Major problem with Opel Astra

cold_filter

Hi all i hope someone can help me on this, i have a 01 astra and the other day the exhaust warning light came on, since then the car will rev up and down, i can have my foot to the floor and the revs will be stuck at 2.5k for a few seconds then start moving up. When i turn the car on i get a lot of vibration and this happens when changing gears and at low revs, any idea what it could be?

Henry Ford III

Trouble. Get it looked at by a mechanic.

I don't think there is such a thing as an exhaust warning light btw.

cold_filter

There is i cant remember the exact catchphrase but its something like " failure of the exhaust gas system"its in the handbook!

Henry Ford III

EGR probably. If so it needs a mechanic to sort it.

furtzy

Henry Ford III wrote:

EGR probably. If so it needs a mechanic to sort it.

I'd second that. Common problem on the Astra I believe.

cold_filter

furtzy wrote:

I'd second that. Common problem on the Astra I believe.

Any idea of costs?

furtzy

cold_filter wrote:

Any idea of costs?

Quite an expensive little part around the €90 mark and then labour on top of that. You won't see much change from €150.

Best to get the garage to run the Tech 2 diagnostic on it first to make sure thats what it is. Most faults get logged on the ECU and the diagnostic will show this up.

Vikings

Henry Ford III wrote:

EGR probably. If so it needs a mechanic to sort it.

Yep sounds like the EGR alright. I brought my 01 astra to get checked out for another reason and it found that the light had been on previous which was caused by the EGR, I asked the mechanic though should I get it fixed right away and he told me that it comes on sometimes if all you are doing is short runs here and there in the car and that dust and dirt builds up in the valve but if I let it loose on a motorway for a while it should clear it up a bit.

kluivert

IncredibleBulk wrote:

Yep sounds like the EGR alright.

Ill agree to that as well.

Buy a new EGR value on ebay, rather than a dealer.

With the Astra, its worth giving it welly down a straight road every now and again to keep it from building up with carbon deposits.

Its expensive to replace.

I still love the Astras.

Lucifer

Cant remember the exact price for an EGR Valve for an astra but are expensive. Although is sound like an EGR problem, it may be best to have it checked by a dealer with Tech 2, opels diagnostic computer. EGR will show a trouble code. Just incase its not it before you buy one and fit it. Also cleaning the EGR can solve the problem but will not always solve it. We do this in work by doing an actuator test (with Tech 2) on the EGR after removing it. This operates the solinoid and opens the plunger so you can clean it with carb spray. There is also an ECU update for some of the opel engines (think the astra included) which eliminates the EGR problem from reoccuring.

Vikings

It could also be the Idle Control Valve.. while researching the EGR problem a while back I found that the ICV also gives a lot of trouble on that generation of Astra's.

Like the rest have said, pay 20 or 30 quid to get it hooked up to a Tech 2 to find out what the problem is then work towards a solution. I've read that both the EGR and ICV can be removed and cleaned instead of being replaced, there is information out there on how to do both.

Lucifer

also other than the reving up and down, it is possible the vibration and hesitation when you try rev the car up is a misfire. Astras do give coilpack trouble, does it seem like the engine is misfiring? Should bring on the management light also as it should be a z14xe engine.

Captain Slow IRL

Get it to a mechanic with a code reader - he should be able to tell you in a matter of minutes if he has the right equipment.

If you felt confident enough to read off the flash codes yourself, I could post instructions how to

crosstownk

It could be any one of a number of faults. Land9 is right - it needs to be diagnosed first in order to find out whats wrong.

That said, an EGR valve could be at fault - but it could also be an O2 sensor or an air flow meter, etc, etc. You can get a diagnosis without having the repair done.

MercMad

I'd go for EGR valve, and I'd clean it up first and then go for a motorway blast !

Cheapest solution !

As Lucifer says though, the vibration does make it sound like a misfire aswell !

Vikings

Just found this link which will show you pretty much how to clean your ICV - Idle Control Valve - which may or may not solve your problem but no harm in trying sure!

http://82.34.52.15/sytemsandsoftwaredevelopment/systems/automotive/How_to/General/ecotecidlevalve.htm

Also, this would be on the older version Astra so your engine bay will look different however the ICV will look the same, you will just have to find it and figure out how to remove it! Might try this myself tomorrow.

edit..

Also this thread is definitely worth checking out:

http://www.cavweb-forums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=63293

Pretty sure every aspect of this sort of problem is covered in there with solutions suggested.

beezer 1999

hi i was reading all these post about engine managemant light !
my car only past n.c.t and 4 weeks later that light appeared the fan stopped working so i fixed that it was driving grand but was afraid incase anything major was wrong. i brought it to a off road garage and the mechanic tryed 3 diagnostics machines 2 of them could not read it and 1 only picked up that there was a fault couldnt actually tell wat the prob was so i brought it into opel and got diagnostis done cost me €103 it turned out i need an new egr valve opel told me i wont have to pay for any labour coz i paided diagnostis fee they said it will cost €351 for the part if i dont get it done il b driving like a kangaroo and car will end up loosing all power and cut out . i rang up another car shop to get a price for the part and they said bran new it will b €130 and theres another place called micks garage .ie he can get any part he quoted me €50 its just gettin someone to fit it and findin exactly were the egr valve is i hope this is some help to people with similar problem reguards beezer 1999

carrie_estill

Could this be the same problem?

