D2 running issues - advice wanted

[Multiplex]

There has been a very recent new softeare release for the D2 engine for those that are still having problems.

[faffi]

I had the very latest installed this Tuesday.

Personally, I don't think it is software related anymore. The only difference I've had with the two latest updates recently is an increase in fuel consumption together with a mismatch between consumption and computer. But since my car have good days and bad days, and even good and bad periods within a drive, and seems unaffected by temperature and distance etc. I think there must be something different, something periodic. But I could of course be wrong.

[faffi]

Going through my notes, it could of course still be SW related. In fact, the best SW of them all was the one that the car came with. Fuel consumption was fairly high, but the computer and actual consumption agreed and the only issue was a hesitation from time to time when picking up the throttle after a period of trailing throttle in the upper gears, This hesitation gave a couple of knocks from the drive train and you could feel it. But taking off or creeping along or cleaning of the DPF etc. - all the issues I have now didn't exist then. OTOH, the original hesitation in the taller gears is gone. Had I known then what I know now I'd have kept the original SW.

[lcnar01]

Originally Posted by SonyVaio

TBH it is not the S40/V50 that is the problem, most S40/V50 owners are very happy. It just seems to be this D2 to engine that causes all the problems.

Hope they manage to sort something out soon for you as it sounds like a complete PITA!

I agree with you that it is the D2 version that is the problem. But if the V50 had been discontinued last year I would not have been able to buy the D2!
I actually quite like the rest of the car, but regret very much buying the D2 version which Volvo seem quite unable to fix to my satisfaction. Faffi and myself seem to be having so many problems that I find it unbelievable that this PSA/Ford engine is so widely used across so many vehicles. If they all ran like ours I think it would be headline news, so I can only assume that the problem is specific to a small number of Volvo models. If this is correct, then Volvo should do something about it, taking the vehicles back if necessary.
Happy Christmas to everyone.

[stevep999]

Other than the trip stating mpg is naff, real seems better, mine seems to run ok. Is it best just to not worry about trying to get the trip more accurate for the sake of rest running ok ?

[faffi]

Well, there may have been some progress... sort of. Sorry for the length - again - but since it's only of interest to the limited few anyway, I felt I could indulge myself

Yesterday, I drove the car together with the mechanic and a representative from Volvo. Of course, the car had decided to be on its best behaviour lately, but I managed to get some of the power fluctiations going to give them an idea - only to multiply by 5 and add some serious knocking from the drivetrain.

The rep said it was normal because the car was struggling too much to idle along in second gear in the 950-1300 rpm range. He also said the clutch could take a hell of a beating and that it was better to ride the clutch than let the car idle along in traffic. Finally, I should ignore the shifting indicator and run a gear or two lower than the car suggested. In other words, rev the snot out of it.

Since then, I have done just that; keeping revs above 1500 and preferably above 2000 rpm. It feels silly to do 2200 rpm in first when I could be sitting at 1300 in 2nd, but I'm willing to experiment. At 40 mph I may still keep it in 3rd instead of 4th or 5th. During acceleration, I shift in the 3000-3500 rpm range.

It does seem to have helped quite a bit. Strangely, the very same kind of hard-ish driving early in the car's life made it run terribly all the time, so obviously something have changed with the last two updates. I have now done 2 full trips to and fro work without a single annoying nudge from the engine. That's the good part. The bad part is that I still consider the product defect as long as it cannot be drivven within the range specified with the factory. In my world, the ideal way to drive it should be to never have the arrow up or arrow down shown in the display. It appears that so may not be the case.

I will see how it goes over days. Also, they will send a flight recorder that will be able to record 30 seconds before and 30 seconds after I push the record button. And it can do this exactly once. Wow. Wonder how racing teams have been able to download hours of information uninterrupted for decades if it's so difficult that in 2012 Volvo can only record one minute - and the thing is so special it will have to be sent in from somewhere.

