up. They really are p1ss poor. Maybe Stigs right, we should go to watchdog.

[Boosted LS1]

paramoreg said:

Have you tried giving Picador (Southampton) a call?


I dropped it off to them again today, might be there for 2-3 weeks probable piston slap so engine out and they might need to replace some bits! They did ask what boost it was running, so I said I thought 9psi, to which they said Vauxhall only cover up to 6psi, so it will be down to them, not vauxhall to cover.

That's interesting, did it have piston slap before?

[after_shock]

wolfracer said:

After shock - if you pop off the black clips holding the boot lid lining in place ( will just come off once all clips are popped out) you can get to the wire that connects to the loom - there is a male/female double socket to connect the 2 and can just be pulled apart if you need to get more length of wire freed up.

Thanks for that will have a go on Friday, do the clips that hold the trim in place normally break and if so are they easy to get hold of?

paramoreg - the car came from picador and I would love to use them but its a ridiculous distance to travel for the minor bits I need sorting, well except the brakes which would probably be replaced by the same items and end up with the same problem again.

Will have to see how long it takes to get hold of a new lamp unit from vaux for the spoiler.

[ringram]

Ive found Picadors to be very helpful and willing, even if they take while to get up to speed on things.

Mine is back next week, hopefully for the last time to finish of some updates etc.

So far indicators fixed and charging issue fixed.

Though I did note the floor on the drivers side was a little damp yesterday..
Hopefully not an indication of a leak! We will see.

[donk r8]

Taking mine down to Picadors on Thursday, will see how they get on and how long I have to wait for parts.......(rather a long list!!)

[wolfracer]

after_shock said:

wolfracer said:

After shock - if you pop off the black clips holding the boot lid lining in place ( will just come off once all clips are popped out) you can get to the wire that connects to the loom - there is a male/female double socket to connect the 2 and can just be pulled apart if you need to get more length of wire freed up.

Thanks for that will have a go on Friday, do the clips that hold the trim in place normally break and if so are they easy to get hold of?

No they don't break, they are just plastic fasteners with straight fins - tool of choice would be long nose pliers to get under both sides of the head and prise off or a big flat bladed screwdriver (ideally 2 for even lift) - slide underneath and twist. if they stick, you can "unscrew" them as generally if you've pulled at an angle the flat fins act like a screw. (trust me, do one and you will see what I mean ) takes all of a couple of minutes to do them all.

[after_shock]

wolfracer said:

after_shock said:

wolfracer said:

After shock - if you pop off the black clips holding the boot lid lining in place ( will just come off once all clips are popped out) you can get to the wire that connects to the loom - there is a male/female double socket to connect the 2 and can just be pulled apart if you need to get more length of wire freed up.

Thanks for that will have a go on Friday, do the clips that hold the trim in place normally break and if so are they easy to get hold of?

No they don't break, they are just plastic fasteners with straight fins - tool of choice would be long nose pliers to get under both sides of the head and prise off or a big flat bladed screwdriver (ideally 2 for even lift) - slide underneath and twist. if they stick, you can "unscrew" them as generally if you've pulled at an angle the flat fins act like a screw. (trust me, do one and you will see what I mean ) takes all of a couple of minutes to do them all.

Thanks for the tip, dont worry will be on here Friday upset when ive broke them all lol

[wolfracer]

after_shock said:

wolfracer said:

after_shock said:

wolfracer said:

After shock - if you pop off the black clips holding the boot lid lining in place ( will just come off once all clips are popped out) you can get to the wire that connects to the loom - there is a male/female double socket to connect the 2 and can just be pulled apart if you need to get more length of wire freed up.

Thanks for that will have a go on Friday, do the clips that hold the trim in place normally break and if so are they easy to get hold of?

No they don't break, they are just plastic fasteners with straight fins - tool of choice would be long nose pliers to get under both sides of the head and prise off or a big flat bladed screwdriver (ideally 2 for even lift) - slide underneath and twist. if they stick, you can "unscrew" them as generally if you've pulled at an angle the flat fins act like a screw. (trust me, do one and you will see what I mean ) takes all of a couple of minutes to do them all.

