[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by psispace

8 years : 66000 km Update :
How time flies! I feel like it was just a few months ago I had put up an update.

Glad to have your update:-) Your seat leather has worn very well over 8 years. My driver side chair's leather is showing signs of tiredness.

For servicing, this engineer used to collect my car from the apartment in the morning and delivers it back at night when he is back. Because of this, almost always, I got my car back on the same day.

Their service standards are pretty good. Like you, thus far I have no complaints.

I made it through, but realized later that I had lost the front license plate.
Turned out to be the rear suspension. The shock absorber was broken. Replacing it cost Rs.14,000.
Recently I started feeling a bit of brake fade.

Thank you for this early warning. My XC60 is approaching 58,000 kms (4 years and 6 months). Nice to know what could happen.

Its' slowly going to be the age of electric cars. Fossil fuel engines will soon be phased out. If our government's vision is to be believed, this will be sooner than later. Diesel engine vehicles will be the first victims in this phase out.

Fully concur. With new policies a new diesel is out of the reckoning. In Delhi-NCR my Volvo will face a ban in December 2024. I guess I'll need to sell her at least a couple of years before then. Sad but true.

[niranjanrvce]

Hi psispace,

Just dropping in here to thank you for your super informative thread. Seeing you keep the car for so long, the reasonable service costs you highlighted and a test drive convinced me to go for a low mileage, pre-worshipped S60 D5 too.

I am now 8 months and one service into its ownership and couldn't be happier. The only issue, if I can call it that, has been the low profile R18 wheels that came on my car - I am quite worried about bending my rims and am wondering if going to R17 will be a good move.

The other 'upgrade' I am looking at is changing the H9 high beam bulbs - I find them a little low on output (inspite of being 65W bulbs), especially on highways. I am used to the excellent lights on a Yeti and can clearly make out the difference in output when I turn them on side by side. Any suggestions?

I am considering led bulbs and looks like there's enough space in the headlight dome to accommodate them. Only concern is if any sensors will start throwing errors - happened on my old Linea when I replaced parking lights with leds and had to perpetually live with a 'blown bulb' warning on the dash.

[harikr]

Nice to see a well maintained Volvo, that too in my hometown Kothamangalam. Many people say that Volvo's lack the oomph factor seen in the German counterparts. But I always prefer a Volvo anytime over them (don't know when i can afford one). Btw, where are you located at kothamangalam? I dont recollect seeing this car around there, but then I am settled in Pune now and only visits once in a while.

[psispace]

Originally Posted by niranjanrvce

Hi psispace,

Just dropping in here to thank you for your super informative thread. Seeing you keep the car for so long, the reasonable service costs you highlighted and a test drive convinced me to go for a low mileage, pre-worshipped S60 D5 too.

Congrats on your purchase ! The D5 is a lively engine on the highway. If your car hasn't had the Polestar remap, I would strongly recommend it. If it already has, lucky you!

Originally Posted by niranjanrvce

The only issue, if I can call it that, has been the low profile R18 wheels that came on my car - I am quite worried about bending my rims and am wondering if going to R17 will be a good move.

This is serious issue on our roads. Unfortunately, the later D5 models came with 18 inch wheels in Summum / Inscription trim (mine came with 17 inchers). Although the 18s look great, the wheels can get easily damaged and the ride is a bit harder. I strongly recommend you change to 17 inches. You will notice the ride to be more comfy and less crashy in potholes. A couple of owners in our Volvo group had upgraded their tyres to 18 inchers. They regretted it and changed back to 17s. I use Michelin Primacy 3ST 225/50 which I recommend. I don't know if that size is available now. The new Primacy 4ST comes in 225/55 which I guess is okay. If you want to go wider profile there is 245/45. You can also go for Pirellis of this size. But they are significantly more expensive.

Originally Posted by niranjanrvce

The other 'upgrade' I am looking at is changing the H9 high beam bulbs - I find them a little low on output (inspite of being 65W bulbs), especially on highways. I am used to the excellent lights on a Yeti and can clearly make out the difference in output when I turn them on side by side. Any suggestions?

