Holden Captiva

Simple fix for faulty headlights after replacing dead battery – Have now done 125,000km and still going strong towing my camper trailer. Have had to minor “interesting “ problems recently: - temperature gauge flickering intermittently, so I bought a new one and then found the problem fixed itself when I just pulled the connector plug off and on. - battery died so replaced it. A month later I noticed the left… Read more

high beam doesn’t work, so replaced the globes even though filaments looked ok. Still not working. Physically switched headlights (removed and plugged into opposite side) and observed that both headlight units worked when plugged into RHS but neither worked on LHS, I.e. all globes are ok. Checked and swooped fuse and relays, no change. Did some more Googling. As advised, disconnected battery leads, touched them together for ~5 minutes to “discharge capacitors” due to possible “low voltage event”. Reconnected, put lights on, still problem. Started engine, put lights on, FIXED!!!! What a day! Thanks to all those who post stuff to internet to help us solve these problems. While driving last night I noticed three cars with dim LHS headlights, probably all recently had flat batteries…

Comfortable! Drives perfectly, love it! – This has been the best car I’ve owned so far. Drives beautifully, hasn’t missed a beat! Comfortable, nice cold air. Great for road trips, either long haul or short. Love this car! Show details

Great value 7 seater SUV – Bought the car 2017 and so far love this car. It has everything with a low price tag. Leather seats, 7 seaters, Android auto, reverse camera, sunroof, keyless entry. It drives well and felt better with the eco button on. High driving seat as well, so it is easy to see your surrounding. When I bought this, it comes with 7 years warranty and capped service, so that is a big bonus. Show details

Craptiva keep driving away from me – Never ever ever ever ever buy these captivas because you will forever ever ever ever spend more money fixing it than you paid for it......like my relationships looks gd on the outside but not gd on the inside.....stay away save your money better take public transport because those captivas you buy means no sleep. The stress becomes overwhelming.take my advice and run . Show details

rubbish vehicle – I had a very ordinary experience with the Holden Captiva. I owned a 2013 Holden Captiva and it spent a lot of time on the back of the tow truck. computer, starter motor, blown engine. worst car I ever owned. Show details

LIKE A CHALLENGE? – Too good to go to the scrappy for $600 but unreliable starting, burning coolant and no credible or financially viable solution and with only 105,000kms on the dial my daughter was happy for me to take on the challenge! Bad reputation and I believe well earned! Having said that, there are plenty of them on the road here and it has more sensors and… Read more

options than many more expensive models. When up and running, it sits on the road well and does all you ask. My first task was to stop the coolant loss, so a bottle of Nulon Head Leak sealant repair was added. At first seemed ok then coolant loss resumed. So, ever the optimist (and cheapo), I added another. About 12,000km later still good! (Checked monthly). A couple of dead battery/no start episodes revealed a battery issue which, due to the extended warranty, was replaced free of charge! (With 1month left on the Warranty!!!) As the Blower/fan was also unreliable, I got one from a scrappy and touch wood it has performed well ever since. You need the fan for the Aircon to work so it is a Must! These vehicles need to be run properly and not only for the school and shops run. I have made the effort to do reasonable distances whenever I use it and touch wood it seems to like that! I don't use it daily, but after a year I have a fair amount of confidence in it now, though a Temperature Gauge instead of RED Thermo indication when hot, is a real risky way of operating in a hot climate. Given the options I would not buy one as the unreliability/fear factor and expensive repair options would deter me. Too many mechanics go to the fault code analyser and if that doesn't fix it they are stumped. Despite spending good money my daughter was told, "it's Not the EGR" and as they later left it running on idle for a long period they also said it's not leaking coolant! For now it is a cheap "use occasionally" option and has moved large loads when asked. Strangely, I like it or is it the challenge??

Glutton for punishment or Hopeful through experience? We'll see! Having been taught many painful lessons by my Daughter's Craptiva, I took the plunge and bought a 2017 Holden Diesel Captiva LTZ with 190,000kms on the clock and full service records. I drove it home and the wheels didn't fall off! Of course the price of Diesel has skyrocketed since… Read more

but I am retired and visits to the Grandkids etc are the main use. As the Captiva range was ended in 2018 I believe that most, if not all of the Captiva issues have been revealed, addressed or at least mitigated. The impressive array of sensors when the ignition is turned on is amazing if not a worry, but so far all have done their job. The perceived failure to not have a Coolant temperature gauge, in a vehicle with well documented overheating issues, is fixed by a readily available Coolant Temperature reading.

