Got my Astra SRI 2.2 two and a half years ago with 80k on the clock and no problems whatsoever up until a couple of months ago – only a few days after getting a service the engine won’t start. Battery on its way out it would seem so I get the roadside mechanic to give me a jumpstart. Car is revived however I get the dreaded emissions management light on the dash, never seen it before but the car is driving fine so initially I don’t panic.
(Notice also that i need to keep the electric window button depressed to close the driver's side window and the cruise control is not working)
Anyhow I knew the car had to go back into the shop to get the front shocks replaced (and mounds and brake discs and pads too it turns out) so I get them to check the fault code while they are at it.
P0300 is the fault – Random/Multiple cylinder misfire.. As far I know the car has never misfired though I am no expert it seems like something I would have noticed had it actually happened. My Mechanic agrees, reckons he can’t find anything wrong and that the engine is running beautifully, he even changed the spark plugs and cleaned out the throttle housing in the hope that would fix the issue. Unfortunately within 2 minutes of leaving the shop the EML comes back on.
I drive the car on and off for about 2 weeks and monitor the engine, but notice no problems, even with the EML randomly flashing on the dash, occasionally it would stop flashing but remained illuminated.
Then I get another flat battery. The roadside assistance mechanic says the same thing as the last guy, reckons every TS Astra gets ECU problems around 100,000kms and that I should have bought a Japanese car instead.
At this point I discover this website and all the other ones and have tried desperately to find a solution to this problem. While I notice that everyone else with this car is pretty much dealing with the similar issues I can’t seem to find anyone else with problems that match mine exactly.
As I live in Sydney and don’t get out of the city much I rarely get above 60kph. Finally I get on the freeway and get up to 80kph which is when I notice the engine struggling a bit, I’m getting vibrations from the front end as I can feel it in the throttle and steering. Basically, the engine is not stopping me from going faster but it is certainly reluctant and I get the feeling it wouldn’t be a good idea. This happens literally a day after getting a new battery, new tyres and the obligatory balance and alignment so the vibrations can’t be from the wheels.
I take the car back to the mechanic for a new alternator, genuine of course and decide we should try a new coilpack too, also genuine. Still no joy getting rid of that light though and the same fault code P0300, every bloody time.
Then we remove the ECU and all its bits and send it away for testing and reprogramming. I ask him whether it could be the EGR valve or cat, he reckons they should be fine so I now find myself without a car for 2 weeks while the ECU takes a trip to Melbourne.
According to Holden the ECU is fine but I pretty much expected them to say that, just wish it didn’t cost me another $800 to find that out.
I’m still getting the wobbles and lack of power above 80kph and then, under hard acceleration, I notice sudden and complete loss of power for a split second, followed by a rather unpleasant bunny-hop as it kicks back in again a moment later. Now I am genuinely concerned. This happens again the following day but at a lower speed under normal acceleration, and after it kicks back in the throttle seems to be more sensitive, like I suddenly gained an extra 20 horses. At this point I buy an OBD2 adaptor and I start running Torque on my Nexus 7 whenever I drive so I can clear that code and monitor my engines behaviour in realtime. Still no new clues though.
I purchase a blanking plate and cheater (thanks guys!) and did this particular job myself a couple of days ago. The engine is now running a lot better. More power and sounds better too, and acceleration has been smoother than ever. The EML is still coming back with the same fault code of course but it is staying off for longer periods now. I almost thought it was gone for good today when I drove for nearly half an hour without it coming on, but alas, there it is again for no particular reason it just keeps turning back on whenever it feels like it. Such a shame as the engine really is feeling so much better, though I did get it up to 100kph and experienced the same shuddering coming from the engine as well as that awful flatspot followed by bunny-hop.
I am not sure what to make of these symptoms. Injectors? Pre-cat? Timing chain? I’ve had a timing chain go before – not pretty and I really don’t want that to happen to this car, I love driving it and I have spent a small fortune on it in the past 2 months so I absolutely want to get to the bottom of this, but at this point I am out of ideas and hoping for some advice before I take it back to the shop.
