Problems won't go away. What else could there be?
 

So my S80 was in a dire state. Loved the car and decided to bite the bullet and get it repaired.

• Replaced brakes
• Wheel bearing
• New tires
• Complete transmission change
• Complete engine oil change
• New alternator
• New maf sensor
• A full swirl cap kit replacement
• Actuator arm replacement
• Soot filter proffesionally cleaned
• And likely something else that I've forgotten

and after all of this, my car STILL will barely run in a sort of limp mode state with a more than average white smoke (or is it steam? Maybe from leftover chemicals used to clean the soot filter?), and has an "Engine system Service urgent" message on the dashboard. No check engine lights. My 2 OBD2 readers also says everything's fine as doesn't read any error codes.

My mechanic said that after I get the filter cleaned I should go back to him so he can do a quick 5 minute one last check just so nothing else pops up but sadly he's gonna have more work cut out for him.

Does anyone have the slightest suggestion as in what could be going wrong? What is there left to do? Could it literally just be a computer glitch that's causing all of this?

I've spent so much money on it I will never be able to sell it and even get a quater of the value. Kinda hopeless. But incase I have no other options but to sell it, what does a limp mode running S80 go for? £200? £300?

1. Are you losing any coolant, or is there any oil in the coolant reservoir or a white gunk on the oil cap? White smoke is an indication of a blown head gasket, as the coolant or oil is entering the combustion chamber causing white smoke/steam.

2. Cracked cylinder head could cause white smoke

3. You could have an injector issue, as too much fuel is being added to the combustion chamber & that can also create white smoke because the fuel isn't being burned properly because there's too much of it.

You need VIDA/Dice (Specific software for Volvo's) & do a diagnostic check with that. A Volvo dealership or Volvo independent specialist will have this software, as normal OBD readers don't always show fault codes. VIDA will do a full check of all the modules in the car & should flag any underlying issues.

Diesel or petrol?
Does the engine idle smoothly?

If you can get to Leicester I can run diagnosis on it. It may shed light on the cause

Diesel. Yes the engine idles smoothly or at least I think it does. It's been so long the last time I drove it and fixed it I'm forgetting what it should sound like.


So I went to the local volvo mechanic and the car still had DPF error codes still. Saying that the filter is full, the temperature sensor threw an error as well as the pressure sensor. Will go to a mechanic who cleans the DPF filters proffesionally as well as replace the 2 sensors.

Can really a full sensor make my car go in limp mode where it struggles to get uphill? One full DPF filter to cripple a car seems like a really extreme safety measure?

There are no other errors on the car other than my 1 parking sensor not working but that's the least of my concerns.

Booked the car in in 2 weeks time and then hopefully I'll update you on what's happened. Been a really long grind trying to get this car repaired for the last 8 months.

multiple soot filter messages can throw up a tcm code which can put the car in limp mode . th this can only be cleared with a top quality scanner or vida.

Well the "Soot filter full" message kept coming back so we're all assuming it will be to blame and not a one off error message.

Also about the vida scanners. Are those volvo specific? I bought 2 obd2 readers (bluedriver and one Launch both for about £100) and they coudn't read anything except live data. My mechanic had an Autel one that read the codes but they are really expensive.
I'm looking around and these vida scanners go around £100. Would they be able to read the codes? Are they worth it?

https://www.obd2shop.co.uk/wholesale...waAgPBEALw_wcB

£71 with free shipping Good for Volvos up to 2015

a working tested vida dice on a lap top is nearer to £300 maybe a kind fourm member who has one can help you

I bought a £75 VIDA and a £50 ThinkPad fitted with an SSD and also a car charger for the laptop for £6. So my complete working VIDA cost me £131 and if I had had a working laptop upon which to run it, the cost would have been £81. You really don't need a great laptop. The thing runs on Win7 so a 10 year old laptop would work for it just fine! The ThinkPad is built like a brick outhouse and serves the purpose of a dedicated piece of car test equipment. It runs quite fast because of the SSD but even an unmodified old laptop would be perfectly adequate. This is old technology and only needs obsolete gear to run it.

where did u get your dice from to use vida on your car as there are many units sold that simply do not work

The one you linked seems pretty good, I'll probably get it. £80 is not too bad.

Also on the site it says comes in a bundle with a £50 VIDA DICE software. Is that needed or is there a free version on the web and the store is just offering you one for money?

