Volvo C30 turbo problem. Help
 

Hi,

I brought a 2010 Volvo C30 2.0D (136bhp) about 3 weeks ago. It has done 66k miles. It drove fine for the first 2 weeks. A couple of times when driving it initially a few service warnings popped up but disappeared without resetting the code or restarting the car. Then one day I am driving and the alternator fails in turn killing the battery (which was the original battery).

I brought it from a trader so I called them and they agreed to fix it (this was 12 days after originally buying it). It was fixed by a local garage near me (new battery, belt and alternator).

On the drive home another warning light came up on the dash something to do with the engine needing serving. I had watched a YouTube video showing how to get Volvo codes- it gave me two P0006 and P0019 fuel shut off valve and VVT. The warning light would disappear when I restarted the car however would reappear soon when driving (when revs went to about 2000).

I returned it to the garage who have come back and said it is the turbo sticking (they didn't mention those codes I got and don't think they used Vida dice). They also mentioned lots of other codes tht came up- mainly voltage which could be alternator related and one code for the dpf.

The dealer has accused me of driving the car 'too hard'.

There was also a sulphur smell coming through the air vents which seemed to worsen upon acceleration and the air con has bad leak (the dealer said this would be sorted before I brought it). Garage suggested a new condenser would be needed.

What are your thoughts on this? Should I persist? I am annoyed by the whole thing and have lost confidence in the car, I only drove it for 12 days. I am thinking of asking for a refund on it.

Sorry to hear this. I would recommend having a full independent inspection and taking the information back to the company you bought it from. You can get them to fix all of the faults if you know about them.

I have even gone as far as a fresh Mot with the other checks and have had a couple of occasions where the cars failed, despite having got a fresh Mot at point of sale. My Xc60 had a broken rear spring!

Time is of the essence. You need to act fast as warranty periods are short especially with small independent garages.

I would recommend having a long think about want you want the company to do or if they would even consider a refund. You will need a plan outlining the steps you need to take if the company doesn't agree and you are left with some hefty repair bills. Trading standards lists some useful information. You can also call the citizens advice bureau for help initially.

I personally would plan to have all that info before I would speak to the garage as I can then guide them to a better outcome I. E. Fixing the car 😂

Hope you get it sorted 👍

Unless sold as spares/repairs then sales of goods act covers it. The car should be fit for purpose and last a reasonable amount of time for the price paid.

.gov.co.uk covers sales of goods act and how to proceed with a trader/dealer who has sold you a faulty car.

Regards

Correct, but some don't play ball. Know of a few folk who have had to get all the way to court before resolving the situation.

Yea. I had to get assertive with a guy who sold me a Impreza which blew up at 148... knocked out no 8 bottom bearing. Had to threaten to get the money back.

The car should be fit for propose. Performance cars should perform.

That is sad. Unfortunate that there are people who just want to make a quick buck and don't think twice about the poor unsuspecting person /family etc who will suffer in the end.

Hi MROffroad and M4ss4, thank you for your replies! Spoken to the dealer, he seems to be playing ball (to an extent). It seems it will be refunded, just got to go through all the processes now, so won't be settled until the money hits my account, sure there will be more to come...

Are these Volvo's C30 2.0D (136bhp) known to be unreliable? I deliberately chose a volvo because of the reputation and didn't want the troubles BMW's and the like bring. I guess the engine is a ford so won't be the most robust. Mine had full service history from an independent volvo specialist (which had been done yearly) and appeared in good condition.

The alternator going, original 10 year old battery, broken condensor, smell of sulphur coming through the air vents (poss aircon/pollen filter related), turbo sticking, dpf code among other codes that started appearing paints a different picture to a car that has been well looked after.

Really like the C30, which is a shame, maybe I was just very unlucky with the car and dealer.

You may have just been unlucky with that car, some people ignore faults get lights turned off and sling it on quick before it comes on again. In fairness the dealership may not have known either. But that can't be your problem or fault.

I think all of the 2.0d engines are the 5 cylinder diesels made by volvo, this is certainly the case with the newer shape c30. I have a d2 which is the Ford unit shared with Ford, Peugeot and others too I think.

Mine has been okay, I had to have some issues sorted and didn't have a great experience.


If you want to add some confidence (to an extent)...
You could use a fault scanner. Something like the elm327 Bluetooth fault scanner and the Torque Pro app to add an advantage of checking the codes prior to purchase helps spot sneaky faults.

My missus has the C30 D5 se lux and its an absolute peach.

Try and get a ride and a drive in one of you can. Insurance is good on these and they are not slow although will give you 45 + mpg all day long.
Stay in cruise control on motorway and you'll get 50+mpg at 75 ish mph.
Not bad from a geartronic with 185 lump.

Hers is a 57 plate (2008) but only done about 70k. and she prefers the earlier trim in blue leather without the garish two tone seats.

This one is very well put together so dont be afraid to look at the older ones rather than just the newer ones.

Good luck anyway hope you get sorted soon.

Seems to be a 4 cylinder Ford engine in my one!(D4204T) Thanks for the recommendation of the D5 these seem to come up a bit out of my budget, think I'll be going very low mileage on my next one, don't want the headache (less risk of the headache).