Initially I purchased a Zafira Club diesel 2.0DTi on a 53 plate, i.e. September 2003. I enjoyed the car so much that after just three months I bought my daughter in law a similar 2.0DTi. After 10 months of relatively trouble free motoring myself I decided to trade my Club in for a new 54 plate 2.0DTi Energy model with the extra refinements, i.e. Tinted windows, CD player, electronic traction control, alloys etc. and there my problems started. With just 23 miles on the clock I noticed a heavy vibration from the engine at 2800 RPM. Concerned for this I returned it to the main Vauxhall dealers the following day. They said it would be 19 days before they could look at it. Now that wasn’t a good start. Obviously not happy with this timescale, especially on a brand new car, I asked them to put the vehicle on the ramps to check for any serious faults. They casually checked it over and said it was OK.
<br>I took the car back into the dealers at the appointed time and they kept it 2 days. I was aggrieved when they told there was nothing wrong with it. Of course there was; an intolerant vibration that became apparent at a specific engine RPM irrespective of the gear I was in. The dealers then fobbed me off by saying it was a driveshaft imbalance and needed it again to put weights on the shaft. I allowed this to happen even though as a fully qualified mechanic myself I knew it was the wrong diagnosis. The fault, of course, remained. I then asked the dealers to contact Vauxhall for help in resolving the vibration. Their diagnosis, �It’s a driveshaft imbalance. The dealers then said they wanted the car for three days to do the rebalance. What rubbish!! I telephoned Vauxhall myself and, after much persuasion on the basis of my mechanical qualifications I was allowed to talk to a technical service engineer. The guy with whom I spoke was very understanding of the problem and agreed with my analogy of it NOT being a vibration of road speed and driveshaft, but rather a vibration of specific engine RPM and something quite different. At last I thought I was getting somewhere. Consequentially Vauxhall arranged for one of their field engineers to test the car whilst we were with him. His response at the end of his test was, “All Zafira diesels are like that and it’s a characteristic of the model�.
<br>What bull manure and insulting to ones intelligence. Of course I refuted his claim immediately on the basis that I had two other Zafira diesels to compare it too, and they were vibration free, and my mechanical education forbid acceptance of such waffle It’s now six month from new purchase and the vibration persists and is getting progressively worse. It’s felt through the floor, the steering column, the brake / clutch pedals, the windows, the dashboard, and shakes every extremity of your body. The vibration causes dizziness, ear popping and sickness in me and my passengers when traveling, and further distracts my driving concentration. The oscillation is especially worse on motorways when the vibration is most apparent at the 2800 RPM and equal to the 70 mph lawful and most used cruise speed. I have spoken to Vauxhall yet again this week and they are going to get another field engineers report within the next two weeks in the hope of curing this irregularity in my car. I just hope they can fix the problem for the vehicle is very versatile, easy to drive, and quite economical. I have spoken with the Office of Fair Trading about this fault and my treatment to date and they are of the opinion that the car was faulty from day one and has a manufacturing defect. It is therefore not of merchandisable quality and fit for the purpose for which it was manufactured as defined under the Sale of Good Acts and they are willing to support me with any legal action if things are not resolved. At this point I’m somewhat skeptical whether those technically involved in my case have the capacity, interest, or willingness to correctly diagnose or repair my vehicle. It may well turn out to be a David against Goliath scenario in the Courts. I will keep you posted.
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