V70: CEM Problem

[Steve Hac]

Evening

extremely fed up V70 owner here. It's my wife's car an 05 plate only done
18k miles. In September we had a problem where the car shut down whilst I was driving - local dealer said the CEM needed changing - £1k bill.

Some ten weeks later same problems again - local dealer have it in and check it over - they tell me that a drain plug was blocked and water had got into the CEM, cleaned and dried it out - no charge even though they had the car overnight - drove fine for a fortnight and then tonight the car has shut down again whilst driving. I phone the dealer who informs me that the likelihood is a new CEM and I will have to pay as the problem was a blocked drain plug - apparently I should have the bonnnet up and check this weekly, like oil, water and tyres.
I was a bit suspicious because
1 - I don't believe the problem will arise in the 10 or so weeks since it was changed - the car is washed weekly
2 - why didn't they charge me last time if they thought the problem was of my doing
3 I assume this was the reason the first CEM packed in but they didn't unblock the drain - if it was an accumulation of crap over 4.5 yrs I could in part understand it.

Opinions advice?

cheers
Steve

[gmain1967]

I'd ask them why THEY didn't apprently check the drain plug when THEY first replaced the CEM, if they're going to make out it was your doing and something that is meant to be checked weekly...

On the other side, I would have thought that this was rather an inherent problem and that the CEM should not be so exposed to water. My background is circuit boards and many applications were automotive which had to be "failsafe" (abs units, airbag circuits etc, as well as avionics and military).

If the CEM is potentially as exposed as it seems, it should, IMO, be hermetically sealed. Pain in the butt if a component fails, but keeps everything short of a nuclear blast out!!!

I'll ask my mate at Volvo dealer if they've heard of this failure.

[Ben Hur]

You're not the only one, have you seen this:

V70 CEM drowned in rain

[Steve Hac]

Originally Posted by Ben Hur

You're not the only one, have you seen this:

V70 CEM drowned in rain

Cheers I had seen this when I had a quick Google earlier.

I fully intend to ask why they didn't check the drain hole when I get the car towed in tomorrow - have you tried getting the AA on a day like today??

The service manager intimated that they'd had to send a number of CEM 's back in the past only for Volvo to turn round and say because water had got in the warranty was invalid. If that is the case then certainly I feel that they are in the wrong and that is why I think they didn't charge me a couple of weeks ago when they cleared the drain. Apparently its the holes adjacent to the wipers - for any other V70 owners - clean them regularly!

[gmain1967]

Mate who used to be lead mechanic at Volvo dealer says yep "they do have a problem with that".

And that would be my retort to them.

1. Why was I not made aware of this at the outset,
2. Why was there no notification and/or recall when this became apparent as an inherent fault and, most importantly,
3. Why the hell did you (the dealer) not at the very least advise me of what had caused it in the first place, and how to prevent a recurrence?

And if that fails - contact BBC's Watchdog. I did when I was at loggerheads with Scottish Gas and bingo, as soon as they contacted them maatter resolved in my favour. Cheque came the following week!!

Best of luck aand merry christmas!

[Steve Hac]

Cheers

I'll let you know how I get on tomorrow

Steve

[Steve Hac]

Originally Posted by Steve Hac

Cheers

I'll let you know how I get on tomorrow

Steve

one other thing - beig a bit anal, i checked the owners handbook. There is no mention in the regular maintenance notes to ensure that you check these drain plugs - oil, water, tyres etc yes - making sure your CEM stays dry, no..

[grass hopper]

we had a few cems that got water in,there was a technical bulletin to all dealers,there was a repair kit and instructions how to seal the cover/area around the cem,they should check this to see if its in the chassis range.

cant believe the dealer has not fixed the root cause of the problem then blames the customer !

disgusting attitude from dealer.

[Clan]

yep , 2005 could have had this , the dealer should have fitted the waterproofing kit at the first instant .. AND replaced one or both of the plugs going into the top of the CEM if they were corroded , which is likely they were ... ask another dealer if you car has a service policy listed for it ...
up until 2005 volvo got it right , no water problems at all . then ford altered the Cem and sealing and a lot of the electronics hence the problem , only on a rare few cars its not general ...

[Steve Hac]

Right an update

Once I'd got towed in to the dealership. I was dealt with by a very obstructive service manager. No greeting, no "we need to get this problem sorted Mr H". He was also very rude to the RAC man who needed to sign the car off to the garage, he ignored him for a few minutes, even at one point walking away to another office before returning to say "I'll need to inspect the car for damage, Ive been had by your lot before".
I tried to establish why he thought this problem could be in any way NOT covered by warranty - I explained I'd done my homework, had some advice on the internet (and spoken to another dealer first thing this morning to get another opinion).
To which he retorted "Don't know how you can speak to anyone at Volvo I never can.."
he also said there WAS a waterproof casing on the new CEM - and replied "I don't know" when I asked how water getting in could be my problem through "lack of routine maintenance" if it has a waterproof case

Anyway..this afternoon he called me to say, there is no water leakage into the CEM, its faulty and will be replaced in the morning FoC.

Good news, but I still have doubts as to whether the CEM going is the cause of my problem or a result of some other electrical problem - how can I drive for four and a half years trouble free then the CEM go three times (once "dried out" to repair it and replaced twice) in three months?? I'm assured it is the problem though..

Thanks for the comments, it was good to be forewarned and as an aside I have been in touch with Volvo UK to tell them about my disappointing experience with the dealer..and the car.