[orduck]

It's official. You can add our V60 to the is list. After a hand full of visits to our local dealer, some failed attempts at fixes (second round of new plugs in less than a year, combustion chamber clean, new breather box), and an oil consumption test resulting in over a 1qt loss in in under 500 miles, the service techs and Volvo are recommending replacing the pistons. Unfortunately for me, we are out of warranty at 60k+. We are waiting to hear back this week if Volvo is going to help out with some good will, fingers crossed.

I'm mostly frustrated that I didn't come across this forum a year earlier when we first really started to notice the oil consumption between our 40k service and the first time we brought it in due to a cylinder misfire at 55k, at our neighborhood shop.

To date we have not personally spoken to VCNA. The dealer service has been pretty good, assuming they are actually honest people and you can believe what they are saying to you. They have been communicating with Volvo all along so I have not seen the need to go that rout. The question is whether or not talking to VCNA directly, before even having an answer, is a good idea?

 

[robd]

I would wait to hear from your dealer. Speaking to Volvo directly now would send the wrong message to your dealer and possibly disrupt the communication chain. For now it's out of your hands and I'm sure an answer from Volvo will come soon. You've waited this long and tried several potential solutions, waiting a few more days is not that much in comparison.

Good luck!

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[Kjmack]

Pretty bad situation , Volvo should treat you right if they value their brand . 60k the vehicle should still be in great shape not needing this kind of work . Im not a believer in 10k oil changes and never will be , not saying that was the cause but 10k isnt good for anything in my book

 

[MyVolvoS60]

It's official. You can add our V60 to the is list. After a hand full of visits to our local dealer, some failed attempts at fixes (second round of new plugs in less than a year, combustion chamber clean, new breather box), and an oil consumption test resulting in over a 1qt loss in in under 500 miles, the service techs and Volvo are recommending replacing the pistons. Unfortunately for me, we are out of warranty at 60k+. We are waiting to hear back this week if Volvo is going to help out with some good will, fingers crossed.

I'm mostly frustrated that I didn't come across this forum a year earlier when we first really started to notice the oil consumption between our 40k service and the first time we brought it in due to a cylinder misfire at 55k, at our neighborhood shop.

To date we have not personally spoken to VCNA. The dealer service has been pretty good, assuming they are actually honest people and you can believe what they are saying to you. They have been communicating with Volvo all along so I have not seen the need to go that rout. The question is whether or not talking to VCNA directly, before even having an answer, is a good idea?

What was the in service date on your vehicle? I.E. When did Warranty Begin and End? At what point did you first notify Volvo of a "Suspected Problem" where troubleshooting began. Because of course, if investigative process happened within the warranty period, I would push hard for Volvo to cover the full repair cost.

 

[meade18]

It's official. You can add our V60 to the is list. After a hand full of visits to our local dealer, some failed attempts at fixes (second round of new plugs in less than a year, combustion chamber clean, new breather box), and an oil consumption test resulting in over a 1qt loss in in under 500 miles, the service techs and Volvo are recommending replacing the pistons. Unfortunately for me, we are out of warranty at 60k+. We are waiting to hear back this week if Volvo is going to help out with some good will, fingers crossed.

I'm mostly frustrated that I didn't come across this forum a year earlier when we first really started to notice the oil consumption between our 40k service and the first time we brought it in due to a cylinder misfire at 55k, at our neighborhood shop.

To date we have not personally spoken to VCNA. The dealer service has been pretty good, assuming they are actually honest people and you can believe what they are saying to you. They have been communicating with Volvo all along so I have not seen the need to go that rout. The question is whether or not talking to VCNA directly, before even having an answer, is a good idea?

Ugh. Now I'm concerned about how many visits to the dealer I'll have to make to get my problem sorted out. I bought the extended warranty, but only the powertrain coverage, so I assume all my trips to the dealer are going to cost money until they finally decide to replace the piston rings.

 

[orduck]

Update: We agreed to cover some more hours of diagnostic/engine tare down costs in order for Volvo to agree to cover the piston work. This would put us at about $1200 out of pocket. Based on our experience, all the older threads on this issue I have read and obxcnc's ongoing thread, it would seem that Volvo has a pretty established protocol for how they want dealers to handle things. And for those of us who are out or warranty and/or who bought used, they have some kind of threshold $$$ skin in the game that they want owners to hit, likely to prove how committed they are to keeping the cars after they are fixed.

So now we are waiting on parts, specialty tools, and the dealer to take of the head so they can confirm the cylinders are not damaged and the whole engine need to be replace instead.

MyVolvoS60, I get where you are going but we bought this car used at 35k miles and don't have any record of this issue with the dealer shop until after 60k+, so we are out of luck on the warranty and our state's lemon laws don't cover used cars.

meade18, it has taken a hand full of back and forth trips and several months. I would get the ball rolling sooner than later and make sure that the dealer ship is in contact with Volvo tech advisers right from the get go.

