Powershift

[jjb]

Hi, I know there's been plenty of threads regarding Powershift issues, but I wanted to get some (possibly legal) help. I had my 2011 T5 from new, so it's 13 years old and has 115,000 miles. My problem is that the clutch had to be replaced when it was in warranty, it then had to be replaced again at around 7 years old, for which I had to pay a 10% contribution in order to be entitled to any warranty. And now it's had the same problem for over a year, but as I was "invited" to not go back to the same dealer group, my options are a bit limited. My question is, should I even bother to try to get any help/contribution from Volvo Cars UK, if not, should I go the small claims court route, or am I just been too hopeful? I know there's been a few lawsuits in U.S and Australia regrading the Ford Powershift" which have been won, but nothing that I can find for the UK. Has anyone managed to get any contribution for a anywhere near 10 year old car? if not, has anyone had the clutch replaced, and if so, how much did you pay? And was it a main dealer? Sorry, for the long rant, but any help wold be appreciated.

[MacV50]

You could try the legal route but I would suspect it would be fruitless and cost you time, money and stress

Probably not entirely the same gearbox but my aunt has a 2013 Fiesta 1.6 with a Powershift fitted. She needed a new clutch pack and had it done by a local gearbox specialist. I think it was around £800

If you do decide to get it fixed yourself. I would recommend getting a specialist who knows the 'box rather than going to a dealer as I don't believe these were very common in the UK and being 13 years old, it's unlikely they'd have a tech who knows it well

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by jjb

Hi, I know there's been plenty of threads regarding Powershift issues, but I wanted to get some (possibly legal) help. I had my 2011 T5 from new, so it's 13 years old and has 115,000 miles. My problem is that the clutch had to be replaced when it was in warranty, it then had to be replaced again at around 7 years old, for which I had to pay a 10% contribution in order to be entitled to any warranty. And now it's had the same problem for over a year, but as I was "invited" to not go back to the same dealer group, my options are a bit limited. My question is, should I even bother to try to get any help/contribution from Volvo Cars UK, if not, should I go the small claims court route, or am I just been too hopeful? I know there's been a few lawsuits in U.S and Australia regrading the Ford Powershift" which have been won, but nothing that I can find for the UK. Has anyone managed to get any contribution for a anywhere near 10 year old car? if not, has anyone had the clutch replaced, and if so, how much did you pay? And was it a main dealer? Sorry, for the long rant, but any help wold be appreciated.

I think you'd be wasting your time going down the legal route. It'd probably cost you more in legal fees than the repair would. I imagine the warranty period for the work done on the transmission has passed by now.

[jjb]

Has anyone got any contribution from volvo for anything, for an older car? It just doesn't make sense that probably one of the most expensive repairs on a car should be required three times in what I would consider not high mileage car. There's obviously a design fault, otherwise there wouldn't have been law suites won in other countries.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by jjb

Hi, I know there's been plenty of threads regarding Powershift issues, but I wanted to get some (possibly legal) help. I had my 2011 T5 from new, so it's 13 years old and has 115,000 miles. My problem is that the clutch had to be replaced when it was in warranty, it then had to be replaced again at around 7 years old, for which I had to pay a 10% contribution in order to be entitled to any warranty. And now it's had the same problem for over a year, but as I was "invited" to not go back to the same dealer group, my options are a bit limited. My question is, should I even bother to try to get any help/contribution from Volvo Cars UK, if not, should I go the small claims court route, or am I just been too hopeful? I know there's been a few lawsuits in U.S and Australia regrading the Ford Powershift" which have been won, but nothing that I can find for the UK. Has anyone managed to get any contribution for a anywhere near 10 year old car? if not, has anyone had the clutch replaced, and if so, how much did you pay? And was it a main dealer? Sorry, for the long rant, but any help wold be appreciated.

Have you had the gearbox oil and filter changed every 54000 miles or there abouts? I have found the powershift gearbox in volvos very trouble free in general when serviced properly. Are you aware that when you take off and hold the car on a hill by increasing the rpm that this is a mechanical clutch slipping and wearing when this happens? not like a hydraulic conventional Auto gearbox.

