[Wayne T5]

TJ?

Technical Journal

 

[MyVolvoS60]

TJ?

technical journal. It's a notice released from Volvo to Dealers about known issues / problems. It's an internal communication, and not a "recall", since it's merely a Notice to make dealers and techs aware of the situation.

 

[dubh055]

Update.

Second step of OCT done yesterday. Service writer called less than 2 hours after we dropped it off and told us it qualifies and they'd fill us in on details when we picked up the car.

Picked it up today and repair is scheduled for Mar 17. When I asked how much it used, all he said is, "I don't know for sure, but it's a drinker and we're fixing it." The paperwork looks like they put 2L in it.
Yeah, 2L in 650 miles? You wonder how they can run using oil like that, and FWIW, the "add oil" warning has not come on in that time. The exhaust tips are sooty, and she kept insisting it was using oil, leading to the re-do on the OCT. It has always run just fine, with no performance issues. Interesting.

As per our discussion with him, they're yanking the head and checking for scoring. If no scoring, it gets rings and pistons. If scored, it gets a new engine. Not a short block, not a long block, sounds like a new crate engine. We did not discuss any warranty on the replacement, but we'll cross that bridge on next visit.

Bottom line: be insistent, be assertive, and hang on to that letter. He told us they're doing 3 - 4 OCTs per week, and he figures it will only pick up from there.

 

[dubh055]

Update: dropped car off today and picked up the loaner. We asked about warranty on the repair work/engine replacement once it's done.

Interesting conversation about that (to me, anyway). He said Volvo warranties the work for 90 days or up to 100k original miles. Yep. Even on a new engine from the factory. The car will have 98k on it when she gets it back, so that means it's a 90 day or 2k mile warranty on brand new gear if it takes a new engine. I honestly don't expect a problem with a new engine, but I've seen enough instances of Murphy's Law to know anything is possible.

I said, "that's it?" He said, "well, this repair isn't costing her anything (except incidentals)." So, that means that Volvo is only begrudgingly standing behind this one because they screwed the pooch on these engines, but they're washing their hands of it after that.

Be glad we're fixing this. Then go away.

 

[MyVolvoS60]

Update: dropped car off today and picked up the loaner. We asked about warranty on the repair work/engine replacement once it's done.

Interesting conversation about that (to me, anyway). He said Volvo warranties the work for 90 days or up to 100k original miles. Yep. Even on a new engine from the factory. The car will have 98k on it when she gets it back, so that means it's a 90 day or 2k mile warranty on brand new gear if it takes a new engine. I honestly don't expect a problem with a new engine, but I've seen enough instances of Murphy's Law to know anything is possible.

I said, "that's it?" He said, "well, this repair isn't costing her anything (except incidentals)." So, that means that Volvo is only begrudgingly standing behind this one because they screwed the pooch on these engines, but they're washing their hands of it after that.

Be glad we're fixing this. Then go away.

Offer to pay SOMETHING on repair if dealer is willing. That may get you the lifetime warranty Otherwise it's 90 days or the 100k if Volvo pays.

 

[Island_V70]

Update: dropped car off today and picked up the loaner. We asked about warranty on the repair work/engine replacement once it's done.

Interesting conversation about that (to me, anyway). He said Volvo warranties the work for 90 days or up to 100k original miles. Yep. Even on a new engine from the factory. The car will have 98k on it when she gets it back, so that means it's a 90 day or 2k mile warranty on brand new gear if it takes a new engine. I honestly don't expect a problem with a new engine, but I've seen enough instances of Murphy's Law to know anything is possible.

I said, "that's it?" He said, "well, this repair isn't costing her anything (except incidentals)." So, that means that Volvo is only begrudgingly standing behind this one because they screwed the pooch on these engines, but they're washing their hands of it after that.

Be glad we're fixing this. Then go away.

That is common sadly. I had a transmission go out 11 months and 2 weeks into a one-year warranty. It took a week to swap in a new one. I assumed the year started over, but I was wrong. That one had a 1 week warranty!

