Holden Hatchback Range

A leak in the tail-light lens is a remarkably common problem in a lot of vehicles. It’s even more likely if the vehicle has previously been in a crash and the tail-lights replaced by cheap imported units. You’ll spot a leak like this by condensation that will form inside the lens on a warm day.

Your mechanic is correct, too, if water gets into the light unit, it can then make it into the boot or hatchback area. From there, it will wet the carpet or boot-liner and potentially run down inside the rear quarter panel or the area where the spare tyre lives, where it will sit and start the process of rusting the car’s metal. If there’s a musty smell when you open the hatch, then you probably have a leak and it needs to be fixed pronto.

For a start, it’s never a good idea to drag a car anywhere with the wheels, hand-brake and steering locked. You can damage anything from the transmission, steering column, driveline and even ruin (flat-spot) the tyres.

If the clicking noise when you drive it wasn’t there before, then a mechanic would suspect that there’s been damage done to the front driveshafts. This would be consistent with the car being forcibly dragged along the ground. If you’re worried, have a mechanic check the car over and send the repair bill to your (now possibly ex-) housemate.

You’re right that error code P0171 on this car equals an engine that is running too lean. That is, There’s either not enough fuel or too much air in the cylinders. On this engine, many owners have found that the PCV valve can fail, but also that the rocker cover itself can contribute to vacuum leaks. If you can hear air hissing anywhere, then a vacuum leak somewhere around the engine is a pretty good bet.

But let’s not forget that a lean mixture can be caused by not enough fuel, as well as too much air. In which case a check of the fuel filter, fuel pump delivery volume and pressure are warranted. You can also get a lean error code from a faulty or dirty MAF sensor in the engine’s intake system.