No way of knowing exactly what the supplier has in mind but without the software the cable is useless and all the DiCE cables I've seen advertised come with a VIDA software disk. Let's be honest, the software is Volvo proprietary and selling it to you is a grey area at best but with the age of the cars which the 2014D version covers, Volvo may be turning a blind eye to the free promulgation of their software. They might take a different view to someone selling what isn't theirs to sell! I'm sure that the link I gave includes the 2014D version FOC. Mention of selling additional software seems to refer to cars later than 2015 now being covered by the free disc. My assumption was that the 2014D would cover most people but that's probably because I have come to Volvo via the Peugeot 406 Coupe which went out of production in 2004 and all those cars are covered by the equivalent Peugeot software which comes free with the equivalent Peugeot diagnostics cable. Sorry if anyone with a car later than 2015 has been mislead by my posting.

Update after another attempt at fixing
 

So after another clean of the DPF filter, changing new temperature sensors and a new pressure sensor, the car still stuggles to run, especially when going uphill.

Going for a ride around there was normal white smoke the first few minutes and after that black smoke again. Goes much better than before but still not at an acceptable condition for the roads. I tried to redline it and it went to a maximum of 3.5k rpm, as if it still doens't want to give enough power. Last time I went to my mechanic it only read 3 errors, DFP filter being full, temperature sensor mal****ion and pressure sensor malfunction. All 3 have been adressed but still doesn't run.

What else could be there? Anyone have any other ideas?
I guess I'll have to wait till the volvo dealership opens up again so I can get a diagnostic there.

What variant of diesel engine is it? 2.0D, D3 or D5?
Have you tried unplugging the MAF sensor and driving it?
Have you checked for any split turbo boost hoses? Mine split and it threw a MAF error.
There's also a TMAP sensor down in the turbo pipe... but I've not read of it causing your issues.

It's a shame I can't help more, because I have vida/dice sitting here and also an S80 I can't drive right now.

The MAF sensor was changed when this whole thing started. I haven't unplugged to see if it does anything now.
As far as I remembe all the hoses looked fine and I think the mechanic would have also spotted if there would had been anything wrong when he was fixing the engine. I will double check though.
No idead about the TMAP sensor. Haven't checked it nor heard that it could cause issues. Will check however.

BTW, which vida/dice do you have? I was thinking I might get one. Also, is it possible that a diagnostics at my mechanics might have missed some fault codes because the car was sitting still and not on a machine to drive it like in volvo dealership services?

I saw you'd replaced it, it's worth a try - it's free! Mine drives pretty much the same with it unplugged, although it does rev higher on startup until it settles down.

I have a Dice (clone I believe) unit purchased from cheshired5 and he sent a copy of Vida 2014D. That's the latest version usable without a subscription. It's usable and lots of interesting diagnostics in there.

You didn't mention what version of the diesel engine you have?

Out of curiosity, how much did your transmission re-build cost?

Was your MAF sensor replaced with a new OEM Bosch one? Because new non-OEM (cheap) ones are known to be unreliable. If you can swap out the MAF with a known good one, that would rule it out. Your symptoms do sound like a MAF fault, although could be a number of other things.

I'm seeing the error I made. I'll correct it but it was actually just a full transmission oil change. My god if it was a full rebuild I don't think I'd ever be prepeared so see such a bill.

2006 D5, on paper the 185HP one but as far as I remember one time at a different expensive mechanic he said it was the 205HP variant.

Yes it was a genuine MAF sensor for about £95 not one of those chinese parts. I never buy Chinese parts. Not worth it

A small job you haven't mentioned is changing the fuel filter. I usewd to make my own diesel fuel which caused fuel filters to clag up when the car first ran on it. The symptoms sound very similar to those you have described. Lack of power, white exhaust smoke and I'm pretty sure it would trigger a "service me" warning.

Now that you mention it I think the fuel filter was changed when my mechanic changed the transmission oil, engine oil and a new air filter.

Just why woudn't it be detected on my mechanics diagnostic? Also after changing the pressure sensor and temperature sensor, the "Engine System Service Urgent" message no longer appears either.

Yea the fuel filter had been changed to a new one. Just checked.

New idea
 

So a friend of mine told me that someone else I know also had a similar problem with his volvo. On acceleration, there's a lack of power and black smoke.

His fault was the turbo. After getting a new one everything worked fine as it should.

Does anyone know if the turbo could be at fault here and how to diagnose it?

hi did your dpf get reset on the car ie like when you have a service.
I read some where that the dpf counters have to be reset back to zero.
I could be wrong but its worth a look .

No I have not had the possibility of reseting the computer as all garages/services are still shut/don't reply to my calls/voicemails.

But I'm still trying to get booked in. Non of my scanners work so I need to get a volvo one specifically so I can't do anything on my own.

No forum members near you with Vida?

white smoke/black smoke does sound like a fuel delivery issue. (I agree with maurice mynah) - I would double check your fuel filter and make sure its a genuine volvo one.

I had no end of issues with my engine and after a long time found out my in tank fuel pump was failing, the clue was the fuel filter was out of shape (vacuum). A sticky vaned turbo is a good shout too.