Thanks for the tip, dont worry will be on here Friday upset when ive broke them all lol

You won't - they bend rather than snap - and there's loads of em!

[rmmackfc]

Regarding the spoiler brakelight...

I had mentioned mine was goosed before going for a service to Darlington. They ordered one in for me.
When I asked about it on arrival, they said it wasn't under Warranty as that item is only covered for 18 months, car was 2years old. They asked if I still wanted... to which I replyed ..er no, not that bothered.

Regarding disks, I was told they need to send them to be skimmed... useless when you live 175 miles away!

Agree, Warranty is a shambles.

[racebreed1]

to be honest personally i would only bother with vauxhall for major engine or drivetrain failure apart from that they seem bloody useless. I am amazes no one has written to Top Gear or Watchdog. Would be good since GM is looking for lots of money from the uk government. The sad fact is that for the amount of these sold it wouldnt throw enough weight for any serious debate!

[paramoreg]

Boosted LS1 said:

paramoreg said:

Have you tried giving Picador (Southampton) a call?


I dropped it off to them again today, might be there for 2-3 weeks probable piston slap so engine out and they might need to replace some bits! They did ask what boost it was running, so I said I thought 9psi, to which they said Vauxhall only cover up to 6psi, so it will be down to them, not vauxhall to cover.

That's interesting, did it have piston slap before?

It was slightly rattly when cold when I first picked it up. Because it was ex-Wortec development car I e-mailed the Wortec boys who said it had always done that and not to worry. The only reason I'm taking it back now is that I feel its gotten louder over the past couple months and when I asked Roger the Monk he noted it was piston slap. Might be the cold weather making it worse of course, but where as the rattling noise went quickly as oil reached 80 or so, it now typically only goes once its been running for a few miles at 110+.

Picador said 6psi was all that Vauxhall would warranty, mines running 9psi so depending what they find, it 'may' need to be covered by Picador sales instead.

Of course the usual GM forums suggest piston slap is common, though less on LS2 and later. However, Picador said they've yet to have an R8 come in with this issue...they'll take out engine, measure the tolerances and we'll see where it goes...hope its just piston/rings if anything and no bore damage!

I'm also waiting for Roger to come back re costs of forged LS3 before deciding whether to go down that route, but the piston slap would need to be sorted whether I kept the current engine or not so thought it best to get sorted by Picador before my 6 months picador warranty runs out!

Edited by paramoreg on Tuesday 10th March 17:32

[paramoreg]

I should add that Steve on Picador's service dept said he thought one or more pistons could have worn due to the additional boost, but we'll see where it goes! Bottom line is they sold me the car 4 months ago and its down to them to fix, at least for the first 6 months!

I had read somewhere on GM parts that the standard pistons were only officially 'rated' for engines up to ~550BHP, but not sure if thats bocks or not!!

I'll have to see if I still have the GM parts docco that said it!

[LC860G]

donk r8 said:

Taking mine down to Picadors on Thursday, will see how they get on and how long I have to wait for parts.......(rather a long list!!)

I'll see you there then.

Mine is in on Thursday for the indicator fix and service, since it's there.

[paramoreg]

from the GMPP_2009_Catalog;

"Pistons
The LS9 is the only production LS engine with forged aluminum pistons; all the other engines use hypereutectic (cast) aluminum alloy pistons—varied mostly by diameter to accommodate various bore sizes. LS cast pistons shouldn’t be used on applications greater than approximately 550 horsepower. The LS7 piston’s inner bracing and larger pin diameter require the use of the matching LS7 connecting rod. The same is true for LS9 pistons; they require the use of LS9 connecting rods."

It says something similar for the standard con rods too...

[Boosted LS1]

If you're running boost then you will put more side loads onto the thrust faces of the pistons. Your pistons will have a teflon pad on each face and this allowed tighter bore to piston clearances as a means to combat the slap found on earlier engines. Slap didn't seem to cause any issues iirc. If they can't get pistons reasonably quickly I have some in stock.

[paramoreg]

ok great thanks Mike. How much are they (including rings?). Something I can bear in mind if Picador say it'll take a while to source. cheers.