And sorry about the length of the post, thought it best to give you all the details up front.
(Notice also that i need to keep the electric window button depressed to close the driver's side window and the cruise control is not working)
Anyhow I knew the car had to go back into the shop to get the front shocks replaced (and mounds and brake discs and pads too it turns out) so I get them to check the fault code while they are at it.
P0300 is the fault – Random/Multiple cylinder misfire.. As far I know the car has never misfired though I am no expert it seems like something I would have noticed had it actually happened. My Mechanic agrees, reckons he can’t find anything wrong and that the engine is running beautifully, he even changed the spark plugs and cleaned out the throttle housing in the hope that would fix the issue. Unfortunately within 2 minutes of leaving the shop the EML comes back on.
I drive the car on and off for about 2 weeks and monitor the engine, but notice no problems, even with the EML randomly flashing on the dash, occasionally it would stop flashing but remained illuminated.
Then I get another flat battery. The roadside assistance mechanic says the same thing as the last guy, reckons every TS Astra gets ECU problems around 100,000kms and that I should have bought a Japanese car instead.
At this point I discover this website and all the other ones and have tried desperately to find a solution to this problem. While I notice that everyone else with this car is pretty much dealing with the similar issues I can’t seem to find anyone else with problems that match mine exactly.
As I live in Sydney and don’t get out of the city much I rarely get above 60kph. Finally I get on the freeway and get up to 80kph which is when I notice the engine struggling a bit, I’m getting vibrations from the front end as I can feel it in the throttle and steering. Basically, the engine is not stopping me from going faster but it is certainly reluctant and I get the feeling it wouldn’t be a good idea. This happens literally a day after getting a new battery, new tyres and the obligatory balance and alignment so the vibrations can’t be from the wheels.
I take the car back to the mechanic for a new alternator, genuine of course and decide we should try a new coilpack too, also genuine. Still no joy getting rid of that light though and the same fault code P0300, every bloody time.
Then we remove the ECU and all its bits and send it away for testing and reprogramming. I ask him whether it could be the EGR valve or cat, he reckons they should be fine so I now find myself without a car for 2 weeks while the ECU takes a trip to Melbourne.
According to Holden the ECU is fine but I pretty much expected them to say that, just wish it didn’t cost me another $800 to find that out.
I’m still getting the wobbles and lack of power above 80kph and then, under hard acceleration, I notice sudden and complete loss of power for a split second, followed by a rather unpleasant bunny-hop as it kicks back in again a moment later. Now I am genuinely concerned. This happens again the following day but at a lower speed under normal acceleration, and after it kicks back in the throttle seems to be more sensitive, like I suddenly gained an extra 20 horses. At this point I buy an OBD2 adaptor and I start running Torque on my Nexus 7 whenever I drive so I can clear that code and monitor my engines behaviour in realtime. Still no new clues though.
I purchase a blanking plate and cheater (thanks guys!) and did this particular job myself a couple of days ago. The engine is now running a lot better. More power and sounds better too, and acceleration has been smoother than ever. The EML is still coming back with the same fault code of course but it is staying off for longer periods now. I almost thought it was gone for good today when I drove for nearly half an hour without it coming on, but alas, there it is again for no particular reason it just keeps turning back on whenever it feels like it. Such a shame as the engine really is feeling so much better, though I did get it up to 100kph and experienced the same shuddering coming from the engine as well as that awful flatspot followed by bunny-hop.
I am not sure what to make of these symptoms. Injectors? Pre-cat? Timing chain? I’ve had a timing chain go before – not pretty and I really don’t want that to happen to this car, I love driving it and I have spent a small fortune on it in the past 2 months so I absolutely want to get to the bottom of this, but at this point I am out of ideas and hoping for some advice before I take it back to the shop.
And sorry about the length of the post, thought it best to give you all the details up front.