[SonyVaio]

My concearn would be are they going to warrant the premature failure of the clutch or DMF due to their recommendation to 'ride the clutch'.

Secondly! - Why would you want to and why should you have to run the car constantly in a lower gear so that the engine is revving higher, costing more fuel and wear on the engine and against the whole reason for buying a Eco friendly D2 in the first place?

I find the recommendations you have been givin to be completely against the grain and the opposite to what you should have to be doing for normal driving. I know I still wouldn't be very happy with the situation.

[faffi]

I agree - it's also totally against the manual. Strangely enough, though, it seems like the consumption quickly dropped to my usual values once the car realized the high rpm running wasn't a one-off occurrence. It will be interesting to see if that holds true at the pump as well, or if it's just the onboard computer. But if the consumption is similar, I can drive with elevated rpm - although I now must change gears a hell of a lot more than before. It's similar to riding my single cylinder motorcycle where there's only one gear useful for any given speed. Riding the clutch is not an option, however, no matter what the rep said.

[faffi]

Using high-ish rpm and lower gears ended up with an increase in fuel consumption of about 10 %. It was also a bit tiring to drive with elevated revs. So I looked for other solutions, and ended up with this:

- Often use of half to full throttle during acceleration
- Often rev the engine to between 3000 and 4600 rpm under acceleration
- Avoid labouring the engine, meaning running a gear lower than the indicator suggest when going uphill
- Try to avoid very gentle throttle use below 1300 rpm as it seems to confuse the engine in the transition between idle and normal running

The car is a lot nicer to drive now, although not perfect. Consumption is mildly up, but nothing I worry lots about. A couple of times, the car suddenly accelerated going up a hill in second gear, like the engine grew another 1500cc, for no apparent reasonn(dead steady throttle). And revs still soar unexpectedly when taking off from a standstill every now and then. But compared to how the car has been, these things barely gets noticed.

Hopefully, it will last. I've also done some 3rd and 4th gear acceleration tests, as well as a top speed run, and the car performs at least on par with a D3 XC60 in every respect. And it's massively quicker than the V70 and S80 fitted with the 1.6D as well as quicker than the Focus featuring the D2 engine. So for the first time since I bought the car 1+ year and 11k+ miles ago I'm beginning to finally enjoy driving it

[lcnar01]

Originally Posted by faffi

Using high-ish rpm and lower gears ended up with an increase in fuel consumption of about 10 %. It was also a bit tiring to drive with elevated revs. So I looked for other solutions, and ended up with this:

- Often use of half to full throttle during acceleration
- Often rev the engine to between 3000 and 4600 rpm under acceleration
- Avoid labouring the engine, meaning running a gear lower than the indicator suggest when going uphill
- Try to avoid very gentle throttle use below 1300 rpm as it seems to confuse the engine in the transition between idle and normal running

The car is a lot nicer to drive now, although not perfect. Consumption is mildly up, but nothing I worry lots about. A couple of times, the car suddenly accelerated going up a hill in second gear, like the engine grew another 1500cc, for no apparent reasonn(dead steady throttle). And revs still soar unexpectedly when taking off from a standstill every now and then. But compared to how the car has been, these things barely gets noticed.

Hopefully, it will last. I've also done some 3rd and 4th gear acceleration tests, as well as a top speed run, and the car performs at least on par with a D3 XC60 in every respect. And it's massively quicker than the V70 and S80 fitted with the 1.6D as well as quicker than the Focus featuring the D2 engine. So for the first time since I bought the car 1+ year and 11k+ miles ago I'm beginning to finally enjoy driving it

Faffi,
Pleased to hear you are enjoying your car more. I've noticed myself that the D2 engine thrives on revs and seems to run more smoothly as a result. Unfortunately I have to drive quiet a lot in heavy traffic, where a "spirited" style of driving is impossible, but once out on the "open road" I would agree that the D2 can be a very enjoyable.