The Holden Epica – what were they thinking?
In the latest round of badge engineering Holden have decided to market a re-badged Daewoo Tosca as their entry in the mid-size category, competing with cars like the Toyota Camry and the Mazda 6.
After the success of the all new billion dollar VE Commodore, you’ve got to wonder if Holden hasn’t shot themselves in the foot with the Epica.
This is the fourth Daewoo sourced vehicle for Holden. The Barina, Viva and Captiva are all products of the South-Korean factory and given the public’s seemingly strong dislike for previous models in the Daewoo range, I wonder if that stigma will follow the Epica. There is no doubt that the build quality across the Daewoo range has increased ten-fold in the last few years but it could be a case of too little, too late.
Speaking from a mechanics point of view, nothing that came out of the Daewoo factory before 2005 looked like it would stand the test of time. I am not qualified to offer an opinion on post-2005 cars as I haven’t picked up a spanner in two years due to a back injury and shut-up shop in early 2006. Some of the common problems that we saw were timing belt failure due to a plastic tensioner pulley, twice in 30,000km on one vehicle and Holden refused a warranty claim as the car was older than three years but had travelled only 68,000km when the second belt failed. On both occasions the repairs were done at a Holden dealership yet they wouldn’t honour their repair guarantee. Admitting a design fault was out of the question I guess!
Horribly soft brake rotors was another issue we encountered. It was not unusual for the rotors to need machining at every service due to being out of round causing pedal and steering wheel vibrations. Holden’s answer to this one – the car must have been driven through water when the discs were hot. More than likely this was the case, so what are you supposed to do? Not drive the car if there is any water on the road?! Disc rotors are not made as well as they used to be, but this is just ridiculous!
I could go on for ages about the common problems found with these vehicles, however that is not the point of this post. As I stated the vehicles that I have worked on were pre-05 and I hope for potential Epica buyers that the engineering behind these cars has improved. I think only time will tell, once a few km’s have been racked up we should be hearing if they are a success or not. If previous models are anything to go by I don’t hold out much hope for buyers of the Epica though.
Pricing of the Epica may be the thing that gets them out of the showroom doors – $26,000 for the base model and a top of the range CDXi can be had for around the same money as a base model Camry. For more information on pricing and specifications see here.
Time will be the deciding factor on the success of the Epica. It will be interesting to see if the public will take to it or if the stigma of the previous Daewoo models is still strong enough to scare buyers away from it. I will keep you posted!
my uncle has a holden epica 2008, and what a nightmare its turned out to be for him, there imposible to fill the tank and the lifters after 2000klm sound like metalica at band practise, sutherland holden crap excuse to my uncle was to monitor those problems and get back to them, i plan to go with my uncle to holden next service and ask them to fill the tank and explain why the lifters are so noisy,
Have had an epica since 2007.Only problem is tyre wear even after holdens fixed the know front end issue that caused the wear.
I had the same problem filling the tank.Found it fills OK if you dont push the bowser filler hose down the fuel tank pipe.Hard to get use to but it works.Rest the bowser filler hose just inside the tank filling pipe.
“Holden Epica CDTi 2009″ problems.
1/ Accerating from 90Km to 110Km to pass a slower car, Epica coughs and splutters then losses power for 3-4 seconds then pickup. This is intermittent problem.
2/ Changing gear to reverse or into Drive the Epica will not change and stays in neutral….move the leaver forward or back incramentally and Auto kicks in with a whooping big THUMP ! Then the Auto will not change gear so i drive home in 1st gear. NOW THIS SOUNDS STUPID” This is a known EPICA problem as they give instruction in book of instructions (now get this) to take of small plastic cap and insert a key or screw driver in that slot that is just infront of gear lever to cure problem and then call Holden agent ASAP.
3/ Normally the key lock remote locks the car and is indicated by 1 flick of lights….now the EPICA locks the car but no light flicker…so now I gotta check the doors are locked manually .
4/ When I received the car, fuel efficiency was Diesel 9KM/100Km then I checked the tyres (that was after the 1st service) and found all tyres at 22psi so now I set them at 32psi and EPICA is doing 7.2KM/100Km
Appears that the EPICA is slowly grinding to a halt, so I going to ring Somerton Holden in Adelaide this morning to sort it out.
