Holden Captiva CG Series II 7 SX (2011-2013)

Great car, wish they still made them. The horn beeping at you when you leave the keys in it is a bit annoying.

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.

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.

Fan on after switch off – The cooling fan stays on while driving and after you switch off for about 2 minutes it eventually runs your battery out , changed temp and ambiance temp sensors no fix Show details

Fan running after switching off engine – Hi 2013 Diesel. After turning off the engine, it appears the fan continues to run for up to a minute. The series 2 drives very nicely, has plenty of power and stops nicely also. It’s just the fan running on, but not all the time It’s very noisy when it happens if parking in traffic. Any advice please. KP  Show details

2012 Holden Captiva 7 SX Diesel – We have a 2012 model Captiva 7 SX diesel, bought new in early 2013. We have had our share of problems, but overall, it hasn’t been the disaster that others have experienced. And when compared to other cars (Ford Rangers come to mind), it really hasn’t been that bad. As a car, it drives well, but don’t expect to carry anyone over 4 foot tall… Read more

in the 3rd row. But for a young family they are fine. 2 child seats fit in the 2nd row fine. Air conditioning is not the most efficient, and the 2nd row has only a tiny amount of air flow under the front seats. The 3rd row gets nothing. But for the occasional use as a 7 seater, it will get you by. Plenty of room in the front for tall adults. Reasonable on fuel, and will get 35 mpg on the highway without trying, and pretty good around town too. Boot space is OK, but obviously only if the 3rd row seats are folded down. Visibility is good. Easy to park and easy to drive. Plenty of power as well.

Most of the problems we had were under warranty, and I would suggest that by far the biggest issue is the service offered by Holden Dealers. Problems we have had were:

Air conditioning didn’t work 2 days after we bought it. Ours was one of the first to play up, so the dealers took a while to solve it. Was a simple reflash of the PCM to fix.

Driver’s seat belt started to fray early and this too was replaced under warranty.

The DPF failed to regenerate, and the dealer had to force a clean. It does seem to need regenerating fairly frequently but this can be partly due to what quality of fuel you use.

Engine had an oil leak, which meant the engine had to be removed to repair it, but this too was under warranty.

Starter motor wiring – this was a Clayton’s recall by Holden - they only fixed it if the car broke down. They didn’t fix the issue properly on our car though and we had to revisit this at our own expense.

If someone was to buy one, I would recommend the lower spec models, as they have less electronics to fail or go wrong. The 15000 km oil change interval is a bit of a stretch, so if you’re capable, do an oil change every 7500 kms and the engine will be better for it. Get a transmission oil change as well at some stage. That oil doesn’t last forever. And steer clear of cheaper branded fuels.

At around the 80000 to 100000 km mark, get the intercooler hose to the throttle body replaced before it fails. And get an auto electrician to fit a decent earth lug on the main earth wire from the battery to the engine block and clean the connection. This is one of the causes of the battery light coming on. Do this and you should have a reasonable run.

Expect to have to replace rear shocks and possibly front control arm bushes before 100000kms. Keep an eye on the brake master cylinder for leaks too.

But for what they cost new, it does the job.

Multipurposeful vehicle – Very versatile and multipurposeful vehicle which is great for family use. Perhaps best feature of this car, particularly when discussing the family practicality of it, are the two flip out seats in the boot, which are useful when having to taxi children. However, if car only to be used by one or two, definitely go for a smaller vehicle to save space, petrol and fuel emissions.  Show details

It's a bit weak – I've got an SX Diesel that's just clocked 150k and about to turn 5 years old. The initial years have been OK, with services every 6 months - which correlates pretty much to 15k on the odometer. Apart from one wiring issue that was dealt with as a warranty claim (including a tow, as the car wouldn't start when calling in at the local servo). This… Read more

Christmas we broke down on the road home from visiting relatives - the car was running but refused to go into gear. Once again this required roadside rescue and an expensive tow. But no warranty for this failure.

When the service guys looked at it they advised that it's the auto transmission that's failed and it's cheaper to replace than repair as "GM know they have a problem and offer the replacements at a discount". However this discounted replacement cost over $5k with labour and consumables included.