 

[Tech]

Update: dropped car off today and picked up the loaner. We asked about warranty on the repair work/engine replacement once it's done.

Interesting conversation about that (to me, anyway). He said Volvo warranties the work for 90 days or up to 100k original miles. Yep. Even on a new engine from the factory. The car will have 98k on it when she gets it back, so that means it's a 90 day or 2k mile warranty on brand new gear if it takes a new engine. I honestly don't expect a problem with a new engine, but I've seen enough instances of Murphy's Law to know anything is possible.

I said, "that's it?" He said, "well, this repair isn't costing her anything (except incidentals)." So, that means that Volvo is only begrudgingly standing behind this one because they screwed the pooch on these engines, but they're washing their hands of it after that.

Be glad we're fixing this. Then go away.

That's the case with any warranty repair, not just this one. The warranty is 90 days or the remainder of factory warranty. Lifetime warranty only applies to repairs paid for by the customer (and is not transferable).

 

[MyVolvoS60]

That's the case with any warranty repair, not just this one. The warranty is 90 days or the remainder of factory warranty. Lifetime warranty only applies to repairs paid for by the customer (and is not transferable).

Is it whole repair bill paid by customer or any portion of repair paid will qualify for lifetime?

 

[Tech]

I've heard it was any part. So partial goodwill is better than full goodwill. Never had to test that though.

 

[dubh055]

That's the case with any warranty repair, not just this one. The warranty is 90 days or the remainder of factory warranty. Lifetime warranty only applies to repairs paid for by the customer (and is not transferable).

So, if she gets an engine (from Volvo) and it costs her nothing, she gets a 90 day warranty, but if she pays for the exact same engine (from Volvo), she gets the genuine Volvo parts warranty? Does this make sense to you?

Volvo wouldn't by by any chance be providing sub par replacement engines for the free repair campaign, and be providing better quality for paying customers, would they? So they kick the can down the road and if their replacement craps out, oh well.

This is far from a regular warranty repair. It addresses an acknowledged engineering shortcoming, and it's a fairly large volume repair issue. I also realize Volvo is not the only automaker to have to deal with this.

I do appreciate the feedback; I realize you didn't write that policy.

 

[dubh055]

Offer to pay SOMETHING on repair if dealer is willing. That may get you the lifetime warranty Otherwise it's 90 days or the 100k if Volvo pays.

That's why I discuss it here. That is going to be an interesting conversation with the dealership owner. We were going to discuss it with him for clarification, anyway.

I doubt it will change anything, but the feedback from him should be enlightening. He's been good about it all so far, but those bad rings are coming back to haunt a lot of dealerships, and it's not their fault.

 

[Tech]

So, if she gets an engine (from Volvo) and it costs her nothing, she gets a 90 day warranty, but if she pays for the exact same engine (from Volvo), she gets the genuine Volvo parts warranty? Does this make sense to you?

Volvo wouldn't by by any chance be providing sub par replacement engines for the free repair campaign, and be providing better quality for paying customers, would they? So they kick the can down the road and if their replacement craps out, oh well.

This is far from a regular warranty repair. It addresses an acknowledged engineering shortcoming, and it's a fairly large volume repair issue. I also realize Volvo is not the only automaker to have to deal with this.

I do appreciate the feedback; I realize you didn't write that policy.

As far as Volvo is concerned, this is no different than any other warranty repair. It is billed as such at a warranty labor rate, labor time and parts prices.

If your alternator fails at 48k miles and is replaced under factory warranty, the warranty on that would be 90 days or 2k miles (the remainder of the factory warranty).

They are not putting different engines in.

 

[dubh055]

As far as Volvo is concerned, this is no different than any other warranty repair. It is billed as such at a warranty labor rate, labor time and parts prices.

If your alternator fails at 48k miles and is replaced under factory warranty, the warranty on that would be 90 days or 2k miles (the remainder of the factory warranty).

They are not putting different engines in.

