Opel Grandland X timing belt comes undone - Page 6 MOTOR-TALK - Auto Forum & News

There is already a lot to read about the Grandland X and its timing belt problem.

We also have the problem with a Grandland X LES engine, petrol 1.2l, KW 96, year of construction 11.2018 and 56,000 kilometers on the clock.

About the history: We bought the Grandland X from an Opel dealer about 1 1/2 years ago. The previous owner was Opel and according to the service booklet, it was properly maintained by the Opel before us.

We bought the car with around 17,000 kilometers on it and had the first defect on Grandland shortly after buying it. Lampdasonne defective, this was also changed without hesitation by Opel.

That's all well and good, but after the kilometers it shouldn't be defective. A weak image of Opel. The defective part was exchanged and dealt with.

First problems with the Grandland X started on December 13th, 2021. My wife noticed a short jerk when she fell and the Grandland X directly indicated that there was too little oil pressure in the engine compartment and that one should stop immediately. My wife did the same and checked the oil level, which she classified as ok, and started the car again. This then ran again without any further problems until December 16, 2021 when I wanted to accelerate the car on the acceleration lane. Again the same problem as with my wife and after a restart everything is fine again.

This time a call to the Opel dealership where the car was bought. Problem described and I should come by.

I did that and the foreman also looked at the car and said that the car should stay there, but there would be longer waiting times due to illness.

For this reason I took the car back with me and drove it to an independent workshop that would at least read the Grandland X.

That was then done and no errors were stored in the error memory and then all installed vehicle components were queried and 48 error entries were found, all of which could not necessarily have anything to do with the engine pressure drop (see photo).

The real and important point is this: P15A8 engine oil pressure (sensor/switch signal amplitude too small)

The mechanic then checked the engine pressure the next day and confirmed the suspicion that the engine pressure was not right, but it is not the engine oil sensor. That would have been too easy

A call to an Opel workshop then brought the indication of a dissolving toothed belt that is carried in the engine oil and that just seems to be dissolving. Furthermore, the note that it is a well-known Opel problem with PSA engines.

The mechanic then drained the engine oil and dismantled the oil pan and found a timing belt that was so porous that it was about to snap.

The oil pump/filter was almost clogged with small pieces of debris from the timing belt and pieces of debris were also found in the engine oil, which were the culprits for the low oil pressure. Luckily the engine oil conservation has come on. Without this message we would not have noticed that the toothed belt dissolves after the mileage.

The mechanic kindly took photos of the timing belt for us and made them available to us, which I would like to post here as well, since nobody normally gets to see them.

We then towed the car to the Opel workshop on December 19, 2021 because driving was no longer an option and the car was only put together provisionally.

At Opel then opened the oil cap and then you can see about 5 cm of the toothed belt and here you could already see for yourself that the toothed belt is cracked (see photo).

As a reminder, the car is only 3 years old and now has 56,000 kilometers under it and the engine almost dies from an engine failure because a timing belt simply comes undone after 56,000 kilometers.

The change interval should be at 100,000 kilometers. In my opinion, no Grandland X can do that.

During the maintenance that was carried out in June 2021, the toothed belt was only checked visually and for any widening. No further tests are carried out, although Opel is aware of the problem with the toothed belt.

And how should it be, the guarantee on the Grandland X expired a few days earlier.

There is a lot of joy when you buy a car and hope that you will have peace of mind for a few years from such problems, at least from defects such as toothed belts, etc.

Here Opel has failed across the board and simply waits until the warranty period expires and then says that it is completed with a cost sharing of 30%.

No, of course it's not over. We are not talking about €100, but a good €1,300, which Opel is responsible for by not eliminating the defects and what is absurd is that the type of engine oil is simply changed without informing the customer about it will.

Motor oil 5W/30 was used when the Grandland X was purchased, and motor oil PSA 0W/30 approved by PSA was used during the last service. The engine oil that was previously used as approved engine oil may no longer be used from around mid-2021.

So I ask myself, where is the information for the Grandland X drivers that from date X 2021 only the approved motor oil PSA 0W/30 can be used???

What happens if the engine oil that is no longer approved is used, is it then assumed that the customer used the wrong engine oil??.

At least nothing has changed in the manual.

There are just 6 months between the last maintenance and December 19th, 2021 and I can see that the toothed belt is cracked and brittle.

For Opel, this does not speak for quality at all and is an indictment of how to deal with customers.

And yes, not only Opel installs PSA engines that have a toothed belt running in engine oil, to be more precise, there are at least 3 other car manufacturers that install PSA engines or comparable engines where a toothed belt runs in engine oil and also because there are such problems, but these manufacturers are what we are talking about not here.

At Opel, it also applies to other models with PSA engines, but I don't want to go into more detail about them.

I would like to inform everyone here NOT to buy an OPEL GRANDLAND X for the reasons mentioned.

Opel does not yet feel guilty and has not yet responded to my letter. But that was to be expected.

With such a mileage and age, it is shameful that such a car is even allowed on the road

Look at the photos, they say more than words