Holden Astra: Ignition coil pack with built-in igniter module fails — misfire and limp mode

The TS Astra runs a single coil pack covering all four cylinders with the igniter module built into it, mounted on the engine where it gets cooked. Owners report going through several over the life of the car — one long-term TS owner describes being on their fourth. When it starts to break down you get a misfire that is often worse when the engine is hot or damp, a flashing or steady engine light, and the car dropping into limp mode with almost no power. Because the module is integrated you cannot replace just the failing part, and because the same symptoms come from spark plugs, leads and the camshaft sensor, a shop that guesses can run up a bill chasing it. A misfire also dumps unburnt fuel into the catalytic converter, which is a much more expensive thing to kill.

• Engine shaking or stumbling at idle, worse when cold or damp
• Engine warning light on or flashing, sometimes with the traction light
• Sudden loss of power with the car limited to low revs
• Hesitation or a flat spot when you accelerate hard
• Fuel consumption climbing for no obvious reason

1. 1

   Start the car from stone cold and let it idle with the bonnet up for two or three minutes, watching for a shake through the body and listening for an uneven beat rather than a steady one.

2. 2

   Rest your hand lightly on the gear lever and on the top of the dashboard at idle and feel for a pulse or shudder that comes and goes.

3. 3

   Take it out and accelerate hard in a middle gear from low revs on an open stretch, then repeat it once everything is hot, because a failing coil pack usually shows itself under load when warm.

4. 4

   Watch the engine warning light through the whole drive, and ask the seller how many coil packs the car has been through and whether it has ever gone into limp mode.

Parts involved: Ignition coil.

$300 to $900 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. That is for this job on its own, not for the car.

An estimate, in NZD, for the repair as normally carried out. What a specific car costs depends on which part has failed and what it damaged on the way — treat this as the floor for a negotiation, not a quote.

• “How many coil packs has this car been through?”
• “Has the engine light ever come on, or has it ever lost power suddenly?”
• “When were the spark plugs and leads last replaced?”

The failure described above is documented in the sources below. The inspection instructions and the cost estimate are KickTyres’ own interpretation of them.

• ProductReview.com.au — Holden Astra TS (1998-2005) owner reviews: repeated coil pack failures, one owner 'on my 4th coil pack'
• PerformanceForums — 'Holden TS Astra coil pack help' thread describing the integrated igniter module and 5-pin plug
• Whirlpool Forums — 'Holden Astra cylinder misfire' and 'Misfire and injector malfunction' threads