D4 VEA 'check engine' light / EGR fault thread

[tem]

I ordered my V60 mid November 2013 for delivery 1st March 2014, but did not get it until the 15th May, due to the demand for the new engine.

MY 14.5, with the Oxygen sensor and EGR problems.
Since May this year, when the latest mods, to EGR cooling pipe work were carried out, everything now looks to be ok.

tem.

[craigv60]

Likewise, I ordered my bog-standard V60 SE manual in Feb / March 2014 but didn't take delivery until mid-July (on a 14 plate) because of demand for the VEA engine. My car had absolutely no options specified.

The long-term test S60 D4 reviewed by Honest John (which was also the car tested by Autocar magazine) was on a 63 plate, but obviously was an early press car for the UK.

I had my first EGR-related CEL in December 2014 at about 6000 miles, cooler and valve replaced in January 2015, and again in Feb 2016 at about 17K.

[apsel]

Back from the garage, new Lambda Sensor and "recalibration" (eVHC) - will cost Volvo £350 ex VAT. I cannot think they have made much profit on cars with the D4 engine will all these warranty claims!

[RoyMacDonald]

Originally Posted by tem

I ordered my V60 mid November 2013 for delivery 1st March 2014, but did not get it until the 15th May, due to the demand for the new engine.

MY 14.5, with the Oxygen sensor and EGR problems.
Since May this year, when the latest mods, to EGR cooling pipe work were carried out, everything now looks to be ok.

tem.

I'm not disputing the info you guys were given about the reason for delayed delivery but don't think it makes sense as a reason.

Tem, you ordered in mid November but Volvo make the cars in strict date of order so it at the point of ordering you were told the 15th March so something else must have caused the delay in the projected build date because it wouldn't have mattered how many orders were placed after your order once it was placed. Same for Craigv60.

Roy

[RoyMacDonald]

Originally Posted by craigv60

Likewise, I ordered my bog-standard V60 SE manual in Feb / March 2014 but didn't take delivery until mid-July (on a 14 plate) because of demand for the VEA engine. My car had absolutely no options specified.

The long-term test S60 D4 reviewed by Honest John (which was also the car tested by Autocar magazine) was on a 63 plate, but obviously was an early press car for the UK.

I had my first EGR-related CEL in December 2014 at about 6000 miles, cooler and valve replaced in January 2015, and again in Feb 2016 at about 17K.

The early press release cars are usually pre production cars that Volvo takes back and destroy after they have done the rounds and the actual cars come on line as they will be sold to the public. I think they make around a 100 cars that they use for this purpose and then destroy usually.

Roy

[tem]

Originally Posted by RoyMacDonald

I'm not disputing the info you guys were given about the reason for delayed delivery but don't think it makes sense as a reason.

Tem, you ordered in mid November but Volvo make the cars in strict date of order so it at the point of ordering you were told the 15th March so something else must have caused the delay in the projected build date because it wouldn't have mattered how many orders were placed after your order once it was placed. Same for Craigv60.

Roy

I have just checked my order for the V60.
Placed order on the 13th November 2013.
Delivery to dealer, last week in February 2014.
Hand over 1st March.

Late January 2014, dealer given unspecified delivery date and from here things went pear shape.
Month after month passed and dealer could not get a confirmed date for delivery, reason given by Volvo UK, not enough of the new engines being produced.

Late April, Volve Sweden increased production of the new engine and via My Volvo, I noticed that the car was being transported to dealer and picked it up on the 15th May.

Over the next two years I had numerous visits to dealers, here in the UK and Germany, due mainly to Oxygen sensor problems and late April this year, Volvo UK authorised the mod to the EGR cooling system to be carried out.
Again another delay, due to shortage of parts, but eventually the mod was done and since then, things seem to be fine.

I think Volvo shoot themselves in the foot, by pushing this new engine too soon.
If more time had been taken, in prolonged testing, then they may not have had all these EGR and Oxygen sensor problems?

tem.

