Horses have fled, turtle is back...

[craigv60]

Really sorry to hear about the recurring problems, Arianne. Did you get the amber engine warning light this time, or just the turtle symbol?

Like VolvoRocks suggests, I wonder if there isn't a simple issue like a badly-routed vacuum hose?

[GMcL]

Originally Posted by volvorocks

If you hadn't got the warning light on, do you think the average driver would notice, or just put it down to one of those 'gradual things'?

Cheers

Are you seriously trying to justify this ?
Is this the same Volvorocks ?
I'd suggest he's been got at if he's seriously trying to justify a shutdown of performance as "one of those gradual things".

My car's running like a bag of spanners. It's OK Sir ! they all do that, it's one of those gradual things after fewer than 10,000 miles. It'll run like a real sack of s**t less than once round the planet (25,000 miles).

[Arianne]

Originally Posted by volvorocks

Is the performance downgrade due to this issue that bad or is it because you have experienced the car when it has been running properly, and therefore so much better? If you hadn't got the warning light on, do you think the average driver would notice, or just put it down to one of those 'gradual things'?

Cheers

TBH, the latter. Performance this afternoon is uninspiring and lacklustre. I am not yet driving at 40mph like the proverbial Nissan Micra. But yes, compared to the performance of the last few days it is noticeable. It's made me realise that, for most of the winter since the EGR was first 'cleaned' by the dealer (that was the original advice from Volvo back then), I have been poodlin' around in a sub-optimal performing XC60 and had grown accustomed to it. Not any more!

You see, this is the thing.......I own this XC60 (and paid the price) because I want to feel a certain 'zing' when I whizz around for a drive. If I didn't want the 'zing' experience then I would get a perfectly acceptable car like an Insignia, Octavia etc. These cars are fine modes of transport, they cost a lot less than the Volvo, but they don't include the 'zing' factor.

A car isn't just a mode of transport to me, she's a 'friend'. My 116k Vectra, although initially just an A-B commuter-mobile, is a friend - I probably spend more time in that Vectra during the week than I spend conscious with Mrs A. And that Vectra and I have been through some stuff together. In return, this seven year old, unloved by many, Vectra gets occasional treats like a full valet on my drive.

I expect our XC60 to pull on my heart-strings in other ways compared to my old Vectra. And fun acceleration and performance is supposed to be her USP. But sadly this hasn't been the case for months and now it looks like this will continue for a while yet.

Ah well....

[volvorocks]

@GMcl

I am interested as to whether it is a slight reduction or a huge reduction. Simple as.

[volvorocks]

Originally Posted by Arianne

TBH, the latter. Performance this afternoon is uninspiring and lacklustre. I am not yet driving at 40mph like the proverbial Nissan Micra. But yes, compared to the performance of the last few days it is noticeable. It's made me realise that, for most of the winter since the EGR was first 'cleaned' by the dealer (that was the original advice from Volvo back then), I have been poodlin' around in a sub-optimal performing XC60 and had grown accustomed to it. Not any more!

I had a Renault that was flagged up as EGR in/op. Took it in to get it done and because the 'computer said no', nothing was done, which annoyed me.I didn't notice any real drop in performance although I noticed a massive drop in economy. It was eventually replaced or cleaned, and mpg went back to what it used to be......and that's the problem a lot of times....if the issue isn't chucked up on a computer when the car is in the garage, nowt gets done. Well at least that was the score at Renault dealers!

Regards

[Arianne]

Originally Posted by craigv60

Really sorry to hear about the recurring problems, Arianne. Did you get the amber engine warning light this time, or just the turtle symbol?

Like VolvoRocks suggests, I wonder if there isn't a simple issue like a badly-routed vacuum hose?

Both, as per photo. Amber light, turtle, power reduction and hesitant when applying the throttle slightly from cold.