As usual it sits well on the road and is relatively quiet for a diesel. To have a permanently inserted ignition key, with a sensor to identify the remote inside the vehicle is strange, as is the emergency use manual door key in the remote and the secret location of it's internal switch, but hopefully I won't need to use it. An aftermarket set of Remotes was I think, expensive but necessary, as the Original Remotes were cracked and falling apart. A design failure!

Having the spare wheel located under the vehicle takes me back to older vehicles and while a nuisance, the 7 seats make it necessary. Hopefully I won't need to need to use it, or the RAC will do the hard yards!

The factory fitted Sunroof won't get much use in Western Australia as the sun is pretty brutal on the skull given the chance!

So after 3 weeks of ownership, I've had a successful Fuel Filter "burn" on the freeway and it is purring along, with my Temu sourced HUD better than looking at the speedo and digital readout and the Cruise Control keeping me legal and fuel efficient. No coolant loss, to date and good Aircon with comfortable leather seats. Onwards and Upwards!

When the reading it shows 53c on the screen. Turn off your car , disconnect the negative terminal only for five minutes and reconnect it back and start the car, the temperature will go back to normal reading and the AC will start working. If this issue continues to happen then replace the outside temperature sensor and it’s about $12. Good luck

Reliable & comfortable – I bought a 2011 petrol V6 even after hearing the horror stories. Owned for approximately two years & never left me stranded or broke down ever. It was a nice car inside and out and was super reliable for me. I would own one again despite the bad reputation. Loved mine. Show details

Holden Captiva biggest piece of junk ever! Holden should be ashamed – Holden Craptiva worst car I have ever bought. I have been buying Holdens since 1982 when I bought my very first car, a Holden HT Kingswood. Since then I have bought many other Holdens including a Gemini, HQ Kingswood, one of the first VL Commodores when it was released, how many other Commodores since, I have lost count of. In recent times I… Read more

even bought 2 VE Commodores, so you could say I have had a few Holdens over the years. Without doubt my biggest car mistake ever, was buying this piece of garbage Captiva. Holden should be ashamed that it put its name to this car.

I had it for less than a year, only drove about 4000km in it and started getting a DPF issue. So organised to book it in for a service, few days before getting it serviced I had noticed what I thought was a transmission issue, slipping in drive. Of course you cant just check your own fluid levels, as they make these units sealed.

Long story short, turns out my transmission is cactus. So with the help of Google it turns out this lemon of a car is notorious for having transmission issues, amongst a number of other faults. Contacted a Holden dealer to see what is going on, of course they did not want to hear anything about it and priced a replacement transmission at over $5000. Funny thing being only paid $4800 for the car in the first place.

You cant just put any second hand Captiva transmission in this model, according to transmission experts; Holden in their wisdom put up to I believe 10 different transmissions for the same model. which you can't just swap out. So obviously to further screw over the consumer, not only does Holden make a car with a crappy transmission in the first place but they make it nearly impossible to organise for a second hand one when yours dies. Thanks Holden, well done; great to see you looked after your loyal customers.

This is where our Governments fail us, you have a car that has obvious issues and there is no protection for consumers. It had recalls on the transmission but if they keep failing who cares. You contact a Holden dealer and they just fob you off. Funny thing is the car just started itself with no one in the car, when I spoke to the Holden dealer, they again just ignored the issue. So what would have happened if the car started itself at night in a garage attached to the house, I am sure carbon monoxide is healthy for humans.

Shame on you Holden, take responsibility for selling a lemon like the Captiva.

Piece of crap and General Motors doesn’t want to help – Heard from the mechanic at the Holden dealership today. General Motors, who bought out Holden and is now responsible for all Holden service and claims, has refused to do anything about the faulty transmission on the my 2014 Captiva. This is in spite of the fact that the mechanic looked up the history of the vehicle and found out that 2 years and… Read more

1 month before I bought it, Holden had replaced the transmission and it had a 2 year warranty. So it was 1 month out of warranty when I bought this lemon.

This is of course after me having to replace the engine only 2 weeks after buying the car, seeing four different mechanics trying to find one who could do the job, the Holden dealer having it for about 6 weeks to do so, having it back for about 5 days, realising something still wasn’t right, taking it back only to be told the transmission seals were leaking and it was down 2 litres of transmission fluid and them having it for over a week to do that, again having it for about another 5 days knowing something still wasn’t right, having to have it towed back to the dealership after it wouldn’t drive properly, them having it for another week now only to be told it needs a whole new transmission!!!

