XC40 petrol manual, dead engine, minimal support from Volvo
 

Hi,

I'll apologise from the get go here as the car is a friend's who lives a decent distance away and my information is fairly vague, but hopefully someone here knows some way to get Volvo to provide better support or links to TSB's that suggest the fault is more Volvo's than my friends.

She has a petrol XC40 manual, I'm not 100% certain what year, or indeed engine type in use, never really paid attention to the XC40's myself. Will try and find out more info later. Mileage is also something I need to confirm but I seem to recall her saying it was low, maybe 40-60k?

Recently on a long drive home she noticed the car was making an unusual noise, but was still running ok and no warnings were showing. Once home it was taken to her usual garage to look at and initially a new flywheel was recommended. Once they started to work on it, it was discovered that some main bearings had worn prematurely causing the crankshaft to move in such a way the the whole engine is now basically trashed and requires replacement.

Volvo main dealer now has the car, has done further investigations of their own, the full details of which they are refusing to share with her, but they agree with the problem and state a new engine at circa £7000 plus 12 hours labour at £150 per hour! The car has been serviced as it should but not all but Volvo main dealers, so the most she has been offered is a 40% contribution.

I wish I had a better memory of the details but I believe there is a known fault and a TSB for this issue which would suggest Volvo should be contributing more than they are. Any suggested contacts she can raise this with as the main dealer is stonewalling and she's stuck with no car right now.

TIA

Craig

This is a common issue on the T3 engines. It has been documented here before and from what i remember repaired under warranty.

I can’t offer help with any physical information however.

If she doesnt get anywhere the engine can be repaired providing the thrust bearings are available. A good engine specialist should be able to help. I have replaced these on other engines with the crank still in situ, I would expect this engine wouldn’t be much different but a repair of less than the cost of the new engine should be achievable with the right people. Having said that I wouldn’t be surprised if the parts are not available.

Also the first signs of this is normally a funny clutch pedal feel and struggling to engage gears. However if the wear has been so bad that damage has occurred then you may be faced with no other option.

Cheers for the quick reply. Just got a bit more info from her.

Definitely a floating crankshaft due to failed 180° thrust bearing. She has a video of the poultry being able to move in and out by quite a bit.

It is indeed a 2020 T3, 40,000 miles serviced and 9 months or of warranty.

She has complained directly to Volvo UK CEO, but had no reply as yet, anyone got an email address for Volvo Sweden to chase them with?

I know I can edit my post, but feel like leaving the autocorrect in! Poultry moving in the engine is never good! Obviously it should say pulley! :tounge_smile:

Did you mean to say out of warranty?

If so, I have a feeling that's why they're only offering a 40% contribution... she's lucky to get that. They'll do anything to get out of paying in full. An expired warranty is an escape ticket. Of course, that doesn't make it right, but that's how these manufacturer's work.

Aye, out of warranty! Trouble with using a phone, darn thing keeps changing words!

Sale of goods act must come into play here though, a car engine properly serviced should be expected to last more than 40,000 miles especially if it's failure is due to known design flaw. Something normal wearing out after 40k, even wearing early would obviously be the owners issue after the warranty has expired, but this is way more than that.

I agree. Something failing so soon is definitely a defect/design flaw and the customer shouldn't have to pay, but sadly, that's not how it works. Manufacturer's give warranties for x amount of years. Once they expire, the manufacturer's warranty is no longer valid, therefore they don't really have to honour anything. I don't agree with it, but that's the world we live in.

I think Volvo are offering 40% contribution because this engine problem occurred so close to the warranty expiring. Its more of a "goodwill" gesture so to speak. If this happened and the car was actually in warranty, it wouldn't have cost anything.

Going down the route of sale of goods act will be costly and a long process. All you can do is be firm and try to get more out of them, but I highly doubt it'll result in a complete free repair. Just being honest, but hey, worth a try to get as much as you can.