I’ll try to be brief. Trying to help my dad.
dad has a 2014 XC60 D5 with 170k on it. Just MOT’d, one advisory, lovely car, he looks after it.
BUT for the last day 6 weeks it’s had problems starting. It always starts eventually but it takes a while. Some days it starts on the button.
So he give it to his local trusted Volvo Indy and they couldn’t diagnose it.
so he took it to Volvo and apart from giving him a list of things it needed (which it really didn’t ) they also admitted they didn’t know what the problem was.
His local garage said they didn’t want to get involved as they may end up changing all sorts and not resolve the issue which is understandable but a mechanic suggested the crank sensor may need replacing.
so he got that done. No difference - same starting issue.
last week it failed to start to he called the RAC. When they turned up it started before they touched it but the guy took a look and suggested it could relate to the immobiliser.
I guess that sounds plausible…
He wasnt too happy about the battery on it and found out it had an auxiliary battery so he replaced both at the weekend for good quality items. Now from Saturday until today it’s started with no issues whatsoever. So we thought job done!
but then today he came to mine and it was playing up again when he left with the same starting issue.
Feel a bit gutted for him now so I just thought some of you guys may have an inkling of what to look at.
I guess the immobiliser would be a place to start. What do you think?
I am sure how likely it is to find somebody who’d mess on with that…
I would appreciate any other thoughts / advice.
Define not starting.
Dead. Clicks then dead. Starter spins and engine doesn't. Engine turns over but doesn't catch. Engine catches but stalls? Any fault lights?
PS What's the battery voltage in the morning before starting, and once running? If new batteries fixed it, but a week later the fault has returned, they might not be charging properly.
Immobiliser should bring on some form of warning light, but having not worked on any Volvo's for quite a while, I'm not sure what kind of light/warning they bring on.
It really needs plugged into a computer to monitor live data when it's not starting, as that will let you rule out/in possible issues.
Sorry - Engine turns but doesn’t catch. No fault lights on dash
my money is on low battery voltage being the root cause. Probably got a parasitic drain somewhere or not charging properly (even though the light is off). Very hard to pin down unfortunately, but the fixing of the issue with new battery seems to point to that being the root cause. You could try leaving it on charge each night and see if that fixes it. If so you at least know where the problem is (even if it still isn't fixed)
Edit ot say, many modern cars really struggle to start if the voltage is below about 12.6V resting voltage
Sorry – Engine turns but doesn’t catch
Then I wouldn't expect it to be the immobiliser. If it's being stopped by that there would be no reason to allow it to turn over
Try switching off the Auto on/off thing so it stays on when you stop at lights etc (it's a button on the dash iirc). The whole stop/start thing can put a drain on the battery and maybe he isn't doing the distance to keep it charged. I'm not saying that is correct but if you do switch it off and the problem goes away then it does suggest it is battery related and gives you a line to go down
My Volvo did this and it got progressively worse over the course of a few months and eventually I got rid. But I think it had other things wrong too, that may or may not have been related. By the time it left me, it needed the DPF replacing or at least mega cleaning (if it’s a diesel maybe this could be a thing if your dad isn’t doing a lot of motorway miles?), at least one injector was ropey, the turbo was showing a fault, and it probably needed a new EGR. No one mentioned the immobiliser! It’s not starting took the form of making starting like noises, but never quite catching to keep going. Started off it would catch second go, then eighth, then first time, then back to eighth… But I think the first sign of something being wrong was a rough/irregular idle - if you sat in neutral the timing of the engine kind of changed after a bit and it felt sort of shaky. Battery was tested and was fine.
Not sure if that really helps! You want @RustyNissanPrairie for Volvos really.
<p style="text-align: left;">Glow plug relay? Had one of those go faulty on a VAG diesel and the symptoms were very similar. Sometimes started first time, sometimes turned over for ages (healthily) just didn’t catch. Cheap to fix and easy to do.</p>
Failing to start is sometimes the coil round the ignition but I'm sure it flags a message in the dash display as it can't 'see' the key immobilizer chip. Try a 2nd key or use the first key but move the 2nd key around the immobilizer coil area.
