The Lock Is Feeble And A Pain To Fit

I decided to act before my spare was nicked and got a free 'K Loc' kit from Vauxhall.
Having fitted it today, I would advise people not to bother. For starters, Vauxhall clearly haven't learnt their lesson.
Having caused the problem by penny pinching design, their solution suffers from the same fate. It comprises a plastic bolt which slides through a plastic washer sitting on top of an oversized grommet hole.
Needless to say Vauxhall admit it won't withstand a sustained attack! To fit the device you have to work underneath the very rear offside seat (you are warned not to let it fall on you!) and cut a large flap in your nice new carpet and soundproofing.
You then have to try an line the spare up underneath whilst inserting the bolt through from above!! Believe you me, it is not easy! If you still want to use the plastic protector tray to cover your spare you then have to rely on the plastic bolt holding the spare in place whilst you lower the carrier to slip the tray back in.

Oh, I forgot, halfway through Vauxhall suggest you take the plastic bolt out and cut to size (presumably to prevent someone using pliers on the protruding end to snap it!).
Why they couldn't produce one the right size in the first place is beyond me - do dimensions differ between each Zafira? Should you ever need to use your spare you have to reverse the procedure I have described!!

Pity the poor mum with a car full of kids and luggage. Both kids and bags will have to be dumped outside in order to get to the plastic bolt head!! Having spent over £20K on a GSI, I am not amused at a) the initial fault and b) Vauxhall's laughable 'solution' With their 'fix' the person most likely to have a problem removing the spare will be the poor owner!
Needless to say, I'm off to buy a can of tyre sealant. Finally it's so nice of Vauxhall to include a warning sticker so that thieves will know they simply have to use a lever of some sort to snap the plastic bolt/washer!!
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The Zafira is a good all round family car

Based on the Vauxhall Astra chassis, there are quite a few similarities between the two cars, such as the general driving ride and the quality of the car as a whole.

There have been a few problems that general users have seen with the cars, such as:

• The engine cutting out when idle.
• The In car radio not functioning correctly.
• A squeaking noise from the brakes after only 10,000 miles or so use.
• Spare wheel thefts.
• A necessity to keep refilling the oil on diesel models (1 litre every thousand miles or so).
• Small storage space.
• Strange engine noises which can not be located or fixed.

Saying this, however. The car is very practical and does have some very good points. The innovative ?Flex 7? seating system makes it very easy to switch the car from 5 to 7 seats without too much hassle.

Other nice features include easy access to the car thanks to the wide opening doors, ideal for families with small children, and an anti-stall device. Designed to stop the car from stalling a low revs.

The car is generally very good and although a minority of owners have had some problems, it represents extremley good value for money and provides a great means of getting the whole family from one place to another.