I'm not happy that with a properly serviced vehicle that has mostly done hot running and very little towing - I have a motorbike trailer which we take out on the odd weekend, but that's all the towing it's done - it's having such as significant transmission failure that's seen me $5k out of pocket.

Worst EVER!!! – My Captiva is just 5years old but cost too much for service aircon does't work paid $1,500 the engine sign keeps blinking now after I paid more than 1k of it to fix no results like to cry for this car. Cant say good about my car. Hate it .  Show details

Great Car for the Price – My Captiva is a 2013 SX with the 2.4L Petrol Engine. The car had been used in the City and had 35k on the clock. ECO button made no difference and it appeared to be struggling. Took it in for its final 36 month service and asked for it to be hooked up to the diagnostics. It returned a different car, engine much quieter, and gearbox was a dream… Read more

with changes exactly when you wanted them up and down. The car ride was harsh, down to city driving, took it over a few speed ramps at speed, and the suspension freed up, and is now a much nicer and quieter ride. I have been told by the Holden guys that if you by a secondhand Captiva, Disconnect the battery overnight, which will reset the computer and the car will adapt to your driving style. For me, the ECO button now works wonderfully and make a huge difference, whereas before the tweak, it did nothing at all. If you want a lot of bang for your buck, the Captiva is the car to chose, and the petrol 2.4 option is I am told the most reliable engine as its built in the US. I have always had a VW, so a Holden was a bit of dissapointment in terms of luxuries, such as outside temperature, climate control, and fuel computer, but I can live with that given the huge price differential. A bargain is what I wanted, and for the money a bargain is what I got.

Satisfactory Bottom-Tier SUV – There are much better SUVs out there than this one. Oh, where to start? The heavy SUV uses a 4-cylinder ~120kw petrol engine. This is not good for hauling trailers or even hauling its own weight with full passenger and luggage capacity. Tends to make excessive engine noise. The engine should've been a diesel, not petrol. Not a very smart move… Read more

by GM.

The black plastic accents are not quality material as the colour fades from sun exposure.

Colour needs to be maintained by applying silicone spray to it. Otherwise it looks trashy.

For the Australian market, it's also bad that there's no a/c vents for the rear passengers (except for foot vents underneath the front seats). As we know, days tend to get pretty hot around here, so it's not good that only the front seats have a/c vents.

Anyone sitting in the rear seats don't receive much of the cool air. What's worse is that the seats are small, which means it's only suitable for small adults or children under the age of 15.

Which leads to another negative. The two rear seats are tiny with such minimal leg room that it's not really possible to move your legs at all. And when these seats are in use, the boot space is also tiny.

You can't fit a full schoolbag in the back with those seats up.

The air conditioning system is weak. The air conditioner's max speed is equivalent to a gentle breeze. It's a joke.

Doesn't do much on a searing hot day.

The GPS that came as an extra is a complete waste of $3000.

It's junk. It's ridiculously slow and inaccurate. You have to take it to the dealer to get it updated and they CHARGE you for it.

You can get a much better multimedia system+GPS for $2000 and update the GPS yourself.

The turning circle on this SUV is dreadful, too.

Very wide. Need lots of room to do a U-turn. Compared to other SUVs, this is just...bad.

Onto the positives now...

It has decent suspension and power windows and cup holders.

Also has cruise control and airbags.

Wowww!!!1!

Don't buy this car.

Great family car for the money! – I purchased this car new in 2012 mainly because of the size (7 seats) and price. It drives well on the open road and around town. Can be a bit sluggish initially as the engine is only small for a large vehicle, but I chose the smaller engine as it was all I needed. Plenty of space for the kids and it is really easy to keep clean. I love the… Read more

seating position. Holden service was fantastic and they have fixed a couple of small issues with the alternator (replaced once), but is the only issue with this car in over 5 years. Service costs are low. I have had no problems with this car and take care of it to ensure it serves me and my family well. Running costs are very low.

