They told me that they had arranged a Mokka automatic, which turned out to be the Merc as Europcar don't do the Mokka.
Whining wheels / brakes - turned out to be gearbox bearing ...
Last couple of days the brakes appear to be whining quite loudly as reduce speed - almost like a circular saw sound !!
It happens with the brakes applied but also when I let go of the accelerator which I assume means the regen brake is kicking in. When I accelerate again it stops........
Booked into the dealer anyway.
It happens with the brakes applied but also when I let go of the accelerator which I assume means the regen brake is kicking in. When I accelerate again it stops........
Booked into the dealer anyway.
61 - 80 of 113 Posts
So they got caught out by the "... or equivalent vehicle" clause in every car hire company's Ts & Cs 
Haha ! Priceless
Although impressive that a Mokka and B-class count as 'equivalent'.....
Although impressive that a Mokka and B-class count as 'equivalent'.....
So... what's the general consensus on how much gear/regen whining you should hear when coming to a halt?
The Fluence [did] and the Ampera [does] sound pretty much the same to me, there is a techno-'wheee' at the end.
My wonder is, at what point should I/we get concerned? Is it meant to be totally silent? If I suggested a scale of things which is;
1/silent --- 2/techno-'wheee' --- 3/'whining' --- 4/annoying whine --- 5/sounds bad
I would say I am at around 'upper 2'.
What do you say is 'normal'?
The Fluence [did] and the Ampera [does] sound pretty much the same to me, there is a techno-'wheee' at the end.
My wonder is, at what point should I/we get concerned? Is it meant to be totally silent? If I suggested a scale of things which is;
1/silent --- 2/techno-'wheee' --- 3/'whining' --- 4/annoying whine --- 5/sounds bad
I would say I am at around 'upper 2'.
What do you say is 'normal'?
I drive mine in D full regen all the while and expect some "techno wheee" due to generated power and have the same approximate whining level at upper 2.
My first time was a 5, the second a 4 and the third (a less than earth moving) 3 !!
BEARING LATEST (and last?)
I picked up the car this afternoon with the completely new transmission assembly now fitted. All seems fine.
To help others I can confirm that a correctly fitted and aligned bearing is virtually but not completely silent. There is still a slight whine on coming to a stop from about 15mph and again when starting off, but it is only slight and less than my wife's Leaf. It is very obvious when the bearing is on its way out and to be sure you need to slow down with the window open and a wall (or thick hedge) beside you to reflect the noise which is a distinct whine with an element of grating thrown in. I did the wall test on the way home and there was no noise that I could hear from the new bearing (T.A.) at all.
I asked the mechanic what he thought the cost of the repair would have been and his guess was somewhere in the region of £5,000 to £6,000 (although I seem to remember seeing somewhere that it was more like £4,500).
Whoever inherits the ownership of the car can at least relax over the question of dodgy bearings (my new(er) one comes next Tuesday).
I picked up the car this afternoon with the completely new transmission assembly now fitted. All seems fine.
To help others I can confirm that a correctly fitted and aligned bearing is virtually but not completely silent. There is still a slight whine on coming to a stop from about 15mph and again when starting off, but it is only slight and less than my wife's Leaf. It is very obvious when the bearing is on its way out and to be sure you need to slow down with the window open and a wall (or thick hedge) beside you to reflect the noise which is a distinct whine with an element of grating thrown in. I did the wall test on the way home and there was no noise that I could hear from the new bearing (T.A.) at all.
I asked the mechanic what he thought the cost of the repair would have been and his guess was somewhere in the region of £5,000 to £6,000 (although I seem to remember seeing somewhere that it was more like £4,500).
Whoever inherits the ownership of the car can at least relax over the question of dodgy bearings (my new(er) one comes next Tuesday).
Bought my car Ampera Electron from Arnold Clark Stafford end of Feb 2013. Covered by 60 day Arnold Clark warranty. Advised them regarding faulty keyless entry on drivers door (which i believe is a common problem). Had to take my Ampera to Stretford Vauxhall as they are the Ampera specialists nearest for them to look at. I had noticed a winding down noise on slowing down but wasn't anything significant? or so i thought. Received a call sometime later to say that the car was not driveable due to the dreaded gearbox bearing failure. The car is MY01/2013 on a 62 plate one owner full vauxhall service history, and is one of the newer ones with back armrest and power useage display in config menu. Its only 13 weeks out of warranty. Arnold clark were advised regarding the bearing noise within the 60 days. On speaking to service staff at Stretford vauxhall they said the bill was going to be in the region of £2000 and they wondered if Arnold Clark would pick it up and pay. I believe they should but she did mention she would consult Vauxhall also as the car was just out of warranty. Anyone any idea whether Vauxhall will pick up the bill or replace as goodwill, or is this bearing covered as part of the 8 year VOLTEC system? Heaven knows how long the car will be with them whilst things are sorted out. What a shame as I was loving this car!!
