Service Issues: XC90 D5 engine DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter)

[volvic40]

Thank you once again Roy I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions. I will have a look around and see whats on the market now! Thanks again.

[TomW]

I’m looking to purchase an XC90 2.4 D5 SE Lux Geartronic AWD. Registered in 2007 although I’m told it’s the 2008 model.

This car has
Extra Urban mpg 23.7mpg
Average mpg. 31.4mpg
CO2 emissions. 239g/km
Engine power 182bhp
Engine size. 2400 cc
Acceleration.0-60mph. 11.1 secs
Top speed. 118mph
Annual tax. £540


From the info above can you tell me if this is the one with the most troublesome DPF .
I’ve read on this thread about Euro 4 and Euro 3 engines and that the Euro 3 is the one to go for. But from the advert particulars above, I don’t know which one this is and the seller has no idea either.



I’ve also seen on Auto-trader there’s a 2005 car , same model as above with different engine and emissions with roughly same performance. Which of these two cars is to be avoided regarding the dreaded DPF?

Engine 163hp
Annual tax £315
CO2. 242g/km
Engine size 2401cc
Top speed. 115mph

I don’t want to make an expensive mistake! Better still can you tell me what spec to avoid and what to go for?

Thanks in anticipation
Tom

[4x4]

The 2007 car has DPF the 2005 car does not

[TomW]

Thanks 4x4.
So can you tell me when was the change over date on these xc90s to PDF. Were all specced xc90s fitted with a PDF at the same time?
And do you know anything about Euro 3 and Euro 4engines that are discussed on this thread.

[RoyMacDonald]

The DPF has never been an issue on the XC90. However for a short time the DPF cars had higher emissions and attract the highest rate of road fund tax. £500 plus. The euro 3 has better fuel consumption. The euro 4 is a better engine and transmission. (in my view) They will both do huge mileages though.

No one has ever been killed in an XC90 in it's 16 years of production according to Volvo.

Roy

[TomW]

Just to understand this correctly.

1. Am I correct to assume xc90s taxed at over £500 have Euro 4 engines?
2. When did they start using the Euro 4 engine? And is then when they put in the PDF?

Thanks again

[S60D5-185]

Originally Posted by TomW

Just to understand this correctly.

1. Am I correct to assume xc90s taxed at over £500 have Euro 4 engines?
2. When did they start using the Euro 4 engine? And is then when they put in the PDF?

Thanks again

1. Not quite! A manual Euro 4 is £315 or so whereas a geartronic is over £500 and later ( 2008 onwards) Euro 4 had their taxation class reduced and they are £300 pounds or so even with Auto box.

Any E4 you view you must check the reg properly and ascertain for certain how much it will be to tax.

E4 came out sometime in 2005 and these are easily ( rough guide ) identified by having a Grey engine cover whereas the 163 will have a black engine cover.

E3 auto's are 5 speed and E4 autos have a stronger 6 speed box.

The facelifted XC90 from late 2006 ( different rear lights and front +rear) has a stronger angle gear so less chance of the spline being worn out. bumper

[RoyMacDonald]

Originally Posted by TomW

Just to understand this correctly.

1. Am I correct to assume xc90s taxed at over £500 have Euro 4 engines?
2. When did they start using the Euro 4 engine? And is then when they put in the PDF?

Thanks again

Yes, but only for a short period as Volvo are continually reducing emissions and they quickly bought it back into the £300 range. I think it was about a year at the higher rate.

The Government have a web site where you can enter the reg and it will tell you the taxation rate.

Roy

[TomW]

Thanks . Ive got my head round all this now!
Those 2006/07 D5s are another £200 a year road tax and maybe that’s why several are hanging fire on auto trader. Some posts on here suggest the PDF can block on these if not motorway driven. Only thing going for them is superior gearbox and AWD . I’m still debating whether to go for the Euro 3 D5 from 2004/5.

[chrisfr]

I live in rural france, and didnt even know about dpfs till we went on a trip to the uk to buy a nearly new volvo xc60 SE lux nav d5 220 bhp in january. Funny enough it was not on the volvo, it was on my wifes french lhd peugeot 308 we were using for the trip.
We got stuck in a really really long accident traffic jam on thE M6. This involved a lot of long periods on tickover.
Finally after two hours the jam was cleared. As we made our way and accelerated thw dpf warning light came on. It went off when the filter had regenerated, however it reappeared when the car was following my new xc60 on french motorways usually when my wife was accellerating to keep up.
It did not reappear until we sold the car and it came on briefly with the new owner.
Talking to my mechanic, who is not a vovlo but a bmw specialist, the on board computor fault code would need reseting, and possibly the dpf filter would need to be jetwashed out to clean it.
Otherwise the problem can reoccur. I realsie it is a problem to regen the dpf in a city as you need a trip on the m25 once a tank to do it. Even then it depends on the time of day. I would suggest that if it went straight to limp mode without the usual warning light stage telling you to regen the dof,then that is not normal. Dpf technology is not new or rocket science and usually the same conditions apply between car makes. There is normally an escalation from warning light to limp mode only if you ignore the warning light stage. For your car if it has gone straight from Normal driving to limp mode avoiding any stage warning lights then there is something wrong maybe with the sensors associated with the dpf.
Unfortunatly some dealers dont listen when you tell them the symptoms. Forget the bits of paper. If the car is not doing what it is designed to do and in the order its supposed to do it in, then thats the problem not your driving.The dealer should be looking for reasons why and not sending you bits of paper. You only have to drive for ten minutes at a speed over fourty to regen. The problem now is you may want to get the fault code reset and possibly the dpf inspected and cleaned and then see if it reoccurs. Good luck.