Advice needed on Zafira Life (AC) 1.6i

Hi Fellas
First of all thank you to tpladz for the invite to this forum.
I am about to make a move from my sporty toyota to a vauxhall MPV but as you can imagine a bit hesitant about this as i have never owned a vauxhall before.

I have got my eyes set on this beautiful zafira life in Black which i think is a lovely car. i am going to seal the deal this saturday. before i do that i wanted you ask the life model owners or similar about zafiras. what should i be checking in a car for a test. i have only started browsing the forums today & have already learned about the pedal test to read the codes. should this test be done after a run round the block til the car's warmed up or is that irrelevant? also it is on an 07 plate, has done 47K & is due its next service now.

how much is that likely to cost me for the next service & what items should be replaced/inspected for the service? can i do it myself easily as i have always serviced my previous cars.

what about timing belt kit replacement?

how about symptoms for the dreaded manifold crack/flap sensor/egr valve failure?

Any other advice is welcome before i go & finalise the deal this saturday. Thanks a lot & i luv this forum. I think its really cool.

Codes that are stored within the ecu are there whether the engine is warm or not so do not worry in that respect. On an 07 plate it should have had its first cambelt/timing belt change by now as you have done over 40,000. so check the service history. If it ain't had it done then make them do it and discount the vehicle accordingly. You can buy the timing belt pack from www.autovaux.o.uk for about £110 and that replaces all the tensioners, rollers and water pump all you need to do is get someone to fit it. Servicing wise then just buy 4-5 litres of 10W-40 from VX and an oil filter and fuel filter and then your pretty much done.

Cheers Moonman
I posted the same question on the other vauxhall forum & so far my confidence in zafiras has dipped a little. i'd like to hear from more owners out there. many thanks

Hello and welcome to the site, i have a 1.6 life 06 plate, had it about 6month now, had no problems apart from 2 sensors in the first 3 weeks, the car is exmobility and had stood for some time before i bought it, these were replaced under warranty. Looking in the service book, my engine is z 16 zep. the toothed belt and tensions only need replace every 10 year or 100,000 miles. air filter every 4 year, 40,000, fuel filter 4 yr, 40,000.
I am very happy with mine plenty of room, nice drive, bad blind spot from front pillar, could do with a bit more power, but i came from a 2.0 tdci focus! having said that sits happily at 80 with 4 adults and 2 teenagers and luggage, fuel economy seems fine if you keep it above 1/4 tank, dont know where it goes once you drop below that, hope this helps mate, enjoy it if and when you get it. Iain.

welcome to VXZOC molveees

hi,
i have a 1.6 2006 life, we love it, had it around 10 months and have had no problems. i have had the windows tinted and have put in cruise control which is good especially on long journeys. up graded the throttle body to a newer model. i too agree with clarky69 about the fuel if it is above the 1/4 tank it is fine but the last 1/4 seems to vanish quickly. i have also upgraded the cd player and screen from a cd30 and 2 line display to a cd30mp3 and 3 line display so i now have the fuel computer etc working.mine too was ex motability so has been well looked after and serviced regularly. same as clarky69 with the timing belt,every 10 years or 100,000 miles.
my wife and i have already said that when we change cars it will defo be another zaffy.

hope this helps

clarky69 wrote:

Hello and welcome to the site, i have a 1.6 life 06 plate, had it about 6month now, had no problems apart from 2 sensors in the first 3 weeks, the car is exmobility and had stood for some time before i bought it, these were replaced under warranty. Looking in the service book, my engine is z 16 zep. the toothed belt and tensions only need replace every 10 year or 100,000 miles. air filter every 4 year, 40,000, fuel filter 4 yr, 40,000.
I am very happy with mine plenty of room, nice drive, bad blind spot from front pillar, could do with a bit more power, but i came from a 2.0 tdci focus! having said that sits happily at 80 with 4 adults and 2 teenagers and luggage, fuel economy seems fine if you keep it above 1/4 tank, dont know where it goes once you drop below that, hope this helps mate, enjoy it if and when you get it. Iain.

