[Starfire]

Originally Posted by sanojrawap

Dear BHPians,

A couple of weeks later, they ask us to come visit, so my driver and I go to their showroom. They told us that water got into the engine, and showed us a soaked air filter (with no proof that that very filter came from our car). Then they told us about the main problem, a knocking sound coming from the engine when it is on. They turned on the engine, and kept revving it, to show us the knocking sound. I couldn't hear much due to some background noise, so they go to turn it off, while leaving the engine on. A few minutes later they return, and I can hear the noise, and by now I was thinking that them keeping the engine on and revving it, could have only made it worse.

Then when we ask about the water, and how it got into the engine, they start accusing us of driving through deep water. The interesting thing though, is, the air filter is located quite high off the ground, so they were trying to say we drove through 1 Meter of water, which was false. I tell the service advisor that we didn't drive through any water, other than the normal puddles we see. Other than that, it wasn't raining heavily, and has been a dry-ish week.

How can we confirm water actually got into the engine, if we did nothing that could have let it get in?

First thing is First. A wet air filter commonly indicates a clogged condensate pan or condensate drain lines. Water is a natural by-product of a functioning air conditioner. As the system draws warm air from your car to be cooled, moisture from the air condenses on the evaporator coils and then drips into the drain pan. When something prevents this water from draining away, it overflows and the air filter may absorb that moisture.

Another possible cause is moisture that may be falling directly onto the filter from the evaporator coils. This is not typical, but it can happen if something went amiss during the installation of your HVAC unit.

So if the air filter is wet, it can be one of the above causes and not because of driving through water. However irrespective of the cause, the chances of the air filter still being soaked for around 2-3 weeks is very rare. Pune has a hot climate and also not much humidity which dosent support what the dealer says.

What you can do is check around the engine bay for foul smell and leftover water stains on long standing stagnation of water, the foul smell may donote fungus growth which definately will be there if water remains for a period of 2-3 weeks. If this is true, maybe water must have entered the engine like the dealer says, but then again this is just a speculation.

Appart from that please get Volvo India involved and also get a re-checkup down at another dealer with a good reputation for a second opinion.

All the best.
Starfire

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by Starfire

First thing is First. A wet air filter commonly indicates a clogged condensate pan or condensate drain lines. Another possible cause is moisture that may be falling directly onto the filter from the evaporator coils. This is not typical, but it can happen if something went amiss during the installation of your HVAC unit.

I think your comments are referring to the cabin air filter while the OP is referring to the engine air filter.

The cabin air filter is proximate to the evaporator/condensate pan, all of which are near the firewall between the engine compartment and passenger compartment. And this filter can suffer from the problems you've described. But this will not lead to the introduction of water into the engine.

[Altocumulus]

I had an engine damaged, with similar symptoms. While driving through a water logging, my driver let go of the accelerator to change the gear. In that split second, due to the vacuum, water got sucked in through the exhaust and into the engine and air filter which was soaking wet when we took it out immediately after. The engine died, and when we tried starting it later it did but there was a loud knocking noise. That damaged the engine even more. Rest of the car was absolutely fine, no water ingress in the car. Insurance did not pay either.

[coolmel]

Originally Posted by sanojrawap

Thanks

I've written a mail to Volvo India telling them about the situation and what happened, etc.
I am still waiting for a reply from their side, although it has just been 2 Days.

Regarding the soaked air filter. At the time of visiting the showroom I didn't think it through, but now after some thought, and all of your comments, I can definitely agree that this is a sly way of minting money from an unsuspecting customer. Thankfully I have Team BHP!

They hadn't done anything to the car yet when I visited, but they supposedly remove the air filter. They did manage to start the car though, which, as mentioned, shouldn't have worked if water got into the engine.

Anyway, I'll have to confirm to see if we have anything in writing, even related to the previous issues, and will keep this thread updated!

Hi,

I sent you a private message good sir. Please check & revert. Cheers!

[Precision]

If the engine oil was drained completely in the presence of volvo personnel, wouldn't it show the presence of water?

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by sanojrawap

Thanks

I've written a mail to Volvo India telling them about the situation and what happened, etc.......
I am still waiting for a reply from their side, although it has just been 2 Days.
Anyway, I'll have to confirm to see if we have anything in writing, even related to the previous issues, and will keep this thread updated!

