D5 (D5244T to 2005) Loss of power on hills/no kickdown

[TiredGeek]

Originally Posted by DanielHoward

I have been experiencing the intermittent power loss. I wanted to ask something. A friend of mine told me that since 2000 all diesel cars in the UK have been fitted with an "anti-pollution" filter in the exhaust. This tends to go wrong and it results in the symptoms we are observing, loss of power, with no error codes.

My friend tells me that the part costs like 400 pounds but that some specialist places take it away in favour of a hollow tube, and that testing for whether this filter goes wrong only costs 30 pounds to help you decide if this is the source of your problems.

Is this true of our Volvo diesel cars?

If this is the case then I can see the connection with people who have posted that a change of the fuel filter made a world of difference. This anti-pollution filter is also a filter so there may be a connection. Apparently my friend who does not own a Volvo but a French diesel car has had the same symptoms as us and like you failed to diagnose the problem.

I went to a friend's garage and he had the cheap OD2 diagnostics gadget that you buy online. He put the year and model of my Volvo but he found no error codes although my car has the Engine Service prompt on.

That would be the "DPF" (Diseasal Particulate Filter) and it's only fitted to the 185 D5 and later than ~'05 cars.
D5's have one that regenerates and theoretically lasts the life of the car, 4 cylinders and you have one that has the additive, and the whole thing will need to be replaced around 75k miles AFAIK.
£400 for a new DPF???? This is a Volvo, probably safe to add a 0 to that if you include fitting

The code reader: cheap ones won't get into the full codes, you need a DICE or similar to do that.

[DanielHoward]

I have had this Volvo S60 D5 for three years now. Recently, there was some strange set of noises in the cabin when I accelerated like the engine no longer singed or was noisier. I filled the tank with good diesel from BP (the more expensive diesel) and put Redex. Did this twice. I put some additive into the oil that reduces noise (maybe that was unwise but perhaps unrelated). After two weeks one fateful day one week ago the engine sounded great, the noise had gone, and it had very good acceleration as usual. I was happy. Next day I got in the car and started driving. Suddenly it drove like a 1 litre car not a 2.4 litre car!!! it had no power particularly uphill and coincidentally or not a message appeared "Engine Service Required". Over the next two days the problem remained but it was more or less manifest. In one instance I was going uphill and felt as though the guy behind would blow the horn for I could not accelerate. In all cases the revs go up but the acceleration is not there. During those two days I took it to one garage to read the code (a "friend"). He charged me 20 pounds although the young kid who worked for him saw no associated error code. Today I went to another mechanic friend who is more experienced. I brought a fuel filter to him (for I heard this may be a reason). He changed it. We checked the hoses to the turbo and revved the car and they had pressure in them so we realized the turbo was right. We checked everywhere for leaks and found none. However, we did hear a strange noise from the stepper motor, something unusual. I took the car for a long spin. The engine sounded much better with the new fuel filter. However, the problem with power remained. Say on a motorway it took a long time to reach 70 mph and uphill or downhill even slightly on roads makes a big difference to the car. You get the impression you are not pressing the accelerator but you are flooring it but the speed wont pick up. My friend thinks it is the throttle housing area, something sending the wrong air or something to the engine. Moreover another friend thinks it may have to do with particulate filters but I don't know. Also this mechanic who changed the fuel filter tried with his limited OBD and was able to reset the message of normal service required (that message was showing also) but not the "Engine Service Required" message, he could not turn it off nor could he read the code, there was no associated error code to point to the fault. On Tuesday I am going to a Bosch Service Centre for they have more powerful diagnostic computers. If that fails I will go to the dealer to try to get the diagnostics. Does anyone have any theory as to where might the fault lie?

[outnumbered]

it could be anything there is a member who has Dice in the Newcastle area that may read the codes for you if you look on the members map.
mike

[NorthantsPete]

Originally Posted by johnfenwick10

In November, I posted the following thread and no-one, in the Forum, was able to offer a suggestion. Unfortunately, after two further visits to the Volvo garage, the problem still exists. It's really frustating, having such a powerful car, that can't overtake on hills. Can anyone suggest any tips please? : I have a 2002, S60 D5 2.4 turbo diesel automatic. It's been a flying machine and no trouble until last week when I attempted to overtake by using the kickdown function. The car went into limp home mode. I took it to the Volvo garage, where it gets regular services, and they replaced the MAF which returned the car to driving normally, except the kickdown doesn't work at all. It seems to jam itself into 3rd gear and it won't go past 60MPH while in the kickdown mode, it's especially noticeable on hills, where overtaking becomes impossible. By easing off the accelerator the gear switches to 4th and normal power resumes. I took it back to the garage and they checked on the lower two engine mountings, fuel filter and the air hoses, but cannot find a problem. The computer delivers the message "Engine Service Required" but the Volvo garage's computer can't seem to diagnose the exact problem. Does anyone have any ideas????

Im having this EXACT same issue. Im having this issue ont he rental D5 s80 too!!

ITS A COMMON PROBLEM.

No idea the cause, nor does anyone else!

[Reits]

Hello,
I am new to this forum and came across this thread.
My trusted Volvo XC70 D5 2007 has same issue; loss of power uphill, “engine service” warning light. Several diagnostics and repairs over £1500 later and still not able to find problem. Anyone over the years has found the solution?
Thanks