As above - is it used only on short journeys? D5's clog up badly.
Has it been plugged into VIDA (Volvo dealership/factory level dongle/diagnostics. I'm guessing it would have been at the dealership, back street indy places diagnostics are usually good enough to diagnose Volvo - it needs to be VIDA/Dice - that will show any codes stored.
Where are you/your dad?
@RustyNissanPrairie it’s been to the dealer and been on diagnostics. I don’t know which system - Do they have different systems?
We’re in the North East (Teesside)
Dealership will have VIDA, providing someone who knows what they're doing has plugged it in then it should have flagged anything especially crank sensor - cam/crank lack of synchronization.
When it's running - what is the idle like? Are there any 'chugging' noises? Especially when oil filler cap is removed?
The D5 engine mounts are dynamic/vacuum, if one has failed it can rough idle/chug. Easy to check with a Mitty (handheld vacuum pump).
What is the cars useage profile? Flat out motorway jaunts or trundling around locally?
Sorry it should have said - indy garages diagnostics ARE NOT usually good enough to diagnose Volvo. You need a dedicated Volvo specialist with VIDA.
@RustyNissanPrairie the local Volvo Indy told him to take it to Volvo so that’s what he did.
when the car is running its faultless. He did 600 miles to wales and back on holiday in it 3 weeks ago. Ran perfectly. The car runs absolutely fine apart from getting the thing to start on cue.
he bought the car a year ago so high mileage, looking at MOT history it’s been doing 25-30k a year for the past few years so a motorway monster I’d guess
What has it done in your dad's ownership? The D5 doesn't like short journeys - the inlet /swirl flaps clog up with carbon and failed regens block the dpf but it will flag a message for that.
Is the swirl flap arm still intact on the left hand side of the engine block/head? There's a small servo/stepper motor with a small plastic 'dog bone' link, is this still in position?
Has it had a recent service / fuel filter? The housing can crack if the proper tool isn't used?
Beyond that it's trying to understand the pattern of it not starting. Once it starts does it restart again if turned off?
What condition is the earth point? Try a jump lead between the engine block and bodywork.
Try priming it a few times before starting - you should be able to hear the in-tank pump priming for a few seconds on 1st ignition position. Try a few primes. Does it start better after a few primes?
If that draws a blank then leak down test on the injectors
It does shorter journeys now in my dads hands, barring the recent trip to Wales but as I said, there are no lights on the dash. If it were DPF related you’d expect so? And would that cause issues starting the car?
it was serviced recently and I believe he changed the fuel filter himself. I did ask him if it’s been fitted properly as I’m sure the problem started around that time but I’d need to confirm that with him.
I’ll need to let him read all of this so he can take a look at some of the things you’ve mentioned @RustyNissanPrairie
Many thanks for your input , and everybody else who has contributed so far. Much appreciated
👍
I should add: despite all the problems my car had, it never had any warning lights of any kind, even as clouds of black smoke blew out the back and it took in the teens goes to get it started! So it appears you can have a lot wrong before anything on the dashboard knows about it.
Your Volvo was a sacrificial offering to the Norse god's so Volvo's like mine can live forever!
I has simular with a Ford, struggled to start but turned over, flat battery etc. Eventually it got bad enough for the cause to be obvious. The starter moter had seized up, this meant slow turnover, hence not starting but also huge battery drain/current draw on starting so a fully charged battery would appear to fix it but very quickly the battery would get discharged without a decent long drive.
had a v50 T5 with the same issue, no codes/lights, new fuel pumps fitted, all good for a day the started again, pressure checked all ok,some tech tried a tetra clean , solved the issue🤷🏼♂️ worked great for a few months, until central locking packed up.chipped it in not much after,i was guilty of short journeys in it though