07 V50 D5 low power. Please help!

[kwikuk]

Hi all,

New to Volvos - my wife bought an immaculate V50 D5 with 98k and full history a few weeks ago. However, it seems to have a constant fault. It's very low on power and flat to accelerate.

If you plant your foot, it doesn't really take off, and instead just crawls up to speed. It will eventually get up to to 80, but takes about 30sec to do it.

Took it to Volvo the day she got it for a free check, and they found a split in the plastic hose near the intercooler. They replaced this and a perished rubber hose (~£120), yet the fault remained.

They said that the fault machine was showing a turbo fault, and at that mileage the turbo would be shot anyway. I was in hospital at the time, so took their word for it and ordered a re-con turbo (£340) from a specialist, inc manifold and electronics. My indy garage fitted it, and no change - still no power.

The indy said that it was showing a code for the mass air flow meter, so I replaced that with a new OEM Bosch unit (£240). STILL NO CHANGE

Can someone offer any assistance as to what this could possibly be? I asked Volvo about the EGR being blocked, and they said it wasn't showing any EGR codes. I'm getting quite frustrated, and don't want to sink any more money into parts without knowing what's going on.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mark

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by kwikuk

Hi all,

New to Volvos - my wife bought an immaculate V50 D5 with 98k and full history a few weeks ago. However, it seems to have a constant fault. It's very low on power and flat to accelerate.

If you plant your foot, it doesn't really take off, and instead just crawls up to speed. It will eventually get up to to 80, but takes about 30sec to do it.

Took it to Volvo the day she got it for a free check, and they found a split in the plastic hose near the intercooler. They replaced this and a perished rubber hose (~£120), yet the fault remained.

They said that the fault machine was showing a turbo fault, and at that mileage the turbo would be shot anyway. I was in hospital at the time, so took their word for it and ordered a re-con turbo (£340) from a specialist, inc manifold and electronics. My indy garage fitted it, and no change - still no power.

The indy said that it was showing a code for the mass air flow meter, so I replaced that with a new OEM Bosch unit (£240). STILL NO CHANGE

Can someone offer any assistance as to what this could possibly be? I asked Volvo about the EGR being blocked, and they said it wasn't showing any EGR codes. I'm getting quite frustrated, and don't want to sink any more money into parts without knowing what's going on.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mark

Hi Mark,

Firstly the notion that the turbo would be shot at 98k is faintly ridiculous - I would say the average life of a turbo on the D5 is probably north of 250k. Yes they are like light bulbs and some fail earlier but it is rare.

FYI there is no electronic communication directly with the turbocharger itself, any faults logged would be symptomatic of turbo issues and would need further diagnosis. Most turbo related faults are almost never the turbo itself - usually leaking pipes, sensor or vacuum issues.

Do you get any error messages on the dash and does the car rev all the way to the red line ?

[kwikuk]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

Hi Mark,

Firstly the notion that the turbo would be shot at 98k is faintly ridiculous - I would say the average life of a turbo on the D5 is probably north of 250k. Yes they are like light bulbs and some fail earlier but it is rare.

FYI there is no electronic communication directly with the turbocharger itself, any faults logged would be symptomatic of turbo issues and would need further diagnosis. Most turbo related faults are almost never the turbo itself - usually leaking pipes, sensor or vacuum issues.

Do you get any error messages on the dash and does the car rev all the way to the red line ?

That's gutting to know at this stage, but thanks I was very annoyed at the garage for what has so far been duff advice/work.

But yes, it will rev to the red line. However getting it up there takes far longer than I would expect, and the acceleration is very poor.

The only message on the screen is "Engine system service required" and the yellow "i" light.

[S60D5-185]

Mark, really without seeing the codes it is difficult to say what is causing the problem.

Personally , as a matter of course I would change the fuel filter ( get a Mann unit from Eurocarparts ) and also check that the swirl arm link is still intact . Lift the plastic engine cover and look to the front left corner of the cylinder head . You will see the link arm ( hopefully )

The Turbo Boost solenoid could also give you the same issues but start with the fuel filter.

I don't know which garages that you have used but this one has a very good reputation and I have never ever been ripped off there or given bad advice. May be worth contacting Brian there.

http://autofixnortheastltd.co.uk/

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by kwikuk

But yes, it will rev to the red line. However getting it up there takes far longer than I would expect, and the acceleration is very poor.

The only message on the screen is "Engine system service required" and the yellow "i" light.

The reason I asked about if it would rev is there is a hidden limp mode on the D5 which kicks in if the catalyst or DPF temp sensor fails - there's no light on the dash and it wont rev past 3k. However that doesn't seem to be the case here....

As you have an error message you need to get the codes read by a machine that understands Volvo's - until you get this done any more swapping of parts (other than service items and checks as suggested above) is poke and hope. These engines are so robust the issues like this are normally a leaking pipe, failed sensor etc. that costs a few pounds.

[Andy c70]

Hi,

I'm getting the same problem, an intermittent turbo and engine light/message. The fault codes (cheap £15 obs reader from euro car parts)indicate towards the MAP sensor on mine, hopefully getting one in the post tomorrow (£36 eBay). I also noticed that the swirl flap arm was hanging too so have popped that back on and will check if it stays in place - that could be the answer but will do the sensor anyway.

I'll post when I've done it with results.

Andy

[kwikuk]

That’s great. Thank you - some easy and positive steps to take.

I should hopefully be able to take a look at it tomorrow night, after which I’ll report back with progress

[Andy c70]

Hi all,

An update for you. Replaced MAP sensor and clicked swirl flap arm back on. Took about an hour in total, had to remove bumper to get to sensor and never done it before. Anyway, engine light off, a quick 15 min drive and all seems back to normal, it might have been as simple as clipping that arm back on but had sensor ordered anyway.

Thanks to the guys on the forum I seem to have saved a lot of money!

My initial advice is to check the little black plastic arm just under the engine cover on the left and start there.

Andy

[kwikuk]

Sadly it would appear that it’s nothing as simple as the swirl flap arm for me. Mine is secure and in place. I’ve ordered a Mann fuel filter, so that’ll be my next port of call.

[kwikuk]

Well, new filter installed and still no joy. It was a right pain getting the fuel filter cover off too. Ended up just disconnecting the whole housing and doing it on the bench.

For the first 30 seconds of driving it seemed like I’d fixed the issue. Power was there and available...then straight back to virtually no power. Such a frustrating issue.