More Volvo woes .. my stressful s40

Colash

Purchased this car about a year ago.. s40 1.6d r design ..2009.. low mileage .full service history. And very happy with it until things start goimg sour. Today brought a new problem. .limp mode with an engine management light. The car still has a 2 year extended warranty on it which I purchased from the volvo dealers at the time I bought it. To me warranty I'd like gold dust so I paid the extra little bit to receive this extra warranty .I rang volvo today with my new problem. .and asked about getting the car into them asap as it wasn't very driveable. They told me they were booked out for 3 weeks . I then asked could I drop the car to them and receive a courtesy car while my car was been fixed..I was told all their couresty cars were booked out for weeks! !! Cmon volvo ..great customer service there ..!!!! Anyways I brought my car then to a local mechanic who plugged it in and came up with 3 fault codes .2 relating to the dpf and one to the egr valve.. brilliant. . He suggested a regeneration or a dpf replacement. Now since the car is under warranty I can't let anyone touch it except volvo where I bought the car .. I'm now wondering is a dpf or dpf related parts covered under warranty ? The car has 55k miles at the min..dpf replacement is stated at 75k miles so I'm well under the mileage for a dpf to be failing .I'll br honest I'd gladly put anybody off this 1.6d psa engine .it's broken my heart since I've had it

Cabaal

I could be wrong, but my understanding is dpf is not covered, check your warranty agreement

Nuw

Check the fine prints on your warranty documents to be sure. Only this document can state if this will be covered.

These type of failure are actually relatively common with diesel and not at all specific to this particular one, especially if the car was used for short trips and/or around town a lot. It's made for motorway cruising, not potting around. Now don't get me wrong, this particular engine is not known for its reliability but 55k in 8 years has me thinking.

kirving

55k in 8 years is nothing, and definitely not the kind of mileage that is suited to diesel. I know someone who has this engine in another car, and got a DPF warning recently, I would say due to daily 25-30 minute trips. Was cleaned out at a cost of approx. €250.

mullingar

Colash wrote: »

And very happy with it until things start goimg sour. Today brought a new problem. .


The car has 55k miles at the min..dpf replacement is stated at 75k miles so I'm well under the mileage for a dpf to be failing .I'll br honest I'd gladly put anybody off this 1.6d psa engine .it's broken my heart since I've had it

So you've the car a year and very happy with it until a consumable part has failed and it's broken your heart?

Colash

mullingar wrote: »

Colash wrote: »

And very happy with it until things start goimg sour. Today brought a new problem. .


The car has 55k miles at the min..dpf replacement is stated at 75k miles so I'm well under the mileage for a dpf to be failing .I'll br honest I'd gladly put anybody off this 1.6d psa engine .it's broken my heart since I've had it

So you've the car a year and very happy with it until a consumable part has failed and it's broken your heart?

Why is there always one smart arse on these motoring forums that has to come in with a comment to make his or her day a bit better because it gets a few likes . I'm simply looking for anyone who has had similar experiences. .not someone to quote what I've written and add absolutely nothing to the discussion

Comhrá

So you've the car a year and very happy with it until a consumable part has failed and it's broken your heart?

mullingar wrote: »

I take offense to that, amend your post.

You were very unclear on your post.

If you make the sort of 'high horse' comments like you just did, which are totally unhelpful to the OP, then you can expect to be offended.

Why bother posting in the thread if you have nothing useful to contribute?

pablo128

The car needs to be taken out and reddened every so often, or you will have these problems no matter what diesel car you drive.

mullingar

I didn't make any high horse comment, op was very unclear, in just one paragraph he said he was both happy and unhappy. What's high horse about that?

Colash

I said I was happy witht the car until it started giving problems . And yes I do apologise my original post was a bit misleading .. this new problem has broken my heart ...

Neilw

Colash wrote: »

I said I was happy witht the car until it started giving problems . And yes I do apologise my original post was a bit misleading .. this new problem has broken my heart ...

The problem is buying a diesel when it doesn't suit your low miles.

The problems you are seeing are part and parcel of owning a modern diesel, parts like egr's, dpf's dual mass flywheels are more or less maintenance items at this stage.

But at least it's cheap to tax

bazz26

OP, unfortunately you possibly inherited problems from the previous owner where they didn't drive a diesel car as it was intended. 55k miles on an 8 year old diesel is very low and most of that was probably short stop/start journeys which is not good for a diesel car or a DPF. Diesel cars need long drives especially for the DPF regeneration to do it's job and burn off the built up particles.

Assuming it's a blocked DPF, if a forced DPF regeneration done by the garage doesn't unblock it then you have 3 options really. 1. Have the DPF temporarily removed and cleaned. 2. Remove the DPF altogether and have it mapped out of the car';s ECU or 3. Have a new DPF replaced. A main dealer will only do option 3 and you're probably talking around €1400 for the privilege from a main dealer. Play dumb and see if it's covered under the warranty but most DPFs are classed as consumables these days and may not be covered.

