Puzzler for the car people/mechanics.....

Flash In The Pan

Flash In The Pan

Suspended / Banned
Messages
27,793
Edit My Images
Yes
Vauxhall Antara (Chevrolet Captiva) that will only drive in 2wd and won't engage AWD, any thoughts?

I've got a theory about what's causing it, but it's not a vehicle I know much about, so can anyone shed any light on what it might be?
 
I thought the Antara was electronically controlled and will only engage AWD when conditions require it, otherwise it is a full time 2WD vehicle.

Is it not engaging when on loose/slippery surfaces?

edit -

It seems the lesser powered model is 2wd only and the other is full time 4wd. Are we talking about the latter model here?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
stupar said:
I thought the Antara was electronically controlled and will only engage AWD when conditions require it, otherwise it is a full time 2WD vehicle.

Is it not engaging when on loose/slippery surfaces?

edit -

It seems the lesser powered model is 2wd only and the other is full time 4wd. Are we talking about the latter model here?
Click to expand...

From what I gather it's the AWD model, which is, as you say, electronically controlled, normally running in FWD only....
 
What 4wd system does it use? Is it like the old Calibra 4wd system which has hydraulics and all sorts of troublesome gubbins?
 
srichards said:
What 4wd system does it use? Is it like the old Calibra 4wd system which has hydraulics and all sorts of troublesome gubbins?
Click to expand...

Don't t so, from what I gather it's electronic...

joebh123 said:
Unless your losing traction, it shouldn't engage AWD?

Joe
Click to expand...

Correct, at all othr times it is 2WD, the fault was described to me as being with the propshaft, but I'm not convinced...
 
Sorry, need really understand the question - Its not engaging at any time even losing traction?

If so, I would guess there is a problem with the Transfer box.

Joe
 
joebh123 said:
Sorry, need really understand the question - Its not engaging at any time even losing traction?

If so, I would guess there is a problem with the Transfer box.

Joe
Click to expand...

From what I gather it won't go into AWD at all and, as I say, it's not a vehicle I'm familiar with, so I'm wondering if anyone had any experience of this particular vehicle/system/fault :shrug:
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Don't t so, from what I gather it's electronic...



Correct, at all othr times it is 2WD, the fault was described to me as being with the propshaft, but I'm not convinced...
Click to expand...


Being as a prop shaft is just a long strong metal spinning shaft, well I don't know cars but I know mechanics and if a garage had said prop shaft to be as a reason for not getting AWD Id quickly leave and find another mechanic.

:shrug: :thumbs:

assuming the car hadn't been driven hard off road recently...
 
Last edited:
If it is like Audi's haldex viscous coupling then the special oil would need changing at around 40k mles.
Maybe the oil has gone off, lost viscosity so won't transfer drive anymore???

Mand
 
Forbiddenbiker said:
Very rare and likely to be extremely noisy!!

..unless it has some hydro coupling down it thats gone?
Click to expand...

There are no noises coming off the car and seemingly it drives perfectly apart from the aforementioned problem.....:thinking:
 
It is a Poxhall,nuff said..............:)
 
If it's "electronically" controlled, has it had a flat battery at some time in its life and want a reprogramme?
 
Forbiddenbiker said:
You need to get under and have a look at those vacuum hoses ...whats your theory Graham?
Click to expand...

I don't know if there actually are any hoses, in fact apart from it being electronic and part-time I know nowt about it and I suspect a look underneath will leave me none the wiser.

Yves Geza said:
If it's "electronically" controlled, has it had a flat battery at some time in its life and want a reprogramme?
Click to expand...


That's entirely possible, though the vehicle is being offered up (and the fault disclosed as being the prop) by a main Vauxhall agent, so if it was something simple like needing a reprogramme they'd simply have done it, and not be trying to offload it for half bottom book.

I can't find any incidents of similar online, which is leading me to suspect it either needs something expensive and electronic replaced or the main dealer couldn't get to the bottom of the fault at all, despite having all the requisite equipment to hand.....
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Correct, at all othr times it is 2WD, the fault was described to me as being with the propshaft, but I'm not convinced...
Click to expand...

I wouldn't be either, short of it falling off I can't think what issue a probshaft could give to stop it engaging 4wd! :thinking:

I'd be thinking along the lines of sensor or solenoid failure if it's electronic, or even broken wire. Vauxhall/Chevrolet are hardly known for high quality electronics!
 
Flash In The Pan said:
the vehicle is being offered up (and the fault disclosed as being the prop) by a main Vauxhall agent, so if it was something simple like needing a reprogramme they'd simply have done it, and not be trying to offload it for half bottom book.

I can't find any incidents of similar online, which is leading me to suspect it either needs something expensive and electronic replaced or the main dealer couldn't get to the bottom of the fault at all, despite having all the requisite equipment to hand.....
Click to expand...

I suppose the other thing to bear in mind, is if the main dealer is going to spend time trying to find out what the problem is, this is going to cost them in labour time, which they probably won't be able to recoup against the sale if they do manage to get it fixed ?

I suspect you are correct though, either they don't know what the problem is or they do know and it is an expensive fix.

Unless they are offering it at a serious reduced price, I wouldn't be looking at it further...
 
Last edited:
A friend of a friend had one of these and I was quite impressed with the thing - I initially thought it was a VW. Not as spacious inside as you might expect and the diesel fuel economy seems to get complaints but I could probably overlook that for half bottom book!

You may have seen this and I don't know if it's of any use but the owner's manual suggests that there is a warning light for AWD failure and a corresponding fuse for the system:

http://www.vauxhall.co.uk/content/d... Manuals/antara/AntaraOwnersManualJan2009.pdf

A couple of obvious questions to the main dealer though - how do they know the AWD is not working (i.e. how are they testing it) and is there any chance of speaking to the previous owner either from VX or the V5?
 
Check if any fuses have blown, you could dis-engage the old vauxhall 4wd on the cav and calibra turbos with fuse 19, worth a look and see if theres any blown.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
I can't find any incidents of similar online, which is leading me to suspect it either needs something expensive and electronic replaced or the main dealer couldn't get to the bottom of the fault at all, despite having all the requisite equipment to hand.....
Click to expand...

Main dealers don't have all the requisite equipment or knowledge in my experience. I had a Citroen BX (the 16v version) in the early-mid 1990s and it would randomly go into a mode where it was missing at 70mph and as soon as you came to a stop it wouldn't idle, but stall as soon as you tried to pull away in first. The dealer in Bristol could get it to go wrong in their workshop, but couldn't figure out what was wrong with it even with "every piece of test equipment we have hanging off it".

They gave it to a Bosch specialist to fix. They sorted it out rather quickly, problem was a "voltage protection diode" breaking down (I assume it was a zener), caused by too much current drain, in turn caused by the wrong plugs being fitted. Being young and inexperienced in the ways of main stealers at the time, I paid for it to be fixed and didn't go chasing the dealer to pay it like I should have done, as it was them had put the wrong plugs in then they serviced it the month before.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top