Buying 2.4 V70
 

After a brief fling with a 2002 V70 D5 I'm looking at buying a mk1 V70.
It's a 2.4 on a W-plate.
Viewed the car and it's in good condition but the management light is on and has been for a while apparently? I never drove the car but was assured it drives well. Idle was fine, no fluctuating RPM
Should I be worried about this?!!

……….or should I of kept the D5!

The p1 V70 is arguably one of the best cars ever made. The engine management light is an indication that the car’s computer thinks there’s an engine issue. The only sensible next step is to get the codes read. Then you’ll know what the problem is. Anything else is just guessing. If you can buy the car for peanuts then it’d be worth a punt. It could of course be an easy fix, it may be enough simply to delete the fault code and all will be fine. But then again it might not. As I say, there’s only one sure way to know.

Jack

That's what I want to hear !!

I've got a code reader but didn't have it with me when I went to view the car, I was just asking the question in case there's a common failure that would need addressing?

Not made my mind up yet whether to go for it, it is nice though.

Is it a V70 that you have Jack?

Okay, my opinion...if you think it's the right car for you, right colour, right interior fitments etc. and more importantly, the right price, and it looks in good condition, bodywork, tyres etc and everything works as it should, I would buy it.

The EML may be something really simple, may even have been a past fault which has been fixed but the owner hasn't had the code(s) erased.

Any chance you could look at it again and check/erase the codes? This may be a bargaining point...

As Jack said get the codes read.......could be anything.
I think the engine management will be MSA 15.8 if I recall, so if the egr valve diaphragm has failed or has been blanked off it will put the eml on but still drive ok if not better......eml on is a MOT failure I believe.......

So get the codes read just in case.....would be my advise. Good luck...

Won't be seeing it again......I just have to make my mind up!

You don't say whether its petrol or diesel but as a 2.4 litre I'm assuming petrol? If the yellow engine light is on then this would be an MOT failure and you certainly need to download the fault codes.

However, its not uncommon for the ETS light (electronic throttle system) to stay on and this is due to a mismatch between accelerator pedal and throttle butterfly position. The throttle position sensor and associated software is a known weakness on these cars. The good news is the car generally carries on running perfectly ok regardless and the MOT man isn't bothered. My 1999 2.4 V70 has had this light on for the last 5 years or so and has done 192,000 miles so far with no problems

Just a thought though and on a similar theme, mine started playing up yesterday for the most stupid of reasons. I was sorting out some old car keys and came across the spare V70 key that had been lost for many years, so I thought I'd give it a try. The doors unlocked and locked OK so I got in and tried to start the car. The engine fired up and proceeded to chug and pop as if it was missing a couple of cylinders. Then the engine speed began wildly hunting from 800 rpm to 1800 rpm on a regular cycle without me doing anything to the throttle pedal. In fact the throttle pedal did nothing at all, I'd lost all control of the engine and all the dashboard gauges stopped working. The yellow engine MIL light came on.

I downloaded the fault codes and got the following:
ECM 902B, ECM902A, ECM E003, ECM 9150, ECM720A

Quite clearly pointing to a throttle body issue and loss of throttle position sensor, a common high mileage problem on these cars.

I was puzzled though and couldn't help thinking that the problem was precipitated by a defective key chip in the old spare key. I decided to try a "hard reset" of the ECU so I disconnected the battery positive and touched it down to earth for about 20 seconds. This effectively reboots the ECU. I then reconnected it and started the car using the known good key and guess what? Everything went back to normal, all the warning lights off, gauges all working and throttle control restored.

Might be worth remembering if things get really bad!

Good luck with your purchase, they really are fantastic cars.

I thought I had read that somewhere, thanks for mentioning it as I had it in my head the throttle body could be an issue.

Car is indeed a petrol model.

Got it !!

Bar a bit of rust on the driver's wing, it's pretty clean.
Inside is nice, heated seats are toasty!
Drives ok but clearly has issues at the front, like lots of movement in suspension arm(s) as it wanders about the road when braking.

All in all, I'm a happy chap.

Glad to hear you're happy with your buy.
Sounds like it may be due a front suspension overhaul, track rods, ball joints maybe springs & dampers...
Nothing too difficult to put right