Keyser Soze T6

[Rawas]

Hi there,
you've been gone for quite some time, wouldn't be nice to know how is the new tranny doing on your T6? and did you flnally took any legal action against Volvo?

[Keyser Soze]

The tranny has been ok since it was fitted Nov '11 (£5350) with 45,000 on the clock since then. Just a shame about the rest of the car and the supposed excellent customer service from Rybrook Volvo (local main franchised dealer)

Literally within a week of the gearbox being fitted, the Power Steering cooler had to be replaced due to a hairline fracture that ended up with the pump running dry & growling (£400).

Then a week or so after that, major oil leak on Turbo no.2. which was diagnosed as a split gasket on the oil return line (£420 ish). Day after I got the car back, it started to cut out - this was traced to a cam position sensor that had "mysteriously" not been plugged in. Funny how the Power Steering Cooler, turbo No.2 oil return and the cam sensor are items that all are affected as part of a gearbox change on a T6 and that they all fail soon after???

The car settled down well and had a relatively trouble free 2012, only caveats to this was having to replace my front wishbones & handbrake release handle (£440), mad manic tyre wear on Michelin Diamaris (replaced all round with Pirelli Scorpion Verde in September '12). Did I say trouble free? That was until October '12.....

Have been plagued with many electrical gremlins over the past few months.

Mis-fires & duff coil packs have led to me replacing all 6 coil packs.

All electrics unexplicably died on me at the beginning of December, leaving me high n dry on a country lane in Telford for 2 hours, then the car sprang into life no fault codes showing. Did it again on me last Friday morning (1st Feb), luckily had my laptop & DiCE with me again no comms from the CEM, no codes showing, so pulled the fuses for the CEM & UEM which reset them and then all has been ok since. Despite no tell tale signs of water damage or ingress, I suspect that the CEM is either buggered or is on its way to oblivion and occasionally drops the CANBUS out which drops the elecs out.

Cruise control would either disengage at will when in use or not engage at all. Traced this to the brake light switch sticking

So in light of all of these issues with the car, many have suggested taking a litre of unleaded & a box of matches to it!!!!! Problem is that I love the car but now have mixed feelings about it.

As for legal action at the time of gearbox saga, never took it any further. VCUK's stance just became more cemented & inflexible and I couldnt be *rsed spending anymore money to pursue it further. What I find most galling & grating about it is that there has been a successful class action in the US on the T6 gearbox issue & VCNA stepped up to the plate in many cases, yet here in Blighty we get told to effectively f off.

I still like Volvo, originally was thinking about replacing the T6 with a late XC90 V8 or XC70 in T6 guise, but the marque is not really featuring in my plans for a potential replacement at the moment.

[foggyjames]

Originally Posted by Keyser Soze

major oil leak on Turbo no.2. which was diagnosed as a split gasket on the oil return line (£420 ish)

...am I missing something? Last time I checked, those gaskets are £2 or so. I guess it's possible that accessibility is so poor that it's an angle gear out job, but jeeeeeeeesus. That is certainly a 10 minute, £2 job on a FWD T5.

cheers

James

[Keyser Soze]

Originally Posted by foggyjames

...am I missing something? Last time I checked, those gaskets are £2 or so. I guess it's possible that accessibility is so poor that it's an angle gear out job, but jeeeeeeeesus. That is certainly a 10 minute, £2 job on a FWD T5.

cheers

James

As you suspect James, it's an Angle Gear out jobbie on the B6294T T6. Access is shoite. As for the gasket it's only a couple of quid as you point out. Volvo certainly don't make things easy.

[foggyjames]

Ouch. Ouch, ouch, ouch! I was looking at one on a (P1) V70XC recently, and reckoned that could be done with the A-G in situ (albeit you're working blind at the block end), but I guess it's harder still on the twin-turbo.

cheers

James

[Keyser Soze]

On the T6, you can get Turbo No.1 without touching the AG, but Turbo No.2 the AG has to come out. Then saying that, dropping out the AG improves access all round.

Previously had a 98 P1 V70 T5 SE & a '01 P2 V70 T5 SE & a couple of Audi A4 Avant Quattros, then got the 2004 XC90 T6 SE.

Always wanted an XC90 since they were launched, but have a love hate relationship with mine.

In two years (50,000 miles) of ownership have had to replace the following -

Auto Gearbox (£5300)
Front Wishbones & Handbrake Release (£440)
Turbo No.2 Oil leak (£420)
Power Steering Cooler (£400)
6 coil packs (£300)
Passenger door mirror (£220)
Brake discs, pads & h/brake (£350)
Cam shaft sensor (£90)
Brake pedal switch (£20)
Alarm module/siren (£150)

All this on top of normal servicing & consumable (tyres, filters, spark plugs, oil changes, etc) costs. WTF were Volvo doing releasing such a car whose reliability is so severely compromised? So much for "Volvo's enviable reputation for build quality" to quote a VCUK EMPLOYEE.

