The Check Engine Light came on over the weekend, so I took my S40 to the nearest Volvo dealer which is listed on Volvo's site as participating in "Volvo Service Advantage".

Volvo's Service Advantage page says:

Complimentary Diagnostics: Is your Check Engine or other warning light lit? If so, we’ll perform a preliminary computer diagnosis for up to one hour, and give you a written estimate of what’s needed at no charge and without obligation.

Sounds like just what I needed.

The service advisor said it'd be $145 to look at the car. I said I thought it was supposed to be free, and he said something like "well, the free service is just to pull the code, all we can do without the diagnostic fee is tell you what the problem pertains to". I said "well, lets find out what the problem pertains to then". I have a feeling I'm not going to get the "written estimate of what's needed at no charge and without obligation".... or the written estimate will be "more diagnostics needed, $145". Seems like they're going to do the bare minimum to comply with the letter of the program, while making me feel like a jerk in the process. I suspect it's also going to take a lot longer than the 1-1.5 hours he originally said before I wanted it to be free.

I wanted to ask about software updates too, whether the car needed any (just got it last week), but didn't want to press my luck at that point.

I suppose these diagnostic fees were a basic revenue stream for the service departments, and they're not happy that Volvo told them they have to do it for free now. I imagine Volvo doesn't pay the dealers for this work like they do for warranty work.

I'll follow up when they're done with the car, see how it goes.

Anyone else had any good or bad experiences with "Volvo Service Advantage"?

 

You can be sure the "Volvo Service Advantage" will be more to their advantage than yours in the long run.
Did you not purchase the vehicle from them with any form of mechanical warranty for a set period of time. ( even minimally say 1,2 or 3 months )
Suggest you invest in a code reader soon. Then you can approach your dealer whenever for service with some informed idea of what problems exist and can display to them that you are not totally in ignorance of the situation and ready to have your wallet syphoned.
After only 1 week of ownership the supplying dealer, or their agreed alternative dealer acting on their behalf should be readily fronting up to rectify what is probably minor in nature unless caused through any obvious negligence on your part to be fair to them also.

 

Well they actually did get back to me pretty quick, about 2 hours after I left the car there, bad news was they say it's the catalytic converter which here in commiefornia costs $1600... in any other state it'd be 1/4 that or less. They reset the code for me, so we'll see if it comes back on. The guy reluctantly acknowledged that I could probably just ignore the problem until it's time to smog the car again in two years, though he did wonder aloud how the dealer who sold it to me got it to pass smog this time. He also suggested I check with the Volvo dealer where the previous owners had the car serviced (about 10 miles further down the freeway) to find out whether this is the first time the cat has thrown a code or not.

They did actually do everything Volvo's web site said they would, even washed the car, all no charge. Just the way it started out rubbed me the wrong way, like I was some sort of deadbeat freeloader for expecting them to do what Volvo said they would.

Yes, I will definitely be having a conversation with the manager of the dealer who sold me the car (a high-end, very reputable dealer in the same automall as the Volvo dealer). I'm not holding out a lot of hope though, it's a used car sold "as-is". They will no doubt point out that the check engine light was not lit when I drove the car off the lot, nor was it on any of the multiple times I test-drove the car, and the car did in fact pass emissions testing. I do have to face that fact that when one buys a car with 114k miles on it, no matter how nice it is, there will be some expensive services coming up in the next few years... it's just REALLY disconcerting to have the first one come up within 3 days of driving it off the lot.

In the meantime, I did order a bluetooth OBD II tool I can use with my tablet and Torque or TouchScan. At least if I opt to wait on the Cat replacement I can check and clear the CEL if/when it comes on again, certainly beats putting a piece of tape over the light and then missing a different problem later on.

 

At a guess I'd say the failed smog test result was ignored and the code cleared so the light would stay off for a while to maintain the profit margin over the trade in price.
I week is far too close to be a coincidence frankly.
Could you take a trip out of state and get the CAT replaced and re-certified there at the lessor cost you make mention of?
Good luck anyway with your ongoing negotiations on the matter.

 

In california cars have to pass smog at an outside testing facility before they can be resold. Of course there are probably ways to game the system, a little bit of "under$tanding" between the dealer and smog test operator perhaps. Then again it may just be that the ECM is detecting the beginning of a problem with the cat, it's not bad enough yet to fail smog. The CEL hasn't come back on yet.
probably wouldn't work. the cat wouldn't have the required CARB certification plate on it, so it wouldn't pass the visual inspection the smog places are supposed to do. Plus the nearest border is 300 miles away, and for all I know the border states may have regulations against installing non-CARB cats in CA-registered cars.
Thanks. I'm taking the car in to them today to deal with the missing belly pan from my other thread, I'll show them the paperwork from Volvo and see what they say.

 

As I expected the dealer isn't interested in dealing with the catalytic converter issue; he pointed out what I already acknowledged above, it is a used car sold as-is, they repaired and replaced everything wrong with the car when they had it, the code from the cat is a new problem that occurred after I drove it off the lot, and the CEL has stayed off since I had it reset so they don't even have anything to diagnose if they wanted to. They've already fixed two other issues at their expense after I signed the paperwork, so I guess I can't complain too much. Just wanted the first few months with this car to be perfect.

 

The only advantage for Volvo is if the customer buys the needed work. Otherwise, you can bring your car in for the diagnostics and pay nothing for up to an hour with no obligation. Just wanted to clarify this assumption that was being made.

 

yes, clearly the goal here is to get customers to bring their car to the Volvo dealer first, rather than being scared away by the idea that it's going to cost a pile of money just to get the CEL looked at. Hopefully then once the dealer tells them what's needed they'll have the work done there. The service department just needs to stop looking at it as giving away $145 worth of service for free, and instead look at it as getting potential customers in the door who wouldn't be there at all otherwise.

I did get the promised free diagnostic service, but it just annoyed me that they tried to charge me for it. Even after I said "I thought the diagnostic service was supposed to be free" he was dismissive, saying "where are you getting that idea from?!?". I had to specifically state I'd seen the information on Volvo's website, and that I'd chosen to bring the car there because they were listed as participating in the program, before he relented and yet still tried to dissuade me by claiming the free service would be inadequate.

Once we got past all that though, all was well. They gave me a ride home, did the diagnostic within a couple of hours, and washed the car when they were done. Next time I need service though I may indeed drive 10 miles further down the freeway to the next Volvo dealer and see if the experience is better.

 

I'm going through the same thing right now with my local Volvo dealer. Very frustrating. They clearly do not want to honor the promises they are making to us.

Here's the thread where I'm discussing the issue for those that might be interested:

https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-...e-77291/page2/

 

Its only free if you buy whatever it is to fix the CEL. If you just want the codes to be read and plan not to perform the repairs of course it is going to cost you money. The dealership pays THOUSANDS of dollars (not quite sure but I've heard close to $10,000) for Vida on each computer that they use, do you guys really think that they will use them and not charge for it? If you choose to get the vehicle fixed then that hour of diagnosis gets applied towards the repair. That is when you get the free hour of diagnosis.

 

Actually, no. It is supposed to be free.

 

Well I guess I was wrong.