“Small number of cars affected.”
We were rather wistful when Holden said goodbye to the Commodore, ending a line of historically-significant V8 saloons that were so wide-reaching in their appeal & influence that most have at least one prevailing memory with a V8 Commodore in their lives. Naturally, this sense of nostalgia contributed to the hike in interest and sales of the Commodore toward the end of its life, where they found motivation from GM-sourced 6.2-litre LS3 motors.
However, those very LS3’s appear to be problematic, with the final batch of cars suffering from “rough running or misfiring” due to a batch of faulty rocker arms installed in only a “small number” of customer cars, with most of the affected vehicles still in Holden’s possession. The units were fitted to Commodore SS, Sportswagon SS, Ute SS, Calais V8 and Caprice models that were produced between July and October, encompassing just the very last of the series.
In a letter sent out to owners, Holden said:
“GM Holden this week is directly contacting a small number of customers to advise them that their new cars will require some minor after sales rework at a Dealer of their choice. Holden has been recentlly alerted by GM to a quality issue with the LS3 V8 engines in some of its recently-built Australian made cars that could result in rough running or misfiring of the engine. As a precaution, Holden is advising a select group of customers with 2017 V8 Commodore or Caprice vehicles that it would like to replace all eight inlet rocker arm components in their engines. Holden has apologised to customers for the inconvenience, and affected customers will also receive their next scheduled service free-of-charge.” - GM Holden
The LS3 V8 provides power for slightly less than half of the 26,000 Commodore/Caprice variants sold this year, though Holden is confident that it has identified the exact number of affected owners, and will be in touch with them in due course.
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