As for the dealer's response, unfortunately that's pretty standard. Volvo aftersales never had a great reputation.

Colash

bazz26 wrote: »

OP, unfortunately you possibly inherited problems from the previous owner where they didn't drive a diesel car as it was intended. 55k miles on an 8 year old diesel is very low and most of that was probably short stop/start journeys which is not good for a diesel car or a DPF. Diesel cars need long drives especially for the DPF regeneration to do it's job and burn off the built up particles.

Assuming it's a blocked DPF, if a forced DPF regeneration done by the garage doesn't unblock it then you have 3 options really. 1. Have the DPF temporarily removed and cleaned. 2. Remove the DPF altogether and have it mapped out of the car';s ECU or 3. Have a new DPF replaced. A main dealer will only do option 3 and you're probably talking around €1400 for the privilege from a main dealer. Play dumb and see if it's covered under the warranty but most DPFs are classed as consumables these days and may not be covered.

As for the dealer's response, unfortunately that's pretty standard. Volvo aftersales never had a great reputation.

Thanks for this reply

Colash

Neilw wrote: »

Colash wrote: »

I said I was happy witht the car until it started giving problems . And yes I do apologise my original post was a bit misleading .. this new problem has broken my heart ...

The problem is buying a diesel when it doesn't suit your low miles.

The problems you are seeing are part and parcel of owning a modern diesel, parts like egr's, dpf's dual mass flywheels are more or less maintenance items at this stage.

But at least it's cheap to tax

Thanks

dieselbug

It may be that the egr issue is causing the dpf problem. So, you could replace the dpf and end up back at square one very quickly.

ie the dpf codes are symptoms rather than the problem.

Colash

dieselbug wrote: »

It may be that the egr issue is causing the dpf problem. So, you could replace the dpf and end up back at square one very quickly.

ie the dpf codes are symptoms rather than the problem.

Now that u say that .for the past few weeks before this limp mode and engine light .I've been experiencing no power under 1k rpm when acceleration. .I'm wondering is this a symptom of an egr valve ?

punisher5112

Have you still got the car?

Are you still driving?

Have you asked Volvo can you get work carried out elsewhere if covered as you need the car.

If you are still driving bring the car on a long journey and leave in 3rd or 4th depending on speed/revs.

Try keep it over 2.5k revs and for well over 30 mins.

Colash

punisher5112 wrote: »

Have you still got the car?

Are you still driving?

Have you asked Volvo can you get work carried out elsewhere if covered as you need the car.

If you are still driving bring the car on a long journey and leave in 3rd or 4th depending on speed/revs.

Try keep it over 2.5k revs and for well over 30 mins.

I still have the car .. I had to keep it since its my only source of transport. . Volvo states they will only cover the car in the garage I bought it from which is a pity as there's another volvo dealer 35 min from my house !!!! .. lastnight I tried a few runs in 3rd gear at 3000rpm .. maybe 10-15 mile in total ..and it still didn't clear it

punisher5112

Colash wrote: »

I still have the car .. I had to keep it since its my only source of transport. . Volvo states they will only cover the car in the garage I bought it from which is a pity as there's another volvo dealer 35 min from my house !!!! .. lastnight I tried a few runs in 3rd gear at 3000rpm .. maybe 10-15 mile in total ..and it still didn't clear it

It may be completely clogged and too far gone but a few short runs wouldn't make any difference you would need to be going on a high rev long distance so 40 mins at least for to do any clearing.

These diesels are great but do need to be given a good spin often enough to stop these issues.

Colash

punisher5112 wrote: »

Colash wrote: »

I still have the car .. I had to keep it since its my only source of transport. . Volvo states they will only cover the car in the garage I bought it from which is a pity as there's another volvo dealer 35 min from my house !!!! .. lastnight I tried a few runs in 3rd gear at 3000rpm .. maybe 10-15 mile in total ..and it still didn't clear it

It may be completely clogged and too far gone but a few short runs wouldn't make any difference you would need to be going on a high rev long distance so 40 mins at least for to do any clearing.

These diesels are great but do need to be given a good spin often enough to stop these issues.

I think thr fact that's it locked in limp mode with an engine light on means it might be gone too far .. Im not 100 percebt sure

bazz26

If the car is in limp mode then it will not rev above 1500/2000 rpm until the fault codes are cleared. If the DPF is indeed blocked then it will just flag another fault with the ECU and go into limp mode shortly again. This is why a DPF regeneration would need to be forced by a garage with the proper tools. Of course the fault codes need to scanned and diagnosed first so the underlying problem can be determined. Limp mode and EM light are just generic warnings to protect the car from potential further harm.

