"Start Button Malfunction"

[kaycee944]

Hi Folks,
First post time....

Had my XC60 for almost five years. Bought new, and had no issues until my wife said "This cars been good. Almost 5 years and no problems".

Literally two hours later, pulled up a set of lights and the engine stopped. Normal with the auto start/stop, but this time a "Start Button Malfunction- Service Required" message came up on the dash.

The car restarted and all was well until I got home. Now, sometimes the engine will start, but cuts out when the clutch is released, other times the engine will start but not switch off when the start/stop button is pressed, and at other times the alarm goes off at random.

Each time the "Start Button Malfunction- Service Required" message comes up on the dash.

About to get Volvo Assist out to get the car taken to the local dealer, but before I do, anyone else had this issue, and if so is there an easy fix?

TIA

Kaycee

[Austin160]

I could be way off the mark, but possibly the battery is below par. Yes, I guess it’s starting OK, but....
Following tale relating to a family member’s ‘prestige’ non Volvo:-
Stop/start and other minor functions became inoperative when the car was 3years and 3 months old.
Dealer wanted £180 to plug it in. Taken to an independent who checked and found the cold cracking efficiency of the battery was slightly below par even though it always started the car without an issue. They stated that the battery monitoring system starts to shut down certain functions at this stage. Main dealer battery - £277. Tayna Batteries ( no connection) supplied the equivalent Varta (OE) one for £136. All systems returned to normal.
New battery was coded in since (wait for it!) the original battery is monitored on its life expectancy of just in excess of 4 years - correct?? - and at that point it will be deemed to be below an acceptable efficiency level simply on an age basis!
New battery has to be coded in since otherwise the monitor will consider it to be the original and declare it to be unserviceable in another year!
Any connection with your issue??
Could be.
Good luck with getting it sorted.

[kaycee944]

Thanks Austin,

Battery hasn't given me any issues in the past, but car is coming up for 5 years old.....
I'll put the battery on charge tonight and see if that makes a difference.

Seems strange that the battery would shut down the start/stop function first, as this function is probably one of the most important in the car. But who knows how the mind of car manufacturers works..

[Zebster]

Originally Posted by Austin160

...New battery was coded in since (wait for it!) the original battery is monitored on its life expectancy of just in excess of 4 years - correct?? - and at that point it will be deemed to be below an acceptable efficiency level simply on an age basis!
New battery has to be coded in since otherwise the monitor will consider it to be the original and declare it to be unserviceable in another year...

So my 4.5 year old battery could effectively be restored to 'as new' by merely being recoded in to fool the computer system? Seems like a good idea, as I'm also getting regular warnings about low power and a stop/start that hardly ever works, however I'm used to getting 8 or 9 years life from an OEM battery (and this current Volvo battery is an EFB type that is meant to have a longer life!!!)

Nevertheless, I've never had a starting or running problem. Neither have I received the warning message described, which I personally doubt relates to a worn battery.

[Austin160]

Hello Zebster,
I apologise if the wording of my post confuses. Your interpretation is not what I meant to infer.
As I understand it, the battery condition monitoring system ( if indeed fitted) has the the primary function of monitoring the serviceability of the battery, so if it is declared to be below par at any time, certain functions will start to shut down. The stop/start function would understandably be one of the first systems to suffer since it places high demands on the monitored (substandard) battery. Quite logical.
Now, the battery may start the car well enough, but it’s condition may not meet the minimum requirements of monitored factors. A little like the fancy tyre pressure monitors - the car may be fully drivable, but the pressures do not satisfy the preset requirements and the warning lights come on.
I hoped it would go without saying that if you ‘try to cheat the system’ by coding in the original battery and that battery was substandard then you are back to square one. If the original battery is serviceable and it was recoded, then yes perhaps, but are we really likely to see the same battery service life from stop/start technology as we did prior to this system. I doubt it - with perhaps the exception of cars covering continuous high mileage non stop/start motoring.
Of course, the original poster may charge the battery (assuming the charger is fit for AGM technology), or indeed take the car on say a 20 mile run, but if the battery monitoring system detects say a substandard cold cranking efficiency, then it isn’t going to help.

[Squeakymel]

Hi, I know this was posted in 2019 but I was wondering if this issue was fixed please?

My XC60 had the exact same problem and it’s been at the garage for nearly a month as they can’t figure out why it’s doing it, they have changed the start/stop switch 3 times, changed the ECU and also a new battery.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks

[scbamber]

A month!. 3 new switches, a new ECU and a new battery!

What about changing the garage........?

[apstl]

Hi, did you find the reason? I have the same problem and they cannot find from where is coming
Thanks