My apology Re Epica…. thats 9L/100Km and 7.2L/100Km
I have owned a HOLDEN EPICA CDXI for three years and the only two complaints are poor economy (11.6 – 10.6 litres/ 100klms) and the park locked into position at 20,000 klms. I released it using the release slot and it supposably has been fixed under warranty. Otherwise so far no other problems>
I’ve had an Epica for nearly 12 months now, just about to get the 15k service. Folks, if you want it to handle and turn better, run the front tyres at 40psi and the rears around 34psi. I know that sounds weird but don’t knock it till you try it. There is a big lump of cast iron (its called an engine) sitting right on top of those front tyres and even 32psi is too low. As for other problems, creaky steering wheel from new, flaring in gear changes when cold, particularly 2nd-3rd, the occasional big thump from the auto when it’s trying to change gear and I’m in heavy traffic. Major problem was fuel leaking in the engine bay, problem was the return canister and fittings and the fact that it only leaked enough fuel to evaporate and cause a big stink and make me feel sick. Unfortunately not enough that you could see which was a pain. Other than that, for the bargain price I paid, sub $24k drive away, it serves a purpose, it’s comfortable to sit in, rides well and I’m getting 8.6l/100km average and I drive in city traffic every day.
I have owned my Holden Epica since August 2008, have had on several occasions problems with it not starting. The engine just wont fire! Have had it towed back to a Holden dealership (separate dealerships) 3 times, but for some reason it miraculously starts when they get it off the tow truck! They’ve hooked it up to the computer several times but no luck, no errors show up! It has on many other occasions started after a few minutes of waiting but i’m worried now the warranty has run out, it’s either not going to start at all one day or Holden will suddenly find out what the problem is (no doubt expensive to fix!) Just wondering if anybody else has had this problem?
Follow up to my earlier post. Holden have discovered a faulty crankshaft sensor was to blame. Stopping the engine from starting as not to damage anything. All fixed now & fingers crossed no more problems!
Good to hear they got it sorted Scott, as you say fingers crossed for no more issues like that.
Regards,
Craig
hi scotty b,
i have the same problen as you, but for at lease 6mts now, been to dealership 4 times, changed coil immobiliser, cam shaft sensor, ecu unit, and last time wiring to the plug jacks connected to the ecu unit, but here we go again, wont start tonight same old thing, its driving me mad, so please if you find anything please let me know
regards
gerry
I have owned my 2010 Epica CDXI auto, for about two months, Whilst i am happy with the comfort, economy and general feel of the car, I have had some “odd’ issues.
Not starting, found that turning ignition off, then try again works.
Sudden loss of power, put the foot down to accelerate, only to have no power for a couple of seconds.
During driving in traffic, gear changes, sometimes lurch from one gear to another. Reminiscent of a old 2 gear powerglide auto. On reading the posted comments I forsee a mixed future. Thankfully it is a company car.
Regards
Ian
I appreciate all these comments fellas! I was about to purchase one and was doing my due diligence and hitting up the articles and forums about the Epica. 2008 Epica for $16000 + on road costs. Good thing I checked.
My holden Epica 2007, please advise I have blown every light globe some more than once , over time. Indicators brake lights head lights, plus the brake pedal switch and the latest is loss of power when driving , engine light on, hasn’t stalled jsut no power. It seems that there is some kind of electrical problem. Does anyone know anything about it.
In further addition to previous comment, have now done 6700km and have the pleasure of oil leaks onto my driveway. The oil leak may account for the overheated engine smell that we get when at the end of a journey. It has had its 3000km service (oddly enough the oil leak started around the same time?) and will be going back in next week to sus out the issue.
I still like the car, for comfort etc I just hope issues do not start to escalate.
Webbie
hi all:
we changed the crankshaft sensor, the same as scotty b, and all seems to be ok, no problems for the last 6 weeks, so hopefully that is problem solved, p.s. the lease is up in June, we will be trading it in for some other model, bye
I bought a CDXi 07 model in 08 and I have only had 1 problem. That was the transmission got stuck in PARK. Holden took it and fixed it, ended being a sensor problem.
Other than that, drives beautifully, petrol is at 8.4L / 100km, get 600km a tank. Very comfortable leather seats, truly a “poor man’s Mercedes”
Someone actually mentioned to me that they mistook it for a Mercedes. I understand why people wouldn’t like the base models, but the top range models are perfect, especially me being only 20 years old, it’s awesome
Love my baby and will definitely still be driving her in 5 years time.
I have a 2007 Epica and a beautifull front of it. I had a problem with the battery and it was replaced but they could not find the same battery butafter i got a substitute one from Holden the warning light started turning on and the car stoped anywhere and at any time so I took the car to Holden for a check they informed me that the battery they put inn causes data loss in the card and I have to replace it of which was going to cost more thousands to replace. Why should we have to get diffrent batteries if they cause electric issues after replacing them. Has enyone replaced the battery and got issues with?
Bought a 2009 model second hand about 15 months ago. Only problem has been the aforementioned issue with the discs. Otherwise, it does what it’s meant to for a mid-size, small V6: it’s comfortable enough for the family, has better than average fuel economy, better power than a smaller car and it’s not ugly. All in all, it’s actually quite a sensible car.
Correction: 2008 model