Hi everyone and thanks for taking the time to read this.

2010 Volvo XC90 v8
144k miles / 2 owners / always dealer serviced
Recent Repairs: New Fuel Filter, 4 new tires, new battery (done by Volvo dealer, we confirmed); also new Fuel Pressure Sensor, new Wheel Speed Sensor (supposedly done by the Seller, they remain unconfirmed)
Purchased a week ago from a private Seller (an auto broker who said he bought it from the 2nd Owners–a retired 80-year old couple). During our test drive, the check engine light came on. We requested this be diagnosed and addressed before purchase and the Seller (broker) agreed without issue. However, when we took it in to our import-specialist service shop, we were told the CEL had been messed with.

QUESTION:
We are now aware that if indeed the CEL was tampered with, we could need a repair or replacement on the board inside the instrument cluster. We have an appointment with Volvo service but it's 2 weeks out, so I'm doing some footwork to find out if anyone else has had this repair and if so, what's involved, level of cost, etc. Am I correct in assuming that–depending on what is broken–the instrument cluster could be pulled and the board repaired? Or is it always a full swap for a new one? Is it easy to tamper with? I'm trying to figure out–if the Seller tampered with it–what they likely did to it. I know there are no bulbs to loosen. I know tape can be used but I don't think they did that. Could they just break a piece of electronics off to kill the CEL's illumination? I've found a bunch of YouTube videos on pulling/replacing the instrument cluster in an XC90––so I have a good understanding of what the set-up is behind the instrument panel.

Also, could there be any other reason the CEL could be temporarily blocked from illuminating? Could the fuel pressure issue be causing something? Or, if an unskilled mechanic tried to reset the CEL could they have damaged it? I do think it's a highly odd and very unlikely coincidence for the car to have the very electronic component that powers the CEL die on its own and as a completely unrelated issue... directly after we pointed out it was on. I also understand from Volvo service that the CEL light failing is an extremely uncommon issue.

 

CELs are based on stored codes in the ECU. a standard OBD2 code reader can view/clear them at any time but if the underlying fault remains they will reset. Some codes are set immediately, some are "averaging" which means the data has to accumulate over time (typically 50 or so miles of driving). I'd start by scanning for the codes with an OBD2 reader and address what you see. You can post up the codes to this thread to get some guidance. Remember each code is only a data point, not a repair recommendation. Next I'd pull out the cluster and check for anything obvious - bent pins etc. If there is damage to the cluster then it would need to be replaced or repaired (see if Xemodex does work on clusters). Not sure if your model "pairs" the cluster with the ECU or if you can simply drop in a used replacement. Seems to me, the seller simply scanned the codes and cleared them and during your test drive the car accumulated enough data to set the code again. Not sure why you think there may have been some tampering with the cluster since the light came on.

 

Thanks for taking the time to respond. There is a code for p0089-00 fuel regulator performance, which I've come to see is a common and somewhat perplexing code for many. I'll post that to one of the corresponding threads and hopefully, the Volvo dealer will get that sorted out for us. And I'll look into the cluster configuration and Xemodex... this is exactly what I was looking for, a source for potential circuit board repair.

Just to clarify, the CEL does not work at all. It was on when we test-drove the car, so we asked the Seller to have it looked at, as we did not want to take it with the CEL illuminated and indicating a problem. He agreed to do the repair, charged us an extra $500 for it, and the light was off when we picked it up so we were satisfied. What we didn't notice was that the CEL was no longer illuminating on start, and then going off again, as it's supposed to. Never knew to check that... we just saw the light was off so we assumed the proper repair had been made. We now realize how naive we were. When we took the car in for its inspection, it failed because of this. So our mechanic looked into it further, found it was completely inoperable, and saw signs he felt indicated the cluster had been pulled and tampered with. We are waiting for a second opinion from the Volvo master tech, just to be sure. We don't want to accuse someone of something unless we're very confident a tampering has occurred. But based on what we know so far, we are inclined to believe our mechanic's initial assessment. Plus, we were given no proper receipts for the repairs–no service statement, parts receipts, etc. Just a handwritten receipt that says, "$500 for repairs made". Feel free to insult me up and down for that. lol

 

Wow sounds like he pulled the cluster out and removed whatever is needed to illuminate the engine light. I am pretty sure you can get the guy in trouble for doing that and at the very least get your money back.