Holden Colorado 2015 Problems

The biggest issue owners have experienced with this car is a tendency for the engine to consume oil and require a top-up between oil changes. Holden addressed this by changing the specification of the oil from a 5W30 to a 5W40 oil and released a new oil cap design. You’ll know if the new-design oil cap is fitted to your car as the owner’s manual will have been altered by a Holden dealer to reflect the new oil specification.

Beyond that, the biggest driveline complaint seems to be the noise generated by the engine. However, this seems to be a natural by-product of the 2.8-llitre turbo-diesel fitted to the Colorado 7 and is not a fault per se.

The starter motor would be a very good place to start looking for the problem. If the battery checks out (and that presumes you’ve load tested it, not just run a voltmeter across its terminals) and the addition of a second jump battery only just turned the engine over, then, the starter motor is a likely suspect.

But don’t forget things like a poor earth somewhere on the car or a dodgy ignition or starter button. Once the engine is running, check the power going into the battery. You should be looking at between 13.2 and 14.5 volts going into the battery with the engine running if the alternator is pulling its weight.

Just because the battery indicator is showing green, does not mean categorically that it’s in good health. It can produce a surface charge that might show 12 volts with no load on it, but can fall to its knees when you load it up with the starter motor.

A diesel that will turn over but not fire will often have a problem with its fuel system as the cause. You may need to check the fuel pressure and the pump itself, but other causes can be blocked or worn injectors and blocked or dirty fuel filters. A car with faulty glow-plugs can also be difficult to start from cold. But even things like a blocked air filter or something else fundamental to the car's operation could be the cause. And while it sounds simple, is there actually fuel in the tank?

If the solution doesn't present itself simply, the best advice is to have the car electronically scanned to check for fault codes the on-board computer will have logged.

A wobble or vibration big enough to be felt through the floor that suddenly occurs for no reason, can often be traced back to a wheel balance issue. If the wobble is worst through the car's steering wheel, it's likely to be a front-wheel balance issue, otherwise we'd be looking at the rear wheels.

The generally terrible state of our roads at the moment is probable cause for this, and a decent impact with a pothole can be enough to dislodge the small weights on a car's wheel that make it balanced and, therefore, rotate smoothly. When you consider how fast a wheel is turning at 100km/h, you can imagine that a small imbalance can be enough to produce a big wobble.

The good news is that this is a simple fix. A visit to a tyre specialist will soon determine of a wheel balance problem is the issue and it can be fixed quickly and cheaply with the replacement of the small, lead weights which are stuck to the car's rim. While the wheels are being checked, it's a good idea to examine the tyres, too. A tyre with structural damage or a flat spot an also lead to this type of problem.

If this doesn't turn out to be the cause of the wobble, you then need to move on to other components like the driveshaft and universal joints and even suspension bushes and shock absorbers.

It would be worth talking tom Consumer Affairs over this one, as well as asking the auto specialist who made the diagnosis whether they thought the problem was a pre-existing condition or not. I know that in most states and territories, second-hand commercial vehicles don't carry a statutory warranty even when bought from a licensed dealer. But the reality is not as simple as no-warranty-bad-luck.

If the vehicle was not fit for purpose (as the legislation quaintly puts it) and the gearbox fault was not disclosed when the purchase was made (if indeed it existed back then) then you may have some recourse in terms of getting the problem fixed or some compensation.

These disputes are looked at strictly on a case-by-case basis, but if the car was already damaged and you were not told about it, nor the price-tag reflected it, then you may have a leg to stand on.

Failures of brake-light switches is quite common in modern cars. This is the tiny switch that is located either on the brake pedal itself or somewhere near the brake master cylinder that senses when you’ve applied the brakes and switches the brake lights on to warn following vehicles that you’re slowing.

In the Colorado’s case, the switch is located on the brake pedal, so you’ll need to locate the old one and replace it with a new unit. Most mechanical workshops can do this quickly and cheaply, but if you want to tackle it yourself, the replacement switch can be bought at a parts store or online.

You’re on the right track by asking about the gear-stick and its linkages; either of those two things is almost certain to be the cause of your problem. The gearstick itself needs to pivot in two planes, so there’s always scope for wear to develop in those joints and create the sloppy shift action you’re experiencing. In fact, because the shifter on your car bolts directly on to the gearbox – with no external linkages – wear in the shifter pivots is a very good bet as the cause.

You can remove the shift lever, take it apart and replace the bushes that allow the shifter to move and select each gear. That should tighten up the shift action and give you much better feel for what’s going on. The other possibility is that the shifter has become loose where it bolts on to the gearbox, or the rubber gasket that sits between the shifter and the transmission has perished or failed, allowing movement to occur.

Water shouldn’t get into the diff by merely driving in the rain; the seals should be good enough to keep water from getting into the diff even when driving through creeks and water crossings. Something more than a dud seal is at play here. Have the dealer make a more thorough check of the diff, and don’t pay for a replacement until the cause of the leakage is established.

Halfway on the dipstick suggests that it doesn’t need topping up, try waiting until it gets to the lower mark on the dipstick and see how far that takes you. Holden, or any other carmaker, won't tell you how much oil consumption is ok with their engines, but all engines use some oil. There are two basic reasons an engine might use oil, leaks, or burning. Leaks can usually be seen and easily fixed, burning isn’t so obvious and is more costly to fix. If it is burning oil you should see some evidence in the form of blue smoke from the exhaust. Go along with Holden’s recommendation and do the test.

It’s on the surfaces most exposed to the sun, and it probably a problem with the clear coat. Have your Holden dealer check it, and perhaps show it to a painter, or pant specialist to assess the problem.