[MacV50]

Originally Posted by Clan

Have you had the gearbox oil and filter changed every 54000 miles or there abouts? I have found the powershift gearbox in volvos very trouble free in general when serviced properly. Are you aware that when you take off and hold the car on a hill by increasing the rpm that this is a mechanical clutch slipping and wearing when this happens? not like a hydraulic conventional Auto gearbox.

I suspect your awareness of the gearbox operation has saved you a lot of hassle. Unfortunately, it's not widely known about this limitation of this type of gearbox but I believe the Powershift units are more susceptible as they use dry clutches. I'm pretty sure the VAG DSG runs wet clutches which are more tolerant of abuse

The manufacturers should be making it clear that you can't hold these on a hill for long with the throttle. It'll probably be especially bad if the owners are used to torque convertor autos

[Simmy]

powershift dont like stop start traffic either they need to be driving or stopped they also dont like hard launches if breaks the shock absorbers in the clutches.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by MacV50

I suspect your awareness of the gearbox operation has saved you a lot of hassle. Unfortunately, it's not widely known about this limitation of this type of gearbox but I believe the Powershift units are more susceptible as they use dry clutches. I'm pretty sure the VAG DSG runs wet clutches which are more tolerant of abuse

The manufacturers should be making it clear that you can't hold these on a hill for long with the throttle. It'll probably be especially bad if the owners are used to torque convertor autos

They do in the owner's handbook ....


"To bear in mind
The transmission's double clutch has overload
protection that is activated if it becomes too
hot, e.g. if the car is held stationary with the
accelerator pedal on an uphill gradient for a
long time.
Overheated transmission causes the car to
shake and vibrate, and the warning symbol illuminates and the information display shows a
message. The transmission can also overheat
during slow driving in queues (10 km/h or
slower) on an uphill gradient, or with a trailer
hitched. The transmission cools down when
the car is stationary, with foot brake depressed
and the engine running at idling speed.
Overheating during slow driving in queues can
be avoided by driving in stages: Stop the car
and wait with your foot on the brake pedal until
there is a moderate distance to the traffic
ahead, drive forward a short distance, and then
wait another moment with your foot on the
brake pedal.
IMPORTANT
Use the foot brake to hold the car stationary
on an uphill gradient - do not hold the car
with the accelerator pedal. The gearbox
could then overheat."

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by jjb

Has anyone got any contribution from volvo for anything, for an older car? It just doesn't make sense that probably one of the most expensive repairs on a car should be required three times in what I would consider not high mileage car. There's obviously a design fault, otherwise there wouldn't have been law suites won in other countries.

Have you discussed this with Volvo since it happened again? How long was the warranty that they offered you when you paid the 10% contribution towards the repair?

[jjb]

I know this a long response, but please bear with me.

So, after going through about 70 pages worth of repairs, I managed to narrow it down to 9 pages relating to the gearbox. The first replacement was in Oct 2013 with 23,800 miles, so the car was less than 2 years old. This was after months of complaining about the issue, but bring treated like a complete idiot because there were no codes.

The second time, I reported it in June 2014 at 29,700 miles, but no codes, so I must have been crazy. A month later I was still crazy, so nothing done. In Feb 2015, with 34,200 miles, and the exact same symptoms, (by now it was a very common issue with the Powershift) they replaced the engine and gearbox mounts. Obviously, it didn’t fix the issue.

Sep 2015, with 38,700 miles and exact same symptoms, no fault fount, so nothing done.

Then in July 2016, with 49,100 miles and about four weeks after the warranty run out, they replaced the clutch kit, but I had to pay the 10%, and that was for only 1 year warranty. I don’t want to bore you even more with details, but due to other parts for issues which I also complained for months, and some for at lest 3 years, the contribution came to nearly £1500.

The third time, it started again around Feb 2022, but because of Covid and the fact that at the time I could not afford to replace the clutch again, it still needs the work to be carried out.

With regards to servicing, that was my first option, but the first two failures happened way before 54,000 miles. The cost is still at least £250, which would be a waste if it didn't fix the issue, although I now this has resolved it for some people. I wasn't aware of the overheating, but I never hold the car with the clutch, and have never seen any errors come up on the dash.

I suppose I just wanted to hear from someone who has had any help/contribution from Volvo UK before I give up. Thank you all for your responses.