[craigv60]

Originally Posted by tem

I think Volvo shot themselves in the foot, by pushing this new engine too soon.
If more time had been taken, in prolonged testing, then they may not have had all these EGR and Oxygen sensor problems?

I agree. There has been a couple of owners here that do high miles / long journeys and managed to avoid EGR problems for longer than most, but they eventually needed EGR work done.

Given the problems seemed to be caused by the original EGR system OVERcooling and causing condensation build-up, Volvo obviously did not do sufficient testing of the engine in urban / town traffic conditions with short journeys.

As many owners (including myself) had the first problems show up quickly - within the first 6 months / 6000 miles from brand new - it implies that Volvo's testing regime didn't include typical big-city commuting patterns.

[apsel]

Quite a few people have had problems with the O2 sensor and this has me thinking!

Failures of the O2 sensors are likely to be unrelated to the clogging up of the EGR valve I think?? It seems more likely they either had a bad batch of them or that the sensor is not up to the job, perhaps due to the greater use of the EGR valve in the Euro 6 engines, which is subjecting the sensor to worse or more prolonged adverse conditions than it was designed for.

Does anyone know if they have changed the O2 sensor recently to avoid these failures or perhaps one of the software updates tried to reduce the stress on the sensor under certain conditions?

Otherwise it is possible we might all have to budget £400 every two years, after the warranty runs out, to have a new sensor put in.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by apsel

Quite a few people have had problems with the O2 sensor and this has me thinking!

Failures of the O2 sensors are likely to be unrelated to the clogging up of the EGR valve I think?? It seems more likely they either had a bad batch of them or that the sensor is not up to the job, perhaps due to the greater use of the EGR valve in the Euro 6 engines, which is subjecting the sensor to worse or more prolonged adverse conditions than it was designed for.

Does anyone know if they have changed the O2 sensor recently to avoid these failures or perhaps one of the software updates tried to reduce the stress on the sensor under certain conditions?

Otherwise it is possible we might all have to budget £400 every two years, after the warranty runs out, to have a new sensor put in.

The first signs of this EGR problem a couple of years ago was the O2 sensor clogging , due to the extra soot from the egr cooler clogging, There is nothing wrong with the sensor itself , Cleaning the soot off was part of the remedial procedure half way through this troublesome problem , it is easy to clean and blow out excess soot from it and it works fine again . There are still a few cases cropping up of sooted o2 sensors , mainly on those which have had all the software updates, new cooler/EGR etc but not had the coolant hose rework . So the final stage will be to have the hose rework and the problem gone .
The EGR problem seems to have gone away the last couple of months , due to the warm dry air , but i suspect autumn will bring the final cars in to have the coolant hose rework and an end to the problem .

[RoyMacDonald]

Originally Posted by tem

I have just checked my order for the V60.
Placed order on the 13th November 2013.
Delivery to dealer, last week in February 2014.
Hand over 1st March.

Late January 2014, dealer given unspecified delivery date and from here things went pear shape.
Month after month passed and dealer could not get a confirmed date for delivery, reason given by Volvo UK, not enough of the new engines being produced.

Late April, Volve Sweden increased production of the new engine and via My Volvo, I noticed that the car was being transported to dealer and picked it up on the 15th May.

Over the next two years I had numerous visits to dealers, here in the UK and Germany, due mainly to Oxygen sensor problems and late April this year, Volvo UK authorised the mod to the EGR cooling system to be carried out.
Again another delay, due to shortage of parts, but eventually the mod was done and since then, things seem to be fine.

I think Volvo shoot themselves in the foot, by pushing this new engine too soon.
If more time had been taken, in prolonged testing, then they may not have had all these EGR and Oxygen sensor problems?

tem.

My guess is that Volvo had production line setting up problems, hence the reason they are being so carful this time about the setting up process of the new XC60 production line in Sweden and won't give a specific date yet on the introduction and availability. Because the 60 series is such a big seller they can't afford to do what they did with the XC90 where they dismantled the old production line and replaced it with a new one for the new model leaving a big gap in availability for over 6 months.

Roy