I am considering led bulbs and looks like there's enough space in the headlight dome to accommodate them. Only concern is if any sensors will start throwing errors - happened on my old Linea when I replaced parking lights with leds and had to perpetually live with a 'blown bulb' warning on the dash.

I found only the low beams to be of low output. They are adequate in town, but wanting on highways. As the headlamps are auto-leveling you can't adjust the throw either. The high beams I found to be good enough. Which year model is your car? I think changing the bulbs of same specification might help. I don't think these HID Xenons will be compatible with LEDs. I had enquired few years ago and was strongly dissuaded from changing. The casing and reflectors will just not give the desired throw of the beam. There are conversion kits available abroad. But I would suggest you check with your service center before changing. Most parts replacements need to be updated online via their server. This might affect warranty and parts replacements in future.

Please PM me if you would like to join our Whatsapp group. You might get more advice on this there.

Originally Posted by harikr

Nice to see a well maintained Volvo, that too in my hometown Kothamangalam. Many people say that Volvo's lack the oomph factor seen in the German counterparts.

The new crop of SUVs are slowly changing that perception. I can see a lot of the new XC90s and XC60s on the road now. The sales guy at Kerala Volvo had gone for a test drive for 3 prospective customers in Idukki recently. People are slowly becoming more car savvy.

Originally Posted by harikr

(don't know when i can afford one).

harikr, I used to only dream of buying a BMW / Merc at one time. I never thought I would get around to buying a car in the same ballpark as those. Keep working hard. You never know when lady luck will shine upon you.

Originally Posted by harikr

Btw, where are you located at kothamangalam? I dont recollect seeing this car around there, but then I am settled in Pune now and only visit once in a while.

I travel daily along the Kothamangalam - Muvattupuzha highway, so its' hard to miss. I guess I might have been out of station when you were here

[niranjanrvce]

Originally Posted by psispace

If your car hasn't had the Polestar remap, I would strongly recommend it. If it already has, lucky you!

Thanks, yes it has the Polestar remap and the car is an absolute blast on the highway.

Originally Posted by psispace

I strongly recommend you change to 17 inches. You will notice the ride to be more comfy and less crashy in potholes. The new Primacy 4ST comes in 225/55 which I guess is okay

Yes will consider moving to 17, I will try and drive a car with 17s to feel the difference. But 225/55 does sound very nice - it will be a big difference in side wall height (60mm!!) from my current 235/40 setup.
Only thing is that i just got fresh set of ContiSportContact3s so might need to wait for them to wear out.

Originally Posted by psispace

I found only the low beams to be of low output. Which year model is your car? I think changing the bulbs of same specification might help. I don't think these HID Xenons will be compatible with LEDs.

You are probably light, I notice the low output only on highways and it might be more to do with the Low beam than high beams. The Low beams are HID Xenons so I assumed they have good output. The high beams are normal H9 Halogen bulbs in a normal reflector and that's where the idea of a Led bulb swap came in. Will experiment a bit with high beams first - there are cheap aliexpress Leds that I use on motorcycles, I can try them and if they are still inadequate, will look at low beam HID bulb options.
Mine is a 2015 manfg, 2016 registered car. Picked it up at 11k on the odo

Originally Posted by psispace

Please PM me if you would like to join our Whatsapp group. You might get more advice on this there.

That would be great, PM sent!

[psispace]

Originally Posted by psispace

8 years : 66000 km Update :

There appeared to be a leak in the brake master cylinder,
if there is no dealer / company warranty, this will be my most expensive service till date.

I'll keep you all updated.

There was no reply from headquarters regarding the warranty. So that meant only one thing - the message was to either upgrade to a new car or bear the expenses for repair. I decided on the latter. The car was taken last week and was checked by an engineer who had come down from Delhi / Haryana. As there were no leaks and the brakes were functioning normally, it was decided that a replacement was not required now. However, the front discs were nearing their lifespan and I was told I would have to replace it in another 5000 kms. I got that replaced right now along with worn out brake pads.

