Automatic diesel judders and struggles to accelerate above high speeds....

General_query

Morning, thanks for the replies.

There are 2 things I forgot to mention, one is that is doesn't do this all the time, sometimes I can successfully overtake without the juddering and acceleration "limited", but downside is it sometimes does it between 60-70mph now, but not all the time, but obviously somethigns not right.
Secondly, in July 2018 (about 9 months after buying it), there had been a problem with the car stinking of fuel (inside) after a long motorway run, which you'd notice when bacl on normal roads doing 30/40mph. Really concerned as we had our 2 year old in the back and was concerned about breathing in the strong fuel fumes smell, so took it to our local garage and they said they'd put a new spark plug in (which I now know diesels don't have), so it must have been a glow plug? Anyway, was suprised there was no charge for this, either because it was still in it's free 12 month RAC warranty, or they were aware of prior problems with this and fixed it to shut me up (yes, I am paranoid). Anyway, the car never smelt of fuel inside after that, so they fixed whatever the problem was.

And probably no help to those on here trying to diagnose my current problem. By the way, even though there are no dashboard errors, is it worth doing the pedal trick to count the flashes it does? (sorry, been googling things again).

General_query

Pedal test even....

Mickey666

General_query said:

Aaargh, my tired eyes read it wrong. It actually says: Major service for a DIESEL is from £335 
That's me not taking it to Vauxhall now.

Any decent service will be quoted as a from price because until all the inspection work has been done the garage cannot know what parts might need to be replaced.

The point is that if there is a worn-out or defective part then it needs to be replaced.  A 'basic service' that only does defined work (oil/filter change etc) and doesn't include any other inspection work will never identify any failed or failing parts.  This is the sort of thing that can lead to the problems you're now experiencing.

BOWFER

Mickey666 said:

General_query said:

Aaargh, my tired eyes read it wrong. It actually says: Major service for a DIESEL is from £335 
That's me not taking it to Vauxhall now.

Any decent service will be quoted as a from price because until all the inspection work has been done the garage cannot know what parts might need to be replaced.

The point is that if there is a worn-out or defective part then it needs to be replaced.  A 'basic service' that only does defined work (oil/filter change etc) and doesn't include any other inspection work will never identify any failed or failing parts.  This is the sort of thing that can lead to the problems you're now experiencing.

It's a fair argument, but this is sounding increasingly like a dodgy EGR valve.
And they certainly don't take that off and check it in a 'fancy' service either.
So it wouldn't have been detected in advance

General_query

Apologies, my fault here as I always just ask them "can I bring my Meriva in for it's annual service then MOT?". They don't advertise minor or major services! 

I don't expect them to do extra work until I have made them aware. Perhaps I should be more assertive and ask for a new fuel filter while serviving it....AND can they look into the juddering problem? They won't like me saying "other people have suggested a Mass Airflow Filter/Sensor (MAF) problem, or it needs a change of gearbox oil, and can they look at my EGR valve?".

They could strip it all down to investigate, then say right we need £900+ to repair it then put it all back, leaving me with no car. Paranoid again I know, but I need my car to take other half to upcoming hospital appointments and to ferry our 4 year old about.

But yes, I do painfully realise something isn't right and it won't get fixed sitting in my garage

Thank you.

AdrianC

"A service" is a very flexible term.
It can just mean oil and filter, it can mean following the manufacturer's recommendations.

Clearly the garage that are doing your car are nearer the lax end of that spectrum - a fuel filter is most certainly a routine consumable that should be replaced periodically.

jimjames

General_query said:

 Perhaps I should be more assertive and ask for a new fuel filter while serviving it....AND can they look into the juddering problem? They won't like me saying "other people have suggested a Mass Airflow Filter/Sensor (MAF) problem, or it needs a change of gearbox oil, and can they look at my EGR valve?".

There shouldn't be any need to do that as long as you're asking for the service schedule to be followed - generally a minor followed by a major service. In terms of any issues then unless you make them aware of the problem they won't be able to investigate but unless they struggle to find a problem I wouldn't mention causes initially.

General_query

AdrianC said:

"A service" is a very flexible term.
It can just mean oil and filter, it can mean following the manufacturer's recommendations.

Clearly the garage that are doing your car are nearer the lax end of that spectrum - a fuel filter is most certainly a routine consumable that should be replaced periodically.

Is that why Vauxhall's MAJOR service includes that for £335 minimum!
Also just spotted this on there list of extra's:
Oil and Filter INC VHC - Vauxhall Approved parts add £99
Replacement Auto Gearbox Fluid - Vauxhall Approved Parts add £120
This is beyond a joke now, I just cannot afford that, the car must only be worth £3,500

General_query

Tried the pedal test and no codes came up, other than a code 16 which I am aware of - which is a brake bulb I'm fixing tomorrow - caused by trying to replace the rear right sidelight bulb, ahem.

If there were any other error codes, would they not show until the code 16 one has gone after fitting the bulb? Sorry for all the questions

facade

General_query said:

Tried the pedal test and no codes came up, other than a code 16 which I am aware of - which is a brake bulb I'm fixing tomorrow - caused by trying to replace the rear right sidelight bulb, ahem.

If there were any other error codes, would they not show until the code 16 one has gone after fitting the bulb? Sorry for all the questions

All stored codes should come up, so the car doesn't think anything is wrong.

If it did it every time, I'd suggest a blocked exhaust or DPF (blocked catalyst common if it was petrol) or the fuel filter, but I agree with the others that it is most likely the egr valve and pipework needs cleaning.

Take it to a garage that knows what they are doing and tell them the symptoms, if they suggest it is likely the egr needs cleaning, let them do it, if there is a sucking of teeth and a rolling of eyes with "could be expensive, we'll need to take a good look at it" go somewhere else.

Don't go to the dealer, they will just throw new parts at it, and charge you top prices for labour and parts, a smaller garage or vauxhall specialist will have a go at cleaning it first.