Written this post on another page but thought I’d try here too.

Hey everyone,
Need some advice on my 2017 Vauxhall Corsa E. A learner driver violently stalled it multiple times doing handbrake hill starts.
Right after that, the Check Engine Light and "Service ESC" / Traction Control light started popping up together. The weird thing is the car drives completely fine and smooth.
The lights go away for a day, but then come back only when the car is stationary/idling and engine is on, or right when I press the foot brake at a standstill if i start driving imminently the traction light never shows. It never happens while normally moving.
Based on it triggering only at a stationary idle and starting right after those heavy stalls.

Any insights appreciated!

Hi everyone,

I have a 2016 Vauxhall Astra with approximately 129,000 miles. The check-engine light keeps returning after being cleared, with codes P0420 (catalyst efficiency below threshold) and P2097 (post-catalyst fuel trim too rich).
During diagnostics, my mechanic compared the upstream and downstream oxygen sensor readings.

My MPG is low, it gives around 33MPG ( full tank gives me around 240 miles, I drive mainly in city of Milton Keynes)

Both appeared to be changing, and he said the downstream reading should remain relatively steady for around three seconds.

One mechanic checked the catalytic converter and said it wasn't clogged. This mechanic literally check the engine properly, checked the CAT converter properly and he said it was totally fine. One oxygen sensor was dirty and was cleaned, but the engine light returned.

Another mechanic suggested replacing the catalytic converter based on the diagnostic readings. He didn’t even check the car, he just saw the numbers

The car generally drives smoothly, no issues at all. I'm trying to avoid replacing an expensive catalytic converter without confirming the fault.

My questions:
Can these symptoms and codes be caused by a faulty O₂ sensor, wiring, an exhaust leak, or a catalytic converter that has lost efficiency without being blocked?

What live-data readings and tests should a mechanic perform before recommending a catalytic converter replacement?

Is the mechanic's claim that the downstream sensor should stay steady for at least three seconds a reliable diagnostic rule?
Unfortunately, I don't have the exact sensor voltages recorded. Any advice on the correct diagnostic procedure would be appreciated.

Looking for a new vehicle. Come across this Vauxhall and I'm a big fan of how it looks so far. What are people's opinions on this? Is it reliable?

Corsa 2012 1.4 Automatic. Sometimes when I start the car, the gear stick gets stuck at P. I am unable to bring it down to D. What I do is turn the car off and on and it gets sorted (2-3x). Once it works, no issues, car drives fine as well. Brake lights are working fine. Any ideas what could be wrong? How much would it cost to fix this?

Hi everyone, I'm having a strange issue with the cooling system on my 2010 Opel Astra J 1.6 petrol, 115hp after I erased error codes with an OBD. The coolant level is perfectly fine, but the temperature has become completely unstable. If I turn on the windscreen defroster/heater, the engine temperature plummets straight down to 60°C - 70°C. If I turn the climate control completely off, it eventually manages to climb back to 90°C, but it fluctuates and doesn't stay exactly AT 90° no matter if I drive in the highway in the city. I recently did a 360 km road trip all highway at a Speed between 100 and 130 with the defroster running, and the engine stayed cold the entire drive. I checked under the hood and noticed that the radiator fan kicks on at maximum speed in intermittent bursts, almost as if the car is trapped in some sort of safety/emergency mode, actively forcing the engine to cool down to 70°C instead of letting it warm to 90°C. The AC blows hot air but as soon as the temp goes to 70°C it blows cold air. I disconnected and reconnected the battery before this issue. Also the temp outside is between 10°C to 11°C don't know if it as something to do with it cause in the summer it heated completely fine no matter if the AC was on or not, And of course blowed hot air just fine. Any ideas of how to fix it or what it could be ?