Agent_47

Colash, there is also an additive tank located above the rear axle which I believe needs to be refilled every 37.5K miles. I went with option 2 that Bazz26 indicated 2 and a bit years ago and would recommend that. No more EGR, no more additive tank (cost 125 to replenish and change software to read it as full alone before).
This engine is not durable and I look after my car. It needs low saps oil, it needs oil and filter changes at 12 to 14 K Km which i do myself. When it goes I go back to simple petrol and no limp mode. Mine is 10 yr old.

pablo128

Agent_47 wrote: »

Colash, there is also an additive tank located above the rear axle which I believe needs to be refilled every 37.5K miles. I went with option 2 that Bazz26 indicated 2 and a bit years ago and would recommend that. No more EGR, no more additive tank (cost 125 to replenish and change software to read it as full alone before).
This engine is not durable and I look after my car. It needs low saps oil, it needs oil and filter changes at 12 to 14 K Km which i do myself. When it goes I go back to simple petrol and no limp mode. Mine is 10 yr old.

This true and something you only reminded me of. A colleagues car (which I cant remember as he changes each year but always has that 1.6d engine, Focus, Mazda 3, Volvo etc) went into limp mode in Scotland and he managed to drive it back to Ireland. Turns out he was low on additive.

Zcott

The wife's car is a 407 with the same engine. Additive was low and topped up, but the DPF wasn't regenerating so the car went into limp mode fairly frequently. Had the DPF removed and it's going great. Mixture of long and short journeys weekly, and had 130k miles on the clock when it was removed.

punisher5112

Not a great idea removing dpf or any other device as the crap being spewed out is going to cause us all serious health issues in years to come.

NOx emissions are extremely harmful and these devices help keep these down.

Colash

Hi chaps..thanks for all yer replies ..just on the dpf additive suggestion.. is there not a dash warning when this gets too low ? .

punisher5112

Adblue should have a low warning but may not always work.

bazz26

That engine uses Eolys for the DPF. Engine management light fault codes need to be scanned before doing anything else though.

parishsavings

1.6 diesel PSA is a great engine BUT the one i had was 05 and one of the few without a dpf

Colash

The engines codes I got were
444d (egr related)
2a30 (dpf over loaded)
2a40 (dpf blocked)

So unless there's an egr fault ..all fingers point to a dpf blockage .. I'm sure low fluid in the dpf additive would throw it's own code .

Agent_47

Colash wrote: »

The engines codes I got were
444d (egr related)
2a30 (dpf over loaded)
2a40 (dpf blocked)

So unless there's an egr fault ..all fingers point to a dpf blockage .. I'm sure low fluid in the dpf additive would throw it's own code .

Unfortunately it doesn't. The refill interval was reduced by Volvo because they found the additive was running out quicker that they thought. My understanding is that it operates whenever the diesel fuel tank is re-filled. Unfortunately the twats at Volvo thought everyone fills when empty and buys a full tank. Additive is squirted into the tank whenever the tank fuel flap is opened and closed. It will run out quicker if someone only put a few quid in at a time.
Technically I was told the DPF would last till 150K Km, Additive is required every 75K Km but Volvo reduced that to every 60K Km.

If getting the DPF sorted best ensure you get the additive topped up and more importantly when topped up get the software to reflect the additive was topped up (again a dealer job)

Colash

I'm just wondering would a fairly decent independent garage have the software to do this fluid level reset ?.I plan on getting the fluid topped up an a regen done this Thursday. . Can the software only be done by a volvo dealer to reset the level ?

dieselbug

Colash wrote: »

I'm just wondering would a fairly decent independent garage have the software to do this fluid level reset ?.I plan on getting the fluid topped up an a regen done this Thursday. . Can the software only be done by a volvo dealer to reset the level ?

You don't need to go to a main dealer for this work to be done properly but make sure it's a garage equipped to do it and more important that it's a garage that know's what they are doing.

In your case with warranty issues you are unfortunately tied to the dealer.

jimmy blevins

It's not just a Volvo problem, every modern diesel seems to be problem waiting to happen.

Colash

jimmy blevins wrote: »

It's not just a Volvo problem, every modern diesel seems to be problem waiting to happen.

The 1.6d psa unit in all these cars seems to be very troublesum when it comes to dpf issues

bazz26

Depends on the manufacturer and how their DPF system works, some systems are better thought out and reliable than others.

Colash

bazz26 wrote: »

Depends on the manufacturer and how their DPF system works, some systems are better thought out and reliable than others.

Bring back that old 1.9tdi vw engine lol

Colash

Update on this ..turns out my egr valve is fecked. .ringing volvo tomorrow to see will they chsnge it

jca

Colash wrote: »

Bring back that old 1.9tdi vw engine lol

Not the holy grail it's made out to be either... Especially ones with the variable vane turbos.