Hello,

My 2000 XC stalled on the freeway. White smoke billowed from both the exhaust and the engine areas. The car is no longer running. This is a car that was well serviced and that I had planned to keep for many more years!

Dealer service estimate (before delving into root cause analysis) exceeds the blue book value, so I'm looking at options.

Would anyone have any idea what might've caused this? I'm concerned about reliability. All of my previous cars were still running after 10+ years.

Thanks!

 

Maybe coolant hose broke?

 

Hi Tech,

Thanks for the reply! Is it true that the only way to really understand what happened is to tear the engine down?

Since I now need a replacement vehicle...would you have any V70 XC recommendations...good/bad. Anything to look for or avoid? I've been doing a bit of research, but would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks very much!

 

They are generally good cars.
If you are going to look for a newer one look for a 2002 or 2003.

Coolant hoses usually don't blow.
But something had to cause what happened.

Usually a motor can be bought and installed for about 3 to 4 thousand.

 

Thanks very much! Rgds.

 

To me, this sounds like a blown head gasket... or cracked cylinder head.

My 2000 V70XC had a strong motor, but everything around it flaked out. The electrical system, in particular.

 

We blew the engine on our 02 XC, due to not changing the oil enough. Sludge built up in the engine and it could not circulate. When it happened, I knew it was blown, as it popped, blew a boatload of white smoke, and died. However, before this happened, I was getting a power loss and an urgent message to get to a dealer. i was on a trip, and tried to make it to my destination. I drove about fifty miles, and was about 5 miles from the dealer when it blew. $5k for a used engine, 2k for a new turbo. Expensive lesson. Dealer told me not to believe the owners manual, which says to change the oil every 7500. I now change it every 3000!

 

Another thanks! We just had the engine torn apart and believe sludge to be the culprit!
And, yes...we were changing oil every 3K miles, but hadn't started that way and hadn't considered the implications of sludge...yuk! We're certainly watching for it now. Rgds.

 

Glad all is well now.