21st Apr 2010, 23:07

Hi everyone.

I have a 1994 Holden Barina Swing 5 door hatch back. I have only owned the car for 2 months and it has two previous owners, the last being a 91 year who only sold the car due to losing his licence for medical reasons. The car only had 120,000km on the clock, and only ever used for driving to and from the shops.

I was out driving, when all of a sudden I lost acceleration and the sporty drive light was flashing. I checked that I hadn't knocked the button by pressing it on and off, but it kept flashing. I find that I can drive the car still, but can't hear any gear changes and will not take off normally. I have spoken to Holden and they have told me that it is an electrical fault? Reading past comments, I am not so sure it is. Has anyone had the same thing happen, and if so, what was the problem, and was it fixed?

It's booked into the mechanic, so if I don't hear back before then on here, I will post what they have told me and how much they charged. Any feedback would be great.

Cheers.

1st May 2010, 07:37

H everyone. I bought a 1996 3 door Barina with 137000kms on clock.. I was driving it for about 20 minutes with stop and go driving, and it seems the temp went up to 100 degrees. Is this normal? Or do I need to check on the cooling system? Any response would be highly appreciated..

Ronnie.

2nd Jun 2010, 07:29

Just got a Holden Astra... I was getting the "S" sports mode blinking on the dash. I am assuming it's similar to the rest who had this issue. When I floored the car from take off, the "S" started blinking and the car would "basically feel like" starting off from 5th gear on a manual from a standing position. Getting it check soon, so hopefully it's something the guys can fix if it's just electrical. Otherwise the gear box is fine.

19th Jun 2010, 04:55

Hi guys.

We have just bought a 1998 Barina City for our daughter. We have two problems that we can't work out. The air bag light won't go off, and the reverse lights won't work. We have checked all fuses and globes on the reverse lights; all are OK.

Our Holden dealer has put it on the computer to see what the air bag problem was, but it came back all clear.

Just wondering if anyone has any ideas?

Any advice would be appreciated; we can't get a roadworthy until these things are fixed.

Thanks

Pam.

19th Jun 2010, 18:16

Vectras had problems with clock springs in the steering wheel; it may be the same with the Barina. Also, with other cars, check the wiring connections under the seats, which can come off, come loose or get damaged with time.

21st Jun 2010, 06:25

Hi guys.

I posted the comment about the sporty drive light flashing on the 21st of April 2010. I took it to my auto electrician, any one living on the south side of Brisbane, Neil's Auto Electrics is where I took my car, and they were fantastic. It turned out there was a little wire in the drive T-bar that had corroded, and it cost me $50.00 to get fixed, and about an hour for them to find it and replace it.

Hope this helps.

7th Aug 2010, 04:55

My daughter has a 1998 Barina Swing 1.4. She has a problem when in heavy rain the engine loses power & misses. We assume water is getting into the electrics, but can't find the problem. Is this a common problem, & has anyone got a solution?

25th Aug 2010, 04:59

Hi, I have 94 Barina GSI. Sometimes the car cuts out and won't start for about 30 minutes, then it runs fine. Does anyone know why?

19th Sep 2010, 19:44

I have a 1995 Barina Swing that won't start. The previous owners say it just wouldn't start one day.

We have replaced the relay and checked the fuses but we are still getting no power.

Any suggestions on where to go next would be great. Please email us at blammossigns@hotmail.com.

11th Oct 2010, 05:36

Did all Swings come out with air con?

13th Dec 2010, 03:17

I just bought a 1998 Holden Barina Swing 5D (Automatic) two months ago.

For the first few days it ran like a dream, however, after this period it started to idle heavy and loudly, causing the whole car to vibrate. It also stopped driving smoothly, the acceleration is glitchy and it doesn't want to change gears sometimes. When it does change gears it does it roughly. Some days the car runs fine and some days it runs as mentioned above.

Anyway last week after visiting a restaurant the car would not start. I called RACQ and they came and said the fuel pump was shot through. I thought you beauty, get it fixed and the problem will be solved. No luck, the car still runs badly.

Any ideas, I have replaced the fuel pump, spark plugs filter and had it serviced. Problem not found. Could it be the throttle body?

24th Jan 2011, 09:05

Hello everyone, I hope this helps. I am in the trade. 98 Barinas and some pre models.

Overheating issues are generally stuffed head gaskets or cracked head.

The stalling is from coolant getting into the block (chambers) and not being able to spark and fire like they should be.

I have fixed several now all with the same problems.

I would be looking at the cooling system and the head first!

27th Feb 2011, 04:09

Hi guys. To all who have problems with idling issues, and have tried everything, try this; there is a crank angle sensor that sit under the car behind the harmonic balancer. It's like a black round plug about 10 cm long. Change that and I'm sure things will run good again. A lot of people don't know about this, and if you are unsure of what it looks like, ask your mechanic or parts supplier to show you one.

18th Mar 2011, 07:53

Holden Barina Swing Auto 1996.

Taking care of this car for my daughter, and I know this sounds like a dumb question, but where on earth do I find the radiator to check on water level, because it has been running hot lately?

Also, I have noticed what looks like a little bit of coolant on the garage floor after the car has been moved out of the garage, and would like to check the coolant level too.

After looking thoroughly under the bonnet, the only thing I can see is what I believe is the coolant bottle, which looks possibly empty. I have never replaced the coolant in my cars previously, as this is usually done in my car services.

Could anyone please help me with how to, and where to locate when checking on these two things; water in radiator level, and coolant check and replacement.

Any help would be much appreciated.

The car did not come with a manual.

When my daughter bought this car, one of the first things she had to do was to have a new radiator fitted after a small accident, so until recently water levels were not a problem.

Thanks for any help.