V70 D5 Se Limp Mode/Lack of power
 

Hi guys,

I've recently purchased a Volvo V70 D5 Se Estate (53 reg), last night in fact. The drive home was superb and I had no issues at all, but I've just run into one this afternoon.

Driving normally at a quarter/semi throttle the car is spot on, but when accelerating hard ie; foot to the floor, the car loses power and feels very limited throughout the rev range. A message on the dash pops up with 'Engine service required' (or similar wording) along with this loss of power. It feels like the car has gone into limp mode as when stationary the car limits the RPM to 3,000 on the dot. What is the first step to take in experience? Turning the car off and on again fixes the issue, until you accelerate hard again which is obviously no solution.

The car has done 210K miles but literally runs smoother than my M135i which surprised me, it's got stacks and stacks of receipts and has recently been serviced which leads me to believe it has been looked after.

Apologies if this topic has been covered, I have searched breifly but my knowledge of forum use has dropped over the last few years...

Thanks in advance, Joe.

My first port of call would be to change the fuel filter. These are often overlooked ( charged for but not done ) and can cause all manner of issues including yours.

Do it yourself and then you KNOW that it has been done.

Even if it does not sort the car you have not wasted your money as it is a service item.

If it doesn't sort it, get the codes read. someone on here near you may be able to help with Vida.

I agree, change the filter unless you are sure it's new-ish.
If that doesn't sort it get the codes read. Almost certain it's happened before.
Here is what Mike put together for starters................
https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=132443

My 2002 use to do this when I got it and it was the rubber pipe from the air intake on the turbo, an l shaped thing and it used to squash under vacuum restricting the airflow. Can easily tell if its the pipe as it's really squishy and soft when old. Take engine cover off and it's on the turbo and will have a smaller pipe coming out of it. Mine cost £20 of ebay for a genuine one.

Another culprit if it isn't the fuel filter could be the intercooler itself, check for signs of oil and bulges. My gut would be fuel filter first, then intake elbow and finally intercooler without having codes read. Get codes read and it should make it easier.

Where abouts are you based?

Totally agree, another possibility and definitely worth checking.

Thanks for the tips and updates guys. For peace of mind I'll get the fuel filter changed, as said it's not going to be a waste of money at all so for £20 or so it's worth doing. The intercooler has been changed for a new unit due to the last failing, I'll dig out the service book and check what date/mileage to see.

I'm based in Bridgend, South Wales. I've been pointed in the direction of someone local by a chap in work, who's reading this thread!

They are both good things to do,
also connect a obd2 unit / Bluetooth and phone and see what the boost is doing, if it is overboosting , and that air pipe is ok and not split , when split it can make the car overboost,
over boost is over 16-18psi, if it is going over this boost the VNT in the turbo needs cleaning,
Look on youtube to see how the VNT TURBO works,
Dave

Thanks again for the input.

It seems as though the issue only occurs when the car is cold, or just not fully up to temperature. I went for a drive yesterday evening and waited until the car was fully up to temp and gave it a bit of a go. No issues, nothing at all and the car pulled perfectly through all of the gears.

I'll still look at replacing the fuel filter as a first option then checking other potential faults, but it's an odd one!

Hi I will now say 99.9% it is the VNT assembly is choked up and stopping it working as it should,
You can try getting the car nice and hot by doing a nice long run and go into 4 gear at very low rpm and put your foot down until the red line if it will let you,
if not reset the car and try again, do this as many times as you can,
this should make the turbo vnt open and close all of the way,
Dave

is it worth getting the turbo off and cleaning it under these circumstances or is a recon turbo a better option?
My car has done this for the whole 3 years I've had it but it's never bothered me enough to spend much on it. I've tried turbo cleaner and it fixes it for a little while but then the problem returns.
Also when mine goes into limp mode (seems to be more prone to doing it when engine is cold) it often comes out of limp mode without turning the car off and on - particularly going fast on an A road - is that normal for this problem?
thanks in advance!