It is part of the voltec warranty. Covered to 8yr and 100k miles.
It should also not cost £2000 that is stupid. It involves a 4 hr repair and a £100 bearing.
This is the result of idiots trying to work on a car for which Vauxhall have dismally prepared them for.
It should also not cost £2000 that is stupid. It involves a 4 hr repair and a £100 bearing.
This is the result of idiots trying to work on a car for which Vauxhall have dismally prepared them for.
Although my car was in a few days that was awaiting parts and I also thought the repair itself was a few hours.
I have three Volts here - a 2012 (manufactured Dec 2011) with 130k miles, a 2012 (manufactured May 2012) with 33k miles, and a 2013 with 47k miles.
To the best of my knowledge the 130k-mile 2012 and the 2013 never had the motor gear bearings fault, but the 33k-mile one did recently (at 32k miles), and that started while we were 800 miles away from home on a trip on a Sunday. We drove it all the way home with the noise (loudest at slow speeds), and the local GM dealer repaired it under warranty. Although the actual repair only took a day, it did take them roughly a total of two weeks to get it diagnosed and parts ordered and delivered.
To the best of my knowledge the 130k-mile 2012 and the 2013 never had the motor gear bearings fault, but the 33k-mile one did recently (at 32k miles), and that started while we were 800 miles away from home on a trip on a Sunday. We drove it all the way home with the noise (loudest at slow speeds), and the local GM dealer repaired it under warranty. Although the actual repair only took a day, it did take them roughly a total of two weeks to get it diagnosed and parts ordered and delivered.
Thanks for the information, sounds like the Vauxhall garage which is also an Arnold Clark dealership should have known that this was covered under warranty?? They sounded like they wanted me to pay for the repair which of course is said i wouldn't be doing. The car has done 41,000 not a lot considering. Sounds like luck of the draw with those bearings trust me to get one of them. Being new to the forum i don't know much about the MyAmpera service, is it still up and running and could they help in any way? I am also slightly worried about them getting it right as there appear to be a number of replacement bearings that fail due to them not being aligned correctly.It is part of the voltec warranty. Covered to 8yr and 100k miles.
It should also not cost £2000 that is stupid. It involves a 4 hr repair and a £100 bearing.
This is the result of idiots trying to work on a car for which Vauxhall have dismally prepared them for.
I don't believe it is an 'alignment' issue as is claimed. At least, not in the way that someone can misalign it during assembly.
Is normal to have some electric humming sound when raising speed from 0 to 20km/h or same while lowering speed to 20km/h to 0? In other speeds acceleration and deacceleration is dead silent.
I always thought it was just electric motor AC modulation frequency in slow speed..or is it begining of beating failure?
I always thought it was just electric motor AC modulation frequency in slow speed..or is it begining of beating failure?
There is an initial high-frequency whine at very low speeds, yes, while the motors are driven in a different mode until a certain speed is reached. No cause for concern.
Picked the car up from Arnold Clark Stretford of Thursday. New bearing, fluids, drivers side door handle painted and fitted due to faulty keyless entry and new 'car pass' which was missing when bought. 2 weeks and one day there was some wrangling over who Was paying between the two Arnold Clark branches but didn't cost me a penny. Nice service in the end from the Manchester branch. Car sounds a million dollars super quiet on regeneration. I hadn't thought there was a problem previously but there really was!. They still maintain its not covered under the voltec warranty though so if anyone has a definitive answer and success under warranty let us know. Great to have my beast back.
It is definitely covered under warranty.
PM me if you want a copy of my email exchange before I bought the car. Wouldn't have bought it unless it was covered.
I had to give my own dealer a copy of the same email, because they were 'losing' the argument with Vauxhall too.
Infuriating. I have to say I will be struggling to consider buying a new [-ish] car covered under Vauxhall warranty again. Can't be bothered with the hassle. Who the h3ll are these executives that can destroy customer confidence in an instance with stupid policies and turning a blind eye to these problems? Surely this should be board-level information that they can then sack these no-doubt highly paid execs.
PM me if you want a copy of my email exchange before I bought the car. Wouldn't have bought it unless it was covered.
I had to give my own dealer a copy of the same email, because they were 'losing' the argument with Vauxhall too.
Infuriating. I have to say I will be struggling to consider buying a new [-ish] car covered under Vauxhall warranty again. Can't be bothered with the hassle. Who the h3ll are these executives that can destroy customer confidence in an instance with stupid policies and turning a blind eye to these problems? Surely this should be board-level information that they can then sack these no-doubt highly paid execs.
The gearbox bearing replacement is covered under Voltec warranty for the Volts on the 8-year 100k-mile warranty. The keyless entry doorhandle buttons are not. Those are covered by the shorter warranty.
61 - 80 of 113 Posts
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