Out of warranty claim for Vauxhall Corsa camshaft

[IainHL]

 

Iain HL - Glad to hear you are getting 100%. I was told 14 days but it was more like 21 -28. We did get a phone call after about 14 days to say it would be on the way soon.

 

Thanks for the response bluesilver. I guess I am just going to have to be a bit more patient! What I find so frustrating about this is that it was 3 weeks between agreeing the full repayment and receiving the call saying the finance had been raised, and it is now another 3 weeks since that call. The cynic in me says that Vauxhall are deliberately slowing the process down to minimise the impact on their cash flow.

 

hi all

 

have just recieved my chegue from vauxhall, full payment.

 

phil

 

Hello Phil, again could I ask you what sort of timescales were involved in your case?

[philipaylen]

Thanks for the response bluesilver. I guess I am just going to have to be a bit more patient! What I find so frustrating about this is that it was 3 weeks between agreeing the full repayment and receiving the call saying the finance had been raised, and it is now another 3 weeks since that call. The cynic in me says that Vauxhall are deliberately slowing the process down to minimise the impact on their cash flow.

 

 

 

Hello Phil, again could I ask you what sort of timescales were involved in your case?

 

hi Bluesilver1 i have just been checking and i first got in touch with Vauxhall Customer Care the first week in Feburary and they responed straight away asking for the service history which i do not have as i service the car myself. I then wait several weeks before chasing them, each time i got through i was fogged off with any old answer, 'the person was not in', 'the case was still being considered'.

Then out of the blue got a answer phone message to say they would pay in full but it would take about six weeks, the cheque arrived last week.

 

Best of luck to you all.

[mattyprice4004]

After reading this thread, I'm glad I own a diesel MG ZS! What a shocking tale...

[sailor sam]

After reading this thread, I'm glad I own a diesel MG ZS! What a shocking tale...

 

When I was young a foolish, I raced a 2.0ltr MG Maestro EFI (i think thats what they were called) away from a set of traffic lights in my Bravo HGT. Couldn't believe the amount of smoke the Maestro bellowed out when the engine blew! I thought my rear view mirrors had steamed up! Young boy racer had obviously pushed it beyond it's capabilities.

 

Please Note

 

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

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Please click my reputation 'star' button at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

 

Edited May 27, 2011 by sailor sam

[lesleyrm]

My daughters 2005 :-xcorsa has gone faulty on the camshaft as well its only done 40K miles, they tell me as hers is a 1.0 litre and not part of the recall they had for 1.2 and 1.4 engines, surely a camshaft is same for all vehicles or am I being silly thinking like that. Could someone tell me if they know of any 1 litre engines that have had the problem with the camshaft as this is going to cost a fortune to get fixed in fact probably more than the car is actually worth

[IainHL]

Hello Lesley,

 

Unfortunately (for you) a camshaft is not the same for all vehicles. Each engine would have its own unique camshaft design.

 

Certainly the discussion above relates only to 1.2 litre and 1.4 litre engines. I suggest you take a look around for vehicle specific forums to see if there is any history of this problem on the 1.0 litre Corsa.

 

It may well be that you are just unlucky to have suffered a rare failure, rather than being the victim of a systemic fault.

Edited September 27, 2011 by IainHL

[IainHL]

Further to the above post I have found this thread where someone seems to indicate a similar problem with the 1.0 litre engine: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?303402-Corsa-engine-failure-after-garage-replaced-timing-chain

[cbraid29]

Hello

I am a junior at this ,

I have been a bit concerned because of the number of post about the Camshaft breaking, and was wondering if I could avoid this from happening ?. I don’t know much about cars and I have bought a Vauxhall corsa 2.1 sxi 3dr,( year 2003).