So a car that is only 8 years old and 97,000 km on it when I bought it has already had to have a new engine and now 2 transmissions. And GM doesn’t want to know about it.

It cost me $4,800 to get a new engine put in and now they are asking for $3850- for a second transmission!!!! (This is discounted by the mechanic from the normal $5,000 cost!!! I’ve had the car for 15 weeks and have only had it in my garage for less than 5 weeks.

I’m a single aged pensioner. I thought I was buying my last car. I will have sunk almost half of my meagre superannuation payout into buying and repairing this car, about $23,000 all up, on a lemon of a car that is probably worth about $13,000 to $15,000!!!

GMHS are being complete $$#(“@$$ in not replacing this second transmission in good faith. I think it’s because it’s a Holden they could care less going forward.

I also only now find out that Captivas have pretty crappy track records.

Edit update: The dealer still has my car doing the transmission replacement. It was taken to them early Dec. 2022 and it is now 3rd March 2023. So the car I purchased on Aug 29, 2022 has been in my possession for less than 5 weeks of my 6 months of ownership. The rest of the time it has been in the Holden dealers being repaired. Still no idea when I can pick it up!!!!!!!!

Piece of rubbish don't buy one – Dpf plus turbo after 110000km Been nothing but problems and problems Bought it to mechanic was going to charge 5k to fix but no guarantees Worst car Holden have made Colorado same bulshit I'll never buy another Holden again and steered my friends well away from Holden Show details

Its ok – My captiva 2010 2.4 llitres is wasting so much petrol since i bought it i cannot keep up my friends full tank they use it for up to 2 weeks long trips mine finishes so quickly although i do short trips and drive very little anyone else have the same problem?? Its a big problem for me. Also there is the petrol signs on dashboard one on left… Read more

comes up and blinks when petrol is low the other on the right side comes on most of the time and stays on although there is petrol , does anyone know what the one on right side mean??

Major malfunction of transmission in under 4yrs – Our (2018, Captiva LTZ) cars transmission has failed a number of times after we were assured it was fixed... After its 3rd return they (motors) stated, it was classed as an open job but this was never mentioned to us upon the cars number of prior (unsafe) releases.. It's been towed back 3 times due to a major transmission failure, after we were… Read more

assured it was fixed. The last time released it stopped working & couldn't even make it up a slight hill! We've now been advised by Motors after their fixes, that the transmission in our less than 4yr old car needs complete replacing but they don't seem to class this as a major failure! We would definitely not have bought the car had we known it would have a failed trasmission & would need a new one, in under 4yrs. We've had decent control errors, side mirror sensor errors, weather shields (motors fitted) blow off along a highway, clunky clinking in the gearbox, which we made them aware of approx 5 months prior to the transmissions failure, which they stated was normal! They refused to give us paperwork detailing their fixes! They stated they didn't need to provide paperwork on what they'd done to our car, because our car was being fixed out of "good will" & they actually didn't have to fix it because the car was out of warranty! We asked for information on where they'd test driven our car, after it failed on us 3 times after their fixes & tests, they stated they didn't need to provide us with that info either.

Lock out problem – My 2014 HOLDEN CAPTIVA locked all doors and would not respond to the is electronic nor manual keys , Naturally I phoned our local ex Holden Dealer Young Motors Geraldton from whom it was purchased .The service manager said the vehicle would have to be carried to them via towing co . On the of chance i spoke to a local auto election ,within… Read more

30 minutes a young lad attended ,ten minutes later the car was unlocked and purring away .. cost 75 dollars

Dont buy this is a piece of crap – I am driving a 2.2tdi 2012 Holden Captiva. This car does not have power and really slow to respond to the throttle. Its really heavy on diesel I am not even getting 9km/l. My Captiva have 75000 km on the clock and the transmission failed. Do not buy Show details

Captiva keeps stalling n wont regen – Just had throttle body replaced, egr valve and a force burn at the mechanic on the 2010 turbo diesel cg captiva. Captiva done a few in-regular burns, since then captiva hasn't done anymore burns and will stall while driving almost every time we drive. Have to turn ignition off n back on starts straight away, also noticed when restarting car the… Read more

traction control lights stay on after stalling. It did throw a code once it was P02E1 diesel intake air flow control performance, i plugged a spc tools scan tool in and the misses cleared it by accident code hasnt came back since and car will still stall and help would be appreciated thanks

Love my 7 seater Captiva – Bought 2015 brand new, petrol, automatic. My Captiva has never given me a problem. This is my 2nd Captiva. Love the space, sunroof, leather seats/interior, rear camera & sensor.... love this car. No regrets purchasing this Captiva. I’ve looked after this car well. Staff at Castle Hill Holden very helpful & friendly BUT Holden Blacktown staff are so opposite. Show details