As you are after suggestions, I just thought I would throw it in the mix for your consideration, its not a diagnosis.

Update: Went to get a diagnostic. Volvo dealership ruined it
 

So the mechanics and dealerships are finnaly opening up, and I had the chance to book in a diagnostics test to see what's wrong. The dealership pretty much made it worse.

So on the day I went to get a diagnostics test done from the volvo dealership, I arrived like normal. The car drives pretty much normal, smooth with just lack of power. Got the car back in the afternoon, and that's when the problems started.

First, they didn't even want the mechanic to come out to talk to us about the problem they found. The first time that's happened. I've been to no other place where they don't want a mechanic to come out.
Second, the report diagnostic that they did give me is borderline useless. They outlined things that don't work, such as the DPF filter. Shame, I guess it's beyond cleaning cause I've got it cleaned twice now. They also outlined that their generic MAF sensor isn't generic and I need to get a generic one(How does that work?) and that the egr valve isn't fully working. Everything else is working perfectly, expect one thing that I'll get onto later
Third, the report itself is inadequate. Not only is there like two sentences about the things not working collectively, they also don't even give you the error codes anymore. What's up with that? I was only at a dealership some 5 years ago and they gave all of the codes to me, a 10 pages booklet of all the problems and information and all of that was very usefull. Nothing of that here!
And here's the biggest issue: Fourth. After a few discussions, they mentioned how the engine's very uneasy and sounds like a cylinder not working. I took it as a joke because why would a cylinder not work? I delivered the car with everything working. So then I go to pickup my car and indeed. The engines very rough with pretty much no power. And indeed one of the cylinders does infact seem to not be working. In the report is says "misfire detected." Car should display "check engine" at least, but my dash is completely clear.

The car's now in limp mode, barely been able to do 5mph. Had to get towed to get back home. The dealership should be ashamed. Made my drivable car literally unusable after a simple diagnostics test. They quoted me a £3500 fix for the DPF filter alone and with that they didn't even guarantee that the car will run after that. Never going there again. Makes me not want to get a Volvo ever again.

So now I'm one car down. Stuck at home and waiting till my mechanics around me open back up and see what can be done from there. And I'm never returning to that place. New filter is about £300 on eurocarparts and I'll do it myself.

So yea. There's the little update with a small rant. Never go to a dealership, not even for a diagnosis check to see how well your car's doing.

One thing that springs to mind is that on the 5 cylinder engines, there was an issue at some point that the wiring would break for the injector, I think it was either 1 or 5. That could be the cause of your current issue, especially if they've been poking around in the engine bay.
What I can't believe is that they left it like that when it wasn't that bad when it came in. I too haven't felt the love from the dealer network but I wouldn't expect something like that.

Shocking story. Conmen and thieves sheltering behind the Volvo brand. Disgraceful!

25th November update, still nowhere
 

Crazy to think 169 days have passed since my last update. Progress has been made however the problem has not yet been fixed.

Over the last few months other mechanics have opened up again and we've been able to start working on the car slowly. What has been done:

• A new DPF filter
• New DPF filter accompanying sensors
• A new EGR valve
• And I think 2 other parts that I'm forgetting about

After the new parts were installed that were outlined as not working by the volvo dealership we were hoping that the car would run again like it should but no luck. Our mechanis said we should look for a diesel specialist who can induvidually check injectors. Found one not far and after some delays they got to inspect the car.

At first the diagnosis was electrical, however after more testing each injector was in perfect working condition, yet cylinder 4 still has no change in how it runs if injectors are swapped around or even if turned off, and when turned off the huge amount of smoke stops.

They wanted to do a compression check but they didn't have the sizes to fit my engine. I've found another mechanic that does and hopefully do it there.

The current hope is that some valves are to be blamed but still can't be sure. Otherwise will mean a complete dissasembly of the engine block right down to the cylinders. Will hopefully learn more next week.

So yea, pretty much a small update into the journey of fixing my car that has taken more than a year. Is it fooling to keep throwing money at a car that refuses to be fixed? Maybe, but I at least hope you get to enjoy reading this adventure :DD

I’d cut your losses and move on. It can be hard to give up but I have a lesser problem with an “engine system service required” fault that I’ve had a full diagnostic on, a smoke test, replaced the sensor on the intercooler as diagnosed...which didn’t work; replaced the sensor on the inlet which didn’t work, and as mine is just a warning with no loss of power, I’ll live with it as my car is at 200,000 miles and worth nothing despite otherwise running faultlessly and being reliable with good body work and interior.

I guess it’s easy for me to say as I’ve only spent about £250 and a few hours of my own time on it but you can end up throwing parts, money and time chasing elusive fixes.

