[31355]

We have a 2018 XC90 T6 Inscription. Started off noticing the driver side was not cooling the driver while passenger was still getting some cooling. Then a week or so later, not cool at all. For temp relief I shot refrigerant in and it worked fine for a few weeks. Now its not cooling again. So most likely a major leak. I've read various posts from many with the same issue. Some dealers tell them its the condenser, some compressor, some say both or something else. I realize that the entire dash may have to be taken apart to get to the components. I dont want to be taken for a ride by the Volvo stealer, so I wanted some input from you guys with this issue, what did your dealer charge you and what parts did they replace?
Personally, since many seem to have this issue, Volvo should be recalling it or fixing it discounted. But since not a safety issue, they aren't required to do a recall. It's disappointing a 4.5 yr old car with 60k miles would need to replace the AC system. These are supposed to be sealed and should never need refrigerant for a long long time. I think my next car will be a Lexus.

I see you just joined the forum. I see you did so to berate "stealerrships". I see you are GUESSING at what is wrong and not mad that it's expensive, when it could be a failed O-ring or loose fitting that costs little to repair. I see you didn't buy an extended warranty, and now you are mad you have to pay for things? I see you want to buy a Lexus (where I was a parts manager and service coordinator for years), and I'm sorry to say I've seen oodles of "dashboards pulled" to fix the A/C problem for thousands. You think this should be a recall or some discounted repair from Volvo?!? Are you familiar with how car dealerships work?

Maybe before you come on here to blast Volvo you should find out what the problem is first. You know, there is this thing called "good will" that often covers repairs like this so close to the warranty end date via funds from Volvo. I can assure you that this will not be offered to you with the rotten attitude you have. The dealer could have requested this from Volvo, but since they "steal" your money with their trained techs, fleet of loaner cars, modern facilities and the ability to assist you in ways only a dealer can.....well, they wont.

Welcome to the forum. You certainly know how to make an impressions. 😑

 

[31355]

yeah i definitely wouldnt refill the AC, but I could install a new evaporator and have maybe the dealer do the rest of the work. Save $2000

I don’t think you really understand the complexity of removing an evaporator….. I’m fix agricultural machinery all the time and wouldn’t touch removing my dash. I’m very skilled but….no, a YouTube video will not help 99% of people do this themselves. I bet you break 20 plastic minting tabs off in the first 15 minutes! I’ve seen a large number of Evaps removed by techs and it’s complex. Plus it’s also me sign with airbags. Literally the liability is enormous.

 

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I have a 2017 XC 90, 67,000 miles. Same symptoms / issues. Was diagnosed at the dealer service center as both evaporators leaking and needing to be replaced. Total cost $7,000. Feel like this is inappropriate and indication faulty part / system design for a car of this age and mileage. Volvo Corp refused to provide a discount / subsidy for this. Wondering if its a broader issue with the model. My regular mechanic said he sees this issue regularly.

Every brand has this type of failure…it’s just bad luck. Not quite sure how they arrive at $7000 however. But…7, almost 8 model years old means it’s pretty unrealistic to think Volvo would pay for this.

 

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Every brand? I don’t know about that. Certainly not every car though.

Evaporator failure was common on the 850s and S70s (which you should know- those were around during your Volvo employment you boast about).

P2s, P1s, P3s- not common at all.

And now it's a problem again.

So it is certainly possible to use parts that last longer.

Name one brand that doesn't replace evaps on a regular basis. It's simply the nature of the beast because the manufacturing process is tricky and they often don't get manufactured perfect.

As I'd expect, you throw out some bogus claim about me and then us your supposed personal experience to contradict what I say and make me look stupid. I'm sorry, but P2's had ALL SORTS of evap failures. I've replaced 2 on the 3 cars I owned, and my service depart replaced a high number.

This certainly is one of the most common A/C issues in the industry.

 

[31355]

I made sure to run a cabin air filter in my '97 850 to mitigate the evaporator failure and it did. AC still strong on OEM components, one can of freon every 3 years. '92 240 didn`t need anything AC for the 12 years I owned it and '07 S80 V8 with service records has required nothing for AC. It`s all cheap cost cutting on parts to last through the warranty period, because after that, manufacturers just don`t care.

