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Got a check engine light in Sept'05. Brought it to dealer. They replaced "sticking charcoal canister evap. valve". Cost me $185. Less than a week later, it lighted up again! Service rep. wanted to charge $120 again just to diagnose again! Talked to manager and he waived it. They replaced a "vacuum hose stunt" that was supposedly brittle. 5 months later, light is on again! I brought it to a volvo indy shop who charged me $65 to diagnose and told me to bring it back to dealer and have them give a warranty service for their work since the error code is #611 again.
Called dealer service manager and he said he will charge me $120 to diagnose! If problem is the same, they'll warrant it, if it is a different part, they'll charge for diagnosis, labor and parts! This light is costing me too much, but the car seems to be running fine! From what I heard, code 611 involves 25 or so parts.
Any advice ?
Also, what is a good OBD-II(?) diagnostic code reader for volvos ?
I also want to get a repair manual. I hope to do some maintenance work myself or I will lose my pants having this car diagnosed by witch doctors!
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
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OK, so I finally got my Exuus Innova reader from Ebay. It sure looks new! Sealed when it arrived. I tried using it on my '98 V70, which recently had the Code 611, but has since been fixed by the dealer - they claim it's the gas cap.
Anyway, everything is running fine on the V70, but I just wanted to see how this OBDII reader works. But for some reason, the yellow warning light keeps coming up and a host of monitors cannot be read. All it does is to try every 15 secs. and I see the blinking yellow light on the reader. I tried it too with engine running, and same results.
I tried it on my '98 S70, and I got a green light. Everything passed!
What could be the reason for it not reading diagnosis from my V70 ?
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If you are not ready to give the dealer another $120.00 for diagnosis then you'd better get that way fast. The odds of it being the same part 5 months later are not that good and even if it is chances are good that it will get buried and they will find something else that is wrong and charge you for it. When you took it in the first time and the light came back on a week later that was complete and total bullshit and the service manager knew it, that is why he waived the additional diagnostic charge. Now 5 months later you probably do have another problem that is not related to what they found in your first two trips through. The evap systems in the later cars, hell in all of the cars, leaves a lot to be desired both in terms of diagnostic capabilities and cost on the parts. There are some decent code readers out there, you can get some nice stuff from OTC at the tool warehouse and then there are PC based systems as well that are pretty nifty too. If you have intentions of owning any later model Volvos I would get a tool that can do CAN systems, take a look at the OTC stuff. You can get into some of their scan tools for around $300.00 and they will do CAN protocols as well as a bunch of other stuff too.
Mark
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My apologies Mark. I didn't realize OTC is a brand! WOW! They have a lot of models. There's quite a few in Ebay. Now I'm more confused, but at least I'm concentrating on one brand. Thanks.
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Thanks,Mark. I was hoping someone has had experince with CODE 611. Well, like you said, they might replace some other part, but just the same, they'll charge me another $120 just to diagnose. So, I'm thinking it is better to invest that $ on a code reader. Sorry, I'm not a 'pro-do-it-yourselfer', can you please tell me what CAN means ? maybe i'll check google.
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OK, found it! CAN=Controller Area Network.
Does anyone know a reader that works well witrh Volvos ? It seems like Volvo has it's own codes. I checked on OBD code site and they don't list #611.
Anyway, here's where I found the meaning of CAN. I wonder if this is a good reader for Volvos?
http://www.bizrate.com/buy/noncat_prod_details__oid--337013639.html
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For the most part all of your manufacturers have their own list of codes and they also list generic OBD II codes. IF the code can be translated into a generic code it will be and if not you will get either "manufacturer specific code" or something like P1XXX, the first digit is either 1 (manufacturer specific) or it is a zero (generic code). For the most part if it is a P1 code then you could be hosed and not be able to get the code definition, not always but often enough. Obviously if it is a P0 code then you will have the definition right there on the screen or be able to get it from one of the many online sources. Pain in the ass huh? Try talking to the techs at a local Volvo dealer and tell them you have a P code, they will look at you like you have three heads. They do not deal in P codes and would not know what one was if it bit you. So, unless you buy a Volvo specific scan tool from someone like AST or Baum then you are going to have a generic tool like OTC or some of the other guys sell and it will do a host of cool shit that the specific tool will not do but it is only going to avail you if you work on a multitude of different cars. This is just a brief overview of the way it works and what is out there, investigate it yourself and you many find a scanner that suits your needs and will do it all for you. They are upgradeable and new ones come out all of the time so God only knows what is currently available.
