Holden has recalled its current model V6 Commodores and Statesmans - including 5000 in New Zealand - because of a potential fuel leak could cause fires.

The recall affects all 86,000 V6 VE Commodores and WM Statesman and Caprice long-wheelbase models built by the company since the new generation model was launched in mid-2006, following a $A1 billion ($NZ1.14 billion) development programme.
About 53,000 Commodores and Statesmans have been sold in Australia, about 5000 in New Zealand, 27,000 sold in the Middle East and 784 in Brazil.
Holden spokesman John Lindsay said the recall was a precaution to prevent a potential fuel leak under the bonnet.
“We’ve got a condition where one of the fuel lines in the engine compartment has the potential to rub against a clip on an adjacent hose, so over a period of time this could potentially - and I emphasise potentially - result in a leak in the hose and a fuel smell may become evident,” Mr Lindsay told AAP.
“The chances of this happening are very low but obviously we are erring on the side of caution and we are administering a recall of all (V6) VE and WM Commodores since the start of production…”
The fuel leak problem had affected about 20 of the 86,000 cars affected by the recall, Mr Lindsay said.
But the lucrative export of its Pontiac G8 version of the car has not been affected because the US models use a different layout under the bonnet.
Holden will today launch a national advertising campaign to advise owners of the recall.
The company will also write to owners individually.
They will be asked to contact their Holden dealer’s service or Holden’s recall advice line to arrange for a simple repair to re-route the affected fuel line.
A similar recall of 1850 V8 models of the same car was announced in October 2006, because of a fuel line in the engine bay that was supplied to Holden by an outside company that could, under certain circumstances, be torn.
Then, a month later about 13,000 cars were recalled because of a minor fault in the rear seatbelt buckles on some cars.
The recall comes as the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries officially announced the Holden Commodore was Australia’s top-selling car last year.
Last year was a bumper year for car sales, with more than one million cars sold in Australia in a single year for the first time.

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Car-maker Holden says it will take months to recall more than 86,000 Adelaide-built cars susceptible to a fuel line leakage.

The fault could affect all V6-powered VE Commodores, WM Statesmans and Caprices built between September 2006 and last month.

Holden says the fuel line could rub against the engine compartment and cause a leak.

Ian Butler from Holden says the recall process normally takes several months.

“It tends to be difficult to get the last few cars through,” he said.

“There’s a process where we do a letter, then a follow-up letter, then a registered mail letter and that takes some months. We typically break the back of the thing within a few weeks though.”

The recall is the third time Holden’s VE Commodore has been recalled for safety reasons.

Ian Butler says three recalls is not unusual for a new car.

“I don’t think that given the number of Commodores that we have out there and the diversity of the product range that there is anything out of the ordinary in terms of the number of recall campaigns we’re having on Commodore,” he said.

The fault has been found in 20 cars built at the Adelaide plant since September 2006.

Mr Butler will not say exactly how much the recall will cost, but admits it will be millions.

“Look we obviously have our internal costing but our key focus is to make sure that we’re doing the right thing by the customers and we don’t get drawn onto the costing issues publicly,” he said.

Mr Butler also says V6 models rolling off the Adelaide production line are now being fitted with a protective sleeve to prevent fuel line leaks.

“Once we put the protective sleeve on then obviously anything we’ve built from that time onwards is no longer subject to the potential fuel leak,” he said.

Holden is asking owners of the cars to bring them into their Holden dealer immediately so the problem can be fixed.

It says the job should take about 30 minutes.

The cars have also been exported to New Zealand, Brazil and the Middle East.

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GM Holden Ltd or Holden is an Australian automaker based in Melbourne, Victoria, originally independent but now a subsidiary of General Motors (GM). They are the largest vehicle automaker and distributor in Oceania. Holden is one of GM’s “alpha” brands, taking charge of vehicles and operations for General Motors in Australasia. Additionally, Holden has responsibility for GM Daewoo in South Korea.
Over the years, Holden has offered a broad range of vehicles, the vast majority being the locally produced Holden range, with supplementary models sourced from various other parts of the General Motors empire, including Chevrolet, Pontiac, Opel, GM Daewoo, Isuzu, Vauxhall and Suzuki. Some of these cars have been assembled locally; others have been fully imported. In addition, Holden has in the past offered rebadged Nissan and Toyota models in sharing arrangements.
Holden cars are manufactured at Elizabeth, South Australia, while engines are manufactured at Fisherman’s Bend, Victoria. Historically, Holden had production or assembly plants in all mainland states of Australia, including Woodville, South Australia (body production only) Pagewood, New South Wales, Dandenong, Victoria, Acacia Ridge, Queensland and Mosman Park, Western Australia. Consolidation of all car production at Elizabeth, South Australia was completed in 1988, although some assembly operations continued at Dandenong until the mid-1990s.

Source: Wikipedia

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