How frustrating for you.

As a matter of fact though, while spark plugs appear to be a simple job there is plenty of opportunity for a novice to screw it up in an expensive way. So I would not push him to do it.

In what city are you located? Maybe we can find you a mechanic.

 

Respect. You got a problem car and you're rolling up your sleeves and trying to figure it out. Good work.

I'm new here and not that mechanical myself, so of limited use, but I agree that a lot of your issues sounded like potential battery/power issues.

Where to from here I defer to the experienced Volvo members.

-Jeff

 

It would be best to keep your husband out from under the hood . At what point were these trouble codes extracted from the car's computer ? Where did you go to get these codes ?
This is important info in deciding how to advise you in what direction to take . The spark plugs should be changed regardless as a part of normal maintenance .
You will need to find a competent person (mechanic) to keep this vehicle operating correctly.

 

If the battery has a low charge, the car may not start. Once started, the alternator charges the battery. So if the battery has 11.5 volts when off, there should still be about 13.5 volts when running.

 

lololol

Consensus. So much better than actual knowledge. 97% of scientists agree.....

 

It's frustrating, but honestly I feel really bad about all of it, and try not to ask him to do anything anyway because I feel like it was my mistake.

That makes me feel a little better about him not doing it.

I am in Provo, UT & I would love to find a great mechanic nearby - I'm hesitant to go back to the local independent volvo shop after my experience there so far. My uncle owns a body shop but they have a mechanic there as well, I'm taking the car there today for the spark plugs, but I'd like to find someone who knows European cars really well (this guy may, I honestly don't know yet because I haven't been over there yet). You'd think I'd have one by now with 2 vw's 2 audis & a land rover under my belt. not to mention the audis, bmw's & land rovers I grew up with!

 

The new misfire codes? I pulled them yesterday at my neighborhood Napa Auto store. They had cleared when I changed the battery, then after about 90 miles of driving the CEL came back, I had it checked at AutoZone because it was Sunday & they're the only place open. It was the P0430 (the only constant code I've had since I got the car) so I drove with that on but after a few days I wanted to make sure there was nothing else so I checked it at Napa & that's when I had the code for random misfire and misfire in cylinders 2,3,4,7. After the battery I had felt no loss of power & didn't have a flashing check engine or the slow down or shift up message but still had misfire codes. This morning on a cold start, I DID have flashing CEL & the message but did not feel a loss of power so I pulled over and turned it off for awhile. After about 5 mins I turned it back on and drove home.

I am taking the car to change spark plugs today. If that doesn't help the misfires, I don't know the next action.

 

You do the easy things first and then move forward in a systematic way. Report back after plugs are changed.

I'm a member at a diesel vehicle board (tdiclub.com) that maintains a list of trusted mechanics. It can be hit or miss and you can have a bad experience at a good shop, but here's what I have for you. If you also own VWs the first two shops are VW specialists.

Autobahn Service Center
232 S Freedom Blvd
Provo, UT 84601

Alpine Foreign Repair
341 East 900 South
Salt Lake City, Utah 84111

You might also try:

Foreign Aid Foreign Auto
341 S State St
Orem, UT 84058

 

So nice to be so politely welcomed...

I said I wasn't mechanical, I didn't say I was new to cars.

There is no question a number of the issues the OP listed, on this or any modern car with lots of electronics, could be caused by a battery with low voltage or an alternator problem.

While that no longer appears to be the case, it was a perfectly appropriate and helpful observation and worth checking.

-Jeff

 

Check out the second post on this thread...

Also, the battery did potentially help, still misfiring but I had an issue where my heater would switch blowing hot & cold air every few seconds on the passenger side, that is no longer a problem. The crankshaft sensor has not come on again, so I think the battery change did help things just not everything.

 

I don't currently have all those, I just have had those (along with a Mazda and a Jeep) since I was 16. I took my Audi & tdi VW to Autobahn, I guess I didn't realize they'd be good for Volvo too.

Got some good news if I end up needing a cat, Erie has some exhaust manifolds for sale, and my uncles shop said they'd put it in. The other shop I called said they wouldn't because its illegal :X

 

OK Jeff, battery is covered now, so what's next?

 

Looks like Jeff's your new guru.

 

Plugs is plugs. An honest mechanic will also tell you what he doesn't have the skills/experience/tools/desire to do.

 

Spark plugs are changed.

So far, the CEL came on within like 2 blocks of the mechanic shop. Then, we cleared it & it came back about a mile and a half later (all last night). This morning, we drove about half a mile & it flashed & gave the message to "slow down or shift up". Pulled over, turned it off, pulled codes once more & had: P0300, P0302, P0303, P0304, P0306, P0307, P0308, P0336, & P0430.

We did not clear them, but drove to the shop where they were put in, about 5-10 miles. He plugged in and only saw the P0300 & P0430. He reset again and the light did not come back until 15 miles.

I went back to the same place that I pulled the codes this morning & the guy helped me this time. The only code he saw was P0430. I'm not sure if what I pulled this morning were old codes? Or if they went away on their own?

We haven't felt any loss of power since the plugs were changed but, I don't feel confident that the problem is fixed yet. One of the plugs they pulled out was broken & they looked terrible, so they needed to be changed regardless.

 

Interesting what people call a nightmare. I would have started with new coil packs and spark plugs first. Then a new battery and voltage regulator.

Spending hours googling codes tells you nothing unless you are trained to read and interpret the codes.

Don't blame the dealer either. They did not design or assemble the vehicle.

And btw, all vehicles can be problems. Man up.

 

I would like to know if this has been resolved yet. Are there any updates?

 

You should check if moisture is getting into your distributor cap. You should check my Volvo Horror story.


https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-...17/#post427144

 

Volvo hasn't used distributors since 1998.

 

Or this thread since 2014.