Limping C70

[Brymac]

My 7 month old C70 has now gone into Limp Mode and thrown up an engine management error without warning on 4 occasions. Thie first time was after 32 miles (I bought the car brand new) and it was suggested that I had been "using the roof too much without the engine running" and the battery was low. I hadn't and it wasn't.....

The second time, at 1300 miles, it was suggested that as the car had been "sitting out the back" of the Volvo main dealer for a few months, the battery was low - it wasn't.

The third occasion, at 4000 miles, I was told that "a clip was loose on a hose".....

It has just done it again - on the middle of Dartmoor - at 10800 miles, and the explanation this time was "a software glitch".

I think there is something fundamentally wrong with this £37000 car and that what is being done each time it fails is simply a software reset to get me back on the road.

I'm about to take on both the supplying dealer and Volvo to provide me with a reliable replacement, as I have no confidence in this car at all and as we plan to take it down to Italy in the summer, I'm not sure that it is fit for purpose.

So - any advice/experience/ammuntion to help me please??

Bryan

[scoobysn7x]

My ex had a similar problem with a ford focus a few years ago the engine kept randomly cuting out which was nice when you were approaching a round about and needed the steering & brakes, it went back to the garage 3 or 4 times and they could never find the fault or a fault code, we tried to go down the route of not fit for purpose but the garage weren't interested we got ford involved they sent a senior tech to go over the car, he couldn't find issue either, it was a lot of finger pointing, waiting, getting told one thing by the dealer another by Ford, eventually my ex had enough traded the car in at the same garage (I know she was mental!!) and lost a load of cash and ended up with a 1.4 fiesta instead of a 1.8 focus, I was quite happy to continue fighting but she'd had enough. They refused to accept the not fit for purpose as the fault was intermitant and they'd never been able to get a fault code to confirm there was actually a fault. So be prepared for a long battle. I was advised by a relative in the trade to simply take the car to the dealer park it on the site give the keys in and walk off and send letter rejecting the car, I was going to do this but ex was not interested and was fed up of the hassle...

The only advice I can give is I would contact Volvo UK first and explain the situation and see what they advise, keep detailed notes of any telephone calls who you spoke to when what they said etc, get copies/print outs of exactly what was done to the car on each visit if they've read the codes see if its the same code each time, it sounds like they're fobbing you off with the battery explanation.....

[iantowil]

My experiemce with Volvo UK is they are worthless - my C70 was a Selekt car but both dealer I bought from and Volvo UK have been useless. You can phone the customer service as much as you like and all they will tell you is to take it to the dealer - they really have not point in existing.
You have my sympathies - would not be happy getting the fob off after spending that type of money - bad enough with what I spent on mine.

For dealing with the garage - All I can suggest is tell them you're an engineer and you want to know the details of what went wrong and how they fixed your car - if the hose clip was loose, it would be a doddle for them to demonstrate to you how this threw up the fault.

Another point - keep an eye on your rear tyres - it seems they're not always well aligned from new and they can become stepped.

On the trip to Italy - you can get a Volvo specific diagnostic unit of Ebay for around £160. A good guy from the forum had one and helped me out to diagnose I had an "oil level high" issue. These can clear codes if there is no underlying problem and may get you back running normally if you had a problem - crap solution though for a new car. Also you may have breakdown cover as standard and this probably covers you for Europe.

Sorry I can't be more help and give you better news on the backup service Volvo provide.

[Brymac]

Thank you both - the first thing I am doing is to to obtain a summary of what has been done by the dealership to address this problem from new, so that I get my dates and mileages correct when I pitch this at an appropriate level within the company which owns the Volvo dealership.

I already have that contact, as he helped me when the garage refused to throw in a "proper" spare tyre, despite the fact that the demonstrator they had used to sell me the new car had one. They were prepared to lose the sale of a £37000 car because I wouldn't pay £150 for the tyre! I pitched in at Regional General Manager level and he told them not to be so silly.

He also said that if there was anything he could help with in future to contact him - now's the time, methinks......

I'm very comfortabale with doing all the process work on this probelm, but really just wonderd if there was a known fault with this model - I think there was a recall in the USA of early models which went into limp mode as a result of a an electronic throttle linkage failure.

I aslo need to be clear what would need to be replaced electronic module wise in order to ensure that I don't ever have this problem again, so any advise on what would be most welcome. Bottom line is that thay can have the car back, but it will cost me as it's now done 11000 miles.

Oh - an funnily enough, I am an engineer! But I'm also nearly 61, so I'm much more familiar with rotor arms and distributors than ECUs!!! This was a mid- life (well past mid-life I guess!) crisis car - I think it is amazing, but it now just becoming a pain in the ****!!!

[iantowil]

Brymac, your last sentence certainly hit a chord with me - I think the C70 is lovely, the design team have done an awsome job - unfortunately Volvo UK and the dealership I had it from have made me question whether I get rid of it or not. We'll see how they deal with my complaint currently "going through their system".

[Brymac]

Thanks Ian - I'd be interested to know which channels you are using!

Bryan

[Ninja59]

hmm not good news there clearly is an underlying problem in relation to Volvo UK the times i have made contact with them have been more than helpful if i am honest, i think it depends on how you approach it tbh.

staying calm and focused on what is going on it always a good way not get angry or at least not show it.

you do not have two dealerships in reasonable distance of one another do you or know someone to give you a 2nd and maybe even 3rd point of contact willing to back whatever they say do you?

i have heard the old park it yadder yadder before but i do not think it has got that far yet tbh.

If you dont get anywhere just go up the chain

regarding SOGA lots of people know it but do not know how to use it tbh S.14 in this case is the one you want in relation to implied terms about quality or fitness of goods.

I personally would consider from the information given for it to be dangerous as there seems no direct problem to find the cure. Sadly these days to many dealerships rely on codes to diagnose the problem (for instance without Clan on here i would still be going at my dealership for the starting problem on the throttle body- my dealerships reaction was quite tame and sort of yes Mr X it was throttle body related...hahaha)

[Brymac]

Thanks - I've just read this archived thread about a similar saga with the same dealership - looks like I'm in for a long haul....!!

http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/archiv...p/t-67315.html

[iantowil]

Hello Bryan
I sent a complaint, or rather here are my experiences letter to the Volvo HQ in Marlow. It was addressed to the Director, whoever he/she maybe - unfortunately it is now in the hands of customer service awaiting a full reply. I'll keep you posted but my expectations are low. They'll proabably send me some goldfish for the pond in my boot.
Cheers
Ian

[Brymac]

Ah yes, they will! I'm afraid Volvo HQ specialise in managing "customer service" by simply referring you back to the dealer.

My approach is to get up the dealer's food chain to the Regional General Manager responsible for the branch - once you get a sympathetic ear at that level, it can work wonders.

My own letter has gone today - I'll keep you posted!

Bryan