Volvo s40 1.6 diesel 2006, nothing but trouble

Roscommongirl1

I am not so proud owner of the above car. We only bought it in Oct and the car has been nothing but trouble. Fan belt went 6 weeks after we bought it privately. then in Jan it had an ABS and egr issue. €1200 later car back . Tuesday went out to car and it wouldnt start. Got towed to the garage. EGR gone again. Garage replaced for free. Said one of the GLOW plugs they couldnt get out but had replaced other. went out this morning and it wouldnt start.
I honestly have spent a fortune on the car and i cant really afford to replace it as i had to get a cr union loan to buy it in the first place. Waiting on Mechanic to come and have a look at it again. DH reckons something underlining blowing the EGR and it wasnt faulty at all.

Any suggestions.

For Forks Sake

Not to ask the obvious question,but what checks did you have done before you bought the car?

Roscommongirl1

we didnt really. my husband had a good look who is usually quite good with cars. Was well serviced from chatting mechanic the Volvo s40 is a crap engine.

For Forks Sake

Roscommongirl1 wrote: »

we didnt really. my husband had a good look who is usually quite good with cars. Was well serviced from chatting mechanic the Volvo s40 is a crap engine.

There's the thing,that 1.6 diesel unit is a good engine (have had 3 cars with it in this house - an S40, a Focus and a Citroen C5), but it requires meticulous maintenance. Has your mechanic had a chance to check the diagnostic system on it?

christy02

What mileage is on the car. That engine can be troublesome if they are not looked after by someone who really knows them
Trouble is on a 10 yr old car you have no idea apart from a few stamps in the service book.

Fan belt could go on any car I suppose. Egr issues a symptom of many diesel cars. Did you read the codes see if there are any stored Codes?

I was looking at v40's of that era when I bought my accord. Was put off tbh by this forum advising against. 2.0d appears more reliable.

Glad really as accord has been fantastic. Nothing outside of servicing items and a refurbished alternator. 350k km up now.

Good luck with it op.

Roscommongirl1

thanks still no word for Mechanic. So thinking that's not a good sign. Mileage is 190000km.
We just seen to be very unlucky with cars.

Relatively low miles for a 10 year old diesel. EGR being gunked wouldn't be surprising .... shouldn't act up after 5 months though.

Fan belt & ABS issue on 10 year old car... bath tub curve for components, can't complain.

Breakdown Tuesday and again today.... I'd be less impressed with the garage than the car. If sorted after this visit could be trouble-free for a while, fingers crossed.

Fiskar

Roscommongirl1 wrote: »

thanks still no word for Mechanic. So thinking that's not a good sign. Mileage is 190000km.
We just seen to be very unlucky with cars.

Unfortunately when money is tight you need to do your research. This forum should have been your first port of call.
I too have an S40 1.6D with 186K Km on it and had a fair share of routine and non routine issues, This engine needs a lot of TLC, as I got it new and have treated it with TLC I know it inside out but even it has surprised me.
My most recent issue was the fuel filter as was losing power. My next car would be a 2 to 4 yr old petrol.

Fiskar

Suggest you cut your losses on one hand and trade in for a petrol or as you have changed the key items is to check out the following have been replaced and then decide if the car is worth it. This is relevant to a 1.6D S40 2005 onward to 2010/11

1. DPF, if it is there then when was it replaced? If done at 125K KM then it needs to be done at 250K KM, Cost 800 to 1,000

2. Eloys tank and reset of the service indicator, Eloys needs topping up by a garage every 60K Km. Done under the car. Cost €225. If not done then the DPF will quickly be damaged with soot.

3. Timing belt, must be replaced every 150K KM or 8 years, cost €200 from an independent garage. Must be done with new water pump and altenator belt.

4. Battery, mine lasted till 175K KM or 9.5 years. Cost €85.

5. Fuel filter - must be done every 55K Km however I will now it myself every 40K Km. Cost of filter €40 to 60 + fitting cost

If the car has no DPF then you should have less issues and get 50 mpg
Hope this list helps.

Audioslaven

I have a Mazda 3 with the same engine. The only issues I have with it, has been glow plugs, injector seals replaced and the DPF is coming close to an issue as it is regenerating every 200KM but there is 170000KM on it (Orginal DPF - new DPF from Mazda is around 650). It gets its oil (mazda 5w30 c1 oil) changed ever 9500KM and the eloys topped up every 35000KM. I blanked the EGR valve a few years ago as well.

To date the car has been good to me so I can' t complain and I agree that if you look after them, they can serve you well.

Phil.x

Were Mazda and Volvo in partnership?

Audioslaven

Phil.x wrote: »

Were Mazda and Volvo in partnership?

No Ford and Mazda AFAIK

bazz26

Ford and Peugeot/Citroen codeveloped the 1.6 HDi engine. Ford used to own Volvo and a percentage of Mazda so that engine was shared between them all too.