Vauxhall Corsa known fault

[Kateclarinet]

I have a 2012 Vauxhall Corsa D that has developed an intermittent fault.

It won't accelerate and jerks.

The fault code is P2138.

 

A local mechanic told me that this is a fault known to Vauxhall but it has not reached recall status.

 

Vauxhall wrote about this in a service bulletin

(13-E-3066 Accelerator Pedal-Engine Power is reduced - 2016-04-21)

They have also produced a pack to fix it.

 

I was dismayed to be told that this could cost several hundred pounds to fix.

I can't understand why I should have to pay this if Vauxhall are aware of the problem.

(My car is now out of warranty.)

any advice?

Who should I complain to?

 

Thanks

[BankFodder]

What date did you buy the car? If the car was sold with the fault then it was not fit for the purpose and you would have six years from that date to bring an action.

 

Don't worry about the warranty, that's just a piece of marketing and design to protect the dealer. If you want more information on this kind of thing then you may find our new Consumer Survival Handbook, some help.

 

When did you buy the car? As you are referring to a warranty, I gather that you bought it from a dealer.

[Kateclarinet]

I bought it second hand in December 2014 when it was still under the manufacturers warranty. That has now expiredr. There was no warranty from the used car dealer.

Edited September 27, 2016 by Kateclarinet
More detail

[BankFodder]

Once again, the dealers warranty is meaningless. As long as you are within six years of having bought the car – and clearly the car was defective at the time – then you are covered by section 14 Sale of Goods Act.

 

No doubt if you approach the dealer, he will try to say that it is out of warranty. However, you are covered by the Sale of Goods Act. The dealer has no choice. The protections of the Sale of Goods Act are imposed by law.

 

Start off by getting two or more quotes for the repair. Also, get as much information as you can on this known fault and the fact that it is widely understood that the fault exists.

 

Then write to the dealer and tell him that you are now looking to him to cover the cost of repairs and you are enclosing copies of independent quotations.

 

If he hasn't contacted you in 14 days then come back here and tell us and we will tell you the next step. The dealer has his own action against the person who sold in the car or maybe directly against Vauxhall themselves. However, that's his problem not yours. You are entitled to the standard consumer protections.

[king12345]

In my experience with the Now Vauxhall franchise, if you tell them about the service bulletin, they'll do the work under warranty.

This is because they get their money anyway, from Vauxhall, and they're good at convincing them that work should be done under warranty.

Make sure you tell them that unless they do the work under warranty you will not go ahead with it.

If they agree to do the work under warranty, take many pictures or mark your brake discs, pads, exhaust, wiper blades and anything else they might say that needs changing.

Failing that you could write directly to Vauxhall and see what they reply.

[Hammy1962]

Yes, that's really important, if it's the wiper blades which are subject to a Service Action (not yet a recall!) to fix your poor acceleration and jerkiness, you really must take pictures of the old ones.

 

King, nobody will carry out a service bulletin if the vehicle is out of scope of the bulletin, a dealer being ''good' at convincing a manufacturer to pay under warranty is just plain silly.

 

Way back in time I worked on a vehicle who's owner clearly didn't trust us, he marked everything to be changed on his service with tell-tail clear nail varnish. We re-marked the new parts with clear nail varnish (supplied by our glamorous receptionist). I often wonder what he thought.

 

You'll struggle with the 6 year thing, too many reasons to go into here but first and foremost is you are not the origional 'from new' owner. Lots of other reasons as well.

 

H

[AndyOrch]

You'll struggle with the 6 year thing, too many reasons to go into here but first and foremost is you are not the origional 'from new' owner. Lots of other reasons as well.

H

 

I cant seem to find that in section 14 of The Sale of Goods Act H...perhaps point it out where the legislation has been changed....?

 

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1979/54/section/14

[king12345]

Yes, that's really important, if it's the wiper blades which are subject to a Service Action (not yet a recall!) to fix your poor acceleration and jerkiness, you really must take pictures of the old ones.

 

King, nobody will carry out a service bulletin if the vehicle is out of scope of the bulletin, a dealer being ''good' at convincing a manufacturer to pay under warranty is just plain silly.

 

Way back in time I worked on a vehicle who's owner clearly didn't trust us, he marked everything to be changed on his service with tell-tail clear nail varnish. We re-marked the new parts with clear nail varnish (supplied by our glamorous receptionist). I often wonder what he thought.

 

You'll struggle with the 6 year thing, too many reasons to go into here but first and foremost is you are not the origional 'from new' owner. Lots of other reasons as well.

 

H

 

What I meant is that every time they get a car in their garage for whatever reason, they do a "free" safety check.

In my experience they find faults that are not there.

I.e. Wiper blades, brakes, exhaust, tyres, light bulbs etc.

That's why i suggested to take pictures and mark parts.

That's what i do.

Regarding the work under warranty, the authorised garage can more easily convince Vauxhall that the fault needs to be rectified under warranty.

They have dedicated communication lines and being the "experts" they have a better chance of success.

Again, this is all based on my experience.