Main dealer cambelt change and major service cost
 

Hi,

My local dealer has quoted me £1100 for a cam belt change and major (144k miles) service for my VEA D4 V60. They have offered to do the work at a reduced rate of £986. Last time I had a major service the cost was £400 so I'm assuming they are charging around £600 for the cambelt. This is a bit more than I was expecting, but has anyone else had this work done and, if so, what were you charged?

Thanks.

Have you checked using the On-Line service calculator on the Volvo Website.

I followed advice on here and avoiding the dealer for a service and going to my local garage. A third of the Volvo quoted cost.

Cheers

Curious about the cost of this too.

Just had my 5 year service done (original 5 year pack), I suspect next year is "the biggie" - my mileage will still be under 90k, so I will be looking into this next summer.

As well as an indie Volvo specialist in Leicester (most likely choice - I do know them), there do appear to be a couple of garages who seem to specialise in cam belt changes (eg, https://www.timingbeltsrus.co.uk !!)
I wonder if that makes their work any better....

just be prepared for a few minor problems , you do get what you pay for . Hopefully you will be using volvo parts ...

I had mine done at 98000.Cambelt and everything needed for the 108,000 mile service £530 @my local indy.

Argh... how much???

Now on 78k miles so will get the next service in well below the new cambelt replacement interval of 90k miles, so avoiding the extra whack for the cambelt change. However the service after that won't be getting done by a Volvo dealer!

Main dealer cam belt and auxiliary belt kit £444.00 fitted. Just hauled my S11a back from 3 days Goodwood Revival duties and with over 100k on the clock the VEA still impresses.
As it's worked hard I am sticking to main dealer despite the pain.
If LR main dealer wants to work on my S11a they would need to pay me.:shades_smile:

Has anyone performed a cambelt + waterpump change themselves?

I'm very hands on and would like to give this a go obviously using the correct tooling. I have VIDA, hence this should give me a good guide. I can only assume its the little tricks of the trade that would obviously hinder the time it takes.

Cam change belt @ £299 or cam belt and aux belts @ £399 - that's at Snows Volvo (you can look it up on the Internet). Price is good, had it done myself nearly one month ago now and I cannot recommend them highly enough.

Major service should be in a vicinity of £400, I would think?

So the price you were given is way off the mark - I fear you are being taken for a ride.

So, worth asking for detailed breakdown and checking what's included - I suspect that aux belts might (unnecessarily) be thrown in as well.

And worth checking Volvo Service Price Indicator either:

https://www.volvocars.com/uk/own/mai...rice-indicator

And show around.

Yours isn't a VEA. Don't know why but it looks like the VEA cambelt costs more to replace.

So, I have looked on the Volvo service price indicator. Because they recently changed the cambelt service interval it is not as straightforward as plugging in my current mileage because the new interval for replacement falls on a minor service at 90k miles rather than a major service at 144k miles. The minor service and cambelt change cost (inc aux belts) is £855. The difference between a major and minor service is £180. Therefore my quote of £1000 is there or thereabouts. The cost for the cambelt change on its own is approx £580.

Curious why the aux belts would be unnecessary.
IF they are easiest done at the same time, then surely doing them would make sense.
Of course, I've no idea what aux belts actually are, so don't pay too much attention to me :D

Wow, didn't know that newer car could be that more expensive where regular maintenance is taken into account.

I should not be that surprised though - I do recall notice on the wall @ VOLVO West London seen earlier this year indicating two different prices for air-con service: for cars up to 2015 (£129, I think), and from 2015 onwards (£199).

Draw your own conclusions...

On the gas, it's a simple conclusion! The newer car uses a more expensive environmental friendly gas due to what is allowed these days.

Extortionate price... Don't pay it! Go to an Independent Volvo Specialist if possible & they'll do the same job at a fraction of the cost using genuine parts. Alternatively, go to a trusted garage & ask them to do the work using genuine parts, or buy them yourself & ask them to fit them for you.

It makes sense to change the aux belts & tensioner whilst the timing is being done & it would be peace of mind for you taking the mileage on the vehicle into consideration.

I have done a couple of Vauxhall Omega V6 cambelts with waterpump. Being a DOHC V6 means 4 camshafts - so quite a complex setup. However, I only attempted it due to masses of info on how to do it via online forums supporting an engine which was well out of dealer service & into DIY territory. This worked well & forum members would loan each other the locking kits etc with loads of advice & help being there if needed. So, would I do it on my 5 cyl Volvo engine. Not without that level of support being available no. I’m only on 30k miles on a 17 plate anyway, so many years from needing a cambelt doing - & will probably have sold the car by then anyway.

Cheers

You are correct it would be madness not to change both at the same time.

Just like to add, Main dealer have widely varied price.

