Update: Haven't heard a word from them since they said they were gonna look at it last week. I suppose that's not such a bad thing since I have this super sweet S60 to drive in the meantime!

 

Alright, so, sorry its been so long between updates. Heres what has happened, so I had my car back and the light came back on (5th time). This time, when I brought it back, they were all up in arms about my aftermarket stereo (which was already there when I purchased the car) and any aftermarket parts I might have installed. Unfortunately for them I buy my parts at their parts department. Then a couple days later they tell me it loses oil pressure after it warms up and it will cost roughly $900 more to clean out the oil pan and replace the oil pick-up tube. I came unglued and was on the phone with their chief bull****ter in no time at all. Long story short they still have my car and last time they called they mentioned something about having to order a cam sensor. Which is interesting since that's nowhere near the oil pickup and doesn't affect oil pressure. I may yet go crazy, I guess I'm the one who's full of ****, shame on me for thinking all dealership service departments are as capable as the one I work in. Moral of the story: Go to Brentwood Volvo for complex diagnostics and they're going to play a guessing game with your money. But hey 5th times a charm, right?

 

That code is a guessing game, no way around it. Start cheap and go from there. They are trying a cam sensor because it's cheap and easy. It doesn't affect oil pressure but it can set that code. Not likely to be the cause though.

 

I'll tells you what, once that code shows up Im pretty sure there is almost no way to ever make it go away again, it will always come back! On our 2001, I replaced the cam position sensor, the timing belt, the VVT solenoid, ran an engine flush, switched permanently to Mobil 1 5-30 high mileage full syn to keep the engine as clean as humanly possible, and NOTHING worked, the code always comes back anywhere from 5 minutes to 2 days after I clear it. The one and only thing I have not done is change out the cam pulley and I just haven't had the time or motivation to do that yet since it takes the special tool that holds the cams in place while you take the pully off. Very frustrating!

Threads like this make me realize I'm pretty screwed if the damn dealer can't even fix it after 4 or 5 tries. Oh yea, my wife somewhere in there my took it to our dealership and they replaced the VVT solenoid a second time after I did it, swore that would fix it, and of course it did nothing.

 

Before you say there is nothing that can be done, replace the CVVT hub.

I've never had one that wasn't fixed after the hub and solenoid were replaced.

 

That makes two of us. I had this code and tried a few of the "cheap" fixes. No go. Bought the cam locking tool on ebay for $80 and a new VVT and got the job done and error code gone for good.

You know you want to do it...:-)

 

Well, that's just it, the vvt hub has been replaced and so has the solenoid and now they have their top tech working on it and he's taking more than a week to figure it out. I guess I expected more from a "Master Technician". I can tell you for sure that there should be no guess work in a professional shop. Where I work if you were guessing and just throwing parts and time at a job to fix it you would find yourself without a job. I've seen it happen and it is unacceptable, there's always a way to inspect each component of a system one at a time in order to properly diagnose a trouble code. Typically the tests are outlined in a service manual. If you cannot single out the issue there are dealership technical assistance lines to call. My point is, there's no place for guessing games in professional diagnostics.

 

I'm glad you know more about it than they do, or so you think.

You do not know that the CVVT hub was replaced. You said it looked clean. That means nothing. You replaced the solenoid, so you know it's been replaced.

There is no way to inspect these parts. Who is going to pay the 5 hours to remove the CVVT, disassemble it (which is NOT in the service guide) and reinstall?

Who is going to pay to drop the oil pan to inspect the pickup tube for blockage or a torn o-ring?

You brought a car in with timing that was off and a code that is set by incorrect timing. Any tech would re-time the engine as a first step.

After that, you have an intermittent issue and if you knew anything about the diagnostic equipment for that car, you'd know there is no easy, clear cut way through that.

 

I don't have access to Volvo trouble code documentation but from a little Googling it looks like P0015 means something specific - DTC P0015 (ECM-61, Volvo code) is stored if the camshaft pulley remains in the locked position.

So the VVT pulley is not unlocking for which there are only three possible causes. Defective VVT pulley, defective/inoperative VVT solenoid or low oil pressure.

When I first got my 2000 V40 I did an Auto-RX engine treatment. I generally don't believe in snake oil but so far no problems with the original VVT pulley and solenoid.

 

Ok, Final update. So, Volvo confirmed the VVT Hub had been replaced when the timing belt was replaced. They contacted the only other dealership in the area and were able to warranty the work somehow. Apparently, once they properly inspected the Hub they determined it was not operating as it should; instead it was staying in the "locked position". Apparently this is not a common thing for a new hub, which sort of explains why it took forever to diagnose. They took for granted that it was functioning just like I did. Anyhow, it seems that the car has been repaired. I'm happy to report that after 130 miles the code has not returned.

