Astra - Any Common Problems?

Curran

Hi folks,

Just a quick query!

Thinking about buying a 2nd car (for herself) and wanted something reasonably sized and fairly cheap. Been looking around and seen a few Focus and Astra's.
Had a Focus myself before and never had a problem with it and havent heard many complains about them in gerenal - obviously some people get a nightmare car and have loads of problems with them, but in general they seem reliable.

Just wondering about the Astra 98 / 99 model - is there any common problems to watch out for?
I've heard the head gasket is one to watch out for in the 98 / 99, and the wiper motor.
Any others to look out for, or anything that should be done by a certain milage, eg timing belt at 60K or whatever!

Cheers in advance for your time and advice!

DaveD

I had a '01 Astra Sport. Power steering pump went on it just after the warranty was up. Someone in work also had a 98 Mk4 Astra and her pump went too and also someone i know had a '00 Corsa and again the power steering pump went.

So if you are looking at Astras just keep an eye out for heavy steering and make sure you get at least a 6 month warranty. Other than that i had no other problems.

HTH

Captain Slow IRL

the newer model astras (99 on) need a new timing belt every 35-40k miles. if this snaps, you'll have a big bill from your garage.
ignitions coils are also a common problem with opels - eratic idle is an early warning sign, getting worse as time goes by.
gearbox's can also give trouble, check it goes in and out of gear smoothly.

focus's are a better choice of car - i work for ford and don't see a lot of problematic focus's coming in; see more astra's though!
coil pack can give trouble with these as well, but most should have been repaired under warranty or recall by now.
water-pumps can also give trouble around 80k mark, but timing belt is due to be changed by then, so it's not a massive inconvenience.

if you want a car that'll rarely give you trouble, get a honda or toyota:)

coolmoose

ex girlfriend has a 99 astra h/back, power steering pump has gone twice on her in the past 2 years. other than that, no problems with the car.

friend has 01 corsa, immaculate car, never given her trouble.

Curran

Cheers for the posts guys!

Anybody else know of any other problems with the Astra's or Opel's in general?

cee_jay

The windows fog up terrible when its raining outside!!!
I always drive with my window open, and 2 of my cousins have Astra's too - and same problem with them

mondeoman

Curran wrote:

Cheers for the posts guys!

Anybody else know of any other problems with the Astra's or Opel's in general?

The waterpumps need replacing with every timing belt.my G/F's dad has a 2000 1.4 astra & the waterpump was leaking at 30'000 miles,was noticed when the T/Belt was been replaced.
I think headgaskets are a problem on 'ecotec' engines.;)

Curran

So basically im watching out for the timing belt, water pump and head gasket.

Anybody got any others to add to the list of regular / common faults?

kluivert

All the common problems with the Astra are easily fixed.

I have a 1999 Opel Astra 66.5k on the clock and runs like a dream.
I get 39-41mpg and on long trips it shoots up to 45-47mpg.
It doesnt like town driving where your mpg will go down quick enough.

Handing and performance is good for this type of car. I have gone to fast around unexpected corners and the car has always managed to keep all four wheels on the ground. Abit of understeer but thats due to cheap crap tyres.

Performance is good, overtaking moves are easy enough. If you about 45mph and you want to over take put the car in fourth and go to about 4.5k on the rev counter, the car has a nice sporty note to the engine.

Common problems. The Ecotec engine has a design fault on the fourth cylinder on the block, meaning that the head gasket is thin around this part (left hand side) and is prone to leak. I knew this when I bought my car second hand two years ago and changed the head gasket when it started to leak oil. If it starts to leak oil change it straight away.

The water pump must be changed with the timing belt, the initial 60k change has been reduced to am not sure but I changed mind at 70k.

EGR Value can give problems on high mileage cars where the car would not idle properly and stall at lights (where ever there was low revs) simple EGR value change but costly.

The car can tick loudly although this doesnt come from the engine. It comes from a value right behind the black air box, its the carbon cannister solenoid or the purge value. can be annoying the listen to when idle but you can change it for a new one, because it ticks doesnt mean its broke.

Ignition coil packs may go in time thats because the car doesnt have ignition leads, same problem with many cars like the Golf due to wear and tear.

As said above the window fog up badly when it rainging, so either put on the heat or open the window, I have fitted wind deflectors to the front windows so i can open the window slightly and no rain can come in.

The reason I bought this car is IMO the engine is proven and strong. You may encounter other problems but you will on a car that is 6/7 years old. My car humes thats no lie it sounds better than most 2/3 year old cars as it gets a service every 6k miles. Extreme I know but thats the recommendation in the Haynes manual. and it works, it helps the car runnign very smooth.

Any questions fire away or visit www.astra-sport.co.uk loads of technical resources and all members are devoted Astra Fans. Very good site in general.

Or for a full run down on the Astra visit http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/index.php?url=/carbycar/index.htm

Ay Cee

Is there any difference between a Vauxhall & Opel Astra bar the badge?

kluivert

Just the badge.

And the plant that they are made in but everything is same.

Ay Cee

Do zee Germans make 'em better than the Brits? Or is there a difference?