Attention all Vauxhall owners, particularly drivers of Astras, Fronteras, Cavaliers, Omegas, Vectras and Calibras manufactured between 1993 and 1996. Vauxhall admittted to Weekend Watchdog that your engine could be at risk because a tiny part worth just £17.60 may be defective.

Vauxhall have known about this problem since late 1997 but did not tell dealers until October 1998. Weekend Watchdog discovered many customers are still in the dark and they have had no warnings.

Jason Hansford-Adams drives a 1995 Vauxhall Cavalier. It has been serviced by Vauxhall dealers from new with no major problems until 6 February 1999, when the car was approaching a roundabout and the engine failed.

Jason told Weekend Watchdog "…the engine let out a whoosh …..and the warning lights came on…" Jason lost the power steering and brakes and had to negotiate a roundabout and bring the car to a stop on the other side. It was difficult to control and very frightening.

The car was towed to Jason’s local Vauxhall dealer where mechanics confirmed his worst fears. His engine would have to be replaced.

The problem was the idler wheel, it had worn down. Idler wheels keep the valves and pistons synchronised but when they disintegrate engine parts can grate against each other and Cause serious damage. Jason’s garage told him his case was a one-off and he was just unfortunate. Jason did not accept that and logged on to the Internet to see if there were any other Vauxhall owners who had had the same problem. There were.

Simon Knight from Northampton has an N Reg 1996 Vauxhall Calibra Turbo. His idler wheel broke when driving on a busy road causing £3000 worth of damage to the car.

In both Simon and Jason’s cars the broken wheel was a plastic-coated GF50, used from 1993 until September 1996 on the Cavalier, Vectra, Astra, Calibra, Frontera and Omega.

Vauxhall has admitted to Weekend Watchdog that there is a problem with these wheels. Although the fault was identified in 1997, it was not until October 1998 that a memo was sent to dealers asking them to check which type was fitted to their customers cars. Dealers were asked to replace the plastic-coated GF50's with a new plastic wheel only if a car came in for a replacement cam belt. but research by Watchdog has discovered disturbing short comings in the Vauxhall memo. Vauxhall only admitted to dealers that the faulty wheel was fitted in cars made between 1993 and 1996.

A Watchdog Viewer sent an idler wheel taken from his 1993 Cavalier Turbo it shows a crack in the plastic which could lead to the part shattering. The viewers car was made a month before those covered by the Vauxhall memo.

Stephen McCann has a 16 valve Calibra from January 1994. It has won an award as the best kept car from the Vauxhall's Performance Car Club and has featured in leading car magazines. The cars’ engine failed in March while he was a driving on the motorway. He also lost his power steering and brakes but managed to control the car and coast into a slip road. He complained to Vauxhall.

Chairman Nick Reilly sent him this reply. '…I can confirm that we have no material or manufacturing problem associated with this failure.'

Weekend Watchdog contacted Vauxhall. Again they told us that Stephen McCann's car was not one of those with the faulty part. We asked them again and finally they admitted that Mr McCann's car did have the idler wheel which has been causing so many problems. The same thing happened with Simon Knight's Calibra Turbo. Vauxhall told us: 'The car was definitely not....within the range of chassis numbers of potentially affected vehicles.' When we pressed them they admitted Simon Knight's car did have the GF 50 wheel.'

Although Vauxhall knew about this expensive and potentially dangerous fault at least 15 months ago, owners of affected cars still have not been warned. Vauxhall claimed only cars built between 1994 and 1996 were involved but we discovered some models built before this period were also affected.

Jason believes that Vauxhall ought to face up to the problem and recall all cars with the affected part. He says " …We’re talking about an item that costs £17 And caused £3500 worth of damage to my engine…"

Vauxhall say they have not issued a recal because " …a recall is a specific requirement of the DETR and relates to prime safety as something which affects safety critical components such as breaks, steering, wheels and tyres…". The RAC say the loss of power steering, servo brakes and engine is a serious safety issue especially at high speeds.

Vauxhall has agreed to pay for most of the repairs to Jason Hansford-Adams' Cavalier and Simon Knight has been offered the full cost of replacing his engine.

Stephen McCann has been given £2,300 parts for free from Vauxhall but he has had to pay £400 in labour and his engine is still not working. Vauxhall want a further £380 to go towards the labour for the new work.

Vauxhall admit they have misinterpreted their own memo to dealers. They say that Mr Knight and Mr McCann's cars are covered by the memo.