Brake disc kit ~ Rs. 19,000/-
Brake pad kit ~ Rs. 8,500/-

With service and consumables I was charged Rs. 36,000/-
So temporarily at least, its' a relief for me.

The engine protection plate under the car has taken quite a beating over the years. This is actually a fiber plate. Although it has done its' job well, it is not that robust. As I plan to retain her for some more time, I have ordered for a metallic plate to replace this. This is made of aluminium alloy and is expensive ( around 50k). But I think its' worth it to increase the longevity of the car.

[psispace]

Got the metallic engine protection plate installed. Cost including installation was around Rs. 36000/-

Pictures below show the condition of the plate prior to installation. As is evident, it has taken quite a beating but has done its job well.








This is the new plate. It won't stay this pretty for long.






I have noticed that there is increase engine vibration and noise during cold start idling and during reversing. This probably is due to the diminished sound insulation of the metal plate versus the previous fiber plate. Also the metal plate will be more rigid and will transmit vibrations more. But once the engine has warmed up, this disappears. I can now at least drive peacefully knowing that there is one level of protection if it bottoms out inadvertently on unknown roads, bad roads or unscientific speed humps. For those in Mumbai, Bangalore and those who do long drives regularly, I strongly recommend this installation.

I also had to spend another 10k on a new battery. Thankfully, they are now providing Amaron DIN 080s from the service center itself. Also changed the wipers for 4k as they were nearing their efficiency.

The bluetooth microphone on the roof had conked off. Funnily, the engine guard arrived earlier than the microphone. The latter took nearly three weeks. Due to this the installation was delayed this long as I wanted all the work done in one go. As usual, the car was taken in the morning to the service center and returned to me at night.

With all that done, I hope I can keep her going a couple of years more.
Keeping fingers crossed

[psispace]

Tyre upsize again at 69,000km !

My front tyre had developed a bulge a few months back. I had it patched on the inside at a local shop (not recommended, I know) and rotated the wheel onto the back. The tyres had a few thousand kms left on them. Thus I wanted all four worn out till I change them. I was also considering whether to change the car at that time, so kept everything on hold. Having a space saver spare also gave me some confidence in the matter. Only problem was I couldn't go on long trips with a tyre bulge.

Cut to few weeks back, the tread wear indicators started nearing their limits. The road conditions here are bad in certain sections. Also the recurrent road flooding after heavy rains recently got me thinking about further upsizing the tyres. I wanted to stick to the Michelin Primacys as they offer the ideal compromise between comfort and dynamics. The new Primacy 4 series is supposed to be even better then their predecessors with a little stiffer side walls, apparently without compromise on performance.

The stock tyres were 215/50 R17 Continentals. Years ago I had upsized to 225/45 R17 Michelin P3ST which were within recommended limits. Subsequently I changed to 225/50 R17 P3ST which offered a little more ground clearance. These were slightly off limits but still ok. Michelin has now come with near 'SUVish' 225/55 R17s in their Primacy 4 series. I did some research online. Although they were grossly out of the recommended upsize range, it was not dangerously so. So I decided to take the plunge and changed to this size.



The stance has definitely changed on side profile



The fender gap has reduced considerably



This is the gap at full steering lock to right. This appears to be the limit to which you can upsize on this car. One of the members in our Volvo group is a tyre dealer and he has confirmed the same. Also he is confident that this is the ideal upsize.

At the wheel alignment center, when the car was lowered from the car jack after the tyre change, I had a little fear of whether the fender would scrape the front tyre on turns. Had I gone too far this time ? I was advised to keep tyre pressures at 30 psi (unless on full load) and reassured that I will be good to go.

The ride has definitely become more comfortable with the additional profile. So that bit is definitely sorted. How the suspension will take this change, only time will tell (I hope it won't ). I did some reasonably spirited driving and corner carving around the twisties over here. Also checked it over some bad roads. There were no issues of the suspension bottoming out or the fender arch scraping the tyre. There is a noticeable difference in rolling resistance. However, no change in braking performance was evident for my driving style.