Love my Captiva – I am very happy with my Captiva. It handles well and I have had no problems with it at all. It is very quiet and my son is now learning how to drive in it. There is plenty of room for three teenage boys and a large dog. Average running costs. I can only fault the material seats stain easy even though they are black.  Show details

Worst car to drive – i bought this car from castle hill showroom in 2013 January and since then this car is giving me trouble every now and then. In its 2nd year it has major transmission problem and it got replaced due to it was in warranty and again few months ago i had engine problem which is not covered and ended up spending 2K. most of the NRMA told me that they always get call for this car due to their transmission issue.  Show details

Great Car – Bought my Captiva 7 2012 brand new 4 years ago. After reading mixed reviews (Craptiva) went ahead anyway and made the purchase. To date have not had one single problem with the car. It is very slow to take off and is in no way a fast car. This doesn't bother me but may bother others. It Is cheap to run on fuel and 7 seats when needed makes it a bonus.  Show details

Awful car Do not buy – 5 years 18 warranty/service faults some major like transmission .... engine out 2 times , bad customer service from 2 local dealers ..... mixed with done good , but overall a car should perform way better than that from new .... Holden has lost the Captiva battle - it's Craptiva  Show details

Point A to B car with 7 seats - that's about it – Traded my Cruze for a used Captiva as a baby was on the way. Was looking for a cheap 7 sitter and considered the fiat Fremont and the Captiva, however atrocious depreciation on both models meant I selected a used Captiva. Nothing exceptional about the car, gets the job done. Comfort levels in the cabin just about below average with the… Read more

cabin style and layout at least an generation behind the Cruze.

Given the notorious reputation of the model, I went in for a 3 year Holden factory warranty extension and religiously look after the motor.

No mechanical problems so far with 65k kms on the clock. 2.4 is a noisy rough running unit, that revs hard to push the 1.8 tonne bulk of the car.

There is significant engine and tyre noise reaching the cabin at freeway speeds making the ride unpleasant.

Had minor issues with plastic bits on door trims and dash breaking off, but replaced under warranty.

As far as fuel consumption goes the best I have achieved is as under

- freeway 9.5/100km

- pure hilly suburban 14-15l/100km

I typically get 450-500 km per tank on an average I.e. 13-14l/100 km.

It's decent value for the price and I would recommend it if you wanted something no frills with 7 seats.

If you want real driving pleasure look elsewhere.

If you are going to use the 3rd row seats all the time, please note there are no rear AC vents and the cooling is not effective beyond the front rows on the really hot days, specially if the car has been parked in the sun for a while.

Overall value for money, but would get something else if I had extra 7-10 grand to spend.

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Update: the motor made a tapping noise at around 66,000 kms; service centre diagnosed as vibrating cam phasers, replaced under extended warranty.

Further the problem reoccurred with a loss of power at 70,000 kms. diagnosed as timing chain problems. Got a new timing chain kit installed unde extended warranty.

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Update 75,000km

Replaced OEM Kumho 798 plus radials with Falken Ziex 914, the car is a different animal now, quieter and better handling.

Have had noisy cold starts all winter so keeping an eye on the timing gear.

Great price for a 7 seater with plenty of room – Despite the lack is mod cons that the newer car brands have. The golden captivia 2013 7 seater has all the necessary features of a family suv. Blue tooth, 7 seats or 5 seats and big boot for going away. Seats fold down to convert to a station wagon to pick up those bulky items. Cruise control, sun roof and rear parking sensors make a slightly… Read more

bigger suv confortable to drive and park. The side step makes it easier for smaller children to get in and out and USB port plus CD player gives you the versatility that newer models lack. The auto headlights come on when the wipers are on, which is great, however this does affect the lighting of the speedo and other dashboard displays . This makes the speedo difficult to see, which is manageable, but not preferable.

WORST CAR EVER! – Terrible turning point, drives like a truck, very noisy even when you switch it off, burning smell, air conditioning did not work properly, automatic transmission went at 100,000ks, oil leak, now the sensors for air flow & brakes are going costing over $400! The seat belt also needed replacing as faulty. In summary the car is terrible and been nothing but trouble since I drove it out of the showroom as a brand new model!  Show details

Good value over the price – I am running it for 3 years now with 40,000km, very happy with it so far, hasn't had any small problem at all. Car floor is pretty low and makes to feel roomy. Really plenty of space to accommodate a family. Running pretty well with sufficient power. I especially like the seat fabric, it is not such a cheap clothes like nissan, easy to clean. The… Read more

only downside to me is the towing capacity which is 1500kg, relatively less than competitors. Will never be able to get this grade 7 seater car less than $30k.

