Buying review 2004-2012 Volvo (V50-S40-C30) Common Issues Engines Inspection

Hi everyone, today we will take a look at the Volvo V50, the information in this video is also applicable to the S40 and C30. This Volvo V50 is the stationwagon variant, the V stands for versatility and the S for sedan. The sedan for his model is the S40, also there is a small coupe in the form of the C30.

Technical information is similar for all these body types, engines are shared between these models. First things first, these cars belong to the second generation. They were built between 2004 and 2012. There is however one 1 generation V50 with is the continuation of the gen one v40 classic. The V40 was Volvo’s smaller wagon for the 90’s. 

In 2007 there was a facelift in which measurements, the interior and the front were altered. The fasted engines got a performance update, these engines were mostly petrol powered engines, the 1.6, the 1.8, the 2.0 liter, the 2.4 liter 5 cylinder and the 2.5 liter 5 cylinder with a turbo that was fitted in the top of the range T5 model. Only the T5 has 4 wheel drive, all the other types had front-wheel drive.

After the 2007 facelift there also was a FFV, or fuel flexible vehicle with a 1,8 liter engine that was replaced in 2009 with a 2 liter 4 cylinder. If you wanted a diesel you had three choices, the 1.6, the 2.0 liter and the 2.4 5 cylinder D5. In 2010 the 2.0 liter diesel was replaced with two smaller displacement engines that had more performance, a 150 and 177 HP variant. Diesel were standard equipped with a particle filter. The diesels only had front wheel drive. Technically a lot of engines came from Ford, at the time of production Volvo was owned by Ford, this meant that lots of components where exchanged between the brands.

The Ford Focus ST has the T5 engine from Volvo for instance. The chassis of the Volvo S40, V50 and C30 are from Ford, so it is quite nice to drive. Now let’s focus on the strong and the weaker points of these cars.

Strong points

• Original design
• Comfortable cars for longer distance driving
• Overall driving pleasure also because of its Ford genes 

Attention points for these cars

• Cars that were built in 2007 sometimes suffer from problems with its ESP. The root cause of the problems lay in the ABS-unit from Bosch. Volvo replaced these parts usually free of charge. So if you see the ESP light on the dash, you know where to check first. Make sure the garage fixes this problem for you.
• Some of the 5 cylinders had problems with the crankcase venting unit. This can be combated with a new version of the oil filter house. The old version is recognizable on the ribbed hose. If you keep on driving with a whistle coming from the engine this will lead to serious engine damage. The venting of the crankcase will then happen through the crankshaft bearings. This will lead to extreme pressures on the crankshaft and will eventually lead to a broken engine
• The axillary cylinder of the clutch will sometimes leak oil. This cylinder is part of the thrust bearing, if you need to replace the bearing it is smart to replace the clutch as well since this parts need to be detached to replace the bearings anyway
• There are reports of the jittering of the car due to a fuel pressure sensor that is almost due for replacement. The sensor itself cost between 70-80 euros and costs about 15 minutes to replace. Replacing this sensor will prevent all kind of jittering problems with the car
• If you encounter a broken drive shaft by using the maximum steering angle you can not replace this shaft by buying this part. You have to replace the whole front axle. On the left side it cost you about 460,- euro and on the right side about 510,- euro at you Volvo dealer
• The four cylinder diesels, the 1.6 and 1.8 version with the particle filter have sometimes the tendencie to throw sludge into the oil during regenerating. This will cause the oil level to exceed the maximum. The service interval of the particle filter is 120.000 KM, if this interval is ignored then the filter need to regenerate even more frequent so this will aggravate the problem further. In certain situation the engine will suck up oil trough the crankcase ventilation unit, this will cause your engine to behave strangely. Only remedy would be to check your oil level regularly and do not refill oil to its max. And do replace the particle filter on time of course.
• During a few years the distribution chain of the four cylinders Volvo engines had a interval of 240.000 KM, other years Volvo changed the interval to 140.000. Your dealer can tell you more about this. Always check if the chain is already replaced with cars that have higher mileages

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