Auto Transmission total meltdown at 127,000klm.. Holden don't want to know about it – My wife's car. 2013 model, 127,000klms. Dealership carried out the 130,000klm service, and skipped the now known to be crucial 120,000klm auto oil change service because they serviced according to time rather than distance. Transmission total meltdown failure. Have had oil laboratory tested, and found to be well within DX6 specification… Read more

and clean, apart from huge amount of metal fragments. Numerous exchanges with the dealership and Holdencare, but all to no avail. Next step is N.C.A.T. I'm not paying an $8,000 repair bill for a piece of junk that is a VERY well known and documented failure with this product. If anybody can add any supporting evidence or experiences, would be much appreciated.

Served us well for 12 years Best Car Ever – 2008 Captiva Used daily for work and towing Serviced kept up regularly Finally saying goodbye at 308,000kms Only to upgrade No major issues over our 12 years Thankyou Holden it wasn't a Craptiva for us ! Show details

A practical and great looking wagon/suv – I bought a second hand 2014 LTZ diesel Captiva with 134000 km’s. Since owning I’ve changed to Pedders Suspension- bushes/shocks/struts/springs. I highly recommend using aftermarket if replacing, because genuine may not last as long from GM. This has made quiet a difference for ride and handling. It’s a shame that some of the original wearing… Read more

parts, pre-maturely wear out it seems (especially anything rubber looking). I’ve had the transmission fluid changed and it’s now changing gears smoother than ever. Unfortunately the leather seats are a bit firm, so I’ve changed the front seats to a cloth type for comfort. This has sorted that issue out for me (back pain sufferer). The cars done around 155k now and I’ve just found out the turbo intercooler rubber pipe to the right, has a split. Not a big deal but still some $$ to fix. Other things that may be ignored by some but are still worth a mention. And that is the exterior running boards that were once black, eventually will turn grey/white if left untreated. Also the paint that comes off from the interior door grab handles. Other than those things it has actually been reliable with the engine/gears and electronics and hasn’t left me stranded anywhere to date. Not quiet as refined as other Korean made cars Hyundai/ Kia etc, but worthy of a look and test drive. When buying I was informed to stay away from 2011-2013 year models, due to issues that have now apparently been rectified on the newer ones. It can be a bumpy ride at times but that could just be the 19inch wheels perhaps. Diesel economy combined is 10-11litres per/100kms for diesel.

Great to drive and reliable – We purchased the car brand new in 2008, an AWD turbo Diesel. its been the most reliable car we have ever had, and that's from me who has owned Toyota's for most of his life, with issus I might add.. One problem last year with the brake line on the Captiva at $230 cost. Otherwise, in the last 12 yrs it's been brilliant. But, we have serviced it too… Read more

the book (every 12 months) for the first 6 yrs (extended warranty), then have serviced every 6 months.

This is my ever day car – I drive the car every day and l always service it on time but l have a oil leak from turbo just gotta fix that aswell but besides that it's a very good car Show details

It’s comfortable – Use my car to drop kids at school and drove them to curricular activities. Very high fuel consumption. The car itself is very comfortable and leather seats are great with kids. Plenty of room in the boot and in the back. Wish it had aircon in the back though for the kids. Show details

Bad buy – Paid 8500 5mths later 3000 for transfer now shift problems. Drops hard going down shift between 4th to 3rd, it's like goes into early.I don't want to be up for a gearbox now.

Okay, not great – We bought our Holden Captiva Ltz brand new in 2014. It fits the 3 car seats in the back easily and has a decent size boot. It’s been a nice comfortable car to drive. The car is used everyday for the school run and grocery shopping. It uses 18-20l per 100km, doesn’t come close to holden’s advertised fuel consumption. The car has always been serviced on time through Holden and hasn’t had any major problems. Show details

Run away – It has been nothing but trouble since purchase. Transmission went at 40,000 kms and was replaced under warranty, it went again at 93,000 kms and replaced 2nd time out of warranty. After warranty expired the transmission went again and had to pay $7000 to have it replaced out of pocket. I am working with a group of other captiva owners to SUE… Read more

Holden for selling a faulty product. Spent nearly $20,000 on repairs for this vehicle and it has only done 130,000 kms.

Not worth it's value – Bought it 6 years ago looked after it very well. Got it serviced time to time but all I got is disappointment with keys issue electrical problem. Lots of other problem came with brand new car. Show details