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Reliability

4K views 23 replies 12 participants last post by  RickMGoldie 
#1 ·
My Ampera is turning into a reliability nightmare. Since May, it has already been off the road for 20 days with various problems. First the cooling system lost all coolent. Now I keep getting fault messages from the braking system and in the last few days it has refused to charge.

Is anyone else getting problems or am I just unlucky?
 
#4 ·
No unreliability for us either in 18,000 miles so I am sorry to hear of your issues. I hope they improve for you because it must be hugely annoying and disappointing.
 
#5 ·
No problems except one broken charger - 13K miles so far, 175mpg lifetime
 
#8 ·
I've had my fair share of issues now, as documented in the drivetrain fail thread most recently. It's going back in again as the repair isn't right.

I've also had a failed charger control board and a failed EVSE.

I've heard umpteen times that the latest software will fix the DAB to FM bug and the passenger seatbelt warning issue, but it hasn't. At least Vauxhall are not denying that is a problem now.

I haven't had the steering lock one for many months. Touch wood that is gone.

My original bonnet was damaged at PDI so they had it in to replace that.

I am now good mates with Eden's delivery driver :)


There's another issue which I now think is dangerous. That is when you lose all braking force if the car hits a bump under braking. I've had it happen at low speed while approaching a junction and nearly rear-ended the car in front. I also recently had it happen in Cornwall while approaching a sharp right hander on a 60mph road, a corner with a steep drop off. That was an unwelcome surprise and it was all I could do to scrub off enough speed when braking returned. It seems to be getting worse as my tyres wear down - which nevertheless are still legal - i.e. smaller jolts seem to trigger it. I think this is an ABS design flaw which may one day catch me out. Is anyone else getting this?
 
#9 ·
No brake issues at all yet David. You sound like you are getting an unfair share of issues. I hope it improves once this drive train problem is resolved.

BTW I forgot to mention that I too have had an EVSE replaced and my nearest Ampera owner that I am aware of, in Ivybridge (20 milesaway) has also has an EVSE failure and is at this moment borrowing my Leaf EVSE until they get a new Vauxhall one in stock. They said a week. It's been 2 now!
 
#16 ·
15 months, almost 15K and no issues except one dead EVSE - still love the car
 
#17 ·
There's another issue which I now think is dangerous. That is when you lose all braking force if the car hits a bump under braking. I've had it happen at low speed while approaching a junction and nearly rear-ended the car in front. I also recently had it happen in Cornwall while approaching a sharp right hander on a 60mph road, a corner with a steep drop off. That was an unwelcome surprise and it was all I could do to scrub off enough speed when braking returned. It seems to be getting worse as my tyres wear down - which nevertheless are still legal - i.e. smaller jolts seem to trigger it. I think this is an ABS design flaw which may one day catch me out. Is anyone else getting this?
I had this one this weekend , very un-nerving. I had the opportunity to do the same junction on Sunday and took a lower speed and experienced no problem. Otherwise, approaching 9000 miles and no major problems, I have had a slight clunk on putting the hand brake on since purchase and assumed it was a natural mechanical sound.
 
#19 ·
My car has now been off the road virtually since June with a brake issue. Every time the dealer returned it to me, the problem would reappear within a day or two.
The problem started in a traffic jam, one of those stop-start situations where you move forward a few feet at a time. A warning message popped-up saying `Service Brake Assist' appeared on the consol. Within twenty miles the situation had deteriorated further to more messages, 'Service Stabilitrack' and `ABS Fault'. Finally the engine management light came on, the bong started ringing on and the braking assist switched off. I was left without power-assisted brakes until I re-booted.
After three attempts. the dealership was unable to cure the problem. The car was taken by trailer to Vauxhall at Luton mid-August and there it remains there while they investigate. I have been driving a variety of different hire-cars (provided by Vauxhall) ever since.
Watch this space!
 
#21 ·
RalphGoodson said:
An update to my earlier posts. After extensive testing and part replacement, the problem seems to have related to the master cylinder.
The car has now been returned and is performing well but it has been off the road now for 87 days since May.
87 days - thats chronic Ralph. Yours isnt the only case of problems taking forever to solve either. It all seems to boil down to new and complex car, limited dealer and mechanic familiarity dont you think? They seem to be learning all the time. :-(
 
#22 ·
Repair delays seem to plague EVs it seems. Someone who has had a problem with their Leaf has been off the road for weeks because of a lack of spare parts availability.
 
#23 ·
Paul Churchley said:
Repair delays seem to plague EVs it seems. Someone who has had a problem with their Leaf has been off the road for weeks because of a lack of spare parts availability.
and Chevrolet have had my Volt for 2 and a half weeks now with as yet zero feedback on how they're getting on with it. (I'm not complaining about the garage, they've called me a few times to say they've not managed to get any information out of Chevrolet.)
 
#24 ·
dpeilow said:
...
There's another issue which I now think is dangerous. That is when you lose all braking force if the car hits a bump under braking. I've had it happen at low speed while approaching a junction and nearly rear-ended the car in front. I also recently had it happen in Cornwall while approaching a sharp right hander on a 60mph road, a corner with a steep drop off. That was an unwelcome surprise and it was all I could do to scrub off enough speed when braking returned. It seems to be getting worse as my tyres wear down - which nevertheless are still legal - i.e. smaller jolts seem to trigger it. I think this is an ABS design flaw which may one day catch me out. Is anyone else getting this?
I noticed this tendency from day 1 but I can honestly say it is so momentary I have been able to adjust my driving style to factor it out completely. I tested the model S on this very very point and found the resumption of braking or acceleration much, much quicker. It's as if the Ampera logic must finish displaying the low traction warning message before getting back to the accelerating or braking, and the display CPU is just too slow..
 
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