[Dyno]

I'm not seeing any alternatives here... It's either 1. Fix the car (and argue about who's going to pay for it later) or 2. Don't fix it. Number 2 doesn't make economic sense, so the choice is clear.

What am I missing?

 

[MyVolvoS60]

What am I missing?

The bigger picture. Op wants reassurance from Volvo if he sinks in a ton of money, that the vehicle will get fixed. Especially because the problem originates from a known point of failure with its own TJ entry.

And yes, at the end of the day, if Volvo says "No", Op is left holding the bag. Not sure what if any legal recourse would exist. OP might benefit from speaking to a lawyer (free consultation) if Volvo stonewalls any efforts for assitance.

Short of that.. Sink the money to repair and offload the car. Or sink to repair and keep. I'd probably offload.

 

[meade18]

I went back and glanced at this thread, and maybe I am missing something, but op doesn't have a warranty on the vehicle?

Post #29 https://forums.swedespeed.com/showt...o-v60-t5-needs-INFAMOUS-piston-ring-job-at-65k&p=7140947&viewfull=1#post7140947
He says he got a 2yr/24k mi warranty from the used car dealer. I'm thinking he got his money back on that and doesn't have it anymore though.

 

[MyVolvoS60]

Post #29 https://forums.swedespeed.com/showt...o-v60-t5-needs-INFAMOUS-piston-ring-job-at-65k&p=7140947&viewfull=1#post7140947
He says he got a 2yr/24k mi warranty from the used car dealer. I'm thinking he got his money back on that and doesn't have it anymore though.

3rd party warranties are junk and exclusionary. Only person that benefits from those are the dealer and policy underwriter. Volvo CPO covers practically everything and is backed by Volvo. Whereas those 3rd party warranties are underwritten by X and have very little intention of being useful.

 

[obxcnc]

Update: Yes I have given up on the warranty company, with much effort and time, it just was looking like a dead end road to me. I was just happy to come to a resolution of a full refund. I am hopeful for those of you with warranty products from Volvo dealerships.

I did receive an email back from the VCUSA customer service rep in response to my final email exchange from Friday:

Thank you for getting back to me. I have been advised by our local management team that in order to review for assistance you would need to authorize the tear down of your engine. Please make an appointment with (dealerships name) Volvo Cars and email me the let me know the date and time of the appointment. I look forward to your reply.

Med vänliga hälsningar!,

I am assuming that they have not changed their position that I would still be on the hook for the $869 tear down and I still have no assurances in terms of what the costs could be to get it back together. It looks like to me the cost is somewhere between $5000-12000 which is quite a range, with no clear representation of how long they would stand behind the repair. They have not clearly said whether I would be a candidate for some percentage of goodwill assistance or not..

I am traveling for business this week, so the car is just parked at home. This problem has been a source of disappointment/anxiety/anger/major annoyance for nearly a month of my life and I am about done. I still owe 11k on the car and at this point I think I am leaning towards seeing what I can get on trade and just move on from Volvo.

“MyVolvoS60” was helpful in putting together a rough draft of a letter to try and approach this from an upper management layer. I am going to finalize that letter and get it emailed off this morning. That might be my final attempt on this issue.

I have no interest in paying for a tear down and having a discussion about resolution: as the car sits disassembled in a service bay, on an engine which the manufacturer clearly made some engineering/manufacturing mistakes on. My naive hope is that they have solved those issues on the engines that they are putting in cars today, and simply need to go back and fix that gap of engines where they were having the issue.

 

[MyVolvoS60]

Update: Yes I have given up on the warranty company, with much effort and time, it just was looking like a dead end road to me. I was just happy to come to a resolution of a full refund. I am hopeful for those of you with warranty products from Volvo dealerships.

I did receive an email back from the VCUSA customer service rep in response to my final email exchange from Friday:

Thank you for getting back to me. I have been advised by our local management team that in order to review for assistance you would need to authorize the tear down of your engine. Please make an appointment with (dealerships name) Volvo Cars and email me the let me know the date and time of the appointment. I look forward to your reply.

