19th Apr 2009, 09:14

I have a 2002 Zafira 1.6 Club, which space and seating wise I absolutely love, but I have experienced some of the problems discussed.

I had a couple of journeys when the EM light came on and the car went into limp-home mode. My local garage checked the ECU, which said there was a fault with the knock sensor. They were puzzled so reset it and went over the engine with a fine toothed comb. There was no oil in the engine (I have struggled to read the dipstick clearly) - apparently the 1.6 uses a lot of oil, so I gave the dipstick a good clean and religiously keep it full.

I've also stalled in 2nd gear a couple of times this year (2 months apart), which VX forums and a colleague have suggested might be the EGR valve. Garage have checked this and it is fine. They also cleaned the throttle body and found I had a small tear in the front pipe of the exhaust. Car is now running very smoothly. I'll see how things go and if I start stalling again I might consider replacing the EGR valve myself. A guy I work with suffered continual stalling in an 02 1.8 Astra and replacing the EGR valve solved that problem.

26th Apr 2009, 02:44

Zafira Elegance 2l DTI. Same problem as the majority of you it seems. Engine management light comes on when the car is going @30mph and 70mph. The power drops down then and only allows slow acceleration back up to these speeds. I suspected that it had something to do with the cruise control as these were the speeds that it was mainly used at. Looking at the advice on this site I am looking to change the MASS airflow meter but cannot easily locate it. Can anyone point me in the right direction on the engine to find it?

PS One short term solution to the engine management problem is to switch off the ignition and turn it back on. Not recommended whilst in motion!

27th Apr 2009, 01:32

The MAF is located in the middle of the pipe that runs from the air filter box (on the left of the engine) to the carb, the pipe is about 7cm in diameter.

Advice... Don't buy cheap MAF's off the Internet, pay top price, it makes the difference.

3rd May 2009, 16:52

I ran a V reg Zafira for many years, and it was a fantastically reliable car, but have now just got an 03 Zafira Club and I'm having the judder/stall problems so many have referred to on here. First time I've bought from a private buyer too, so I'm a bit sick that I've been sold a pup.

Just out of interest, the stall problems seem to be worse within 20 miles of filling up with petrol, but this may just be coincidence.

6th May 2009, 09:20

I have just joined your club. My 05 plate Zafira 1.6 Life has been to our local garage following a loss of power at 50mph. The first time it happened, it seemed to right itself, but we took it to the garage anyway. They diagnosed a misfire on cylinder 4, but were not convinced this would fix it. Sure enough, the next day it did it again, but this time the engine management light came on just 1 mile from home. To make matters worse, the revs at idle (?in neutral, handbrake on) fluctuated between 500 and 3,500 before it spluttered and stalled - thankfully in my driveway.

It has been back to my local garage, but they cannot find a solution. Rather than keep taking my hard earned money, they have suggested I contact our local Vauxhall dealership for help.

Has anyone actually found the definitive answer to this problem? I never liked the car anyway and this is the final straw, I just want to get rid of it now. It is the newest car I've ever owned - I have run some awful old bangers in my time and never been scared by a car like this before.

10th May 2009, 06:53

I've got a weird problem with my Zafira.

Just went out a short run 1 1/2 miles and back to the bottle bank.

Parked on the drive and left it.

10 minutes later the girl nips out to go somewhere and it won't start.

The lights come on on the dash when you turn the ignition, but it doesn't even try to turn over... Any thoughts??

15th May 2009, 08:43

OMG! My W reg 1.8 Zafira Elegance has been in the garage for 6.. yes 6 weeks now!! It coughed and spluttered now & then & after a week or so just gave up the ghost & wouldn't tick over. Throttle body has been replaced & is at least ticking over now.

Now the EM light comes on & runs like a pile of junk, so it has been suggested to get the ECU replaced... but that's pretty expensive to say the least.

I've had my car for just over a year & loved it up until now. Not sure what to do with it... but having it 'nicked' is seeming more appealing every day!

15th May 2009, 15:57

Try changing the MAF before it gets nicked!!! (Don't buy a cheap one off the net)

17th May 2009, 07:59

Hi all. I have a Vauxhall Zafira 2L DTi 16v, a 2004 reg, 45000 miles from new.

It has been going fab up till 3 months ago when a shape of a car with a spanner came on. I have had it put on a code red and it needs a new barometric pressure sensor. What is going on, is if I am going slow sometimes, it will come on and cut the turbo out in limp. This sensor has 3 wires going into it, and under the sensor there is a hole; it regulates the air pressure. The little black box cuts the turbo out. I am going to replace it this week with a new one. We will see if it works.

24th May 2009, 08:14

Hi all you Zafira owners, just to let you all now I have a Zafira 2L DTi 16v 04 plate, that has a problem with cutting out the turbo. Just replace the barometric pressure sensor and check your oil level. Mine was over the dipstick. Someone changed my oil and put too much in it. I had oil in my turbo. This was making it cut out.