Timing Belt Volvo 945 16 v

Hello,

Would anyone be able to give me some advice about my 1991 Volvo 945 GLE
16 Valve.

I live in Germany and booked my car for a service at my local Volvo
dealer.
I had him to do a full service and as it was approaching 90,000 miles
he also replaced the timing belts for the second time

That was in June this year.

In August I noticed that the Timing belts were making more noise than
normal so I took the car back and asked him to check the work.

He checked all the belts / tensions and sent me another bill.

The next day I returned to the UK for a holiday in Cornwell and two
weeks later on our return to Germany we had timing belt / engine
failure.

On investigation I could see that the lower right hand toothed pulley
had come away from the shaft and had made a hole in the front cover.

I had the car towed back to the dealer and he has said that my engine
is a complete right off, and that as the car is 15 years old it would
not be worth fitting a replacement engine.

He has also not accepted responsibility as he said it was a bolt that
failed, although he has said he would give me a good discount if I buy
a new car from him.

As I had not planned to buy a new car at the moment I would prefer to
have my old car fixed.

Although it is 15 years old it is very clean, has low mileage and ideal
for my trips to the UK.

Has anyone any idea what would be Volvo's policy in such a case?
The car has always been serviced by Volvo. After following the
recommended schedule for timing belt replacement, two weeks later the
engine is a right off. This cannot be a coincidence?

Any advice would be appreciated.


Thanks

pmcfadd

 

Don't know about legal policy there, but here in the States the burden falls
pretty heavily on anybody who touched it that recently. I think if you are
persistent you will get the compensation you clearly deserve. They really
botched that job.

Mike

 

I don't think that the Volvo company is in any position of liability
here, but it seems likely that the dealer did something wrong or
incomplete. It also sounds like the dealer is not going to
voluntarily do anything to help you, so now it comes to legal issues.
For that you need the advice of an expert in the laws of your area.

John

 

I made good experiences in talking directly to German VOLVO Headquarter.
There are people who are willing to help you. I am sure, that they will
investigate for you (drop me an email for contact address)!

It sounds to me that the dealer/mechanic made a mistake. Maybe he
overtightend a bolt or a nut, so that the pulley came loose, later?


Regards,
Torsten

 

Thanks Mike,

I definitely will take advice and I think I will contact Volvo direct.


Patrick

 

The question is, would the dealer have had any reason to remove and
then reinstall the "lower right toothed pulley" as part of the service?

IOW, did he in fact remove and reinstall the pulley?

It certainly is NOT necessary to do this as part of a timing belt
replacement; when I do it, none of the pulleys are affected.

It could be a coincidence, in which case of course you are left without
recourse against Volvo, the company (your warranty lapsed a decade ago).