Haynes Online Manual
Introduction
The Vauxhall/Opel Meriva was introduced in the UK in early 2003.
The Meriva is available with only one body style, that of a 5-door
mini multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), and with 1.4, 1.6 and 1.8 litre
petrol engines, and 1.3 and 1.7 litre diesel engines. All engines are of
the four-cylinder double overhead camshaft (DOHC) configuration,
in-line type, with the exception of one of the 1.6 litre petrol engines
which is a single overhead camshaft (SOHC) unit. The engines all
have fuel injection and are fitted with a range of emission control
systems.
The manual gearbox is of the five-speed all synchromesh type, with
an ‘Easytronic’ manual/automatic transmission optionally available
on 1.6 and 1.8 litre petrol engine models.
All models have front-wheel-drive with fully-independent front
suspension, and semi-independent rear suspension with a torsion
beam and trailing arms.
A wide range of standard and optional equipment is available within
the Meriva range to suit most tastes, including electric power
steering, air conditioning, remote central locking, electric windows,
electric sunroof, anti-lock braking system, electronic alarm system
and supplemental restraint systems.
For the home mechanic, the Meriva is a relatively straightforward
vehicle to maintain, and most of the items requiring frequent
attention are easily accessible.
Your Vauxhall/Opel Meriva manual
The aim of this manual is to help you get the best value from your
vehicle. It can do so in several ways. It can help you decide what
work must be done (even should you choose to get it done by a
garage), provide information on routine maintenance and servicing,
and give a logical course of action and diagnosis when random
faults occur. However, it is hoped that you will use the manual by
tackling the work yourself. On simpler jobs, it may even be quicker
than booking the car into a garage and going there twice, to leave
and collect it. Perhaps most important, a lot of money can be saved
by avoiding the costs a garage must charge to cover its labour and
overheads.
The manual has drawings and descriptions to show the function of
the various components, so that their layout can be understood.
Then the tasks are described and photographed in a clear step-by-
step sequence.
References to the ‘left’ or ‘right’ are in the sense of a person in the
driver’s seat, facing forward.
Project vehicles
The main vehicle used in the preparation of this manual, and which
appears in many of the photographic sequences, was a
Vauxhall/Opel Meriva with a 1.6 litre DOHC petrol engine. Additional
work was carried out on a variety of petrol and diesel engine
models.
Acknowledgements
Certain illustrations are the copyright of Vauxhall Motors Limited,
and are used with their permission. Thanks are also due to Draper
Tools Limited, who provided some of the workshop tools, and to all
those people at Sparkford who helped in the production of this
manual.
We take great pride in the accuracy of information given in this
manual, but vehicle manufacturers make alterations and design
changes during the production run of a particular vehicle of which
they do not inform us. No liability can be accepted by the authors or
publishers for loss, damage or injury caused by any errors in, or
omissions from, the information given.