This is the ground clearance now. In places were I used to tip toe over humps and undulations, I now confidently glide over them.



Front stance



With the 55 profile the rear has an almost SUVish stance a-la the S60 CC. The latter of course has significantly more clearance and larger 18 inch wheels. Not to mention a Haldex AWD drivetrain.

I also considered installing Rogerab suspension buffers for some additional clearance. Product link below :

https://www.amazon.in/Rolling-Pitching-Increasing-Cornering-Suspension-Unconditional/dp/B073RBNX6Y

However, the stock suspension was good enough so far and I didn't want to alter the comfortable ride it has now. Even their official website has a disclaimer stating there might be an increase in stiffness, the buffer may slide down and can even break in some instances.

https://www.rogermotors.com/productdetail/rogerab-duo

I know that some BHPians have tried it out on other cars and they are happy. But I'll keep this on hold for now.

My previous tyres lasted around 27000km. They started accelerating in wear after I moved to Kothamangalam. The roads around here are all twists and turns. Nice if you like driving, not so nice for your tyres. I expect this set to last a bit longer.

[V.Narayan]

Well done. Looks like a positive move in all ways. Safe miles, happy miles. If i remember correctly you are coming up to the 9th birthday soon!

[psispace]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Well done. Looks like a positive move in all ways. Safe miles, happy miles. If i remember correctly you are coming up to the 9th birthday soon!

Yes Sir ! Just 4 months away ! Hoping for no glitches till then. I have spent a lot on her recently.

[M.Dua]

A humble thanks to moderators at Team BHP to approve my membership to the team BHP Club.

Dear Psispace - let me congratulate and thank you first for such a detailed and helpful ownership thread, i was in double mind in Dec 2018 for buying a pre-worshiped(family member owned it previously) 47000 KM driven 2015 Volvo S60 D4 when i stumbled upon your article, I confidently took the plunge to buy the car. I have been in awe of the built and mechanics of the car from the day it came to the family and have enjoyed more ever since owning it.

However, just about two weeks back while i was driving back from work the Check Engine Light glow up, i took the car to Volvo Service center the very next morning and the car was diagnosed with low flow from EGR Cooler, i am being told that it will require replacement and will cost around INR 70,000.

I immediately checked the issue online and got to know that EGR failure is common problem in 2015 D4 Engines of Volvo. A deeper analysis of the threads showed that these parts are not bound to fail at such early age(70000 KM ODO today) and are more often than not are replaced by Volvo on there own.

I confronted the service adviser with the issue and I am being informed that the policy of free replacement on my car was until 4th August 2019, had this issue prevailed a few months back it would have been replaced free of charge by Volvo. It clearly implies that Volvo acknowledges the issue with the EGR Cooler and EGR valve. Infact for EGR valve the policy for failure is yet another six months from today remaining.

Now my question is when Volvo acknowledges that there is an manufacturing issue with the product, they shall own up to it and change it before failing, it is not that my car had developed the problem only after 4th August 2019, the soot in the EGR Cooler was gradually generating since the faulty part was working from Day 1 of ownership.

I took the grievance to Volvo India @ serviceindia@volvocars.com on 11th Jan 2020 and to my extreme surprise, no one from VOLVO has responded to my email, they just sent an acknowledgement that they have received my email on 11th itself and then nothing on the emails.

I am certainly very confused on how to proceed, should i just cough up the amount and get it done from the service center or should i raise it further with Volvo India as globally they are still covering it and if not they are offering almost 70% goodwill discounts. Is there any other email ID you have or any contact with whom we can raise the issue. I contacted Volvo India Twitter but again there is no reply from them.

While i am aware that car of this league and brand will come at a certain cost of maintenance and I am more than willing to own that but i certainly would not like to pay for a highly publicized and widely accepted issue with the product where globally the policy is different and for India the policy is different.

Would request yours and V. Narayan Sir's thoughts on this please.

[psispace]

Originally Posted by M.Dua

The car was diagnosed with low flow from EGR Cooler, i am being told that it will require replacement and will cost around INR 70,000.

