The Vauxhall (or Opel) Crossland is a subcompact crossover SUV. It offers a spacious interior, practicality and economy packed up in a sporty exterior. The Crossland is a handsome car, and while it’s not quite as handsome as the Corsa, it’s a good looking car and provided it’s serviced regularly and looked after, should prove to be a reliable family workhorse.
However, as with any car, the Crossland suffers from its fair share of common problems. As a result it’s always worth doing your due diligence prior to purchasing a car so you understand what might end up going wrong with your vehicle. In this article we’re going to go through a number of common issues that crop up on the Vauxhall Crossland.
Table of Contents
- Interior leaks
- Failing to start
- Handbrake
- Automatic gearbox
- Recall on the lambda sensor
- Is the Vauxhall Crossland a good car?
Interior leaks
One thing reported by numerous owners of the Vauxhall Crossland is that the interior can be leaky. You’ll probably spot a leaky model pretty much straight away, however, as it’s likely to smell damp. If you are car-searching and you find one with a damp smell, walk away.
If you choose to buy a Vauxhall Crossland, you should make sure you check regularly for leaks in a number of areas – specifically anywhere where there’s a seal, for example around the boot and around the doors and windows, and also in less obvious areas such as in the driver’s or passenger’s footwells.
The Crossland is a relatively new model so it’s possible your vehicle is under warranty. If it is, and it starts leaking, take it back to the dealer and get them to fix it – don’t under any circumstances try to fix leaks yourself.
Failing to start
There are a few reports online of the Crossland having issues with the battery recharging slowly. As a result if you use the car for lots of short journeys and use lots of the internal systems such as the radio and air conditioning, the battery may not have enough time to recharge. If the battery is any less than 85% charged, you might experience trouble starting.
This is pretty poor from Vauxhall in my opinion – the battery on my car (with start stop, air conditioning, etc etc) is over 5 years old at this point and there’s nothing wrong with it. There is some suggestion that the battery Vauxhall have used is too weak, but if you’re experiencing issues with starting, this would be a good place to investigate first.
Additionally some owners have reported problems with starter motors. The way you can test this is ensure the battery is charged and then try to start the car. If you can hear a clicking sound and you know the battery is healthy, your starter motor is likely on the way out. You may be able to jump start or bump start the car, but in this situation you should take the car back to the dealer or a trusted mechanic to be investigated.
Handbrake
The handbrake or parking brake failing on the Crossland is a notorious problem. The handbrake itself has been known to fail completely, which is related to the release button in the handbrake lever. The solution to this is to replace the handbrake lever. This is a big job that requires a significant portion of the interior to be removed, and isn’t something you should tackle on your own.
Obviously your handbrake failing can be quite serious – especially if you’re parked on an incline. My recommendation to you if you feel there are issues with your handbrake is to ensure you always leave your vehicle in Park if it’s an automatic, and either in first or reverse gear if it’s a manual. In fact – you should be doing this anyway, along with turning your wheels towards the kerb when parked (so if your car rolls, it rolls into the kerb and not into traffic.)
Automatic gearbox
The automatic gearboxes in the Vauxhall Crossland aren’t particularly smooth or pleasant to drive. They are responsive to throttle however and you shouldn’t have any issues accelerating through the gears. You may experience issues trying to creep in traffic, however (which is the whole reason we buy automatics, isn’t it?) as well as some jerkiness when setting off from a standstill.
The reason for this is that the EAT 6 automatic gearbox disengages automatically when you stop and keep your foot on the brake. If you then push the throttle, it takes a second to re-engage and it will occasionally jump forward hard when it does engage. This is a bit annoying but is normal. However if you’re noticing issues changing between gears, or that the car won’t go into certain gears, it’s time to get your car checked out by a garage.
The manual gearboxes tend to have less of these niggly issues – the only one I wouldn’t recommend is the 5-speed as this is a very basic, unrefined gearbox. You may also notice that the clutch bite is very very high and the brake and clutch are quite close together – none of which make for a particularly pleasant driving experience.
Recall on the lambda sensor
The Crossland (specifically the 2018 – 2019 model) went through a recall for the lambda sensor which caused the level of nitrogen oxide (NOx) being expelled by the exhaust to exceed legal limits. If you think this applies to you, you should get your car checked into a local Vauxhall dealer to have this part replaced – typically they will do this with no charge.
Additionally, a faulty lambda sensor may cause clogging of the catalytic converter, increased fuel emissions and poor engine performance – so if you think this is something your car is suffering with, get it checked out ASAP.
Is the Vauxhall Crossland a good car?
The Crossland is a decently reliable family SUV, but it isn’t as sharp to drive as some of its rivals. Since Peugeot, Citroen and Vauxhall merged with a number of other auto manufacturers in 2021 to form Stellantis, the Crossland is basically the same underneath as a Peugeot 3008, and problems that apply to this car could also apply to the Crossland. Ensure you do your due diligence before buying – but as long as you ensure the car you buy has adequate service history and has been looked after, your Crossland should serve you faithfully for many years!
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About the author
Marcus Brown is editor-in-chief of The FatMech and is a mechanic with ten years' experience based in London, UK. Having worked for major dealerships for many years, Marcus now works for a local independent garage and has experience working on nearly every make and model of car. Marcus also has a passion for writing and teaching, which is where the idea for The FatMech came from. In his spare time, Marcus enjoys playing golf, doing home renovations and gardening. He lives just outside London with his wife and son.