Med vänliga hälsningar!,

I am assuming that they have not changed their position that I would still be on the hook for the $869 tear down and I still have no assurances in terms of what the costs could be to get it back together. It looks like to me the cost is somewhere between $5000-12000 which is quite a range, with no clear representation of how long they would stand behind the repair. They have not clearly said whether I would be a candidate for some percentage of goodwill assistance or not..

I am traveling for business this week, so the car is just parked at home. This problem has been a source of disappointment/anxiety/anger/major annoyance for nearly a month of my life and I am about done. I still owe 11k on the car and at this point I think I am leaning towards seeing what I can get on trade and just move on from Volvo.

"MyVolvoS60" was helpful in putting together a rough draft of a letter to try and approach this from an upper management layer. I am going to finalize that letter and get it emailed off this morning. That might be my final attempt on this issue.

I have no interest in paying for a tear down and having a discussion about resolution: as the car sits disassembled in a service bay, on an engine which the manufacturer clearly made some engineering/manufacturing mistakes on. My naive hope is that they have solved those issues on the engines that they are putting in cars today, and simply need to go back and fix that gap of engines where they were having the issue.

My recommendation: Finalize and send the letter. Stop fooling with the local dealer, because it's a lost cause, that's only going to create more stress and headache. You have their answer and it doesn't change. Time to escalate to the top brass and see what their decision might be.

Wait and see what happens and go from there....

 

[Dyno]

I still owe 11k on the car and at this point I think I am leaning towards seeing what I can get on trade and just move on from Volvo.

Sorry to hear of your continued headaches

You would disclose the oil consumption issue to the buyer, right?

 

[SilverRubicon]

Where is the engine serial number located on the T5 Drive-E? Trying to confirm if my car falls within TJ 31216. No issues, just curious.

 

[Dyno]

Where is the engine serial number located on the T5 Drive-E? Trying to confirm if my car falls within TJ 31216. No issues, just curious.

I found a small etched number on the engine on the top of the flange where the engine mates to the transmission (driver's side). You don't need to remove anything, but you need a flashlight and have to look under a couple of hoses.

 

[Dyno]

 

[SilverRubicon]

I found a small etched number on the engine on the top of the flange where the engine mates to the transmission (driver's side).

That's what I thought but wasn't 100% sure. Thanks for the confirmation. It's close but looks like I fall just outside of the service bulletin.

 

[MyVolvoS60]

View attachment 45279

Mind taking a better picture and showing this dunce where to look. I can't find a number anywhere, nor am I willing to remove engine cover. I'd bet $100 my car being manufactured in June 2014 falls into this obyss. No problems atm and hope I dont have ay down the road. But good to know serial number.

I might just email Volvo and ask?

 

[Tech]

I'm not sure if thats the serial number or not. It's also on the front timing cover.

 

[MyVolvoS60]

I'm not sure if thats the serial number or not. It's also on the front timing cover.

My Serial (According to Volvo) is 1074328. My car is one of the very first builds being June 2014. Guessing I'm affected since my number is lower than 150?? What's the odds of actually having an issue? Is this one of those scenarios it "can happen" but not very likely. Or are a lot of cars coming in down the road for this problem?

Still have 44 months / 65K on warranty so I've got coverage for quite a while. Just curious.

 

[Dyno]

I'm not sure if thats the serial number or not. It's also on the front timing cover.

I confirmed that the number in the photo (on the trans mounting flange) is NOT the same as the SN on the plate on the valve cover.

You should also note that I broke one of those wimpy plastic fasteners that hold down the foam cover, and found one that was broke before I came to it, so a couple of strikes against me this evening

 

[Kjmack]

I'm not sure if thats the serial number or not. It's also on the front timing cover.

I confirmed that the number in the photo (on the trans mounting flange) is NOT the same as the SN on the plate on the valve cover.

You should also note that I broke one of those wimpy plastic fasteners that hold down the foam cover, and found one that was broke before I came to it, so a couple of strikes against me this evening

I have one that is stripped . Have searched all the sites and cant seem to find the parts anywhere .

 

[obxcnc]

Update: I emailed on Tuesday, two "higher ups" in Volvo's corporate structure's "customer service" about my ongoing issues with high oil consumption on my "now" 66k 2015 Volvo v60. I received a polite but obfuscatory email back from my original customer service representative at VCUSA on Wednesday stating:

Hello ------,

I am writing to you on behalf of Bill Casey. I understand the issue you have experienced with your vehicle has not been to your satisfaction and I also understand that you are unhappy with the response you have received from Volvo.

