2 weeks ago I picked up an 02 S60 for my daughter for when she goes back to school. Within days of purchase the check engine light came on. My scan tool showed the code to be P0012 (Timing retarded bank 1. ) That was Fri. The car was scheduled to have the timing belt changed on the following Mon. (101,000 miles) so I cleared the code and did some service over the weekend (plugs, trans fluid Mobil 3309, changed oil and filter). The car had allegedly been "serviced" by the Mom and Pop car dealer but the oil that came out looked like --ap and the filter was a no name. I put in Mobil One 10W30 and a Volvo filter (oil still looks like new after a week). I had the timing belt done by a reputable garage that specializes in Volvos and let them know about the code. I picked up the car on Mon. and everything seemed fine, but yesterday (Fri) the P0012 came back. Any thoughts on where to start now?
Thanks TP

 

Well, having had a similar problem with mine (over advanced, not retarded), here is what I found:

90%+ of the time it's the timing belt being installed a tooth off. But if you had it before the timing belt change and after, AND YOU ARE SURE THEY INSTALLED IT CORRECTLY - NOT OFF A TOOTH, then there are a few other things that I came across when I searched on the issue:

1. the VVT valve, its clogged or not working. VVT is under the plastic cover on top, I actually took mine off, cleaned it, powered it up on the bench and proved it was working.

2. For whatever reason, the bolts holding the cog onto the exhaust cam slipped changing the relationship between the the timing and cam. Requires resetting to TDC.

3. The cam position sensor (or secondarily the crank position sensor) is flakey/giving bad readings.

Searching this and all the other Volvo forums, this is the stuff I came up with.

Now, to tell the rest of the story on mine...It was off a tooth. The guy I bought it from had a new timing belt installed as a condition of purchase. The cog on the exhaust cam did not have a timing mark, (many are faint marks, this was confirmed as missing on mine by two mechanics). The guy installing it ( a subaru mechanic as it turned out) painted dots on the cogs before removing the old belt then installed the new belt to the painted dots. Our guess (after the fact) is that it had skipped a tooth on the old belt, the new belt was installed to the bad position, thus continuing the problem. The mechanic that fixed it (a reputable one that had lots of Volvo experience) basically set TDC then installed it. Perfect since.

Good luck. By the way, the reason I have an S60 is I had picked up a S40 for my daughter, did similar service, then delivered it to her. Fell in love with it on the 12 hour drive out east to where she was finishing up school. Had to buy one for myself. You're a good dad, your daughter will love it.