Radar stopped working - damaged windscreen - quoted £2,550

[xiantros]

Hi all, first time poster here - would really like some advice from you all.

About two months ago the intellisafe features in my 2019 S90 stopped working (Pilot Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, Collision detection/prevention etc.). Adaptive Cruise Control would just keep accelerating as it would not detect the car in front of me.
So I took it to my dealer to have it looked at, and they found small stone chips in front of the radar (image attached) and they are saying that the windscreen needs to be replaced for the issue to be fixed. For this, they are asking me to pay £2,550

Despite them saying that the windscreen needs to be an original Volvo windscreen, I went through my insurance and went to Autoglass to have a new windscreen replaced, as they offered a like for like windscreen (heated, compatible with the radar unit) and also offered to do the calibration of the ADAS system. Unfortunately when I went for my appointment, Autoglass refused to touch it as the car was showing errors saying that the radar module needs calibrating (the dealer had taken the unit off but hadn't calibrated it when they put it back). I told what happened to the technician at Autoglass and he was convinced that the dealer is lying and such a small stone chip shouldn't affect the radar functionality, and that they are trying to charge me more that what it normally costs.

So I went back to Volvo asking them to calibrate the radar as the car was displaying 'Front Radar Alignment Incomplete', and they told me what I think they would say - the windscreen needs to be replaced for them to calibrate it.

So It seems my only option is to pay them £2,550 and get the windscreen replaced. I called my insurance and explained them the situation and they are only willing to pay £50 towards the dealer costs as they are not an 'approved' garage.

Any advice on this would be appreciated as I don't really want to splash out £2,500 for this. Thanks all!

[Philip Fisher]

Mine is a fancy HUD screen with all the same RADAR tech as yours. Yes, it is on an XC90 but prices should be in the same order of magnitude.

I had my screen replaced at a Volvo dealer, with a Volvo branded screen sourced through the dealer. Cost was roughly £1000, certainly no more than £1100.

So your dealer are either:-
a. monumentally taking the ****, or
b. are actually quoting for RADAR hardware as well as a screen and either you haven't understood or they haven't explained it properly.

But in a 2019 car you are still in warranty? So any RADAR replacement should be under warranty?

If it is just a small chip I would predict that a new screen won't fix anything and you actually have a hardware fault.

[xiantros]

Well they said they checked the RADAR unit and it functions properly (not sure I believe that tbh). I feel they are trying to cover the cost of the RADAR as well by trying to charge me so much. And yes, it's still under warranty. I will give them a call tomorrow and ask why it's so expensive, I guess I just need to point them to a source and tell them that it normally costs around £1,000 but not sure where.

Originally Posted by Philip Fisher

Mine is a fancy HUD screen with all the same RADAR tech as yours. Yes, it is on an XC90 but prices should be in the same order of magnitude.

I had my screen replaced at a Volvo dealer, with a Volvo branded screen sourced through the dealer. Cost was roughly £1000, certainly no more than £1100.

So your dealer are either:-
a. monumentally taking the ****, or
b. are actually quoting for RADAR hardware as well as a screen and either you haven't understood or they haven't explained it properly.

But in a 2019 car you are still in warranty? So any RADAR replacement should be under warranty?

If it is just a small chip I would predict that a new screen won't fix anything and you actually have a hardware fault.

[JamesN7]

If a small stone chip in glass can stop radar from working, I think there may be a few military research agencies who'd be interested in hearing about it...

Take it to another dealer...

J

[techwatcher]

I agree with Philip and I would be asking the dealer for a detailed breakdown of that £2550...

[nu11eaf]

Why not ask Autoglass to just replace the screen and not to carry out any calibration, then take it to the dealer to calibrate the radar. Or take it to another windscreen replacement outfit and get a quote just to replace the screen, there are smaller independent companies that will be cheaper than the big companies.

[TeamG]

Try taking it to a different Volvo dealer and ask them to suggest the cost of a solution?

[Washwipe]

I paid just under a grand for a new screen with HUD two or three months ago.
Only issue with getting an aftermarket screen is the fault whatever it is with the Radar System, if the dealer if he can’t fix it will blame the screen.

[Lexman8]

It seems unlikely that small chips in the glass would affect the radar to that extent. It sounds more like a hardware fault that should be covered under warranty.

I'd take the car to another dealer to get a second opinion.

[Rocinante]

I generally agree with the other suggestions so far.

My first thought was get a second opinion from another dealer, if possible, as others have said. The fact that it's been 'fiddled' with may prove problematic when the other dealer goes to look at it, but certainly would seem worthwhile to get a second opinion.

I also think you need to have another word with your insurer though, as their approved garage has declined the work, so they aren't actually providing you an approved garage to repair it. If they insist you use an approved garage it's really up to them to provide an approved garage that will carry out the work, rather than throwing £50 at you and telling you to go away. The drawback being if they do get someone to do it and there is something underhand going on, you may then be stuck with a blame game going on, as Washwipe stated, which is why an alternative dealer inspection may be the best initial action.

I am struggling to fathom why a dealer would be trying to get you to pay for a warranty repair though, when they should just be able to claim back from Volvo anyway. The only reason I can think of is that they damaged it, in investigating the fault. So as others have suggest a breakdown of the quote would seem in order.

You could even just phone up another dealer and ask for a quotation to replace your screen, if they say £2500, you'll need to push your insurer to provide you with a repair, if they say £1000, a call to Volvo UK (not to mention trading standards) may be in order after you ask the dealer to explain the discrepancy.