You are lucky.....I couldn't even begin to count the number of 850s and S70s that had evaps replaced. Literally, it was almost weekly in the shop. Your experience has nothing to do with a cabin air filter, and your claim todays car's evaps fail more than "older" cars is crazy. Literally it was one of the most common repairs across the board on those generations of cars.

 

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If all brands regularly replace evaporators that must mean a huge failure rate...would you say above 50%? That is certainly not anything like what I've experienced. We've had Volvo cars since 1984 and none have had an AC problem. And all have been driven to high milage. Same goes for Saab, BMW, Toyota and Chevrolet cars and a Ford F250. No doubt that a small proportion of cars do experience failure. You seem to be extrapolating your limited experience with one Volvo line 20 years ago to all cars all the time.

I'm basing my comment on years of working in service departments for German, Asian and American brands. I saw lots of evap failures in all these brands from all over the world. It's due to manufacture, just like an air intercooler is. You would not believe the amount of leakage and air intercooler is allowed to how and still "pass" as acceptable...creating a "radiator" is challanging, and you'll not in a parts book there are always a number of part number changes on the evaps.....and now you know why. The failure rate is not 50%, but it's a lot of cars, a very common repair in a shop. Any shop will tell you this.

 

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The cabin air filter prevented accumulation of wet debris from sitting at the bottom edge of the evaporator and causing corrosion which became leaks. The cabin air filter was not automatically installed on all 850`s. The one I had did not have it from the factory.

The most uncommon cause for an evap leak is corrosion. While a filter would help that, most cars will never fail because of corrosion. It’s almost universally a metal weakness that begins leaking due to sustained pressure. S70s had lots of leaking evaporators and they all had filters standard, so it’s not really a statistically helpful way to prevent the issue.

 

[31355]

Corrosion causes metal weakness. Pressure and corrosion are the likely culprits. If an Evaporator leaks from just sustained pressure, it`s because of poor metals and engineering ( usually the result of cost cutting ). My '92 240 original evaporator was good for 26 years. I can guarantee you that evaporator is better built than current ones.

Well, probably about everything on a 240 was better built than today. Of course todays cars also have a surface area probably 5x what the 240 had, so statistically they are always going to have a higher failure rate.

You just contradicted yourself, but admitted the point I made was true.....corrosion is not the problem with today's evaporators, it's poor engineering, manufacturing and metal quality. SPA cars are far too new to even entrain the idea corrosion has something to do with these failures.

 

[31355]

Let me help you: challanging is challenging.

Ooooh….autocorrect on a phone didn’t work right on a word. Burn. My feelings are crushed a word was misspelled typing on a phone.

 

[31355]

I would have thought being a man of the world, your spelling would be impeccable and not in need of autocorrect usage.

It’s just ridiculous people want to spout off such crass comments. I have NEVER claimed to know it all…quite the opposite is true. It’s why I do so many things, to keep learning. It’s how I’ve come to be quite knowledgeable about a variety of things, but I’m certainly no expert. Never claimed to be a master tech. Never claimed to be a tire engineer. Never claimed to be a glass specialist…but that can’t mean one doesn’t know a lot about those things. But…I’m vilified for that. It’s just pathetic, and MODERATORS do nothing. It’s why this forum has devolved into something bordering on useless.

 

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Just the type of response that years ago would have gotten you removed, but now the moderators let anyone say anything and nothing becomes of it. What a sat state of affaris this place has become....and this is a great example of why

 

[31355]

Here's more help, sat=sad and affaris=affairs. That emote is part of the forum selection, so fair to use.

Sad to think this is all the more serious you can be, that you care so little about cyber bullying. But that’s what you are, sooooo…

 

[31355]

I am in a kindergarten?

Sent from my SM-N986W using Tapatalk

Pretty sad the moderators let this kind of bullying and drivel go on, isn't it?

 

[31355]

Sort of, but just watch, a reply is iminent. Unless he's learning to control himself.

I think I'll just see how long this goes on before a moderator has their fill with you.....

 

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Just couldn`t control yourself as expected.

Yes, you show such self restrain yourself.

 

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It`s too much fun to egg you on and have you respond like a puppy does when offered a biscuit. Sooo.....

I've been here for over 20 years, so I assure you your old troll tactics have been seen 100 times and you will come and go and no one will care.