Loud screeching noise from under the bonnet

[IanA]

No, it wasn't a cat.

On a recent trip to Scotland, about 280 miles from home, our Grandland Hybrid "Business" model ( a pre-digital dash runout model reg March 22 with 30k travelled) developed a loud screeching noise from under the bonnet. Red warning lights, spanner and the "Engine Fault" message. Called AA, he deleted the error codes, drove car and pronounced OK. About 350 miles later, the same thing happened except that the AA man this time could not help.

I took it to our supplying main dealer yesterday and managed to provoke the noise by driving in Hybrid mode and then switching the eSave on. I drove to the front door, upped the bonnet and let the showroom hear it. That was the first time I'd had an opportunity to hear where the noise was coming from- the electronic hybrid control gear on the nearside of the engine bay. In hybrid mode, the drive slips from petrol to electric and back again without intervention. The car pulls away on electric before the petrol engine starts. The electric range figure is stuck at 0.

The dealer has had it in for diagnosis today- cam cover gasket !!! I would have said that they were taking the p!ss but we shall see what the replacement gasket (another trip because not in stock) achieves.

My daughter searched online and found several instances reported but no fixes posted yet.

[IanA]

Resolution- I took the car to the dealer on 13 June (and collected an electric Corsa courtesy car with 12 miles on the clock). The diagnosis had remained the same and the parts were now in stock. That afternoon I got a call and was told the car was available for collection.

Thr cam cover gasket had been replaced, the bolts and the cover itself looked new, and the electronics "reset". The car now drives as it used to with all controls and instruments behaving normally.

The hybrid drive slipping from petrol to electric is apparently normal. The main reason I hadn't noticed it before is that we normally drive with eSave on and the self-charging is set to Max range.

[IanA]

Well that didn't last long...
We were out at the weekend when the "Engine fault, repair needed" message appeared. The Engine Management Light in amber came on followed by the amber service Spanner indicator. The engine took on a chugging note, rather like an exhaust leak.

Stopping and restarting cleared the noise but the indicators persist. I found that I could provoke the noise by changing down one or two gears. It's an 8speed auto with flappy paddles. My impression is that the ignition timing becomes too advanced and that the anti-knock sensor does not retard it. When parked with the engine running, selecting eSave/On causes the Power indicator needle to waver wildly between 0 and 40%.

Anyway it is booked in with the dealer tomorrow . They will, no doubt read the codes and pass on the diagnostics to the Vauxhall Technical Department.

I had rather hoped that with this being a runout model; all problems would have been fixed.

When replacement time comes around, I'm not too happy about the prospect of a wet-belt 1.2 engine from a basic engineering point of view.

So- a Squashie, Sportidge or even a Dustup may be in the frame.

Can anyone recommend a suitable code reader for these Vauxhalls please?

[IanA]

So- the latest problem first manifested itself when I used kick-down to join a dual carriageway. It seems that the turbo pressure (obviously controlled by the wastegate so not excessive) blew off the hose connecting it to the intercooler- according to the dealer today.

TBH I didn't know it had an intercooler and anyway would not have been able to see the problem from a cursory inspection under the bonnet. Most likely only visible from under the car.

Service guy said it's a known problem and the design of the union has been modified on later cars. Fixed now. no charge.

Diagnosis (if it turns out not to be a warranty fault) is now £120 +VAT.

I've ordered one of these which will report engine codes:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154539965453

[jw021979]

It might be back in soon. Vauxhall are recalling some plug in hybrids as they are replacing the battery. Not sure if it affects 22 plate cars but does affect 20 plate cars.