[andymcp]

Arianne, really sorry to hear of your returning woes, it's not a good place to be at all and while teething problems are to be expected in any first-adopter scenario it's not unreasonable to expect them to be resolved or at the very least understood. I've not had a return visit from the turtle as yet, and thankfully the engine seems to still be running better than it was previously (touching all the wood in sight as I type that). But I do still have the lingering doubt that the issue has been properly diagnosed and fixed by Volvo, much less understood and communicated to the dealer network. Mine replaced the EGR valve and cooler, and also some pressure sensor at the same time. Add to that the swap back to summers, the increase in temperature and the much lighter winds and it's difficult to know how much of the complete change in the car is down to each of those single components. Ideally Volvo should be taking a known turtle-infested vehicle from it's owner (replaced with a higher-spec's version acceptable to the owner) and while not perhaps tearing it apart, at least getting some serious time inspecting and checking all the potential issues they come across. It seems to me like a lot of it is guesswork just now.

I do still enjoy my car, it's a delightful place to have spent 23,000 miles so far and am sure it will remain so. But that engine....knowing how good it can be (and while I understand other people's affinity for them, I find the 5-pots agricultural in comparison) is very frustrating when experiencing it at anything other than peak performance. Yes, mine is running ok just now but I do have less faith in it than I used to. It wouldn't take much more to have me looking to move on from the V60, or at least the VEA version. Maybe I should just make the leap now and get myself a Polestar V60 and be done with it. None of the issues, all of the performance, and I'll just quietly ignore how much road tax exits my bank account, or how often I'm visiting my local garage....

[Spitfire4]

So sorry to hear it's back.

Couple of questions Arianne if you don't mind,

How many miles had the car when it first started?
And
Did the fuel consumption drop before the dreaded tortoise appeared?

I ask as I've noticed my fuel consumption has dropped from around 45 mph to 38 mph and dropping at one point it was 36. We have had a slight problem with the sport mode and lcd display and since that's been "repaired" fuel is dropping.

Many thanks
Mick

[simonjedrake]

Originally Posted by Arianne

It's made me realise that, for most of the winter since the EGR was first 'cleaned' by the dealer (that was the original advice from Volvo back then), I have been poodlin' around in a sub-optimal performing XC60 and had grown accustomed to it. Not any more!

Arianne - daft question but I presume the dealer has replaced the whole EGR & cooler and not just cleaned it again I hope?

[Arianne]

Originally Posted by Spitfire4

So sorry to hear it's back.

Couple of questions Arianne if you don't mind,

How many miles had the car when it first started?
And
Did the fuel consumption drop before the dreaded tortoise appeared?

I ask as I've noticed my fuel consumption has dropped from around 45 mph to 38 mph and dropping at one point it was 36. We have had a slight problem with the sport mode and lcd display and since that's been "repaired" fuel is dropping.

Many thanks
Mick

Hi Mick, thanks for your kind words. Happy to answer your questions although, unlike some, I am working from memory as I don't keep detailed records (OCD alert?):

It first started when, I think, we had about 6k on the clock. I remember the issue and it wasn't the turtle to start with. I had a message but I can't remember exactly what it said. Anyway, we took the car to the dealership and they started by just resetting the fault code because the message was intermittent. They explained that, if the fault returned, they would do further work. The fault returned within a week. That's when the dealer cleaned the EGR stuff.

Since then it's been back three more times. I genuinely thought that the dealer had cracked it last time because the performance of the car was so, so different. And to be fair, I think all the boys at the dealer thought they had beaten it too. I received a detailed email from the dealership explaining everything and, in return, I sent one back thanking them and confirming what a transformation they had made to the car - it had come alive.

Fuel economy? Well, I never achieved the 'heady-heights' of some folk on this forum. The best we ever managed was about 48mpg on a steady 70mph run from Scotland to Kent. Around town (town in this context isn't city stop-start but Central Borders 'town' where traffic jams are rare) we used to get an average of about 38mpg. So this isn't the breakthrough I was hoping for but it was better that the 39mpg/32mpg equivalent from our old XC90 D5 185bhp 2006 car (albeit that the XC90 weighed in considerably more and was 'old technology'). Now we get 32-33mpg around town. On the open road about 43mpg.

One last observation, if I may? For any poor soul that has purchased this type of XC60 on one of Volvo PCP deals with a ridiculously low 8,000 miles per annum clause........their VEA engine will probably never get hot enough to burn off whatever is causing the problem? Ours has done 13.5k in its first twelve months.

Arianne