Vauxhall Zafira Emission control light

Dr_Zonk

My Zafira emission control light has lit (the engine shaped one). I have the original version petrol driven Zafira. Apart from the odd stall or 'near stall' when pulling away, power and fuel consumption seem normal. I took the car to my local Vauxhall dealer who said I needed a new computer and the cost after labour would be £800. I am being taken for a ride or is this normal Vauxhall costs.

anewman

You may be able to find an ECU (Engine Control Unit) from a scrappy much cheaper. Unfortunately this is the most expensive part of the electronics, and vauxhall will charge over the odds for a new unit, and then charge you probably another £100 for about 15 mins work. It shouldn't be too difficult to install I would imagine, just a case of removing cables from one and putting them onto the other and fixing the ECU in place (although I guess the plastic covers the MFR's put over everything doesn't help).

I wonder if the problem is not the ECU and is a sensor somewhere, perhaps the lambda sensor? (Although I would presume if a bonafide Vauxhall dealer has looked they have used some advanced diagnostics equipment so should be right). Hopefully someone with more knowledge of vauxhalls will be able to give some input, otherwise search for "vauxhall forums" on google and look for some lively owners forums to ask about your problem.

porridge

Dr_Zonk wrote: »

My Zafira emission control light has lit (the engine shaped one). I have the original version petrol driven Zafira. Apart from the odd stall or 'near stall' when pulling away, power and fuel consumption seem normal. I took the car to my local Vauxhall dealer who said I needed a new computer and the cost after labour would be £800. I am being taken for a ride or is this normal Vauxhall costs.

Why not give it a couple of days?, I've done it a couple of time, basically i've put in the super unleaded petrol and it sets the light off, the light goes out again when it gets to a quarter of a tank.

Lorian

Dr_Zonk wrote: »

My Zafira emission control light has lit (the engine shaped one). I have the original version petrol driven Zafira. Apart from the odd stall or 'near stall' when pulling away, power and fuel consumption seem normal. I took the car to my local Vauxhall dealer who said I needed a new computer and the cost after labour would be £800. I am being taken for a ride or is this normal Vauxhall costs.

Thats the engine management light. Find the diagnostic port and check the codes yourself to find the fault. Here is the definitive guide:

http://www.topbuzz.co.uk/info/fault_codes/fault_codes.htm

If you don't know it means after you look the codes up then post them up here. As others have said its best to check its not just a sensor issue, as most often it is. Of course I'm sure the dealer is telling the truth :A

When you say it has an odd stall on pulling away, are you sure it's when pulling away, not when decelerating? It's unusual otherwise.

Also is there any knocking or grumbling noises when the engine is started from cold?

Note. While the engine management light is on the engine is likely to be limited to 4,500 revs. You probably won't notice this in day-to-day driving, but you will if you are heavy with your right foot.

anewman

Another possibility is to leave the battery disconnected overnight. This will reset everything. Remember to make sure you have any stereo codes etc.

ForkHandles_2

Hi,

This happened on our 55 plate New Zafira several times, a couple of times this happened the engine was running a little lumpy (like it was only firing in 3 cylinders) after the 4th time this happened the dealer updated the ECU software and it's been fine for over a year now.

FH

shop-to-drop

I am very unknowledgeable about cars but have a Zafira and if the light you are talking about is the one I'm thinking about then it may be worth topping the oil up. The engine shaped light has come up on mine before and luckily it goes off again if we top up with oil. I apologise if I'm talking rubbish but thought I'd mention. Also don't go through the vauxhall dealer. We had a service and MOT with them a few weeks ago the service cost over £500 (we were shocked) and it failed the MOT miserably and they wanted another £900 to do the work to put it through. Some of the things it failed on had been done already during the year. We got the car back and took it to our local garage (who are not particularly cheap) They put it through the MOT for less than £300 including the cost of another test.

We are fuming!

Good Luck with your problem.

Lorian

ForkHandles wrote: »

Hi,

This happened on our 55 plate New Zafira several times, a couple of times this happened the engine was running a little lumpy (like it was only firing in 3 cylinders) after the 4th time this happened the dealer updated the ECU software and it's been fine for over a year now.

FH

There was similar mapping issues on some Astra's too, but I got the impression the OP's car was older.

shop-to-drop wrote: »

IThe engine shaped light has come up on mine before and luckily it goes off again if we top up with oil.

Worng light. You've just been lucky. The light will go out on its own if the problem does not persist, and the ingnition has been turned off and on 40 times since the last time the fault was recorded.

You right on dealer prices though. I just replaced a crankshaft sensor on a 2 litre Vecta. It cost me £12 for new part from Ebay and an hour to fit. They would have charged an arm and a leg.

StockportGerbil

Hi!
The same light came on on my Mrs's Y plate 1.8 petrol zafira.

The first garage after three goes at fixing the problem concluded it was the ECU. I was recommended to take the car to a different garage which specialised in ECUs and car tuning. They tracked the problem down to something else ('air mass flow sensor') which at £100 was a heck of a lot better than a new ECU.

While these problems were happening I saw alot of reports on the internet that Vauxhall dealers are keen to change the ECU first then investigate the problem later.... So I would suggest getting a second opinion.

I hope that helps

Kevin

ohreally

Try asking a garage to clear the fault codes and see if it comes back.Even with the code, it can be a bit hit and miss to rectify the problem with Vauxhalls.I worked in the trade for many years and my ex colleague now owns an MOT and service station which means i can get reasonable access to equipment to diagnose my own vauxhall alleged faults, the comon ones being air mass meter (nothing wrong with mine but every so often the management warning reports it as faulty), camshaft position sensor and crankshaft posision sensor - cam sensor is not uncommon.

Fruity1

I had this problem on my 03 zafira the light was on and it would stall for no reason. I am lucky enough to have an excellent independant mechanic who bought a decoder. I think he had to eventually replace a couple of valves. I can't remember the actual price but it wasn't a quarter of what your vauxhall garage is considering charging. If you want to PM me where you live if its anywhere near me I can PM you his number. I have used this guy for 12+ years and he was due to come and service it on friday but some kind soul drove into it yesterday so he's going to do it after the bodyshop have finished it (sadly he doesn't do bodywork).