The car has done 40000 miles and is driving fine, However is there anything I could do to avoid this from happening, I would really appreciate the advice as I am absolutely broke J

Thanks

Chris

[heliosuk]

Yes there is. Get the cam carrier bolts checked by Vauxhall. It might be free if your car falls within the vin range. It's not the cam that fails but the retaining bolts. You then have evidence that they checked them so in the event of a failure you have something to hit back with.

[cbraid29]

Thanks Heloisuk,

 

Its from a 2nd hand dear over in England so Ill have to get it inspected at home Ireland might cost a bit , But I well know that some mechanics can be cowboys, however I appreciate the advice Thanks J

[Mrs MA S]

Hello All

 

I have just registered on this site after browsing Google to find any infro on camshaft problems with Vauxhall Corsa.

 

I am a 64 year old retired woman who purchased my '55 Corsa Design 1.2i when it was 6 months old with 26 miles on the clock. At 6 years old it has now done approx 23000 miles. Being retired my car is usually just used locally although I do on occassion take longer holiday trips.

 

I unfortunately had the dreadful experience of the having to be towed to a garage yesterday by the RAC after my car lost power on a busy local dual carriageway - need to say I was in the outside lane at the time !

 

My car has been serviced annually by a local garage not by Vauxhall agents but I have kept all receipted invoices for this. It has also passed the MOT test swith little work required.

 

I was informed by the RAC man, later confirmed by my garage, that the camshaft had broken and "I was in for an expensive repair"! I was horrified to be given an estimate of approx £1400 for repair. This is a cost I cannot really afford but which I reluctantly agreed to as the car is only worth scrap otherwise.

 

I decided to contact Vauxhall for advice but have had great difficulty in finding any contact addresses or phone numbers so I was delighted to see reference to a "Max" and an email address for him. I will try that. I have had no contact from Vauxhall about checking out camshafts up to this time.

 

I would really appreciate some advice on how to proceed as I have little knowledge of cars or their components. I only know how to drive them !

 

This is my 6th new Corsa - all usually replaced after 3 years but thought I'd be safe enough to keep this one for a bit longer as it has so little mileage. I am so disappointed in Vauxhall especially after reading about the extent of this problem.

 

Thank you.

[mrdee0]

Hi

I had a scary moment driving on the motorway-lost all power- lucky I didnt crash!!

 

On coming home the cam top was opened and the cam bolts were loose and the cam shaft had snapped! Garage are quoting £1000 to check everything out etc

 

This shouldn't happen!!! I can not afford to repair this car- I have taken car of this car and this has come so unexpectedly. It is a 2006 corsa design 1.2 twinport with 42k miles...

 

I feel sick. This is a known fault and yet vauxhall have not told people to check the bolts until its too late

 

I have emailed them- they probably wont do anything as I do all my own servicing to ensure everything is tip top. No servicing actually says to remove cam cover to check bolts does it...

[loto]

Hi All

It's my first time on the forum, so please be gentle with me:wink:

 

I have read this thread with a lot of interest, and I am so sorry so many people have had such a horrible experience with this problem. On a more selfish note, I want to try and not have the same issue myself.

 

The thing is, my wife has a 05 plate, Corsa C, 1.2 Twinport with the Z 12 XEP engine, and lately we have notice a loud rattle from the top of the engine on start up. The engine returns to a smooth running sound within a few seconds. The noise is getting louder, and I am getting very concerned that it may be a precursor to a total camshaft failure which so many other people have unfortunately had to deal with.

 

My question is, is this likely to be the case and, if so, what can I do to prevent it.

 

I would be very grateful for any advice at all on the issue.

 

Many thanks

[mattyprice4004]

DO NOT DRIVE IT!

 

Take the cam cover off, and check to see if the bolts are loose. Once again, do NOT drive the car until you've done that.

[loto]

Thanks for the advice mate. The car is now off road and I will be getting the bolts checked today.

 

It seems crazy that this problem clearly exists with so many cars yet Vauxhall do not appear to want to prevent a major and pricey breakdown by advising people to simply get the bolts tightened/replaced:mad2: