V60 D6 Hybrid clunk/noise when braking/accelerating on rear

[tgferreira]

Hi all!

I am the very proud owner of a V60 D6 Hybrid from 2014, in Portugal. I bought it 10 days ago (used) and all was well apart from a faulty headlight (now replaced).

However, in the last 3 days I noticed a noise developing: on the rear end there's a "clunk"/noise when using the electric motor that can be heard on accelerating/braking (or letting go of the accelerator).

It seems that it is something heavy because when I have to brake, it's similar to having something heavy on the boot that slides and knocks against the rear seats: it seems to be something that is either loose or moving.

I went under the car and tried to move everything by hand but didn't notice anything loose. Initially I thought it could be the electric engine moving around but that doesn't seem to be the case.
I also looked into the bolts that bolt the wheel into the axle and torqued them to 35Nm + 45degree angle (they're old and I don't want to risk to break them eheh). Initially, it seemed to have improved the situation but not even for 1 mile so I don't think it was the root cause of the issue.

Does anyone know what this issue might be or what I can check? Thanks a lot in advance!

[Deck1ng]

Dealer or private sale? If from a dealer you have certain rights, one being the car should be fit for purpose. If private sale “buyer beware”.

[Easington]

Originally Posted by Deck1ng

Dealer or private sale? If from a dealer you have certain rights, one being the car should be fit for purpose. If private sale “buyer beware”.

They may have different rules for private sales in Portugal

[Deck1ng]

Originally Posted by Easington

They may have different rules for private sales in Portugal

Very true, well spotted.

[jadjong]

Axle bolts not tight enough so now the splines on the axles have disappeared?

[tgferreira]

Hi all,

I though I would come here to update you on this matter: I took it to a Volvo D6 specialist in Portugal and was informed that the rear axle (driver side) was faulty and needed to be replaced. Along with that, the wheel hub was also replaced. That fixed the problem! It cost 440euros including labour.

However, it has returned: I hear the same knocking sound. I am not sure which wheel is coming from. I also noticed that the car is leaking some oil from the axle that was replaced (maybe a gasket that wasn't correctly assembled?.

I will be taking it to the garage next week. From a brief conversation with the folks there, they told me it was unlikely to be the same wheel. So it's more likely to be either the passenger side wheel or the whole electric motor (ouch) which could cost between 1000 and 2000 euros to be replaced (with a used one). Let's hope I was just unlucky with the axle and that it is the same one.

I'll update here once I have more info! Thanks a lot!

[ruinedv60]

Originally Posted by tgferreira

Hi all,

I though I would come here to update you on this matter: I took it to a Volvo D6 specialist in Portugal and was informed that the rear axle (driver side) was faulty and needed to be replaced. Along with that, the wheel hub was also replaced. That fixed the problem! It cost 440euros including labour.

However, it has returned: I hear the same knocking sound. I am not sure which wheel is coming from. I also noticed that the car is leaking some oil from the axle that was replaced (maybe a gasket that wasn't correctly assembled?.

I will be taking it to the garage next week. From a brief conversation with the folks there, they told me it was unlikely to be the same wheel. So it's more likely to be either the passenger side wheel or the whole electric motor (ouch) which could cost between 1000 and 2000 euros to be replaced (with a used one). Let's hope I was just unlucky with the axle and that it is the same one.

I'll update here once I have more info! Thanks a lot!

Hi, my car has been making the same noise for some time now. Have you found out the fate of your car yet?

[tgferreira]

Originally Posted by ruinedv60

Hi, my car has been making the same noise for some time now. Have you found out the fate of your car yet?

Hi!

If you are talking about the first instance: it was the rear transmission (left side of the car) that needed to be replaced. That was axle + wheel hub and cost 440 euros (Portugal).

The same noise has returned but it's for a different reason now: I took it to the shop and they explained that the electric motor has three different parts: the motor itself, a clutch and a differential. This time, the differential is worn out and that's the reason why it's making the noise. This itself led to the rear axle (the same one I replaced 4 months ago) to wear out and it'll be replaced too. This time it will be more expensive: somewhere between 1000 and 1500 euros (including parts and labour). Fortunately, the shop is doing just the differential and axle replacement because they have a used unit and are willing to sell me just that part (and they're keeping the clutch and motor for other repairs that can pop up). This is very cool of them because the three pieces are always sold together as one unit (and costing up to 3000 euros used or 6000 euros in Volvo). I'm being advised to replace it right away in order to not wear my clutch (which is in good condition).

I really like this car and think it's a very good package. But Volvo clearly messed up several things with it and I am quite unhappy that the customers who bought a product were treated as "beta customers" and paying out of their own pocket for stuff that shouldn't have happened in the first place and so soon in the life of the car (AC compressor, ISG, rear axle, etc). I also don't understand why the hell they sell these three parts as a single component only and not as separate ones. This coming from a brand that is so "environment friendly" and "climatic changes aware" is odd. It's pure marketing crap, that's what it is. I've also noticed that several of the resources I used to consult in 2018 and 2019 about this car are gone/missing: there were a lot of results complaining about the lack of reliability and discussion around the issues (and solutions) of the car that mysteriously disappeared. Now, either my memory is not be as accurate as I think it is or some resources were scrubbed of the internet for some reason. Again, odd.

Apart from that, great car. Unfortunately I feel it's a ticking time bomb and I'm not sure I'll keep it for that long.