Thanks for the info Iain. Could you or someone just reconfirm timing belt really is 10yrs. I was under the impression its 40 or 60k. thanks

andromeda411 wrote:

hi,
i have a 1.6 2006 life, we love it, had it around 10 months and have had no problems. i have had the windows tinted and have put in cruise control which is good especially on long journeys. up graded the throttle body to a newer model. i too agree with clarky69 about the fuel if it is above the 1/4 tank it is fine but the last 1/4 seems to vanish quickly. i have also upgraded the cd player and screen from a cd30 and 2 line display to a cd30mp3 and 3 line display so i now have the fuel computer etc working.mine too was ex motability so has been well looked after and serviced regularly. same as clarky69 with the timing belt,every 10 years or 100,000 miles.
my wife and i have already said that when we change cars it will defo be another zaffy.

hope this helps

Thanks mate. nice to see the appreciation for the zaffies pouring in now. about the tints what route did you take? the official dealers way or did you do it yourself? i will defo tint mine if & when i get my mpv tomorrow. I am satisfied timing belt is 100k.

i got my windows tinted by a company in the north of scotland. company called moray tints. got mine done limo black from b pillar to b pillar. all for £170 with lifetime guarantee.

andromeda411 wrote:

hi,
i have a 1.6 2006 life, we love it, had it around 10 months and have had no problems. i have had the windows tinted and have put in cruise control which is good especially on long journeys. up graded the throttle body to a newer model. i too agree with clarky69 about the fuel if it is above the 1/4 tank it is fine but the last 1/4 seems to vanish quickly. i have also upgraded the cd player and screen from a cd30 and 2 line display to a cd30mp3 and 3 line display so i now have the fuel computer etc working.mine too was ex motability so has been well looked after and serviced regularly. same as clarky69 with the timing belt,every 10 years or 100,000 miles.
my wife and i have already said that when we change cars it will defo be another zaffy.

hope this helps

Hi Just to let you know i am now the proud owner of zafira Life. It was a joy to drive it back to my place (40 mile Journey) & didnt seem underpowered at all. Noticed that i dont have the trip computer that shows consumption. Is it just a matter of replacing LCD from a 2 line to a 3 line? also i am thinking of changing my cd player to an mp3 player. btw it didnt come with any history as the previous owner lost its book. It coming up to its 50k service. what items need to be checked/replaced? any advice/help will be appreciated.

Congrats on the new bus.

regarding the display, yes you need a 3 line display but you have to watch because if you only buy the display it will need divorced from the present head unit via tech 2 and then paired to your head unit with tech 2.
you are better going for a head unit and display removed from the same car as they are already 'married'.
to get the computer working if it is not already you will need to get the code index of your display changed via tech 2. this only takes 5 minutes to do

hope this helps

andromeda411 wrote:

regarding the display, yes you need a 3 line display but you have to watch because if you only buy the display it will need divorced from the present head unit via tech 2 and then paired to your head unit with tech 2.
you are better going for a head unit and display removed from the same car as they are already 'married'.
to get the computer working if it is not already you will need to get the code index of your display changed via tech 2. this only takes 5 minutes to do

hope this helps

Thanks. How easy is it to swap the cd with the mp3? I suppose it is a straight swap with no cable modifications required? I am not sure if i have the trip mode activated. how do you access the menu to show mpg/consumption etc? & if you also have the procedure for headunit removal that would be great. Cheers

head unit is straight swap no cable mods needed as long as you use qriginal equipment.
you need the three line display for trip comp. if you press the BC button on the head unit it will show the trip comp if activated if not it will say no function.
to remove the head unit you need to disconnect battery,get 2 double din removal keys and put in holes on head unit and pull out unit and then disconnect cables and thats it.

andromeda411 wrote:

head unit is straight swap no cable mods needed as long as you use qriginal equipment.
you need the three line display for trip comp. if you press the BC button on the head unit it will show the trip comp if activated if not it will say no function.
to remove the head unit you need to disconnect battery,get 2 double din removal keys and put in holes on head unit and pull out unit and then disconnect cables and thats it.

Brilliant! If i was to buy a paired HU & Display & if it was pre-propraggemed to show trip etc on the Donor vehicle would i require further Tech2 programming of the headunit or do you think it could work straight away? Im not sure if the settings are stored in the HU or EMU,

if you can get a paired HU and 3 line display that shows trip comp then it should just be plug and play with no tech 2.

what colour are you looking for as there are a couple on ebay at the moment and one of them has the trip comp activated.

andromeda411 wrote:

if you can get a paired HU and 3 line display that shows trip comp then it should just be plug and play with no tech 2.

what colour are you looking for as there are a couple on ebay at the moment and one of them has the trip comp activated.

hi
its grey. if you have the link that'd be great.

congrats on your purchase, glad you're enjoying it.