Holden Commodore Engine Problems

Yours is not the only report we have had, we believe that oil consumption is a serious issue with the Holden V6 and something must be done about it. To say that the consumption you report is within Holden's specification is ludicrous. We have contacted Holden in an effort to confirm there is a solution being worked on.

There does seem to be a problem with high oil usage with the Alloytec V6 in the Commodore, and you have to wonder if it's being addressed. We'd be interested in hearing from others who are having the same issue.

Using 5-7 litres per 15,000 km is certainly not normal. Like you I would not expect to have to add oil between services. Ramp up you anger and demand the engine on your car be rebuilt or replaced.

We have had a few reports of oil burning with the Holden V6, and it would seem yours is another one. To start with run a check of the consumption by topping it up and then checking it weekly for a period, say 5000 km, and measure how much oil has been used. If it is high, as you suspect, take your findings to your dealer and ask for some action to be taken to fix it.

We have heard of reports of stretched timing chains on the V6 Holden engine. We are aware that Holden has replaced some timing chains under warranty; so lodge a claim with Holden requesting they pay for the cost of the replacement.

It's not that unusual for a coil to fail, but to repeatedly fail like that is unusual and I would be looking for issues other than the coil. The most common issue is the crank angle sensor; it would be worth making sure all is well with that.

We contacted Holden about your concerns and received the following response from its spokesman John Taylor. John told us that there was no direct relationship between oil consumption and engine pinging. He went on to say that if there is a pinging condition affecting your car then the Holden dealer could address it and they would be happy to put you in touch with one of the company's Customer Assistance Service representatives to do that. Should you want this to happen get back to us and we will advise Holden to set that process in motion. As to your assertion that "Holden has relaxed the tolerances on the pistons in the late model Commodores (SIDI engines), allowing oil to get past and gum up the motor with carbon", John denied that was the case, saying that Holden has not 'relaxed' any tolerances of pistons/rings that could then cause the engine to 'gum up'. Again he made the offer of putting you in touch with CAS to discuss your concerns.

It doesn't seem to be a major problem, so it could be that it needs a tune-up. Perhaps fit new spark plugs, clean the throttle body and the injectors.

It sounds like an electrical problem, but being intermittent it can be hard to trace, as you have discovered. I would be checking the crank angle sensor and its connections.

As it's not a consistent problem you would have to think there's an issue such as a connection or a sensor that's faulty. The factory system used by Holden is an Impco one, designed and developed by Impco for Holden. I would bypass the Holden dealer and go to an accredited Impco dealer and have them check it for you.