Terrible Craptiva – We bought our 2011 Craptiva in 2013. Fuel pump failure. Water pump failure and numerous recalls. Lights on the dash illuminating like a Christmas tree for no apparent reason. Numerous visits to Holden about other issues. Unnecessary vibrations etc. It went ok for a while until the 3 year warranty was up. Then the old issues starting rearing… Read more

they're ugly head again. Holden at the time to be fair to them did fix the faults out of warranty but getting to that arrangement with them was like trying to draw blood from a stone. Again ran ok for a while then the starting motor went. $100's of dollars to replace with a genuine Holden part. 3 months later the starting motor went again. Back to to Holden. New starting motor installed at they're cost but guess what. 4 months later in the middle of nowhere it goes again. We take it back again to Holden and you can imagine not just the frustration but all the time wasted with the car almost in the Garage as much as it has been on the road. They tell us there has been yet another recall on the starting motor and the lead and nut from the motor which could cause a short and subsequent fire. We tell them we received no information about this but low and behold a few days later we receive a letter from them about the starting motor recall. We drop the car off to them. They then tell us it will be a couple of days before they can get the parts in and if we would like to come and get the car. Why would we pick up a car with the potential to catch fire. We pick it up after the works are complete. 2 days later we smell burning oil. Back to Holden. Now we're told the front seal is gone and the motor needs to be pulled out to repair. And quests what $1000s of dollars at our expense. I would not go anywhere near a Craptiva or any Holden Vehicle ever again. Built in the old Daewoo factory in South Korea. I'd rather pay more to have them built in Oz then deal with this again. Please avoid

Avoid! – Purchased a 2012 Holden Captiva 7 SX 2.2L Diesel model in 2012 because it was the best option in the $30,000-$40,000 range, and what a mistake it turned out to be. Worst car we have ever owned. Things started out great, we got the additional sunroof and side step for free as well as an extended warranty until 2018 and with it being a 7 seater,… Read more

what could possibly be wrong...right? Wrong.

Since then, this car has been back into the service centre in between 15-20 times. First indication came after a few months of purchase when we received a letter stating that Holden had done a recall on all Captiva as they found a fault. Fair enough, back it went for the repairs. The repair took 3 days. Finally got it back and then a few months later again another recall letter. They found ANOTHER fault with the Captiva line and back it went for repairs. This time 6 days. BIG replacement was needed apparently.

Since then no recalls, but we've had to take the car into the service centre countless amount of time due to problems we've spotted ourselves. The car has been well maintained and serviced on time so these problems shouldn't arise, but they do. And the reason for that is because Holden have used the cheapest and crappiest parts available to put together a joke of a car.

If we hadn't got the extended warranty, we would be down at least $10,000 or more in repairs.

If you are in the market for a SUV with possibly either 5 seats or 7 seats, AVOID THE HOLDEN CAPTIVA!!!! Don't make the same mistake we made! Spend an extra few thousand dollars and switch to a better manufacturer! It will save you countless amounts of headaches and won't give you a headache!

I can't even trust this car anymore to go anywhere.

Doesn't live up to advertising and expectations – We purchased a 2012 Captiva SX 2.4L petrol brand new. We wished for a car that had a better fuel economy than the Falcon that we had, and an easier to use boot space. We looked at the diesel options and discussed these with the sales assistant, however with the fuel efficiency that was advertised for the petrol model, it didn't make sense to pay… Read more

the extra for the diesel. I realised that this was only a 2.4L engine and I wouldn't be winning any races, but was fine with this. I was over the moon initially as I had loved the look of these cars.

Straight away you could see the fuel economy wasn't going to be what they have advertised. I put this down to the engine needing to be ran in. I have now had this car for 2.5 years and still getting 14L/100km! Not ethanol fuel. Slightly better with 95 octane but evens out with the extra cost.