I immediately checked the issue online and got to know that EGR failure is common problem in 2015 D4 Engines of Volvo.

Volvo acknowledges the issue with the EGR Cooler and EGR valve. Infact for EGR valve the policy for failure is yet another six months from today remaining.

Quite sorry to read of your problem. These cars usually don't give much issues. But in the unlucky event that they do, the parts replacements come in the cost ball park that you mentioned. I am not familiar with the new D4 engines. But it seems it is a prevailing issue outside. I came across this DYI video. Maybe you can share it with the service guys if you already haven't;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zz6qefBV08

As per their usual policy, they very rarely repair such parts. Its' usually replacement of the faulty part for which they give you a 6 month / 1 year warranty. Maybe you can agree with them to a disclaimer on that and try to get it repaired for now. I did the same for my brake master cylinder leak. I have had no issues till now. When it recurs, I am ready to bear the cost.

Originally Posted by M.Dua

I took the grievance to Volvo India @
serviceindia@volvocars.com on 11th Jan 2020 and to my extreme surprise, no one from VOLVO has responded to my email, they just sent an acknowledgement that they have received my email on 11th itself and then nothing on the emails.

Off late (although not personally), their response to such mails have been silent. Quite unlike in the past where they were quite proactive. Must be something to do with the change in the top order. There is some cost cutting going on with removal of some safety features on their newer models which were standard earlier. Or perhaps priorities have been routed to sales rather than service. It may also be possible that your change of ownership has not been updated on their database. That is no excuse though.

I have a good rapport with the service people in Kochi, hence so far they have always supported me. But even with them, I can feel the pressure they are under to get me to replace parts or buy a new model altogether. Must be something to do with the recent market glut and the BS6 fiasco.

If there is a person in their marketing who actually goes through these threads, I am going to be black-marked for suggesting this to you. Even then, in the spirit of this forum, may I suggest you put a similar post on their facebook page. Perhaps then they might respond.

Hope this is settled soon and you get to enjoy the car more. Keep us posted and all the best.

[M.Dua]

Thanks so much dear Psispace for taking out time and providing a prompt revert to my problem, goes on to show the strength of Team BHP Family.

Regarding the DIY Cleaning of EGR Cooler - The service adviser has out-rightly denied doing that and says they only do replacements, though local mechanics at Pallika Bhavan are more than willing to do this and say this is a perfect solution and has worked well previously in many German Cars, I am not very convinced to do that also since the EGR valve is still under warranty and might also require replacement once opened. Do not want to give Volvo India any reason to deny any rightful claim - Please suggest if your advise is otherwise.

Regarding the ownership - My immediate family was extremely loyal to Volvo, having owned XC 90, two XC 40's and this S 60 in past 5 years, change of ownership was immediately informed to Volvo and explained that it was still running in the family, I have got two services done after owing the vehicles and the invoices have my name on it.

Behavior of Volvo India (HO) - It is very much unwarranted for them to blatantly ignore and not reply to emails and twitter complaints, i have an assigned complaint number for gods sake, it should have a TAT around it to be resolved. The corporate team has been nothing more than a mute spectator with even there eyes closed, i am assuming the chairs are empty in there office since all we receive are standard system generated emails. The ownership of the two Volvo XC 40's had also been huge disappointment as there was almost an year long trauma in receiving the RC's of the cars, there were goof ups like RC showed hypothecation while clear payment was made (separate thread will be created on that). We had to our self get it sorted running errands for months. We at first thought it was a dealer issue more than the corporate image but Volvo India's silence on all the matters has cleared our doubts. For the very same reasons we have stopped recommending the brand to friends and family.

I will certainly also put this out on Facebook and Instagram also to see if is there is any human presence at the HQ.

Many thanks to you, will take a call by Friday and get it done on Saturday anyhow since the CEL is a heart breaking sight for a car lover and I sincerely hope some sense prevails in the management and the brand does not dies in India. I was 27 years old when I first sat inside a Volvo and fell in love with the product, at age 30 I owned one and had convinced myself that at all times in my life at least one of my car will be from Volvo. I sincerely hope it survives and betters its game.