 

[meade18]

Update: We agreed to cover some more hours of diagnostic/engine tare down costs in order for Volvo to agree to cover the piston work. This would put us at about $1200 out of pocket. Based on our experience, all the older threads on this issue I have read and obxcnc's ongoing thread, it would seem that Volvo has a pretty established protocol for how they want dealers to handle things. And for those of us who are out or warranty and/or who bought used, they have some kind of threshold $$$ skin in the game that they want owners to hit, likely to prove how committed they are to keeping the cars after they are fixed.

So now we are waiting on parts, specialty tools, and the dealer to take of the head so they can confirm the cylinders are not damaged and the whole engine need to be replace instead.

MyVolvoS60, I get where you are going but we bought this car used at 35k miles and don't have any record of this issue with the dealer shop until after 60k+, so we are out of luck on the warranty and our state's lemon laws don't cover used cars.

meade18, it has taken a hand full of back and forth trips and several months. I would get the ball rolling sooner than later and make sure that the dealer ship is in contact with Volvo tech advisers right from the get go.

Thanks. got the ball rolling last week with a misfire. Dealership replaced the spark plugs for free that were part of another service bulletin and topped off the oil, so we now have a baseline. I was hoping my next call to them would be when my low oil light came on, but I had to call and bring my car in sooner because the misfire came back. The dealer is claiming it's the coil packs. I think it's oil all over the new spark plugs. Coil packs will be in tomorrow. I'll be changing them out in the dealer's parking lot so if they don't fix the misfire, I can walk right back in and tell them they need to investigate the oil burning. If it is indeed the coil packs, that's just really crazy luck they would go out so close to the spark plug replacement.

 

[meade18]

I just got off the phone with my dealer and apparently Volvo USA told them I need the breather box (and computer reprogramming) because of my oil consumption. I get that this is a step in the established protocol for how Volvo wants to deal with this issue, but I know for a fact with my level of oil consumption, a breather box is not going to fix my problem. It would be like putting a band aid on a 45 cal bullet wound. I would be pissed about the inconvenience of having to bring my car to the dealership, then drive some more, prove I still have the issue, and bring it back again IF I was under warranty. Since I am out of warranty, not only is it a huge inconvenience, they want to charge me $500 for a repair that isn't going to work. That is what I am trying to avoid.

Anyone know how I can get Volvo to either skip this repair, or guarantee that this is my issue and refund me my $500 when it doesn't fix my oil consumption? Or am I dreaming?

I'm thinking of offering to take the breather box off the car myself, bring it to them, and pay them to look at it and see that there is no way for it to cause my car to BURN over a quart of oil in 332 miles.

 

[Kjmack]

I just got off the phone with my dealer and apparently Volvo USA told them I need the breather box (and computer reprogramming) because of my oil consumption. I get that this is a step in the established protocol for how Volvo wants to deal with this issue, but I know for a fact with my level of oil consumption, a breather box is not going to fix my problem. It would be like putting a band aid on a 45 cal bullet wound. I would be pissed about the inconvenience of having to bring my car to the dealership, then drive some more, prove I still have the issue, and bring it back again IF I was under warranty. Since I am out of warranty, not only is it a huge inconvenience, they want to charge me $500 for a repair that isn't going to work and that is what I am trying to avoid at the moment.

Anyone know how I can get Volvo to either skip this repair, or guarantee that this is my issue and refund me my $500 when it doesn't fix my oil consumption? Or am I dreaming?

I'm thinking of offering to take the breather box off the car myself, bring it to them, and pay them to look at it and see that there is no way for it to cause my car to BURN over a quart of oil in 332 miles.

That is just plain ridiculous to have you spend 500 on a hunch , tell them yeah ok but when it doesn't fix it you want it back . Over 1 quart in 332 miles ? Especially when Volvo knows without a doubt these piston rings are problematic . Another satisfied customer .

 

[meade18]

Here's a brief log of how much my car has been in the shop the past few months. Keep in mind, I normally drive 1,000 miles or so per month. I've only been able to put on half as many miles in the past 3 months because of the time it has spent in the shop or because I've been too worried to drive it and took my wife's car instead.

10/03/18 - Towed to Volvo for a repair (picked up 10/05/18)
10/10/18 - Towed to Volvo for a repair (went to pick up 10/12/18 but they messed up so I had to leave it longer, eventually picked up 10/26/18)
10/31/18 - Dropped at Volvo for a repair and low oil, given a loaner (picked up 11/16/18)
12/07/18 - Brought to Volvo for low oil, no one available
12/11/18 - Brought back, electronic dipstick software reprogrammed
12/21/18 - Brought to Volvo for low oil
01/07/19 - Called Volvo for low oil, given breather box repair recommendation

 

[robd]

Get an estimate on how much out of your pocket you will pay for new pistons and rings....because most likely that will be the next step. Then decide if payong for Bothell the brother box and new pistons and ringsr is worth it to keep the car. Or if you would rather take that money and put it towards a different car.

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[Dyno]

In these cases, it seems to go like this... First, your dealer has to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the rings are stuck ("probably" doesn't cut it). This may take some investiment on your part (try a breather box, maybe have the head pulled). If this is done and your dealer (not you, not an indie) determines that the pistons and rings need to be replaced AND your engine is in the pproper serial number range, you are in a good position to request some good will assistance from the factory.