Cheapest main dealer quote I found £420 Cambelt + Aux belt + tensioner + £200 essential service

Cheapest Independent Quote £766 for the same Job.

Curious which main dealer and Indy you found for these.

Coming up to 6 years next month....but still under 80k miles - a combination of using our Kona EV more these days, plus COVID: getting about 3 weeks per gallon on the Volvo ;)

Pretty sure the main dealer told me I happily/safely consider leaving them another year when I’m nearer 90k Miles.....might put that expense off another year...

I was definitely advised on this course of action in Febuary by my local Volvo dealership at service number 6 (@82k miles) - the only caveat on this was unless I thought I'd go well over 90k miles before the next service (which I said not)... as things have turned out, I've so far done less than 2k miles and may even get away with it for another year!

I don't see why replacing the aux belt(s) on the VEA engine is so critical? I understand the need on the older 5-cylinder engine where aux belt failure can lead to cam belt breakage, but this is not an issue on the VEA.

This thread has become a slightly jumbled mess where non-VEA owners have been contributing.

I have recently changed which main dealership I use, but in the same area. As a result of this, I had to change the service plan I had. Changing the plan provider and extending it has resulted in the monthly price dropping by over £10 per month.
I fully accept the engine in my car is the old 5 cylinder version.
For the information of any interested members this new plan has the cam belt change factored into it. Something I requested. It is listed that the service and cam belt change for me at today's prices would be £794.99, this is planned in to be done in 4 years time. It should be well under mileage spec's but I'd rather be safe than sorry. A service with an auxiliary belt is priced in at £410.
I also accept that dealership rates differ around the Country.

To update this, just checked with my local guy, and he will do this for £400 with the genuine kit. D4. he has done belt changes on my previous cars.
Aux belt included with a water pump change.

why overcharge you by £100 for water puimp? and what is he fitting , a non volvo one?

Cam belt and service cost
 

Had my cam belt and aux belt and all tensioners done at main dealers today £595

Service
 

Just to ad volvo water pump is lifetime guarantee and are not changed on timing belt change.

Is that a D4 ‘newer’ engine?

Hes not very good value if he is charging you for a water pump you don't need.

I would be concerned as to how familiar he really is with these motors if he is slapping on a new pump as a matter of course. Volvo do not programme a replacement in at belt change time (and you can bet your pension that they would if there was the slightest need to do so and they could make a profit from it) and anything other than an OE pump is going to be far weaker than the item your clever man has just thrown in the bin.

You have just learned first hand the difference between "cheap" and "good value".

D6 Plugin hybrid belts change
 

I just did my V60 D6 plugin hybrid cambelt. It was a very time consuming job. Due to the position of the high voltage cables which run between the engine and the wing right in front of the cambelt access is challenging. I changed the water pump in addition to both belts.


The auxiliary belt drives the high voltage starter generator using a standard belt as used on other D5 engines and the timing belt, idlers and tensioner are the same as usual so parts aren't expensive.


VIDA doesn't make clear that it's necessary to remove the auxiliary belt tensioner bolt in order to get enough slack to get the auxilliary belt onto the pulleys.


Being retired taking two days wasn't a problem.


There's scant description of working on electric vehicles as yet on youtube but as things are moving in that direction perhaps they'll arrive before too long.


I changed the belts due to the ten year age rather than mileage. The engine has done 80,000 miles whereas the car has done 106,000. This no doubt explains the good fuel economy also.

It's long established good engineering practice on any engine to replace the water pump at the same time as the cam belt. This is simply a pro-active preventative maintenance activity as most of the labour involved in a water pump change is needed as part of the belt and tensioners swap so the extra cost of doing it at the same time is virtually parts only.

Most cars will only have one maybe 2 belt changes in their lifetime so makes sense to not have to do a failed water pump out of step with belt changes.

Of course some engines have easier access to these jobs so the case for the preventative maintenance can differ to a degree depending on the car.

It's a matter of choice at the end of the day but as an Engineer I would say it's a big ask of a water pump's bearings/impeller and seal to go to the 2nd cambelt change interval (which I'm guessing could be 12 years or 180k miles) without failing.

Of course Volvo won't care about your water pump failing in between cam belt changes - why would they?

Interesting view.

If the *manufacturer* disagrees with a broad brush-stroke general statement on “good engineering practice”, I have to say I would be inclined to side with the manufacturer 🤷

You really think Volvo wouldn’t care about the publicity associated with a bunch of failures later on?

I plan to get a couple of quotes (main dealer and local respected indy) and then likely go with the indy - I suspect theirs will be a couple of hundred lower….I’ll let you know what they recommend!