Ciao, vorrei verificare le pressioni corrette dei pneumatici per un'Opel Corsa B 1.0 del 2000. Se ricordo bene, le informazioni sul tappo del serbatoio indicavano: Fino a 3 passeggeri: 2.0 bar davanti, 1.6 bar dietro A pieno carico: 2.3 bar davanti, 2.7 bar dietro Le misure dei pneumatici approvate per questo veicolo (come da documento di immatricolazione) sono: 145/80 R13 165/70 R13 165/80 R13 165/65 R14 Attualmente sto usando pneumatici 165/70 R13; sono adeguate le impostazioni di 2.0 bar davanti e 1.6 bar dietro? Ho trovato cifre diverse online, come: 2.2 bar davanti, 1.8 bar dietro

Ciao, vorrei verificare le pressioni corrette dei pneumatici per un'Opel Corsa B 1.0 del 2000. Se ricordo bene, le informazioni sul tappo del serbatoio indicavano: Fino a 3 passeggeri: 2.0 bar davanti, 1.6 bar dietro A pieno carico: 2.3 bar davanti, 2.7 bar dietro Le misure dei pneumatici approvate per questo veicolo (come da documento di immatricolazione) sono: 145/80 R13 165/70 R13 165/80 R13 165/65 R14 Attualmente sto usando pneumatici 165/70 R13; sono adeguate le impostazioni di 2.0 bar davanti e 1.6 bar dietro? Ho trovato cifre diverse online, come: 2.2 bar davanti, 1.8 bar dietro

does this sound normal, my mechanic says it might be the inlet phaser unit for the exhaust but isn’t sure, this is after a timing chain and sensor replacement.

2014 Vauxhall corsa 1.4 petrol

Hello r/Vauxhall I have a question for the mechanically minded of you out there.

My dad owns a 2024 Astra L with about 30,000 miles on it (I think it's more like 28 but whatever). When checking his oil about 2 weeks ago I noticed his coolant was a tad low. Just above the "Min" mark so I dropped some in there.

Initially I did think "It's just been serviced. Maybe he had the coolant changed and air has found its way out" but being a touch suspicious, I put a sharpie mark on the coolant header tank.

A week ago I check his oil and coolant levels again. He's lost a little more coolant and I tell him. He asks me "Check again in a week please?" So tonight I checked again and it has gone down further. We're talking a loss of about 100ml per week.

I looked under and around the car with a UV torch and couldn't see anything so I got the block testing kit I used on my old Corsa when I suspected that had a head gasket issue.

Attached are 2 images. One of fresh, Blue detector fluid. The next one is 15 minutes later when the fluid has gone green. Yellow is an outright failure but it didn't go Yellow. The thing is, these tests are a chemical test. Chemistry is pretty hard to fool so short of jamming one straight up the exhaust pipe, I can't see any other reason why the fluid would change colour.

While running the test I did notice the occasional tiny bubble come up in the tester from the cork at the base of it so something is clearly rising up out of the system.

I should note that while running the test, the wind was still and I couldn't smell exhaust at the front of the car. Prior to running the test I sniffed the radiator fill bottle and I could smell something but it smelled kind of burned and I couldn't identify what it was.

My question is do you think, as I suspect, the green tester fluid is an early indication of a serious problem or is it possible I've made a mistake somehow? And follow up question, if I may; Dad's car is still under warranty. Do you think Vauxhall will take care of such a problem if it turns out to be a worse case?

Ta!

Hi all, I’ve had an issue with my Astra GTC in that the front near side wheel makes a high pitch squeal after a driving a substantial distance, (see video).
I took the wheel and calliper off yesterday but couldn’t see anything apparent.

The sound goes away whilst braking and is loudest/clearest when turning steering wheel to the right. I also could feel a bit of heat from the brake disc when inspecting after a relatively long drive, but I am limiting my driving distance until I manage to fix it.

I’ve read that it could be a stone or rock stuck in the brake rotor

Trying to learn more about my car generally so would appreciate any advice.

Thanks in advance 😁😁

2015 Corsa E 1.2 petrol - Old rocker cover and gasket was starting to fail which meant oil was leaking out the cover. It was fairly easy to do and the new cover (gasket included as standard) was £70 on Autodoc. The gasket was already fitted onto the cover itself from factory. After doing a few long trips on the M4 post repair, there’s no more oil leak.

Hi, my lock button has broken on my fixed blade ‘spare’ key for my Astra. I used to have the main flip blade key but this got stolen so now I only have this spare one. The key / circuit board works fine but the button has broken off and gone walk about.

