Safety recall for fire risk

[Chrisv60]

Just received notification of a safety recall for a concern on 4 cylinder Diesel engines 2014 to 2019 which includes mine.

In rare cases the inlet manifold may melt and deform possibly leading to a fire.

Any unusual engine operation including EML, lack of power, hesitation should be reported to Volvo. Any smell, stop immediately.

I will get a second letter regarding the proposed solution as soon as it is available!

https://www.volvocars.com/uk/own/mai.../notifications

[rallychris]

Just received my letter too

[Rex65]

Mines going in next Friday to be checked.

[jagandvolvonut]

Got our letter Friday 05/07/19. Wait for next letter or call from our dealer.

[Zebster]

Nope, nothing yet.

What causes the intake manifold to become hotter than expected and actually melt?

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Zebster

Nope, nothing yet.

What causes the intake manifold to become hotter than expected and actually melt?

egr gas which has not gone through the cooler perhaps ?( There is a bypass flap )

[ayrix]

Originally Posted by Zebster

Nope, nothing yet.

What causes the intake manifold to become hotter than expected and actually melt?

In case that you intake valves might become leaky and won’t close properly anymore, hot gases will be bloen back to the intake manifold which cause the high temperatures. But if you reach that point already, the engine has to be reworked (dismount cylinder head, clean intake valves and seats and so on) anyway which could cost a lot of money if you don’t have warranty anymore (as in my case). Volvo is not willing to pay for it even it’s their fault that the factory based software isn’t working properly.

The new software what will be applied as a part of the recall has the capability to detect the leakage and the engine light will come up.

I hope your engines will be fine guys.

Good luck

[D4dilemma]

No surprise I got a notification for my 2014 D4 V60 but both it and the Q & A on Volvo website deliberately avoid telling the true story as part of the continuing attempt to cover up the EGR debacle. In mentioning Volvo’s attempts at an elusive fix they don’t even say whether it is for the underlying cause or merely to stop the car catching fire....
A Service Manager assures me Volvo have officially confirmed the obvious to dealers that excess temperatures and potential fires have occurred when manifolds get blocked by the EGR related gunge. But that information is not passed on to customers, many of whom are not technically minded and will think this is a new random issue. Clearly if newer cars with unblocked manifolds had caught fire the problem would have come to light years ago....
In its 47 K miles my car recently had the well documented hesitation which another dealer correctly predicted in an email as caused when Inlet valves get obstructed by EGR gunge progressive build up. He was emphatic the EGR problem had not been resolved but had generated numerous increasingly serious engine problems.
The final bill of £4,000 was 95% paid by Volvo only after I sent them photos from the workshop and their own 2016 email to me promising I had the “permanent fix”. Initially they refused to contribute which I assume is a situation others have faced. On top of its second Intake manifold and all new inlet valves the car had required replacement (again) of EGR Valve and the “new” cooler which had been described as the permanent fix under warranty. Any work done merely addresses the damage done but there is no fix available for the cause. If they have failed to find one in the last 3 years or so, how will they do so now? No surprise this is a Safety Recall without an actual Recall.....
All of this goes back to the attempt by Volvo to have this active or whatever EGR system meeting Euro 6 which others may have achieved, but they have not. Their reverting to Ad Blue around 2017/18 is an admission they failed, but it leaves the awkward problem of the thousands of cars sold before that and the massive cost of admitting the truth. Their policy seems to be one of buying off troublesome complainers and hoping the cars get sold on, eventually getting prematurely scrapped due to repair costs exceeding car value. Car values themselves being depressed by the well known unresolved defect. In truth D4 owners have suffered a far more definite financial loss than those in the VW Group Action. Hardly the behaviour of a manufacturer claiming ethical credentials and an urge to go electric..
So called Good Will payments are in fact the opposite. They are intended to keep a lid on overall costs while passage of time makes the problem go away. Car owners being less organised than the truck sector who have forced Volvo to report setting aside tens of millions to fix their similar problems...
I intend to make a formal complaint to the Motoring Ombudsman and wherever else I can. In reality for all owners this should be a simple matter of Breach of Contract concerning the Binding promise made under warranty of a permanent fix. Perhaps a D4 Group Action is long overdue? Just imagine if Volvo had told us the truth in the first place. “Sorry your car has a defect we cannot solve. You will have problems which will cause periodic expensive replacement of blocked parts potentially leading eventually to engine failure or even a fire. But if you ask really nicely and have it serviced by our network we may possibly contribute to costs. Please don’t sue us or let it stop you buying another Volvo. You can rely on us”

[GVIDEO][/GVIDEO]

[Zebster]

A brilliant post @D4dilemma. Well said!

[D4dilemma]

Thanks. In fact they don't even mention the D4 Engine although it is my understanding it only applies to that engine. I suspect many owners will not be able to join the dots.