My VE SS

[BlackOne]

Well I dropped the car into the dealership this morning to get a few things looked at.

- ESP activates for no reason intermittently.

- Rear tyres are worn, almost bald on the outside. Left is worst than right. Car only done 13,600klms. :eek: I have asked to dealership to cover the cost of 2 new tyres. Let's see what they say.

- Experiencing "flaring" when the transmission changes from 2nd to 3rd. I've heard that a reflash of the software will fix this. The guy at the dealership said it also might be a solenoid. Let's see what they say and do to fix this.


Overall I'm very happy with this car even though there has been a long list of minor things that required attention and fixing. You have to expect this I guess with the first series of a new model.

Stay tuned to hear what the dealership says about the tyres. :D

[Tigerv8]

Yes, there are usually problems associated with owning a new model. I was lucky, buying a series II VT. In 7 1/2 years I have only had to replace the power steering pump, which I did myself, and the usual lousy Holden hose clips which are poor quality. Since using good quality clips, nothing has leaked. I hope you don't have chronic, ongoing problems which make owning your car a big headache.

Any other VE owners out there care to relate their experiences to date?

[BlackOne]

Fingers crossed.

I've dealt with the same dealership for the last 9 years and have bought 14 commodores from them, 6 of them for me personally so they know they need to look after me. I'm sure these problems will get fixed one way or another.

It's just a little bit annoying having to take it back to them numerous times in such a short time of owning the car.

All previous commodores I've owned have been series II.

[BlackOne]

*Update*

Received a phone call from the dealership today informing me that Holden will be replacing my two rear tyres free of charge. My car goes in on Monday to have the new tyres put on. :D

Then Wednesday it's booked in the have some King Springs put on and lowered 35mm all round. Can't wait for that !!

[Red_Ice]

thats great blackone

asll ya know is the gearbox fixed and it'll be apples

cheers
redice

[BlackOne]

I dropped my car in to the dealership this morning to get the rear tyres replaced courtesy of Holden. :D

Also getting the 15,000 km service done whilst they have the car. For those VE SS owners out there, it always pay to do some homework on the cost of servicing.

Red_Ice had his VE SS serviced last week at a cost of $230, my dealership quoted me $275. When I said to them that a mate had it done for $230 at another dealership, they matched it without hesitation. :D

Now all I'm waiting on is Wednesday to come around as the car is getting lowered and new springs fitted. Yeah baby !!

[hazzat]

Good news about the tyres and $230 for a service, now that's not bad either. I enquired about the software upgrade on the transmision and there is an upgrade so hopefully this will fix the problem.
Will be nice to see it lowered too

[Tigerv8]

BlacOne,
I'm glad to see you got a couple of new tyres for free and that some other issues were fixed. What was the problem making the tyres wear out? I'm also glad to see you are not going mad with the lowering. Lowered cars look cool but are not practical. I use my car for interstate trips and have you been up the New England Highway to Queensland lately? If my car was any lower than the factory set FE2 , the trip would be really rough. A mate of mine lowered his Monaro about 70mm then drove to the Gold Coast via Pacific Highway. He has vowed never to do it again as it was too uncomfortable and the car copped a pounding. And the New England Highway makes the Pacific Highway look like a billiard table!

[BlackOne]

Hi Tiger,

The new rear tyres have now been fitted and I had the car lowered on Wednesday with some new King Springs. Only had it lowered by 30mm all around and I must say it looks much better.

The difference when driving now is incredible. Much better in handling of course and to my surprise the ride is actually smoother than the original factory springs even though the new springs a 30% stiffer.

Overall I am very happy with it.

As for the abnormal wear on the rear tyres, the guy at the suspension place who fitted the springs, he said the rear was out of alignment by almost 3/4 of an inch. He says it should be perfect now but have to take it back in 5,000km and have him check it to make sure.

[shannon]

Good to hear BLACKONE that they replaced your tyres.

I got my tyres rotated at 10,000k's.
The rear only had about 30% left on them and the front were at about 80%.
They were evenly worn across though not just on the outside.
I'll be suprised if i get more than 25,000k's out of a set which is not to pleasing considering the $750 per tyre.
Wonder if you can get 20" retreads:)

[shannon]

Whats the cost to get the VE lowered?

I want to get mine done soon but i'm a little reluctant as some of the boatramps where i put the jet ski in are pretty shallow. You have to put your back tyres right on the waters edge and the water comes pretty close to the tailpipes. I'm worried that getting it lowered may limit its use as the jet ski tow vehicle.

While i'm on the subject i'll share my story bout the time my brother was helping me guide the jet ski into the water, telling me to keep coming, keep coming. Little did i know that he wasnt looking at the car but at the back of the trailer. I knew something was wrong when i heard what sounded like a speed boat idling behind me and my brother telling me to go forward, go forward. All four tailpipes were blowing bubbles.

Needless to say that as much as i like to make my little brother feel usefull and that his help is appreciated, i now tell him to piss off and sit on the sand until i've finished putting the jet ski in.

Rust started to appear bout 3 days later on the welds where the tailpipe meets the muffler. Got the rust converter on straight away followed by some metal polish and this looks like it cleaned it up. Luckily the muffler and tailpipe are stainless.

[BlackOne]

Cost to get mine lowered was $600 drive in drive out.

[munky]

"I want to get mine done soon but i'm a little reluctant as some of the boatramps where i put the jet ski in are pretty shallow. You have to put your back tyres right on the waters edge and the water comes pretty close to the tailpipes."


Slam it 70mm, then all you need to stop the bubbles is lengthen the draw bar on the jetski trailer. Problem solved, have your cake and eat it too.

[BlackOne]

Slam it 70mm, then all you need to stop the bubbles is lengthen the draw bar on the jetski trailer. Problem solved, have your cake and eat it too.

70mm is too much on the VE's Aaron as it effects the ESP. Any lower than 40mm after market, will require the ESP to be re-calibrated from what I have been told. Very expensive too apparently.

[shannon]

Slam it 70mm, then all you need to stop the bubbles is lengthen the draw bar on the jetski trailer. Problem solved, have your cake and eat it too.

Hadn't thought of lengthening the draw bar. Thanks for the idea:cool:

[munky]

70mm is too much on the VE's Aaron as it effects the ESP. Any lower than 40mm after market, will require the ESP to be re-calibrated from what I have been told. Very expensive too apparently.
Blackone,
I wasn't being too serious about the 70mm although I'd like to see more cars on the road dragging on the ground. I'd love to do the VN like one of those mexican low riders, including the pin striping.
P.S What does ESP stand for? I'm quite sure it's not Extra Sensory Perception is it and why does lowering past 40mm affect it?

[BlackOne]

Blackone,
I wasn't being too serious about the 70mm although I'd like to see more cars on the road dragging on the ground. I'd love to do the VN like one of those mexican low riders, including the pin striping.
P.S What does ESP stand for? I'm quite sure it's not Extra Sensory Perception is it and why does lowering past 40mm affect it?

ESP is the Electronic Stability Program on all VE's. According to the dealership, the ESP has a tolerance of around 40mm when lowering the vehicle. Any lower than that and the ESP apparently gets confused and can fail when you really need it to kick in. Any lower than 40mm and they say you need to have the ESP re-calibrated.

[shannon]

I thought it was Extra Sliperry Protection. At least thats what a box of condoms i recently purchased had on the packaging "Now Contains ESP"...who knows, maybe they'll even help me from losing control:)

[BlackOne]

PMSL @ Shannon.