You highly underestimate Volvos engineering and parts quality ... Its not a "normal" car .. thats why you bought one right? Obviously a water pump failure is an engine wrecker so that is why they chose the very best components available on it .
I have been working on volvos professionally since before these water pumps were introduced in 1990 in the 960 , I have not heard of or seen one water pump failure irrespective of mileage .. These pumps continue on the current engines . The only water pumps I change are those non volvo ones which some back street garage fitted previously whilst throwing the perfectly good high quality volvo pump in the bin ! The non volvo pumps have a very short life span just like a "normal" car ....

At the risk of siding with Clan on this one and once again being branded the "usual suspects...."

Think of it like this (I've made the figures up but I don't think they're fanciful):

First cambelt change - risk of water pump failing before next cambelt change:

Retain original pump: 0.02%
Replace pump with genuine Volvo: 0.01%
Replace pump with quality aftermarket: 0.1%
Replace pump with cheap part : 1%+

Second cambelt change - risk of water pump failing before 3rd:

Retain original pump: 0.04%
Replace pump with genuine Volvo: 0.01%
Replace pump with quality aftermarket: 0.1%
Replace pump with cheap part : 1%+

I would say, if you are of the opinion that you want to reduce the risk of a pump failure, however small that maybe, the replace it - but only with a genuine one. This doesn't factor in the risk of "disturbance" - i.e. the new pump not fitted well and leaks from day 1 from the gasket line...

By quality aftermarket - I would say only 3-4 manufacturers fit this like SKF - not "First Line" etc. They key point is if you remove your genuine, factory pump and replace it with something that cost £25 on e-bay you are likely in the region if 50-100 times plus more likely for it to fail in the next cycle than if you left the original. I've thought about that carefully and I think it's fair to say it.

I can't understand why someone thinks they know better than the people that designed and built the car. If Volvo say do it, then do so. If Volvo say leave it alone then leave it alone.

When changing cambelt last year I asked for a quote from official garage I go to, and when it came back it didn't have the water pump listed. I was pleased because I've read a lot about this Volvo pumps, their impeller (metal, not plastic like most of other cars have), and finally when I brought the car to them I asked - why no pump, on all my other cars it was always changed together - to which he replied "why, do you have any problems? Leaks? Because I'd be glad to replace it and take your money and your "old" pump and put it on another car, making everybody happy in the process: just tell me why you want it changed? Because Volvo said not to change it except if it makes problems"

That garage is family-owned, one of the first in my country, with long history and good reputation, and he inherited this business from his father, and is now in his 50s, and said also that he works there since he could hold a wrench, always was in the shop even as a kid, and he never ever saw a waterpump fail since they started using this model in early 90s.

I don't know, but I tend to believe him and all the write-ups I saw on the web about this very same thing. He could've taken my money, use my (used) pump for another car, and I would never know.

Oh yeah, he also said one other interesting thing: he said "Not all Bosch is Bosch. There are products labeled as "bosch", as "Bosch" and "BOSCH", and there IS a difference. They know they can't live only on best quality superior parts, they need cheaper parts too, so they label them differently - tolerances are much smaller on more premium parts and bigger on cheaper parts. Sure, not even the cheapest Bosch will be as bad as some no-name thing from e-bay, but surely there is a difference between "bosch" and "BOSCH".

I agree 100% with him .and that goes for BOSCH too , those halfords ones barely last one season . There are various qualities of Bosch, SKF etc as with many manufacturers . Volvo always use the very best available .

yes it very fair to air our thoughts and share our many decades of volvo experience with these newbies who are used to " ordinary" cars ... :-)

Another part is the old 850 cam belt tensioner , they were never ever changed and never failed either , if you take one apart you will see why ...

Volvo could have kept that going on the later engines rather than using cheaper ones as they did and getting the owner to pay for a new one every time the belt was changed .

I bought my XC60 from a long standing car dealer and was told cam belt had just been changed. There was paperwork supporting this from an independent garage but the cambelt kit on the invoice is a Gates part no. Not sure if they did the water pump or not at the same time. Now I'm wondering if I need to check and maybe have the whole job done again! :speechless-smiley-5

I wouldn't sleep at night if that was me . sounds like a typical case of a independent garage throwing away a virtually everlasting waterpump and replacing it with one that will fail sooner or later. not to mention the cam and aux belts and tensioner . they would put on the cheapest they could find .
Not that the belt will fail particularly , but we have zero experience of how long it will last . With the volvo parts the quality is known and proved over several decades now . The quality of the non volvo water pumps is known now after quite a few failing in the last 5 years ..

The aux belt on the 5 cylinder diesel must be changed every 54000 miles too . ( but it's tensioner every 108000 with the cambelt )

I use Quinton Hazell and couldn't see any difference between the original Volvo branded pump and the QH replacement. The same applied to the belt, tensioner and idler. The waterpump looked like it came out of the same factory.


Many parts on the V60 are Ford branded.