D4 VEA 'check engine' light / EGR fault thread

[MTBer]

A quick update as promised on my car. It went in Wednesday last week as planned and has been fine since, though I have only done about 300 miles in it so far. I connected the computer up to it this morning and all the fault codes have gone so I'm happy that it is resolved. I'm just a bit concerned that several people are saying that it can return, all I can do is wait and see.

I'm sure I read somewhere on this thread about the recall Volvo have issued, I'm not sure exactly which cars and/or engines it relates to but I had a letter back in about July, and they sorted mine out at the same time as the EGR cooler; I had asked about it on the service two weeks previously and they said it wasn't out yet, then hey presto it was by the time they did this work! It was replacing the manifold apparently, and he said that it included some of the pipework that I had had replaced with the cooler anyway, then a software update on top. Could this be anything to do with ensuring there is no recurrence of the problem or is it something unrelated?

[mark2456]

Originally Posted by Gogs752

So I recently (four weeks ago) purchased a 2015 V60 2.0 D4 with 55000 miles on the clock from a private dealer. It was in very good condition with a full Volvo service history. After just over a week of driving it the dreaded engine check warning light came on. I knew from doing some research before i bought the car that the EGR valve/cooler was more than likely going to be the issue.

I took it to a local garage and they confirmed (for free) that the error code was associated with the EGR. They called up my local Volvo dealer in Stirling and asked how much it would be for the parts to rectify the issue but Volvo said it would need to be brought in for them to do the work due to the modified cooler pipework and engine remap.

After I took the car into Volvo they gave me a call to say it would be £115 for the initial diagnostic check (even though I already knew what it was). About 30 minutes later they called back to say they would need another two hours labour (£230) to determine the extent of the issue, once the faulty parts were identified then they would let me know what needed to be replaced and that Volvo normally gave 10% - 20% goodwill on this issue.

When this was suggested I kindly explained that this was a very common design fault and that Volvo would definitely have issued standard technical notes, replacement hardware and engine modification fixes to rectify the issue. I explained that a four year old car, with low mileage and full Volvo service history should not need a major engine modification.

So the dealer went back to Volvo UK and they agreed to 100% goodwill on the labour and intercooler but wanted me to pay 50% of the value of the EGR valve. Again, I pointed out that it was ridiculous that Volvo refunded 100% of one part and not the other even though the same fault was the source. They went back to Volvo again who waived then entire cost of all parts and labour.

Volvo dealers are very willing to take lots of money from you even if it is a known, widespread issue with a standard fix.

Once that was sorted out they replaced the EGR valve, cooler, the cooler pipework was modified and replaced with heated pipework to reduce condensation. Finally they remapped the engine so that carbon levels through the valve were as low as not to cause any more issues. The dealer representative told me that no cars that have had this fix have had the problem re-occur although i'm not sure I believe this.

The entire time it took to conduct the remedial work was close to two hours and they were pushing to charge me three hours labour just to determine which parts needed replaced! Unbelievable!

Hopefully this will help you if you have the same issue, even though my car is out of warranty in both age and mileage this is absolutely something Volvo should be fixing at no cost to their customers due to the nature of the defect.

Special thanks to Gogs752 for this write up, I printed it out and left it on the passenger seat when I took the car in for the EGR recall work. They called up to request rebooking it in so the EGR cooler could be changed at the same time (one strip out then), all paid for by Volvo. Cannot say if the printout helped but I wasn't messed about like some are.

[Steve54hb]

I've had a reply from Volvo UK Customer Support confirming my car has no outstanding recalls against it and offering to talk to Volvo Shrewsbury about my EGR Cooler issue.
Still waiting to hear back from Volvo Shrewsbury.

[ChrisFromFrance]

After 2 years fighting, Volvo has accepted to change the engine. 100% goodwill from Volvo France
Today, software update on link with the recall R29948
I hope the problem are behind now ...

[Zebster]

Originally Posted by ChrisFromFrance

After 2 years fighting, Volvo has accepted to change the engine. 100% goodwill from Volvo France
Today, software update on link with the recall R29948
I hope the problem are behind now ...

Hey congratulations!