Skip any of these steps and do not pass Go. Go directly to jail (or at least to a loan officer).

 

[meade18]

In these cases, it seems to go like this... First, your dealer has to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the rings are stuck ("probably" doesn't cut it). This may take some investiment on your part (try a breather box, maybe have the head pulled). If this is done and your dealer (not you, not an indie) determines that the pistons and rings need to be replaced AND your engine is in the pproper serial number range, you are in a good position to request some good will assistance from the factory.

Skip any of these steps and do not pass Go. Go directly to jail (or at least to a loan officer).

I'm still hoping to have the piston ring job covered by my volvo extended powertrain warranty (not CPO warranty). But since it is a only a powertrain warranty, that is why I am currently sweating the $500 breather box and not the piston ring job.

 

[Kjmack]

In these cases, it seems to go like this... First, your dealer has to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the rings are stuck ("probably" doesn't cut it). This may take some investiment on your part (try a breather box, maybe have the head pulled). If this is done and your dealer (not you, not an indie) determines that the pistons and rings need to be replaced AND your engine is in the pproper serial number range, you are in a good position to request some good will assistance from the factory.

Skip any of these steps and do not pass Go. Go directly to jail (or at least to a loan officer).

I'm still hoping to have the piston ring job covered by my volvo extended powertrain warranty (not CPO warranty). But since it is a only a powertrain warranty, that is why I am currently sweating the $500 breather box and not the piston ring job.

So I'm confused you have a powertrain warranty and they are charging you for a PCV valve ? Seems like BS

 

[meade18]

So I'm confused you have a powertrain warranty and they are charging you for a PCV valve ? Seems like BS

Correct. It is very limited coverage. It essentially includes engine internals, turbo, and trans-axle.

 

[hastee]

yep, to me Volvo is changing for the worse. bib by bit. sad

 

[Kjmack]

So I'm confused you have a powertrain warranty and they are charging you for a PCV valve ? Seems like BS

Correct. It is very limited coverage. It essentially includes engine internals, turbo, and trans-axle.

Seems to me they just want to bleed some money from you first then spend Volvo's money . My VW powertrain warranty covers a PCV valve . Which with labor would be around 350 ballpark . They just don't care about repeat customers at all

 

[robd]

Seems to me they just want to bleed some money from you first then spend Volvo's money .

I was thinking the same thing.

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[meade18]

Seems to me they just want to bleed some money from you first then spend Volvo's money . My VW powertrain warranty covers a PCV valve . Which with labor would be around 350 ballpark . They just don't care about repeat customers at all

It is possible that the warranty company is being straight up at the moment. My issue isn't with them... yet.
1. The powertrain warranty is very limited and I don't see anything related to the PCV listed in the covered items. I guess you could kinda say it is part of the intake manifold, which would be covered, but that's a stretch.
2. Volvo isn't saying that my PCV Breather Box is broken, they are suggesting the replacement as part of a fix for oil consumption issues. That is specifically excluded from my warranty coverage. So I do NOT want to press that issue with the warranty company anyway.

I hope that the dealership didn't call the warranty company to plead the case on the PCV Breather Box. I don't want the warranty company to know anything about my oil consumption issue. When it comes time to get the warranty company to cover the piston rings, I am going to give the service manager specific instructions not to bring up oil consumption. If the warranty company presses him, I will ask him to point to the fact that my defective piston rings have led to multiple issues including failed plugs and coil packs. And that this is a know problem with this new engine that Volvo has acknowledged to the point that after a certain production date, they changed the piston rings and the repair will be done with the new rings.

I completely understand why I am being sent down this route. The technical journals says to replace the breather box, then if that doesn't work, replace the piston rings. The problem lies in the fact that I don't have a little oil consumption and this didn't just start recently. If this weren't a dealership following orders and was a true mechanic doing the diagnosis, they would say... "A breather box is $500 and might work, but probably not. A ring job is $4000 and will surely fix it. Which do you want to do?" All I'm asking is for an objective MECHANIC to look at how silly it is to replace the breather box on my car. I called the main Volvo 800 number because the dealership essentially said they don't argue with the guy they talk to at volvo that makes the repair recommendation. I don't expect this to be resolved to my satisfaction. If I get a chance later today, I am going to ask if the dealership will do the breather box and 80,000 mile service all at once for $750 and hope that they come back with $850 and just take that deal. I want to show the dealership that I am interested in having my car serviced by them, so when it comes time to do the rings, they will fight for me with the warranty company and Volvo USA if necessary. If they won't work with me on this, I am going to plead my case on the breather box, hope for some sort of discount there, and take it to a separate shop for the 80k service (but not tell them). I'm not going to give them the 80k service (which is a rip off at $500+) if they don't work with me.

 

[volvjoe]

That famous Volvo piston rings issue has happend with many owners so far I there a lawsuit about it yet?
Also what can we do to prevent it? Is this the issue that is caused by the faulty factory spark plugs?