[psispace]

Originally Posted by M.Dua

Regarding the DIY Cleaning of EGR Cooler - The service adviser has out-rightly denied doing that and says they only do replacements, though local mechanics at Pallika Bhavan are more than willing to do this and say this is a perfect solution and has worked well previously in many German Cars, I am not very convinced to do that also since the EGR valve is still under warranty and might also require replacement once opened. Do not want to give Volvo India any reason to deny any rightful claim - Please suggest if your advise is otherwise.

In that case, I suggest you wait it out for some time and then take a call.

Looking at your relatives' experience with their Volvos, this looks like a dealer level issue. Complaints are usually queried back to the dealer. After that, you get a response from the service center either by e-mail, or like in Kochi, you get a personal call from their secretary. Since this has not happened, it is quite possible that the dealer has chosen to ignore their part.

Put it out on social media. Let the company know at least that way. Let's see if they are listening.

[M.Dua]

UPDATE: Got the EGR replaced at own expense, no support from Volvo, no communication whatsoever, almost forced them to write an email that they don't care.

Unfortunately two weeks back, my wife met with an accident in her Glanza (both wife and the tempo traveler driver who she rear ended at 40 kmph were fine, no physical damage), decided to drop off the Glanza at service station the next morning for repairs with a damaged hood, grill, bumper, lights and fender( thanks to 3 year Toyota protect insurance, i am covered fully for the damage which amounted Rs 37000, paid Rs 1100 for it). This was her first accident in almost 10 years of driving.

So my wife drives almost 80 kms to and fro for work, so we decided she would be driving the S60 to work since that is the only other automatic car in the house, I was to drive W-rV, I saw her off from the balcony and she had not even crossed the house lane when she banged the car into a Creta parked with its tyre turned full out. Possibly she dint see the tyre, one of those moments in life when you can pre sense something is going to happen and you have no control than to witness it. Fuming me marched down, while i thought the impact would be minor scratches, the damage was headlight broken, bumper and fender bruised and dented.

I was fuming red and hot and wanted to yell at my wife(2nd accident in under 24 hours, both automatic cars will be out for repair for weeks and we both will have to drive manuals to work in the crazy traffic) but wisdom prevailed and i realized when the damage is done its better to show love to the wife than the car. 7 years into marriage and you still have to earn brownie points. Wife was also shell shocked at my calmness and composure.

Requested dad to take the Galanza to service station and me and wife dropped the S60 at Sewde Auto Gurgaon. While the car was there asked them to replace the EGR Cooler as well.

Damage to pocket for EGR : Rs 66000 for EGR Cooler, some Gaskets and Coolant;

Damage to pocket for Accident: Rs 2340 since car was under a Zero Dep policy with Bajaj Allianz; damage to Bajaj Allianza was around Rs 1.6 Lakh, for one head light replace, fender replace and paint and repair job on bumper and fender.

Upcoming repair costs heading my way as per service advisor:

1. Brake Fluid Flushing - Rs 10000 (will get done in next service)
2. Timing belt and Axillary belts replace - Rs 40000 (will avoid this for a while now, as the axillary belt on visual inspection looks in good shape with no cracks or cuts and no squeaking sound, timing belt replacement interval globally is 1,60,000 Kms, do not understand why Volvo India is recommending this, checked with alot of friends driving BMW, Volvo and Mercs - no one changed before 1 Lakh mileage)
3. Transmission Fluid Replacement - Rs 16000 (Various Volvo forums and car manual suggests that the 8 speed asin gearbox is sealed for life and does not require oil change, i am clueless why it is suggested by service adviser, i shall defer this also until i gather more information around this, Volvo global service manual suggests to only check these for leakage)
4. The 245 40 R18 Michellin Primacy Sport have worn out under 32000 Kms, looking to replace them in another 1000-2000 Kms with Pirelli Pzero 245 45 R18