Any update on this. Thanks.

[sanojrawap]

Thanks to Mehul (BHPian coolmel), who contacted Volvo India and Volvo Global on Twitter; Volvo India finally got in touch with me, and I got a mail from Viiraaj Volvo (The Dealer).

It turns out that they were not trying to scam me, but due to poor communication between the both of us, we didn't get all the updates/news we were supposed to!
They have sent me their service records, as well as all the other details we were missing, and their story finally makes sense.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by sanojrawap

Thanks to Mehul (BHPian coolmel), who contacted Volvo India and Volvo Global on Twitter; Volvo India finally got in touch with me, and I got a mail from Viiraaj Volvo (The Dealer).

It turns out that they were not trying to scam me, but due to poor communication between the both of us, we didn't get all the updates/news we were supposed to!
They have sent me their service records, as well as all the other details we were missing, and their story finally makes sense.

Could you share, for the benefit of BHPians who own XC60s, the final findings of what happened and why the car seized up all of a sudden. I am glad Team BHP and brother BHPians were able to assist you and (it seems) all is well that ends well.

[sanojrawap]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Could you share, for the benefit of BHPians who own XC60s, the final findings of what happened and why the car seized up all of a sudden. I am glad Team BHP and brother BHPians were able to assist you and (it seems) all is well that ends well.

Thanks. It turns out water did get into the engine, because, even though the air filter may be high up from the ground, the air inlet pipe is lower down just around 1 foot or so from the ground.
When the car was driven through shallow water, the splash water would have been able to enter, probably because the car was driven faster that what is recommended in the users manual!

I'd just like to mention I may have gotten a few facts (e.g. dates) wrong in my initial post, firstly because I was not in town when this incident occurred, and secondly because I wrote the post a couple of months after the actual incident.

[sriram.raghavan]

The air inlet pipe is just 1 foot above the ground !!! That really sounds scary, water will definitely go into every volvo bought in used in India then !!!

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by sriram.raghavan

The air inlet pipe is just 1 foot above the ground !!! That really sounds scary, water will definitely go into every volvo bought in used in India then !!!

Has Volvo completely lost touch with its roots as a maker of well-built vehicles, rugged and safe, and made for the harsh environments of a far-northern country? This is very sad: Volvo was the car of my dreams as a teenager (1960s), even though they looked like wardrobes on wheels back then.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by sanojrawap

Thanks. It turns out water did get into the engine, because, even though the air filter may be high up from the ground, the air inlet pipe is lower down just around 1 foot or so from the ground.
When the car was driven through shallow water, the splash water would have been able to enter, probably because the car was driven faster that what is recommended in the users manual!

Thank you for sharing your findings for the benefit of all XC60 owners. I'll meet Volvo in NCR and have this cross checked. At the time of evaluation prior to purchase the air pipe they showed was somewhat higher than 12". If it is indeed 12" then that's sad news.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by sanojrawap

It turns out that they were not trying to scam me, but due to poor communication between the both of us, we didn't get all the updates/news we were supposed to!
They have sent me their service records, as well as all the other details we were missing, and their story finally makes sense.

So whats the final bill and parts that are being changed? The story still does not make sense for readers here unless you share all the details here with us.

[sanojrawap]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

So whats the final bill and parts that are being changed? The story still does not make sense for readers here unless you share all the details here with us.

I won't be getting it fixed at Viiraaj Volvo, but attached is what they had quoted to do an "Engine Overhaul" instead of the 11 Lac for a New Engine

I have also attached a part about water wading I found in the Users Manual.
It mentions 25cm as the maximum, even though the wading depth is 350mm.

Basically; the car was driven through some shallow water, but it wasn't shallow enough for my Volvo XC60 "SUV"

[VKM]

Originally Posted by sanojrawap

Thanks. It turns out water did get into the engine, because, even though the air filter may be high up from the ground, the air inlet pipe is lower down just around 1 foot or so from the ground.

I took a test drive of xc60 today & when i asked specifically about this air inlet issue, he showed the air inlet suction which is behind the grille at the right side of the engine compartment just behind the headlight, a little above the engine. i couldn't find any other air inlet pipe at a lower height.
can you post a picture of the inlet pipe at the lower height. this would be very useful for me to decide whether to buy this vehicle or not.
Thanks!