I would move on if I knew I had a long way to go, however it constantly feels like the last meters of the marathon. So far it's been an endless chase of fixing a fault just to discover there's another one after that, that prevents the car from running.

Really unlucky I guess to for some 10+ parts to fail all on the same day. I'll do the compressions check and then see form there. A shame, all these new parts and still no result.

Since March when I last posted on this thread, you set about buying a VIDA/DiCE and have not mentioned using it. Surely the logical way to attack this problem is diagnostics first and part replacement afterwards. Seems like a lot of parts have been needlessly replaced without a clear strategy through a diagnosis. What is VIDA now saying? Or did I miss something?

Since the time you linked me the diagnostics tool I've always been on the verge of buying it, however as the car spends most of the time with mechanics, what would my diagnostics tool do that theirs woudn't. At least that was my thinking.
Funny you mention that because last night I was about to buy the diagnostics tool, but as I'm going to a different mechanic tommorow, thought might as well wait a bit... again.

Maybe in the next hour I might pull the trigger. Don't see myself driving any other brands so will come in handy.

find out which diagnostic tool they are useing some just rely on cheap code readers which cannot read all the modules this might be why you have bought parts that dont resolve your problem good luck with your new mechanic

I've tried 4 different OBD readers, each around £100 and none of them work. For some reason most don't work in Europe but do in USA.
The scanners that the various mechanics had ranged from £4000 to £8000. That's not an option, bascially a new car for me.

good luck with your next car it sound like you need it. its so frustrating when so called experts cant solve a problem even with expensive kit . let us know what you go for next.

I think a compression test might reveal all. If it comes back good then we get vida on it.

I would strongly recommend the Vida / Dice unit. Speak to a forum member called Cherished5, he tests them & then sells them to forum members, obviously you pay a small premium for his time but it saves a lot of head scratching & to and fro.

I do think there's a level of skill involved here. As the saying goes, "diagnostics are only as good as the person using them". So if the person using the expensive scan tools doesn't actually understand how to troubleshoot etc, then all you're doing is paying for someone to plug in an expensive tool, paying for potential repairs & in reality, they don't know what they're doing. Obviously, scan tools reveal codes & offer guidance as to what the issue(s) may be, but fixing & understanding the processes involved, or even other potential culprits that may be causing x code is the skill. One could say, "Well, a Mechanic will know that"... Not necessarily.

There's plenty of Mechanics out there that can change your brake pads & discs, but face them with a complicated diagnostics problem & they won't have a clue. I'm not a mechanic, nor am I an expert. I do know from experience though that good Mechanics that understand diagnostics are hard to come by, so are ones that don't charge through the roof.

If you plan on sticking with the Volvo brand & doing your own DIY work, then VIDA/Dice is certainly worth investment. Even if you don't stick with Volvo, you can still sell the equipment to someone on here for example by posting a thread advertising it. By doing so, you'll recoup the majority of the cost (providing its working & is in decent condition). Of course, having your own equipment means there's a learning curve, but that's the interesting part. Not forgetting that you won't have to be paying garages to plug their scan tools in, as you'll be able to do it yourself if you have your own VIDA/DICE setup. If you don't do much DIY work, then VIDA/DICE probably won't be of much use to you.

I know that this must be really frustrating for you bringing the car to a dealership etc & still not being any further along. I'm not going to paint all dealerships with the same brush because there's some good ones out there, but I think this is a classic example of the point I'm making... Even "mechanics" in some of the dealerships don't know what they're doing! Yes, that's crazy I know, but its true.

You need to bring the car to a place that actually knows what they're doing. My advice would be to find a good independent Volvo garage. Dealerships are expensive in many respects (high labour charges etc), so look for a small independent garage that specialises in Volvo's. Are these "mechanics" that you're bringing the car to experienced in Volvo's, or do they just work on all types of cars? Numerous parts have been changed on your car, which I imagine cost a lot of money. I know you may feel that you're at the latter stages of a marathon, but the question is, how far is there to go? You could be talking a few hundred in parts, or much more in the worst case scenario.

A good, honest garage will advise you on costs & whether its really worth fixing in their opinion (based on the age of the car etc). Now, you're going to ask what garages do people recommend. I'm not in your neck of the woods, but someone closer to your locality may know.

Personally, I wouldn't keep bringing the car to a mechanic, paying him to fix x part, then bringing it to another mechanic to fix y part. Find a decent garage that can do the work for you & do a proper job (the garage needs to be equipped with VIDA too, hence a Volvo specialist ideally). If you plan on tackling jobs yourself, then you need VIDA or know someone with it that could plug your car in for beer money/their time.

Don't keep spending money on replacing part after part, going to one mechanic & then to another. In my view, that's a pointless exercise.