Understood that warranty work that's not billed to customer would be treated that way. It still begs the question if she'd have full warranty if she paid for it herself outside of this campaign. No matter, we'll sit down and clarify it.

I've not had to deal with equipment failures at this level with any dealership before. It's new ground, but it's not unique to Volvo.

 

[Tech]

Understood that warranty work that's not billed to customer would be treated that way. It still begs the question if she'd have full warranty if she paid for it herself outside of this campaign. No matter, we'll sit down and clarify it.

Yeah, it would fall under the lifetime warranty if it was paid for by the customer. I've heard even if it was partially paid for, like instances prior to this campaign where customers received varying offers of goodwill. For example: 50/50 split between Volvo and the customer. The customer paid something so it would be lifetime warranty. Again, I never had to test that before I left but it was what I was told.

 

[dubh055]

Yeah, it would fall under the lifetime warranty if it was paid for by the customer. I've heard even if it was partially paid for, like instances prior to this campaign where customers received varying offers of goodwill. For example: 50/50 split between Volvo and the customer. The customer paid something so it would be lifetime warranty. Again, I never had to test that before I left but it was what I was told.

Great info. It's an interesting way to approach it, which is something I hadn't considered until the additional input from this thread. That's more material for a discussion with dealership.

I was always intrigued by Volvo's lifetime warranty on their parts. It seems to me to be a fairly solid way to treat customers. I've always regarded Volvo as a solid car, and this is her third one. This one took me by surprise when she initially said it's burning a lot of oil, which became manifest at about 75k. From my perspective, properly maintained Volvos should not burn oil at 75k.

They got in a bind on an issue that may or may not have been foreseen, but things break and new engineering doesn't always perform well on initial roll out. Now, they're trying to minimize their losses, as would I, and they're walking a fine line between alienating future repeat customers and not losing too much money.

 

[Tech]

The lifetime warranty certainly is good for people who use the dealership and keep their cars for a long time.

I don't know if there's a creative way to bill out your job now that there is an extended warranty on it. If they could find a way to bill it out and bill you for some of it to get the lifetime warranty, that would be the way to go.

At the very least, now is a good time to buy any "while you're in there" parts if you're going to keep the car a while. The block comes with the timing components, but I'd buy a drive belt and associated pullies at the minimum. Anything else would be up to you depending how long you want to keep the car. Alternator? Compressor? Supercharger? It can all add up but lifetime warranty on all that plus a new engine should give you peace of mind for a while.

 

[MyVolvoS60]

The lifetime warranty certainly is good for people who use the dealership and keep their cars for a long time.

I don't know if there's a creative way to bill out your job now that there is an extended warranty on it. If they could find a way to bill it out and bill you for some of it to get the lifetime warranty, that would be the way to go.

At the very least, now is a good time to buy any "while you're in there" parts if you're going to keep the car a while. The block comes with the timing components, but I'd buy a drive belt and associated pullies at the minimum. Anything else would be up to you depending how long you want to keep the car. Alternator? Compressor? Supercharger? It can all add up but lifetime warranty on all that plus a new engine should give you peace of mind for a while.

Serpentine and tensioner and timing kit should almost be obligatory. $400 is parts, no labor, for another 150k.

Spark plugs may or may not be tossed in. My dealer included new plugs.

 

[Tech]

Serpentine and tensioner and timing kit should almost be obligatory. $400 is parts, no labor, for another 150k.

Spark plugs may or may not be tossed in. My dealer included new plugs.

Timing is on the new motor, as I said. Plugs are in it as well.

 

[MyVolvoS60]

Timing is on the new motor, as I said. Plugs are in it as well.

Ya. Not sure if he's getting engine or just rings so worth a mention.

 

[Tech]

Ya. Not sure if he's getting engine or just rings so worth a mention.

My bad. I was confusing him with the title of this thread regarding the new engine.

I agree then, timing and drive belt stuff, spark plugs at a minimum if the engine doesn't need replacement.