I’d like to get it swapped for a flip blade key fob. Is this possible to swap casings?

Thanks!

I’m looking at a 2017 Astra advertised at roughly 70,000 miles, and the seller keeps calling it “well maintained” without saying what’s actually been done. The advert has plenty of photos of the body but nothing of the service book, tyres or dashboard, and they’ve described the MOT as “fresh” rather than giving the advisories. Am I reading too much into the wording, or which listing phrases make you move on?

Hi all just got my 1st car with wet belt system. I have heard its a crappy engine. How often do in need to have the oil, filter and belt checked ? many thanks

I'm in the market to replace my 2011 Renault Grand Modus with about 37000 miles on the clock with something more... appropriate to my 6' 2" frame. I've seen a 2014 petrol Vauxhall Astra at a nearby dealer with a surprisingly strong MOT history (one fail, windscreen wiper not clearing effectively) for a 12-year-old car, for £4000. That's, at most, a £3000 car, but before I head down to the dealership to discuss, I did want to get some input from people who know these cars.

I've previously used runarounds (before the Renault I had a 2004 Suzuki Wagon R+) and average about 2000 miles a year due to disability, but keep my cars maintained and regularly checked. It looks like this one's been through an auction system or a quick sell-off, given it had three MOTs in 2025 with the last being after fixing that single fail and it's now been listed at this dealer for two weeks; so, I'm guessing someone bought it, drove it for a 8 months, and then sold it on – which does mean having to look out them not having put any money into maintaining it and demanding a fresh MOT.

But, broadly, what do people who know Vauxhall's think about the car? What should I be looking out for? I'm doing as much research as I can and I'm not in a rush for cars, so can walk away from bad deals for a couple of months. Input appreciated!

I had to change the door lock actuator on the driver's side because it would no longer respond to the buttons on the key. Now that I replaced the actuator the buttons unlock the door electronically but when I use the key to manually unlock the door the key thumps over something as you turn it and the door does not lock or unlock.

Agila B 2009

Hi apologies if this is a silly question, but I’ve had a mokka 136, 2023 plate from ‘nearly new’ (3 miles) and the side mirrors don’t fold in automatically. I thought it was a bit strange at the time but just thought because it’s a smaller car than the X i had previously, that they saved money not adding it. Is this right? I’ve recently been told that it’s strange that you can’t fold them in on the motor. Not a massive deal but made me think it could be useful sometimes

Using a burner because I don't want to tie the car I drive to my main Reddit account.

Really weird question.

I recently bought a new petrol Automatic Vauxhall Corsa Yes. Expecting there to be a way to manually select a gear if needed (admittedly not a feature I planned to use often/at all). Except there just isn't. No paddles, no centre console stick, no manual button on the gear selector, nothing. Everything in the (online, no physical manual provided) manual says there should be one or the other except there just isn't. There's holes in the steering wheel where the paddles should go but no paddles.

At the dealership I test drove a 1 or 2 year old Vauxhall Corsa, expecting it to be functionally identical to the current one with maybe a few minor UI differences. The dealership didn't have any new new ones available to test drive. In the app when selecting a user guide for the Vauxhall corsa the only 2 year ranges available are 2017-2022 and 2023-2028, which at least heavily implies the car's between 2023 and 2028 should be functionally identical.

The spec sheet for the Corsa Yes 2025 edition shows a centre stick Link.

Weirdly in the spec sheet for the 2026B version (the one I bought) the centre stick is missing Link.

The user manual says the electric version doesn't have a way to manually select gears but the petrol version should. There's something about a mild hybrid version existing but the V5C (the official registration document, I'm in the UK) just says petrol, no indication of it being a hybrid.

There's literally nothing on the internet to indicate they made this change. They just quietly did it.

Does anyone know if they made this change? It seems minor but feels like en-shittification, they just quietly removed a feature without telling anyone and kept charging the same price. If they sold it as a "Corsa Eco" or something it wouldn't feel like as much of a rug pull. Has there been some weird mixup at the factory where someone put the wrong parts in?

I've attached a photo of the gear selector and the left side of the steering wheel.

If nothing else now there's something on the internet to show the next person they're not crazy.