MY2016 XC90 T8 New ERAD Noise
 

Hi, new member here. I've had my 2016 XC90 since January 2020, bought in the UK and ferried back to Ireland.

In Q1 2021 I had the ERAD replaced by Spirit Volvo at no cost (which I thought was good since the car was over 4 years old).

Ten days ago (19/07/21) I started getting an engine warning light and a new noise started coming from the ERAD. It is silent when accelerating up to 7km/hour but then a fluttering/propeller type noise kicks in under load which increases in line with engine speed until, at 30km/hour and above it sounds just like a soft whine whenever the accelerator is pressed.

Brought the car back to Spirit Volvo and they diagnosed a failed hybrid battery coolant pump which was replaced. Car was with them for six days over the weekend as the part wasn't available.

Now I have the car back but the noise is still noticeably present. My wife (who barely recognises her own car at the best of times) immediately noticed the noise so although it is soft it is noticeable and, increasingly, irritating.

Has anyone come across anything similar? I have to say that the car has run faultlessly apart from the ERAD failure (and I can't fault Volvo's handling of that problem) and electric power to date has been totally silent.

Is this noise the warning of further ERAD problems to come?

Update: Had this out to Spirit Volvo and they had their two senior technicians drive in it (first with me and then together). They immediately acknowledged the issue and have diagnosed an imminently dying electric motor which will need to be replaced.

Car is 4.5 years old. I'm expecting an offer to cover 50% of the cost but not sure if I'd be happy with that because every indication is that these hybrid systems were under-engineered from the start. Anyone got any thoughts on that?

I have a quote for a repair from Spirit Volvo - €2,715 parts, €840 labour and €478 VAT.

I've requested a contribution from Volvo Ireland and will let you know how that works out.

Interested in this, believe I am currently experiencing similar and also based in Ireland.

Thanks for the updates.

Sorry, I’d don’t know these systems well. It isn’t the electric motor part of the erad system? Wouldn’t this have been changed in q1 2021? Also if it wasn’t changed then, could this have caused or have been caused by previous problem? Assuming the erad is the diff that is engine and elec motor driven. How can they tell it’s that noise? My old xc70 had rear haldex noise, they changed under warranty, but the diagnosis took ages as thoughts were tyres, bearings, even brakes first.

The ERAD is the complete unit at the back consisting of the motor and the clutch/gearing. The well publicised ERAD failures are almost exclusively the clutch/gearing which is repaired by the dealer using the repair kit. This kit is modified from the original design.

It sounds in this case that the OP has had the ERAD repair done to the clutch/gearing, but now the motor has failed too which is I think very rare.

I’d question the initial repair. Did the original fault or the repair cause this failure. Coming from a mechanical background there’s always a reason something fails

I was a little imprecise in my first post so worth taking a moment to update (though I see another member is already ahead of the game). The initial ERAD failure was attributed to the differential in the ERAD and I was told that diff was replaced. The symptoms of that were quite staggering - anytime the car tried to engage the electric motor it was juddering and jumping so as to be nearly undriveable. AA seemed to know nothing about it whatsoever but Spirit Volvo quickly diagnosed and the car seemed right as rain after the fix.

I’m delighted to hear the combined failure is rare. I have had visions of the electric motor packing in every 4/5 years in which case this would be my first and last Volvo. The symptoms this time around are a lot less striking than the previous diff failure. Just a kind of a whirring rattle from the electric motor when engaged. At higher speeds it changes to a moderately high-pitched buzz whenever the accelerator is pressed (effectively just the low-speed whir at a much higher frequency). Over the few weeks since it started it does appear to have gotten progressively worse.

The guys at Spirit Volvo were great. I booked in for the inspection (no charge, so far anyway) and they checked it out. Tyres are nearly new Vector All-Seasons. Brakes are well looked after and there’s no noise when they are engaged (either when stopping or parked). Suspension is hunky dory. Also the noise is very clearly coming from the rear where the electric motor is.

Their two most senior techs drove it and checked it out in the workshop and were confident in their diagnosis. I suppose I can’t know for sure until the motor is replaced. I’ve been getting the car serviced there so between that and the Volvo UK records they can see the full history.

Ordinarily I would be inclined to agree with you but in this case the separate faults seem to make a certain sense. Obviously the diff packing in would have had to put some extra wear on the electric motor so it may have helped to contribute to a premature failure. Incidentally there seems to be no way, even in an emergency, of shutting out the electric drive altogether (which seems like an oversight).