Help!! EGR Valve Replacement Shock.

[Mhigham]

First time poster here, hoping to benefit from the wisdom of this community,

We have a XC90 16 plate D5 Powerpulse engine with 54k mileage bought 20 months ago through Volvo Selekt. After a recent roadtrip through Europe as we drove off the train the vehicle started to momentarily falter above 40/50 mph. This got progressively worse so we stopped at my parents had Volvo Assistance come out. He inspected the air intake manifold sensor and noted that he had never seen a sensor so full of soot (took a picture!). He also identified a cracked EGR pipe but said it was safe to drive the 100 miles home so off we went. 40 miles later the faltering was getting worse then the engine light came on and it went into limp home mode.

Volvo Assistance recovered us to Volvo Slough. Following an inspection they identified a cracked EGR pipe and a broken Powerpulse Valve. The EGR pipe was 100% covered by "goodwill" and the Powerpulse Valve was 40% covered by "goodwill". After some supply chain issues they got the parts fitted, test drove it, declared the problem solved, and the car was repatriated to us as safe to drive. Spoiler alert: It wasnt....

On the first drive next day the same hesitation was apparent. We contacted Volvo Slough who advised us to have it recovered (again) to our nearest dealer - Volvo Shrewsbury this time. Volvo Shrewsbury have now told us that the EGR valve needs to be replaced, this time at a cost of over £900 with no Volvo "goodwill" contribution. They checked the Volvo system and there is nothing they can do.

The car has had a full service history and was last serviced in December of 21 with no issues - this was also towards the end of its warranty period. In the time we have had it we have done a few long journeys, which as I understand it is what this vehicle needs - long burns to clear the engine out.

I have little engineering knowledge about modern day vehicles, but it seems odd that this many parts failed in such a short period of time, and that a vehicle known for it's longevity and reliability should need almost £1500 of work at 54k miles. Reading the forums it seems like there are a lot of issues with the EGR sooting up and the safety advisory around the air intake manifold fires - the EGR pipe is covered, the EGR cooler is covered, but the EGR valve is not.

In fairness to the team at Volvo Shrewsbury they have waived the inspection cost and offered me a 10% discount, but it is still going to be £8-900 without a guarantee that this is going to fix the underlying issue. They have said I could call Volvo Customer Service, but dont think anything can be done.

Does anyone have any advice? Have you experienced this? Is this actually a design fault that customers are being asked to shoulder the cost of?

Would love any guidance that anyone has, and please ask if I have missed any details. Thanks!

[volvo s60 2001]

See ⬇️ how the manifold ( cost £320 new) and swirl flaps look after 90k miles on D4 engine ( the same as D5). The swirl flaps couldn't be moved by force. Done the job few months ago and then deleted the EGR valve by software ( someone else did it for £180). Now the engine breath only clean air and will never have this famous problem again. If you service the car in main dealer is not good idea to delete the EGR valve, because they will update the software every time and will make the valve working again.

[Mhigham]

Originally Posted by volvo s60 2001

See ⬇️ how the manifold ( cost £320 new) and swirl flaps look after 90k miles on D4 engine ( the same as D5). The swirl flaps couldn't be moved by force. Done the job few months ago and then deleted the EGR valve by software ( someone else did it for £180). Now the engine breath only clean air and will never have this famous problem again. If you service the car in main dealer is not good idea to delete the EGR valve, because they will update the software every time and will make the valve working again.

Thanks @volvo_s60_2001 - so you stopped using the EGR all together? I understand better now.

Given our situation, do recommend just getting the dealer to swap the EGR valve and swallowing the cost without pushing Volvo to support the cost? Should I have expected this as a standard "maintenance" cost on this engine? I was just surprised to have such a high cost for lower mileage car (lower to my expectations perhaps....)

If it is a "famous problem" why is Volvo not acknowledging it?!?

[techwatcher]

Originally Posted by Mhigham

Thanks @volvo_s60_2001. Do recommend just getting the dealer to swap the EGR valve and swallowing the cost without pushing Volvo to support the cost? Should I have expected this as a standard "maintenance" cost on this engine? I was just surprised to have such a high cost for lower mileage car (lower to my expectations perhaps....)

This isn't something to be expected as a standard "maintenance" cost.

I would certainly ask Volvo for a contribution towards the cost. However, the car is six years old (albeit with low mileage) and Volvo may decline to contribute.

You do not have to use a main dealer to undertake this work. If Volvo decline to contribute I would use a good Volvo independent. That will at least reduce the labour part of the bill, probably significantly.

[volvo s60 2001]

Originally Posted by Mhigham

Thanks @volvo_s60_2001. Do recommend just getting the dealer to swap the EGR valve and swallowing the cost without pushing Volvo to support the cost? Should I have expected this as a standard "maintenance" cost on this engine? I was just surprised to have such a high cost for lower mileage car (lower to my expectations perhaps....)

Well I would push them to cover at least half of the cost, because this is a very well known problem, which they have tried to fix for the last 8 years.

Even after replacing the EGR valve you could still have some issues with the engine, if the condition of the manifold is similar to mine.
It will be good to check if the swirl flaps move freely by removing the motor on the side of the manifold and then to try and turn the pin inside.

[neilgorin]

You say you've been doing "some" longer journeys, but the car only has 54k after 6 years.

Are there a lot of short journeys and then the occasional long journey? If so, it's going to happen again and again with almost any modern diesel - the only way around it is to either have the EGR system disabled (there are pros and cons of doing this, the cons mainly being if you are concerned / care about emissions) or to do longer journeys very regularly or to use a petrol vehicle.

The EGR problem doesn't tend to happen on high mileage cars that spend time at 70mph each day for example, or at least happens far less often.