Egr/throttle problem

[Steve001]

Hi, I'm a bit of a novice but I recently bought an 09 Volvo v50, 2l diesel. I constantly had a jerking motion when accelerating. The dealer struggled to find the problem. I had a power system fail and put in a new battery and alternator. The jerking continued so I brought it back to the dealer who told me they fixed the EGR. The jerking returned and the engine system service light came so I brought it to s Volvo specialist. They found that the EGR had been blocked with a blanking plate and the vacuum hose to the throttle had been blocked with a bung.

The garage replaced the EGR and the car failed to start. They thought the prob was the flap in the throttle. They sanded the flap down and the car now starts... But is a bit touch and go. The jerking is back as bad as ever.

Any ideas what the problem is. If I replaced the throttle would that solve the start/jerking problem? I'm at my wits end with this car!!

[skyship007]

Originally Posted by Steve001

Hi, I'm a bit of a novice but I recently bought an 09 Volvo v50, 2l diesel. I constantly had a jerking motion when accelerating. The dealer struggled to find the problem. I had a power system fail and put in a new battery and alternator. The jerking continued so I brought it back to the dealer who told me they fixed the EGR. The jerking returned and the engine system service light came so I brought it to s Volvo specialist. They found that the EGR had been blocked with a blanking plate and the vacuum hose to the throttle had been blocked with a bung.

The garage replaced the EGR and the car failed to start. They thought the prob was the flap in the throttle. They sanded the flap down and the car now starts... But is a bit touch and go. The jerking is back as bad as ever.

Any ideas what the problem is. If I replaced the throttle would that solve the start/jerking problem? I'm at my wits end with this car!!

Can you get your money back ??

Did the Volvo specialist check to see if there were any hidden fault codes logged by the ECU, or were they guessing at what was wrong ??

Blanking the EGR results in a longer warm up interval and tends to contaminate the CAT and DPF. It's also more likely that the injectors will gum up if you are not using a major brand (Shell or BP/Aral) top of the range fuel. More of an issue in winter.
Pity you did not get some Pic's of the blanked EGR and pipe, as it's a criminal act in the EU. For some silly reason it's not an MOT failure point yet. If the EGR is blanked the DPF has often been gutted and that sure is an MOT failure point.
Both Mod's partially invalidate the insurance if you were responsible, which you were not. The EGR one in particular tends to indicate the previous owner or garage was a muppet.

Don't replace the intake control or e-throttle unit until you get the codes read, it might be a clutch or injection system fault. I'm sure the previous owner knows what is wrong!

If you have to keep the car, change the oil & filters and when you empty the fuel filter bowl to fit a new Bosch or Gen Volvo fuel filter (Plus the 2 O rings), fill it with a direct feed injection system cleaner. Liqui Moly Diesel Purge or the Halfrauds copy (Might be Wynns) are both good.

A new intake shut off unit (O ring required) is not expensive from a Ford dealer, but the e-throttle, CAT or DPF in particular sure are. It might be possible to clean the DPF if a forced Regen does not work.

More info on jerky Ford 2.0 TD:
http://www.talkford.com/community/to...-of-top-speed/

It does suggest a potential MAF sensor fault and about half of those can be cleaned up with a spray can from Halfrauds (MAF intake or sensor cleaner), or top quality contact cleaner.

[Steve001]

That's great thanks. I got the car from a major dealership so am not happy that they sabotaged my engine rather than fix it. It's out of warranty now but my argument is that they never fixed the initial jerking problem whilst it was under warranty. They are doing their best to ignore me now.

The Volvo specialist said that the codes showed the EGR was faulty along with other intermittent fault codes. I'm not sure what they are tho. I got the garage to photo the plate and bung in situ whilst in the vehicle and they gave me the parts. Am thinking I should take legal advice. Do you have any idea what EU rules they have broken? I'm going to have to build my case of they are going to sort this out for me!

Thanks again

[skyship007]

Originally Posted by Steve001

That's great thanks. I got the car from a major dealership so am not happy that they sabotaged my engine rather than fix it. It's out of warranty now but my argument is that they never fixed the initial jerking problem whilst it was under warranty. They are doing their best to ignore me now.

The Volvo specialist said that the codes showed the EGR was faulty along with other intermittent fault codes. I'm not sure what they are tho. I got the garage to photo the plate and bung in situ whilst in the vehicle and they gave me the parts. Am thinking I should take legal advice. Do you have any idea what EU rules they have broken? I'm going to have to build my case of they are going to sort this out for me!

Thanks again

First of all you need to write to them (Recorded letter) and include a copy of the Pic. Check to see if this Volvo stealer has a blog that is not moderated (Unlikely), try and post the same Pic and letter copy.
Copy everthing to the main area Volvo dealer (Might be London).

The EU can't help unless you want to try the central court over the emissions case for a breech of your rights to clean air. That would take a few years.

In the UK it's probably a case for the local small claims court. You can do that yourself, but do remember that what was said does not really count, it's the recorded letters or company e-mails AND pictures. Inform your insurance company to see what they say, as that letter or e-mail might be of use.

Not sure what the current limit is, but it was 5000 pounds a few years ago and that includes costs, which will be minimal. You have a first class case!

PS: So how much did they sting you for ??
Try getting a good clean phase 2 V40 diesel next time!

[Steve001]

Great advice thanks. That's my formal complaint away to their HQ. Hopefully they will want it resolved without fuss... But I suspect not. I paid £6500 for it so I'm hoping they will offer me something respectable but am sure I will need to fight for it. Thanks again skyship I will let u know how I get on

Ta

[andyredz]

Not too sure about blanking the EGR being a criminal offence in the UK? Would like to be pointed toward some real evidence of that...

And not too sure why blanking the EGR would "contaminate the CAT and DPF" when one of the main reasons to blank off the EGR is to stop the exhaust gases gunk going back through the engine. Have you ever seen the inside of an EGR valve? Soot blocks a DPF, that is reduced with a blanked EGR.

There is approximately a 1-3% fuel saving when an EGR is blanked, and the black smoke from soot is reduced because the fuel burns more efficiently.

I do understand that most people like to keep their cars unmolested and well maintained and that is fair enough. Cleaning an EGR is important if you do want to keep it.

However, it is not there because it's good for the engine! It's to do with emissions. If you've done much travelling around the world you will probably come to the realisation that not many countries are so anal about emissions.