First, my question is one of curiosity, not complaint.

Background - leased a 2015 S60 last September. Turned in an Accord that I just couldn't stand.

I absolutely love the car. I have experienced two anomalies that are unexpected, but not troubling. 1) is that it occasionally doesn't like to shift up. It doesn't redline, but sometimes during non spirited driving, it runs up in the revs as if it is being driven at full throttle and/or in Sport mode. Probably happens once a month.
2) engine light is easily triggered when gas cap is not tightened multiple turns. I have never had a car trigger as easily as this one.

Most Recent Issue:Current odometer reading is about 3500 miles - every tank of gas is Shell or Mobil.
Last week I had the engine light come on for 5 days. At first I thought it would be a another loose gas cap issue. Not so. Dropped the car off at the dealer on a Thursday night and picked up a loaner. On Friday I call and am told its likely an oxygen sensor and the technician intends to order 3 replacement sensors, but must get permission from Volvo. Friday evening I call and am told sensors should be in the following day (Saturday) but still in discussion with Volvo. Good chance I'll have the car back on Saturday. Saturday comes and goes. Monday morning I phone the dealer, am told again that technician is recommending 3 oxygen sensors, they haven't ordered them yet. Later in the morning (today) the dealer calls and advises that Volvo has approved 2 of the sensors, they have been ordered and should arrive and be installed on Tuesday.

I have a brand new V60 as a loaner, at no cost to me. I have nothing to complain about. But what goes on inside a Volvo dealer? Does the dealer need to fight for 3 days to do a simple warranty repair? This is just bizarre. I'm really hoping that replacing 2 of the 4 sensors, and only 2 of the 3 recommended by the technician, doesn't prolong this nonsense.

For those who have worked on the inside, what is this all about?

 

If you have the Drive-E engine, then currently all parts for any engine repair are on prior approval, with a couple exceptions.

This is because the engine is brand new and they want to closely monitor parts failures.

This process can take a while, depending on the codes. We have to fill out a report with the symptoms, codes, diagnosis, etc. and then wait for them to get back to us. They may approve it right away or may ask for additional diagnostics, which would take longer because of the back-and-forth.

 

That's makes some sense I guess. I also wonder if they are second guessing the codes. I understand Volvo Corp wanting a thorough examination on a new engine, but then denying the service tech permission to fix according to their diagnosis... seems odd. I guess I'm relying upon the codes to be very precise and accurate, but perhaps that's not the case.

I guess my expectation would have been that the codes were reliable, the issue should be addressed immediately, and the reports filed with corporate when possible and not at my inconvenience. Anyway, its not really an inconvenience, I have a 2015.5 V60 - which is what I really wanted, and my wife detests.

 

Codes are not exact. A code for an oxygen sensor does not mean the sensor is bad. There could be an air leak causing the reading to be out of specs, for example.

Even if we are 100% sure of our diagnosis, we cannot fix the car until Volvo is involved (with the exception of a couple common problems that Volvo has seen so far) Otherwise the warranty claim gets kicked back. It isn't ideal but we have no other option.

 

I appreciate the education very much. And to your point, I guess it is important to know whether the sensors are at fault, or if something else is kicking them out.

 

Upon further inspection the dealer has found leaking camshaft seals which also contaminated the timing belt; which seem unrelated, so I get to hold onto the loaner V60 for a while longer.