Grandland 2018 Diesel 1.5 - Cam Chain Snapped

[HolySalami]

For context the car is coming up 6 year old with circa 70k miles. I had the timing belt changed at 50k.

Yesterday my wife drove to pick up my son, no issues, got there fine, went to start the car and it would not start. Got recovered by the AA to the vauxhall garage who having checked it over have just called to say the cam chain has snapped. No idea what damage has been done they need to strip it down to find out.

Anyone had anything similar?

[HolySalami]

In my research I understand that the Citroen / Peaugot / Vauxhall of this age has an issue with the chain been 7mm and therfore prone to snap. In the more recent engines this was upgraded to 8mm and there is a an uprgae kit (Great to find out after mine has gone bang) I will obviously be trying to get Vauxhall to pay for / contribute for the repair.

[HolySalami]

£4k bill to fix! - Vauxhall customer service accept its an issue with the chain, but as its past the 5 years extended warranty basically said tough luck! Aftercare manager at the dealership is almost as furious as me as he agrees with me that they should be contributing at the very least

Last Vauxhall I ever buy.

[REMMY6988]

hey mine is a 2022 model and my cam shaft chain and belt has gone and now requires a new engine @56k miles! Its always had its full service every 8-10k and thankfully is just inside it 60k warranty. The point I'm trying to get at is Vauxhall told me that they are more then aware this is a common problem, but I find it troubling when they sell these cars with a claim that the belt is good for 100k yet seem to snap around 50-60k on average. surely on that basis they should offer to take the majority if not all the bill as your belt is well within the 100k.
maybe a petition needs starting for these big company's to take more responsibility as I thought I was buying a car that if looked after could go into 200k mark with the exception of wear and tear being my main costs and not worrying I will need a new engine every 50k miles!?!

[Dave156]

Can someone confirm that the 1.5 PSA diesel has a chain to drive the camshaft and not a belt I see people referring to CAM belt then a CAM chain Also what is the best diagnostic tool to use ?

[Gomoca]

Chain!!!

[HolySalami]

Can someone confirm that the 1.5 PSA diesel has a chain to drive the camshaft and not a belt I see people referring to CAM belt then a CAM chain Also what is the best diagnostic tool to use ?

Belt, that then drives a chain inside the engine block

[HolySalami]

Just to top it off I’ve agreed a cost to repair the car with the dealership. £3.5k but here’s the next issue… there are no parts available, they’ve gone on back order with no anticipated date.

[HolySalami]

Today Vauxhall answer - NO parts available, still no idea when, when (if) it finally ships it is 10 days delivery to the dealer... so my car at best is at least 3 weeks away taking it to almost 2 months off the road!

[Uliotta]

Yeah, that’s rough. I haven’t had a cam chain snap myself, but I’ve known a couple of people who have, and it’s usually bad news. Depending on how much damage is done, it can get pretty expensive, especially if valves are involved. Hopefully, since you got it checked right away, the damage won’t be too severe. Best thing is just to wait and see what they find when they strip it down, but I know the waiting sucks.