XC90 - Mega Issues £5,000 bill !!!! PLS Help
 

Hi folks, I bought an 04, D5, Auto XC90 12 weeks ago, paid UK £7999, no warranty.

Noticed leaking oil last week, was the crank seal, so paid a Volvo Specialist £450 to change the crank seal.

Car broke down 2 days later, no gears working, engine running.

Garage said that when replacing the core seal, they had to move the gear box, and distrubed sludge and grime, that has now gone through the radiator etc. They said car was cutting out due to sludge getting on the solenoids.

They said the oil was black and dirty, prob never changed in the gear box.

The said I need a new gear box, new radiator because the sludge had now filled the radiator.

They also said the Alternator was on its way out, and the torque converter.

£5,000 parts and labour.

My view is I paid them to do a job, they should have higlighted the risks before doing the job, car worked fine before taking it in, ask for a leak to be fixed, now have a car that is worthless (unless I spend £5k.).

Part of my sympathises with the garage, who were not to know thatthe sludge was there and the oil was very old - but they should have known, or at least notified me of the issue before starting work.

If I had known there was any risk, I would never have had the job done.

Garage I purchased from don't want to know (naturally) - their view is that the Approved Volvo folks caused the issue.

The garage even admitted they caused the issue to me & my father in law several times, but expect me to pay to fix it.

What are your thoughts????
I'd happily pay e.f. £1,000 - but £5,000 is insane. Regardless, I had a working car with an oil leak - paid £500 to fix, and they killed my car.

I am very sad, as £5k is a years savings which I had only just got enough for us to finally move house due to new kids.

Thanks, Mike.

I hate Volvos ;)

I think first step would be to contact a auto gearbox specialist. Worst case you should be able to get a s/h gearbox and have that fitted for a lot less

You may have been able to go down the 'Sale Of Goods Act' with the original problem. Not sure where you stand at this point. Really sorry to hear about you trouble. Hope you get it sorted as best and as cheap as you can.

Probably worth chatting to the Citizens Advice Bureau to see where you stand legally.

Try Citizens Advice to see if there is anywhere to go with either garage. If not then good advice re second hand gearbox above.

How do you not have a warranty from the garage you bought the car from?
The sale of goods act is very clear, a dealer can't dismiss his responsibilities under the act by making statements like sold as seen, trade sale, no warranty given or implied.
Did you pay for the car or any part of it with either a credit card or a higher purchase?
If so you can also make a clam against them.

Goin T5D5.org and ask the same question on there, you will get a better response.Just for your information though.Volvo recommend that the gearbox is sealed for life and the oil is not required to be changed..

I would suggest that your Volvo dealer had no idea how to change the oil and more then likely simply dropped the oil and refilled it without following the correct sequence..

if it came from a dealer, warranty means nothing Sale of goods put problem fairly at dealers door, HOWEVER now you have been to another garage, they have seriously marred the situation, as it would be for you to prove they weren't in anyway responsible, and problem was there prior

Have a search across forums for cars being screwed up by Mechanics

1. A person spent many thousands at a garage, driving home car went bang, another garage looked at car, did inspection and dismantled, which meant case could not realistically be taken to court with g'tee to win

2. Another person spent thousands at RT mechanics, they screwed up, car went bang, immediately they were informed, refused to do anything or take responsibility, car was taken to a main dealer for inspection and report for court....
http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=81855

just a little read, RT (or his insurers legal team) paid out of court at last minute, and tried and hush everything up, even trying to get members pesonal details and sending threatening letters
http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=112560

however if all else fails, a good mechanic and 2nd had box or even see if you can do a deal with someone who breaks cars a sideline in getting a running car as a donor, and the strip out what you want and keep the rest to sell

There is plenty of gearbox specialists about that might be able to repair the gearbox depending on whats up with it,

It sounds more like oil pump failure inside the box rather than solinoids jammed as you usually have some sort of drive when they go,

If they have not been careful with the torque converter when removing the box then they could have damaged drive for oil pump when they refit it altho i would have expected it not to drive at all not loose drive 2 days later if this had happened

Just to note that if the vehicle is used as a 'taxi' or to 'tow' then Volvo recommend to have an ATF change every 2 years! Every other manufacturer that uses the AW box also recommends that the oil be changed with interval of between 30 - 80k. My personal opinion is to do an initial complete change and then a bi-yearly drop and fill as ongoing maintenance no matter what (taxi, tow or not!).


To OP,

If the ATF was as bad as you say then I suspect the box has the wrong oil in it. JWS3309 oil will not turn to sludge, especially not in the mileage your vehicle has done. Black Yes, Sludge No!

I suspect (mileage dependant) that if you were to do a complete ATF change (requires approx. 12litres) as opposed to just a drop and refill (requires 3.5 to 4litres) then you might be lucky and everything be back to normal.

As above take to a decent transmission specialist and have them either conduct a complete ATF change as this is your cheapest option. It could potentially be a waste if it doesn't work as opening the box later for a fix will see the oil having to come back out again (this could be saved and re-used though). You must also ensure any transmission place does NOT do a power flush! It is the easiest and quickest option but is NOT recommended.

This is a job you could do yourself, search on here for 'gibbons method' or 'ATF change' and you should find plenty of information/threads.

You can get MV Duradrive for approx. £100 for 20litres (JWS3309) or use Carlube JWS3309 which is fairly cheap. If you know anyone with a Vauxhall Trade Card then you can also get the GM JWS3309 stuff from a Vx Dealer for approx. £7 a litre.

:star-wars-smiley-01

If you do go for an ATF change then I would highly recommend taking a sample of the oil and having it sent off for analysis (doesn't cost a great deal). This way you may have recourse against the selling garage if it is proven that the wrong oil was in the box in the first place.