I did ask the service crew if they could check if anything could be wrong because I couldn't seem to get anywhere near the fuel economy of 9L/100km advertised. He said there was no way I was going to get that fuel economy in that car, 'its only a 2.4L engine with that big heavy car'.

Needs more air conditioning vents. It seems absurd to me that a car with 7 possible seats could only have air conditioning in the front row. My daughter sweats all through summer and sometimes even in the winter.

We are now looking at getting rid of it for something else but with a trade in quote last week from Holden of $14-$16k we might be stuck with it a while longer. He did note that the new captivas are extremely good on fuel at 9L/100km...

Also have had problems with radio system (fully replaced as well as steering wheel controls), AC controls replaced, knocking in engine and doesn't handle well in the wet especially on the freeway. I definitely like the boot space though!

Will never buy another holden – Bought a brand new Captiva sx 7 seater petrol engine in April 2012. The car was awesome for the first 3 months. Then a rattling noise started coming from the engine,(have since found out it's a bearing.)you wouldn't expect that from a new car. Mechanics have never picked it up,Holden won't give us any answers. The shockers need to be replaced,4 new tyres. It is the worst car I have owned.  Show details

Very unhappy!! Don't buy one!!! – We have a 2013 diesel SX model that has done 6000km and we have had nothing but trouble! The DPF light keeps coming on, the noisy fan comes on regularly when we turn the car off and it shudders or has power surges at low RPMs. Our dealer tells us these are all "characteristics " of the Captiva???? The fuel economy is about 12l/100km! We just want to get rid of it!!! lots!! Show details

Unhappy with vehicle, very unhappy with Holden – New Captiva 7SX diesel purchased Feb 2013 less than 7000km runs very rough/shudder like miss fire as if running on 3 cylinders at 1500 RPM driving or sitting still. Over 3 months out of 9 in dealership still the same. Holden customer care now says it is a common characteristic of these vehicles and that's how they run, even though others don't do… Read more

it and it runs horribly. Their advice is to increase acceleration to resolve the issue doesn't help when slow manouvres are required. Must say local dealerships have been good. Just want it resolved but apparently I just have to accept it because Melbourne says so!

Bad after sales care and no responsibility taken for dodgy vehicles

Rather push a ford than drive a holden!!!! – So excited to buy my new car, captiva 7 series 2 (sx). Picked it up less than a week ago - and omg! I don't think I can afford to run it. It came with 27kms and a full tank of gas - thought we would go away for the weekend....its now on 1020kms, I have refilled it twice and still on empty??? That's three tanks of gas and I drive like I'm driving… Read more

miss daisy!!! My engine rattles like a tin can when its started and it smells like something's on fire under the engine. Its so horrible u can't run the a/c while driving or u will choke. And its meant to be rust proof. Um, no - just ask my exhausts!! Lets just say Moorooka dealership is going to have the headache of their lives dealing with me. I will not go away until I get my thirty thousand dollars worth. And I gave up my Kompressor for this!!!!! I wouldnt recommend this car to a damn terrorist!!!!!! Lots of space, great colour very bad fuel consumption, rattles, creaks, cheap

Great car to drive but once all 7 seats are used it doesn't leave much room for baggage – I've had the 7 seater Captiva SX for 5 weeks now, it runs pretty well, fuel consumption is ok. Having driven around Brisbane city and suburbs, the consumption is standard, I can probably get 400kms on a full tank. In the 5 weeks I've had it I drove from Brisbane to Adelaide, the fuel consumption is heaps better, I can get a just over 600kms on a… Read more

full tank. The only problem I'm having now is the hose for the windscreen wipers must have detached, as I was using it the water suddenly stopped and started squirting out on the left hand side of the headlights, I've got it booked in to get looked at. As it's only a tiny little problem I'm hoping that's all i'll have with it..fingers crossed!

Overall still very happy with the car, it's just annoying that I'm already getting a little problem with it and I've barely had it for a month Most affordable 7 seater. Great car to drive. No air con in the back, and once all 7 seats are used there's not much room for luggage. Had the car for 5 weeks and the windscreen wipers have stopped squirting water instead it comes out of the left hand side headlights.