The "motor' icon lights up when I start the car. Then when I am driving and accelerate, the car does not go faster immediately, but the rev meter value goes up. Then it slowly goes faster... It uses more gas... does this sound like an EGR valve problem?

Thank you so much.

AzureAuto

[/QUOTE]If you felt confident enough to read off the flash codes yourself, I could post instructions how to[/QUOTE]

2001 Astra. Flash Codes? OBD II surely?
Agree with above EGR do give probs, but I found they usually manifest themselves as loss of power under load or even cutting out. Huniting sympton could be vacuum leak/ air flow meter.
Again a diagnostic would be the way forward

meathgal2010

cold_filter wrote: »

Hi all i hope someone can help me on this, i have a 01 astra and the other day the exhaust warning light came on, since then the car will rev up and down, i can have my foot to the floor and the revs will be stuck at 2.5k for a few seconds then start moving up. When i turn the car on i get a lot of vibration and this happens when changing gears and at low revs, any idea what it could be?

I had an 05 astra sport hatch and the same thing happened to mine in Jan. It was a wheel speed sensor gone. Cost approx 600 e to fix ..... that was on top of 2500e i had to pay when the crank shaft went 3 months previously...... get it fixed and get rid of it! I did and went back to Ford.

carrie_estill

Do I need to go to a dealer to have the code read?? Thank you.

carrie_estill

My fault. I should have fixed it! However, all garages are closed in Paris in August. It blew on the A13 between Caen and Paris... 200 Euros to be towed. Taxi, train home. Fire ants behind the guardrail! They ate up my dog... and my feet. Fix problem first, drive later.... Thanks.

Irlandese

Captain Slow IRL wrote: »

Get it to a mechanic with a code reader - he should be able to tell you in a matter of minutes if he has the right equipment.

If you felt confident enough to read off the flash codes yourself, I could post instructions how to

I know i am a bit late, but someone might get this as a solution on google.
That was a very good call, captain slow, as this recent post shows, attribution at top:
"
05-03-2008 02:00 PM #1
savaskose
VxON Member


Join DateFeb 2008LocationZurich SwitzerlandDrivesOpel AgilaPosts5


Opel Agila Engine Problem, power loss engine jerks

Hello everybody,

I just wanted to give some information about an Opel Agila problem which I had recently and fixed it.

I have an Opel Agila 1.2 2000 model car and the problem was that the engine was jerking and there was a power loss. When the engine was cold it was not running properly and when I gave gas it was jerking and not accelerating even in the first gear. And when it was hot, a bit better was still loss of power.

And the Exhaust Emission Light was on all the time. So I decided to buy a Diagnostics tool, that was Opel Tech 2 ( you can find all the info about that tool in my other post ) then read the codes and they were these ones, I write the codes together with the descriptions:

P0100: Mass or volume air flow circuit high input
Mass or volume air flow circuit low input
Mass or volume air flow circuit range/performance problem

P0130: O2 Sensor Circuit High Voltage (Bank 1 Sensor 1)
O2 Sensor Circuit Slow Response (Bank 1 Sensor 1)
O2 Sensor Circuit Low Voltage (Bank 1 Sensor 1)
O2 Sensor Circuit Slow Response (Bank 1 Sensor 1)
O2 sensor circuit malfunction (Bank 1 Sensor 1)

P0135: O2 Sensor Heater Circuit High Voltage (Bank 1 Sensor 1)
O2 Sensor Heater Circuit Low Voltage (Bank 1 Sensor 1)
O2 Sensor Heater Circuit Open (Bank 1 Sensor 1)
O2 sensor heater circuit malfunction (Bank 1 Sensor 1)

P0170 Fuel trim malfunction (Bank 1)

The most important one is the error P0170, which means that there is something wrong in the Mass Airflow Sensor, which is also recorded with the first error code P0100.

But the other errors are because of the broken MAF sensor. After doing some tests I decided that it was the MAF sensor and I bought a new one installed and the engine and the power are all back and the error codes gone

In order to test the MAF, you can take it out and try to clean it with a Carb. Clearner and install again to see if it helps. That didn't work for me.

If you take the MAF sensor completely off and run the engine it will run better and more smootly than the one with the broken MAF sensor.

Another thing is that if your Opel is older than 2003 you should also install a water deflector under the Bonnet, where the air filter opening comes.

The problem was that from this opening water was coming in and ruining the MAF filter. I bet that all the old Agila's without this wateer deflector have (or will) suffered from this problem,

If you need more help please contact me."