Volvo policy Volvo cannot commit to any repairs without knowing what that repair is. As previously mentioned, we will be unable to provide any financial assistance towards repairs needed on your vehicle until we can determine exactly what is needed. This can not be established until the vehicle has been properly diagnosed.
We do value you as a member of the Volvo family, and appreciate the time you have taken to contact us.

Thank you kindly for allowing me the opportunity to respond. Let me know when an appointment has been scheduled and I will reopen your case.

Med vänliga hälsningar!

Yours Sincerely,
----------

I find it interesting that she is quoting Volvo policy without citing it. I am going to respond tomorrow morning citing Technical Journal (TJ 31216) as being the direct step after (TJ 30087), which has already been performed on my car, to try and fix this exact problem, and being interested in what "Volvo policy" supersedes the technical journal in "diagnosis" of this problem.

 

[qaz996]

To play devil's advocate here, I totally understand the tack Volvo is on. Without engine teardown, it is impossible to know the extent of the engine repair and you are asking hypothetical questions at this point.

The short of it is the car is out of warranty and there was a worthless (in this scenario) aftermarket warranty sold with the car from a used car dealer.

If anyone recalls the 2005 Volvo V8 balance shaft issue, I fixed 5 V8's with that issue. Every single one of them was well out of warranty, every single one was Goodwill repaired by Volvo and my recollection is that most of them were not with the original owners or with meticulous dealer service records. In fact, I think I've only even heard of very, very few V8's that were not repaired on Volvo's dime.

I think Volvo is looking for goodwill on the OP's part (in the form of authorizing teardown) before showing their hand. I would be surprised if they didn't help out.

 

[obxcnc]

To play devil's advocate here, I totally understand the tack Volvo is on. Without engine teardown, it is impossible to know the extent of the engine repair and you are asking hypothetical questions at this point.

The short of it is the car is out of warranty and there was a worthless (in this scenario) aftermarket warranty sold with the car from a used car dealer.

If anyone recalls the 2005 Volvo V8 balance shaft issue, I fixed 5 V8's with that issue. Every single one of them was well out of warranty, every single one was Goodwill repaired by Volvo and my recollection is that most of them were not with the original owners or with meticulous dealer service records. In fact, I think I've only even heard of very, very few V8's that were not repaired on Volvo's dime.

I think Volvo is looking for goodwill on the OP's part (in the form of authorizing teardown) before showing their hand. I would be surprised if they didn't help out.

I agree. I am asking questions with moving quotients at this time. Volvo is having a hard time keeping up, despite internal knowledge of "Volvo policy". I am truly willing to participate in "Goodwill" at this point. From the beginning, I have openly said that I was more than willing to cooperate in a solution involving a portion of "my" cash. In response, I needed to hear that they knew how to "solve" this problem and showing me a path to resolution with a clearly "defined" warranty. ... I am not sure when you did the repairs on the 2005 "balance shaft issues": but my guess is that under Ford's ownership, they were more than willing to accept a loss...Not sure about the current owner's position.

 

[Dyno]

Dude, you are talking in circles. Volvo says thay can't authorize repairs without knowing the problem (not the symptom). You are saying (I think) that you won't authorize (pay for) inspection until Volvo commits to a solution.

So nothing happens. Volvo's A-OK with that. The only way that is going to change is if you make a move.

(Just to explain my thought process, I'm ASSUMING the head did not come off during the previous work, nor were the bores and pistons inspected. (please correct me if i'm wrong) This is important because the piston/ring replacement would only be effective if you actually have the stuck-ring problem. If, for example, the the engine ate a compressor blade or a spark plug insulator, the bores might be damaged, and a $4000 piston/ring job would absolutey not cure the oil consumption problem. Volvo doesn't want to commit to giving you a set of pistons without knowing it would help. Imagine how you would feel if they did all that work and you still had the problem.)

I believe they expect you or the dealer to answer two questions:
1. Are the rings stuck?
2. Is there nothing else wrong?

To say "my oil consumption is still high" doesn't do it.