V40 D2 Cross Country 2014 Auto diesel 1.6 ESC fuel issues

[JamesHC]

I have just bought a 2014 from a reputable garage which has had a full service and new timing belt. After driving 50 miles the car seemed hesitant and later ESC! warning appeared with engine slowing down from 60mph to 30mph and difficulty in changing gear when pulling away at junctions and roundabouts. It had gone into Limp Mode and had to be collected by the selling garage. The garage asked if I had added fuel and promised to contact me as soon as it arrived at workshop. A few hours later I received a report stating the No.3 injector was diagnosed the problem. A "good donor" replacement and the car tested good. The garage suggested contaminated diesel was the cause but decided to use the full set of "donor injectors". On collecting the car it sounded skightly dIfferent but ran fine until I had driven 16 miles when ESC! appeared and car entered Limp Mode. Garage is suggesting on Monday they may have to send the full fuel system away for testing which will take some time and be costly. A 3 month 3,000 mile warranty was included by the garage. Loan cars have been readily provided. Has anyone had fuel contamination injector problems? Any opinions on the suggestion that bad fuel (a major busy TEXACO station) is the cause,?

[Kev0607]

Can't see how injectors have anything to do with the ESC light coming on.

ESC stands for "electronic stability control". Normally that light comes on when there's a loss of traction. A faulty wheel speed sensor can cause that, so the car thinks there's a loss of grip and applies the brakes for example.

You can get "bad" fuel from any garage, its just luck of the draw. The chances should be less likely by going to a major busy chain, but that doesn't mean it'll never happen either. If you did get a bad batch of fuel, the fuel filter should be changed in case water or debris has got into it. If its really badly contaminated, the tank might need draining and the lines going to/from the fuel pump.

I'm a bit unsure of the diagnosis though... seems odd to me. ESC has nothing to do with injectors. Its entirely possible that this car you purchased was traded in because it had a fault. You could have bought someone else's problem. Sadly, it happens.

I hope it gets sorted, but I'm not entirely convinced its an injector issue. Does the workshop have the diagnostic equipment to work on Volvo's? Did you buy it from a Volvo dealership or specialist? These cars need specialist diagnostics that an ordinary garage likely won't have.

[Moomoo]

Fuel filter definitely needs to be changed, with that engine.

[Lancee]

Reject the car and look for another one.