D5 PowerPulse pipe bursting
 

Anyone else having ongoing issues with D5 PowerPulse pipes bursting? Mine has burst twice on an 8 week old XC90…

Have done some research, and seems to be happening quite a bit to other users.

Our local dealer was rather casual about the whole thing when I quizzed them how and why; “We frequently replace these pipes. Generally the drivers don’t even notice the reduced performance, and we replace them when the cars come in for routine servicing.” I wonder how many underperforming D5 engines are out there?

The pipe is black rubber and about 20mm or ¾” diameter. It looks very similar to a hydraulic hose, with crimped metal fittings, also looking similar to the hydraulic type.

Attachment 122127

The first burst was at a joint in the centre of the pipe directly below the engine where the pipe traverses from right to left, pretty much between the front wheels. (Sorry about the poor quality images – they are screen shots from the dealer health check video.) I think a under-car cover will have to be removed to see the pipe.

Attachment 122123
Attachment 122124

The second burst was where the pipe terminates at the exhaust manifold end, and is easily visible by lifting the bonnet.

Attachment 122125
Attachment 122126

Anyone know why these pipes keep bursting? Seems to me it is not necessarily the pipe itself, but may be the compressor ‘over pumping’ or some other control failure etc. The pipe could be the symptom, not the cause. Seems the dealers keep fitting new pipes without finding the route cause…

I am very surprised that these pipes continue to burst on new cars as these were subject to a TJ and routinely replaced during service, and one would assume to be stronger or better produced pipe, it looks like the are still fitting poor produced pipes or as you say there is another cause. I have not had one burst but mine was replaced under the TJ at service time, several other owners have had them burst.

I've had several pipes burst, even had the car taken in on the back of a lorry for one. I love many things about the car, but really do not like the engine.

You have to ask yourself:

1. Why has the PP engine only been in production for 3 years before being replaced?
2. Why do Volvo specifically not cover hoses in their extended warranty?
3. And maybe why had BMW, JLR, Merc etc. all continued to offer stronger 6 cylinder engines in all their larger cars.

I think the XC90 was pretty revolutionary for Volvo, and turned the company around, but the engine will never go down in history as one of their greats!

:wq

1. The engine is not being replaced. The PP system is just redundant because of the mild hybrid replacement which promises around 15% better fuel economy.
2. Very few, if any brand covers hoses, fluids, filters, gaskets, batteries, some exhaust parts, brakes and many other exclusions in their extended warranties. Some are not even covered by their standard new car warranty.
4. While others may offer more powerful six and eight cylinder engines, they also sell four cylinder engines that are just as powerful as Volvo's, certainly fuelled by diesel oil.

Maybe so, technology has moved on, and mild hybrid is certainly the engine tech for new cars in 2019, but I still think it says something that so many people have had issues with hoses in the PP engine, and Volvo have discontinued it after only 3 years production.
While I appreciate that break pads, discs, fluids etc are not covered by a standard warranty, I asked the service representative at Ray Chapman Volvo in York whether there were any differences between the standard 3 year warranty and the extended warranty I was purchasing to take my car up to 5 years. He explained the the cover was identical, with the exception of pipes, which are not covered by the extended warranty, but were covered by the standard warranty.[/QUOTE]
They do to tick boxes, but clearly recognise there is still a place for more powerful 6 cylinder engines in their larger cars. Audi and VW don't offer a 4 cylinder, and the Disco 4 cylinder offer so little saving (both purchase price an economy) over the 6 cylinder, that I personally believe very few would by it.[/quote]

:wq

1. It's just a pipe. Not rocket science you would think and certainly not why they cease fitting PP to current European spec diesels. They may well continue to offer it in other markets with lower fuel costs and less stringent emission regulations. Most engine manufacturers offer many variations of their engines at the same time to send to different markets.

2. Are you sure he was not just telling you what he thought you wanted to hear? I have yet to see an extended insurance-type warranty, which is what the Volvo extended warranty is, without some extra excursions in the small print. I've got an extended warranty on my CR-V up to six years of age and although I did notice some extra exclusions, I forget what they were just now, I do not recall pipes being among them. Nevertheless its all in the contract you get to sign, so even if there is some misunderstanding later, it can all be referenced and the lack of pipe cover is hardly significant.
There are plenty of hydraulic suppliers that could make up a pipe with unions seen in the pictures out of nice flexible three wire ply 5500 pounds per square inch hose that would last forever with the relatively low pressure of air produced by the onboard compressor. It will not be much over 100psi at an educated guess. The trick is to clamp the pipe so that it doesn't chafe against anything when the air pulse is released.

3. If you want a six cylinder, then Volvo is not for you. As far as LR go, by far the majority of their Velar, F-Pace and a high proportion of their Discovery5 and Range Rover Sport are sold with four cylinder Diesel engines. The higher up the price tree you go, the less four cylinder vehicles are sold in proportion. However, up to around the £60,000 mark in current models, four cylinder LR and RR engines dominate. My friend has recently changed his 240hp Velar four cylinder for another Velar with the less powerful 180hp engine. For myself, I have a deposit down on a LR Defender which will certainly be with the 240hp four cylinder and I would not consider the Ford V6 [they turn bearings] or the 3.0 straight six which will not even be available for another two years apparently.

Its not as if I have not had multi cylinder engines. My Land Cruiser Amazon has a 4.2 straight six and I've had Range Rover and BMW straight six, Mercedes straight five as well as Audi straight five and V6, and Jaguar petrol V8 engines. If I told you that the Volvo four cylinder two litre diesel in the XC90 performs better and uses less than half the fuel per mile than the four litre Jaguar AJV8 in the XK8, would you believe me? Well it is true.

Power Pulse Pipe Burst Again
 

The problem is so bad that my local Volvo dealer told me to visually check the hose once a week, though a failure is very obvious when driving due to the slow response.

When I was talking to the Technician it was obvious that there is a complete lack of understanding on compressed air. I want go into the technicalities but confusing mbar with bar is only a factor of 1000 out.

If my hose fails after the warranty runs out, I will be contacting a hose specialist rather than installing the poor quality units Volvo supplu

I’m not sure how long this had been split, but I noticed this just before the warranty expired in June. Car had covered 13,600 miles at this point.

I hadn’t noticed any difference in ‘performance’ and to be fair, it looks as if it’s only the outer sheath that had gone by this stage, but certainly enough to expose the inner braiding.

Again, the dealer wasn’t particularly surprised...

This portion of the Power Pulse hose runs over the top of the transmission and is only visible when the air box is removed.

So I had mine replaced about 3 months ago when going in for brake pads at around 26k they noticed it had gone. They replaced a few weeks later.

About a month ago I was sat in traffic on a village high street and heard an almighty bang. Got out of my car and walked around to see anything obvious but couldn’t see anything. I figured it might have been an old van passing backfiring.

I was browsing this forum a few weeks ago and read about the massive bang. Car went in for service yesterday (3 years) and the pipe had burst at the crimping between the two wheels. Hose replaced again.

I asked if the new pipe had any kind of extended warranty with it as the car warranty will expire next week. I refuse to pay for extended warranties - they are a scam, and this is a known existing issue. Was told that they don’t know, would be down to Volvo goodwill. I’ll be keeping a close eye and no way am I spending a single penny on powerpulse hose replacements.