Also, its worth mentioning that interference engines such as this DO NOT operate normally when the timing is off. My car showed no signs of being out of time. Even 1 tooth out of time would cause a rough running condition. That was NOT the case and this code was NOT an intermittent issue it would come on and stay on permanently after just one drive cycle, showing up as a stored code and a pending code on my Matco scanner. For those of you who have this check engine code, good luck, hope this thread helped.

 

I call bullsh!t on all of that. To the best of my knowledge there's no inspection procedure for the hub either on or off the vehicle other than pulling the codes.

I would guess that (a) the other dealer billed the previous owner for a new VVT hub without actually replacing it and (b) someone at your dealer finally took the 5 minutes to determine that the P0015 DTC means the hub is not unlocking as I said in my comment above.

 

There is no inspection.

I very much doubt someone charged to replace it and did not. New parts fail sometimes. It happens. Volvo has a two year warranty, so that's why they were able to replace it for free.

 

I was merely relaying the information that was presented to me. I did not invent an inspection procedure. The RO shows that they "inspected" the Hub and found it to be faulty. How they did this I don't know, I'm not trying to play around with my timing; I just don't have time to mess around with my daily driver. That's why I took it to them in the first place. Bottom line, they replaced it and now it seems as though the car has been repaired.

 

They have to use the word inspect for warranty purposes.

 

Well it's May once again. Time to get my wife's S40 through inspection. As usual I have to clear the P0015 and keep it cleared long enough to get the required number of "Ready to Reads" (6 out of 7).

It's difficult to diagnose/repair a component or a group of components when you have really no idea what exactly it does. Below is a well written explanation of how Volvo's CVVT system actually operates. Maybe if we all put our heads together we can find the root cause of the problem - and develop a way to eliminate it. The section we are most concerned with is the exhaust cam shaft timing (page 4).

I had a basic idea of how it worked. I knew the reset valve admitted oil under pressure to the CVVT assembly which caused it to shift. And since the reset valve only has two leads - a hot wire and the ground to the ECU - I was fairly certain that the ECU did not get verification of cam positioning from the reset valve. I always kind of thought that the CMS must be doing the reporting. But what I didn't think of was that the CPS is also involved (see the text at the bottom of page 4 & the illustration on page 5) :

 

I have already done that after taking several of them apart. There is a tiny oil passage maybe .040" in internal diameter that relieves the oil pressure above the piston that locks the CVVT hub in the "parked" position. If this oil passage is blocked the CVVT hub will not come out of the locked position.

It sucks but owners are paying $1,000 or more to replace a component that has a blocked oil passage but is otherwise perfectly OK. Thanks, Aisin, for a crappy design.

Anyway, keep your oil clean and ideally run Pennzoil Ultra.

 

Migbro,

Where is the tiny oil passage that you refer to and how does one clean it out?

Also, I'm new to this thread, but have the P0015 code. Is the camshaft position sensor the same as the VVT solenoid that is attached to the top of the engine on the left side (looking at the car from the front)? Or is it something different?

Thanks!

 

Try a can of seafoam engine treatment/cleaner before your next oil change. You may be lucky and it does the trick. Removing the VVT gear hub and disassembly for cleaning will be quite involved as you need to lock the cams at the other end using a special tool. A new gear hub runs around $200 but if your engine isn't clean and free of gunk, a new one could become plugged quickly. Also check the control solenoid on top of the engine by the cam hub is clicking if 12v is applied.

 

the camshaft sensor is located on the right side of the engine directly across from the cvvt. From what I've heard that thing rarely fails. The solenoid is located on top of the engine on the same side as the cvvt. It sometimes gets clogged. As far as I'm concerned if you get the P0015 code and want to get rid of it for good check the solenoid first but be prepared to replace the cvvt which effectively means a whole timing belt job + purchase of vvt. Then watch the pcv system like a hawk and change your oil religiously.

 

I really should get around to this. I've been thinking of making a kit for this problem.

The tiny oil passage is under the hole plug in the CVVT pulley. To get to it you need to disassemble the toothed ring from the body of the pulley (three machine screws, special socket) and then pull the plug. The oil passage appears as a small dot on the back side of the plug opening. You can clear it with a piece of wire.

As I said before, crappy design and you should run a high detergency oil like Pennzoil Ultra.