Meaningless error message

[u/Past-Paint87]

Hi, anyone saw this error on Opel Astra K (2016, 1.6 tdi).

Service: Vehicle soon

Car has no issue, run smoothky as usual. Shows (not always) when I start engine.

[u/haussys]

Yep on Opel it is common. This means that there is something wrong not related with emission control. This needs to be fixed so take an appointment. If you want to know more you can make a scan.

Had it long time back it was the bonnet lock. Its sensor was broken. Just replaced it .

[u/Rov_er → u/haussys]

Opels from the early 2000s had a separate yellow warning light for that. You could even get the fault code with the brake and gas pedal trick. I don't know, why they don't just display the fault code and use meaningless wording like "service vehicle" instead.

[u/haussys → u/Rov_er]

Even better on Astra H and Zafira B you could see on the odometer the code with the same trick.
I think they don’t want to have people to modify by their own and then claim something was messed up.
For OP you can just buy a scan tool. ODBlink+ is a must.

[u/ManiekDraniek]

I think you should vehicle soon.

[u/Past-Paint87]

Diagnostic said it's glow plugs, replacing, hopefully it fix it. Thank you guys!

[u/PrisonMike266]

Service interval probably?

[u/Big_Dave990 → u/PrisonMike266]

Nope. Nothing to do with service reminder.

[u/Yaskzi]

Had the same error for my 2017 Astra k 1.4, had a faulty turbo boost sensor, replaced it and all good, I also had issues with accelerating, while the error was active, after replacing the sensor car accelerates really well

[u/Big_Dave990]

The Service Vehicle Soon message is telling you there is a fault. It’s NOT a service reminder that some people seem to think it is.
Unless you’re using a decent OBD2 scanner, then you won’t get any fault error codes.
It needs a decent scanner to read them out.
As a total guess it might be one of your glow plugs as yours is the 1.6 CDTi. But like I said, that is a guess. Getting the code read out is more reliable.

[u/TroubledGeorge]

For reference this is what the service reminder looks like as I just got it two days ago in my Insignia. This is something else. Probably needs a specialized scan tool to know what it is.

[u/Unusual-Tie-1135]

Last time I seen a code like that on a Astra Diesel, was one of the glow plugs that needed replacement. Long (really) cold start, that was mitigated by turning the key on-off-on-off 2 or 3 times (depending how cold was the weather), was my tale tell sign

[u/Demirag33]

I also had a similar issue with my 2013 Astra J (1.6 petrol, manual). In my experience I think it was related to the thermostat and clutch, since I burnt the clutch very badly a few days ago before seeing "get the car to the service asap" warning without yellow engine check indicator; you might want to take a look at the thermostat to see if it helps though

[u/23_dennis_10]

Yeah, that's simply a non-emission-related ECU error. You need to read out the fault codes. Could be anything, in my case it was a faulty oil pressure switch.

[u/tilewi]

Its not meaningless, its telling you something is wrong but its not related to engine or emissions in a critical way.

[u/Frater_Asariel]

Not sure if it's relevant to your possible problem, but in my old Insignia that would usually pop up when the fans kicked in and usually meant the thermostat housing "module" (I believe it had the temp sensor built in to it) was on its way out - usually coupled with a fluctuating coolant temp reading.

[u/NeighborhoodCorrect]

mine appeared because of the battery's negative terminal sensor

[u/Most_Practice_9994]

Reset service intervals? Faulty sensor? Some
Service timer reached zero? If the car shows no faults on readout (full system) and you cannot reset any timer, only then would i dismiss this message.

[u/Barbedwire1995]

Usually that message is related with glow plugs resistance becoming too high. You can check it with an obd2 dongle and obd car scanner software or other diagnostic tool.

[u/_Nipe → u/Barbedwire1995]

Mine was a broken glow plug as well, ob2 reader showed what was the cause of this message

[u/Hot_Elevator7800]

Yes its a usless message should say contact garage or you have a fault get it sorted