Then to cap it all off the car has twice had complete electrical system failure/shutdown in the past 10 weeks. (CEM & UEM related - no error codes showing on VIDA/DiCE)

Still love the car but now having serious thoughts about changing to a later year XC90, P3 V70/XC70

[poisondart]

Originally Posted by Keyser Soze

On the T6, you can get Turbo No.1 without touching the AG, but Turbo No.2 the AG has to come out. Then saying that, dropping out the AG improves access all round.

Previously had a 98 P1 V70 T5 SE & a '01 P2 V70 T5 SE & a couple of Audi A4 Avant Quattros, then got the 2004 XC90 T6 SE.

Always wanted an XC90 since they were launched, but have a love hate relationship with mine.

In two years (50,000 miles) of ownership have had to replace the following -

Auto Gearbox (£5300)
Front Wishbones & Handbrake Release (£440)
Turbo No.2 Oil leak (£420)
Power Steering Cooler (£400)
6 coil packs (£300)
Passenger door mirror (£220)
Brake discs, pads & h/brake (£350)
Cam shaft sensor (£90)
Brake pedal switch (£20)
Alarm module/siren (£150)

All this on top of normal servicing & consumable (tyres, filters, spark plugs, oil changes, etc) costs. WTF were Volvo doing releasing such a car whose reliability is so severely compromised? So much for "Volvo's enviable reputation for build quality" to quote a VCUK EMPLOYEE.

Then to cap it all off the car has twice had complete electrical system failure/shutdown in the past 10 weeks. (CEM & UEM related - no error codes showing on VIDA/DiCE)

Still love the car but now having serious thoughts about changing to a later year XC90, P3 V70/XC70

That's all a bit rough. Plus petrol costs!

Tell me this - you had the alarm siren replaced for £150. Was this by Volvo? I thought it was closer to the £300 mark...?

[Keyser Soze]

Originally Posted by poisondart

That's all a bit rough. Plus petrol costs!

Tell me this - you had the alarm siren replaced for £150. Was this by Volvo? I thought it was closer to the £300 mark...?

Nope, bought the alarm kit from Volvo & fitted the alarm module myself and then set it up with my VIDA/DiCE.

I tell you it was an ffin pig of a job to do as well, not as straight forward as on a P2 S60/V70/S80.

- Best bet is to get the car on an axle stand, drop the drivers side wheel off, then remove the inner arch splash guard by drilling out the pop rivets & drivers side headlamp.
- Centre punch the security screw then drill it out.
- Once you've done that, you'll then have to manoeuvre the module out & swap the new module out of it's mounting bracket into the old module as the new bracket is not suitable for the XC90.
- Fit the bracket & alarm module to the car.
- Fit the security screw, the head of the screw will break off once the screw is fully seated.
- Refit the headlamp.
- Refit the inner arch splash guard using the pop rivets included in the alarm kit.
- Pair & activate the module to the car using VIDA/DiCE
- Have someone sit in the car, lock it and get them to move about in order to trigger the interior sensor to trigger the alarm.
- Have a smoke and then tidy up.

[jonnyv]

What a nightmare, K! I am running a 97 p1V70 and have had stuff all to do to it since sorting the gearbox oil and thermostat. 109k and running. Lad from T5D5 does my service once a year, and all there is at present is a small coolant leak that will be sorted next service. Seriously begs the question...what the hell is going on. I will NOT buy a p2 onward V70. The p1 does exactly what I want, small bit of rust on tailgate...and that's it. Touch wood..nothing else and it's 16 years old. Brilliant. Guess what I may spend a long time looking for when I need to change???
So sorry yours has been a nightmare..and Volvo have been rubbish at helping you out. Sorry, but the current model lineup does stuff all for me!

Cheers,

Jon

[Keyser Soze]

How I regret saying goodbye to my '98 Turquoise P1 V70 T5 SE. It was a beaut of a car, however at the time needs must & due to the spectre of epilepsy rearing its head, there was no point in keeping it

The '01 P2 V70 was bang tidy, however had my fair share of problems with that too (ETM & auto gearbox)

Hmm, Might go and have another look at that P3 V70 near me tomorrow. Been doing a bit of t'internet surfing & it would appear that both BSR & Heico do ECU upgrades that take the 2.0D from 134 bhp stock to 166 bhp with over a 100 ftlb increase in torque. Must admit I am tempted now.....