PS - I'm still waiting for R29939 to be carried out, I've not even been notified of R29948!

[Chrisv60]

Originally Posted by ChrisFromFrance

After 2 years fighting, Volvo has accepted to change the engine. 100% goodwill from Volvo France
Today, software update on link with the recall R29948
I hope the problem are behind now ...

Great news. I only managed to get 90% goodwill for mine. I might go and ask for a refund!

[Zebster]

Originally Posted by Chrisv60

Great news. I only managed to get 90% goodwill for mine. I might go and ask for a refund!

Yeah, I'm still upset about having to pay £337 towards a replacement EGR valve last year... definitely won't be buying a new Volvo next year as originally planned!

[Ian W XC60]

Originally Posted by D4dilemma

The Honest John answer followed my request that he contact Volvo. He emailed back to say he can take it further if people contact him directly but he can't act on anonymous forum posts alone. He is very good and answers emails himself at any time of day! I suggest owners email him at letters@honestjohn.co.uk

I have written to Honest John as suggested - for those interested a copy with my contact details withheld is attached - HJ Volvo letter 2.pdf.
I will post details of any reply or follow up that results.

I have owned XC60's (and been a member of this forum) for just short of 10yrs and think they are a great car but my suspicion is that the pre-adblue D4 engine is a major engineering faux pas by Volvo that probably can't really be fixed, if it could they'd have it cracked long before now. I had intended to keep mine long term but this has left me with no faith whatsoever in the engines longevity.

So it's now traded in for a petrol engined Skoda Superb Estate which, after 3 weeks, I'm very pleased with. It's not a prestige marque but, so far, I've found it to be a very good motor at around a third less than the equivalent Volvo. So, other than any feedback from HJ, I will bid you guys farewell and best wishes for the future - this really is a cracking forum with many very knowledgeable posters and not too much agro or argument. All the best.

[Ian W XC60]

I got a speedy reply from Honest John, shown below:

Many thanks. This is covered in the Good&Bad sections for the various model Volvos affected in http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/volvo/, for example: https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbyca...v60-2010/good/

When the 2.0 litre D4 VED engines were introduced, the engineer responsible explained to me that the extremely precise fuel injection system was optimised for and calibrated for high Cetane Superdiesel and ordinary diesel was not to be used in these engines. Communication of this vital information seems to have been lost (perhaps in the 'marketing' process where it would have been seen as an off-puttingly negative). I then ran an S60 D4 VEA 181 for 6 months with no trouble at all and very impressive 60+ mpg on Superdiesel: https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/our-cars/volvo-s60/
So perhaps the problem is one of communication.
A friend of mine recently bought a 2014 V70 D4 VEA with over 100,000 miles on it. I've told him to stick to V-Power diesel and we we are monitoring that.
I recorded your input here: https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbyca...c60-2008/good/

Rgds,

HJ

I then responded with the following comments:

In my 5yrs ownership of the D4 XC60, no-one from Volvo be it the service manager, salesman or the guy who valets the cars has EVER mentioned that the D4 needs premium diesel to survive. I'm not one of those who waits for "all else to fail" before reading the instructions and the handbook for my year XC60 is HERE. Now I know you don't like PDF's but if you click on the index for page 290 you'll see what Volvo has to say about fuel and basically it's saying EN590 (European bog standard) is fine and an Important Note discourages the use of fuel with additives which is, at least in my tiny mind, one of the selling points of premium brand fuels. Compare and contrast that with what they say about petrol, which to paraphrase is RON95 is OK if you must, but RON98 is really what you should be using. So no indication whatsoever for owners of what your engineer contact told you.

Just a brief response to that:

The VOLVO engineer responsible for the fuel injection system told me it was calibrated and optimised for high Cetane superdiesel so what you tell me here is marketing hiding an inconvenient truth.

So it seems the engineer who designed it thought only premium diesel should be used but Volvo never told the owners (or their salesforce/techies) that. I'd be interested to know if anyone who suffered the carbon build up/EGR problems did actually only use premium fuel? Might be worth letting HJ know if that is the case.

[marsdalebear]

Volvo is a premium marque with rock solid Swedish engineering and unparalleled customer service.

Yeah, right!