I'm new to this forum and here's my first post asking anyone with similar experience(s).

I bought a used 2007 Volvo XC90 in 2011, and had gotten a check engine warning light earlier this year. Taking it to a local Volvo mechanic for Oil Change, he replaced the rubber ring around the "gas filler neck" and the check engine light went away. Last month, I got the CEL again and this time he recommended I take it to the dealer for ECM software upgrade and have the dealer check the leak detection pump. The dealer went ahead and did a complimentary Multipoint inspection. They recommended replacing the LDP and upgrading the ECM software afterwards.

The service report did not give me any report on the diagnostics pertaining the LDP, i.e., what was the "failure" code. I was told that sometimes their report misses printing some parts????

Is it possible to find out first if my ECM software is the upgraded version already, in which case the dealer could check to see if the LDP is faulty or not? I have read some cases in a Volvo forum where the LDP was OK and and hence the owner didn't have to replace it. If the ECM is not upgraded then I can have it upgraded first then replace the LDP if faulty. Final step would be to have the ECM software upgraded. Am I on the right track?

Anyone care to chime in with similar experience(s)?

 

Well in order to run the test on the fuel tank the new software has to be programmed into the vehicle. So ifhey recommended that then your vehicle more than likely needs the upgrade. Even with the new software in the vehicle when the test is done sometimes it does show that there was no fault found but down the road your CEL can come on with the same code. So in that case the most likely part that is failing would be the LDP.

 

Thanks for your chiming in. You see I suspect that I already have the latest software that would have been necessary to diagnose what's causing the CEL. Bottom line I guess is - it's hard to trust "stealerships" as for instance, I was told of umpteen number of additional items wrong such as upper torque mount on the engine needs to be replaced (costing almost $300), control arms bushing (costing more than $1000) and alignment, etc. - in addition to LDP replacement for $500 and ECM software upgrade of more than $200... (The car had just gone through a thorough check up by a qualified licensed Volvo shop and everything seems to be just fine except the CEL)...

Question at this time is "why would I need another software upgrade" if I already have the latest that diagnosed LDP replacement? And since the the diagnostic report did not mention any "ECM error code" per se, how did they come to that diagnosis to begin with? I mentioned to them about a local mechanic's assumption of the LDP failure...

Lastly, wishful thinking but is there any way I can find out for sure that the diagnosis of LDP failure is true and correct before I proceed with the replacement?

Thanks!

 

The only way to tell if the LDP is failing is to run the diagnostic test on the fuel tank and even then it will be hard to reproduce it failing because they are so intermittent. Iike you said everyone assumed that the LDP was bad and the dealership needs to download the current software into the car to correctly diagnose it. How do you know that the ecm has the latest software? Most shops do not check if the software if it is just in the shop for a check up.