Mark
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Thanks for the info!
well, I drove to the dealer, after much negotiations. Apparently, the evap. valve did give up (after 5 months)! They replaced it for free, BUT they said they found another error code (which the indy shops did not tell me about). The manager was "nice" enough to give me a break on diagnosis for this new problem! He charged my only half ($60). You see, they promised not to charge for diagnosis if the problem was the same. In the case of the evap. valve, it was! But with the new problem, they get to charge for diagnosis again and they replaced my gas cap ($34). Makes me wonder.......
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Is that the only dealer in your area? What a rip! It doesn't take a half an hour to plug in a scan tool. Did they give you the old gas cap back? I sure hope they called you first before replacing the cap, and you were so concerned with the evap code you forgot to tell them not to replace the cap.
You need a new mechanic, real fast. At least another dealer!
Klaus
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(V♂LV♂s 1975 164, 1995 854T, 1998 V70R)
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Well the guy working on the car needs to get paid something to do it or are you in the habit of working for free, most people are not. The standard rate to hook up the "scan tool" as you refer to it and interpret codes is 1 hour labor. The service manager did cut him a deal and only charged him half an hour to look at it and replace the faulty gas cap. That is more than fair, how long do you think that tech spent on that problem, between getting the ticket, finding the car, pulling the code, checking the gas cap on the smog machine, getting the part, installing a new cap and running it through it's leak check diagnostic to make sure that it was the only source of a large leak and was indeed fixed, writing it all down on the ticket, reporting to the service advisor, waiting for the customer approval, closing the ticket. This all takes time and yes it is all part of the picture. Now consider that you are in a brand new state of the art facility, that dealer in Buena Park is less than a year old, with all of the overhead that comes with it.
If you want it done for less you can come to my shop where I won't give you a ride home, I won't offer you a cup of coffee, I won't wash your car when I am done with it, you can hang out in the customer waiting area next to the water cooler and read the paper, if you want you are welcome to come back and bullshit with the guy working on your car who by the way is the same guy that wrote you up and pulled the parts, etc. And guess what I am going to charge you an hour labor too, but if your nice and/or a regular customer I may not even charge you at all. Point is you generally get what you pay for and the guy working on your car needs to get paid for it, period.
Mark
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About 30 minutes :)
I guess I have a good relationship with Borton Volvo. They will look up strange codes in their book, go over the write up with me and explain what I should do to help me help my car. They do get to do major things, like T belt changes and a new altenator for my 850. They do not get to operate on my 164. And they only charged me $25 to put the V70 on a lift and diagnose a non-existant oil leak (from the turbo air tube) and yell at me for not greasing the steering stops!
I get 15% off on all parts, but that is because we have a good relationship. I never try to get something for nothing, but in return I expect a shop to be fair. Borton knows my limited mechanical skills and will let me know if it is something I can fix. I bring in donuts on special occasions and if they are busy, they tell me to go home!
I just have a hard time, when I hear of a simple job, justfying the charges. Small businesses know that to keep customers coming back, you sometimes make allowances for customers they like. And it is up to the customer to find a shop they can trust and like.
Klaus
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(V♂LV♂s 1975 164, 1995 854T, 1998 V70R)
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I asked for the old gas cap back. Yes, they called me first. Thing is, if I didn't let them do it, then they'll say the same thing if it lights up again. Anyway, this Volvo dealer is in Buena Park, CA. I hope it does not light up with the same code again so I don't have to see them anymore.
Next time I will check it myself. I finally won an Equus Innova OBDII reader from Ebay.
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Good code reader...I don't leave home in my S70 without it.
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1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic, 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red, Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon. My cars have been running so well lately they've got me worried.
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