Start/stop engine feature not working for over 1 year

Faults and Technical chat for the Volvo XC40
Bekster
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri Nov 02, 2018 12:11 am

Post by Bekster »

the start/stop feature has not been working on my car for over 1 year. My car is nearly 3 years old. I blamed the problem on the restricted mileage, due to Covid. Last year summer I went on holiday and did 2000miles (Approx 3000km) in just over 2 weeks. The carengaged the start/stop a few times during the holiday, but stopped working since.

I asked the volvo garage to check this during the annual servicr, but volvo UK did not approve of the warranty repair. Has this happened to someone else?

is there a disclaimer in the warranty paperwork relating to allowing them to deny this warranty claim?

The garage offered to do an initial check for £98 (120Euro). Guess they come back to me recommending to buy a new battery!

Andy40
Posts: 446
Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2022 10:24 am

Post by Andy40 »

I’m a bit confused as to why, if the car is still in manufacturers warranty, they wouldn’t check it ??

If they found the battery to be at fault, then that’s a different argument to have with them, but do suspect they’ll try to claim this not as a warranty item…
eugen61
Posts: 1211
Joined: Sun May 10, 2020 7:33 am

Post by eugen61 »

Start-stop function is linked to support battery, not main battery. My one year old car had a faulty support battery that was replaced for free with Volvo’s 2 year warranty plan. See more info on this thread: viewtopic.php?p=22425#p22425
Chris John
Posts: 496
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2020 9:08 pm

Post by Chris John »

Mines not worked for months. I had the car serviced last week and asked them to check it. The support battery was at 68% and apparently it won’t work until it’s at 85%. I’d just driven 143 miles without a stop a few days before, however usually it’s short journeys. In my opinion the stop start isn’t for for purpose
Volvo XC40 T5 R-Drive Pro. Thunder Grey with lots of extras
Bekster
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri Nov 02, 2018 12:11 am

Post by Bekster »

these first feedbacks sounds like a volvo is for max 2 years. Dont buy or lease one. Shame on them. I have a 4 year lease and need to select my new car within 3 months from now. Volvo does not seem to consider anyting except for their (VERY) short term vision. I had a merc before this first volvo, they force me to change to a different brand once again. Or am i too strict?
Bekster
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri Nov 02, 2018 12:11 am

Post by Bekster »

i forgot to say that i really like my xc40 T4. people joining a trip were of similar thoughts. but i do NOT like a brand to just ignore me and me getting this generic phone call that volvo does not accept my claim. After the originalservice volve did NOT even list my battery fault on the service invoice. I feel I was completely ignored. I dont want a new volvo or do I??
Chris John
Posts: 496
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2020 9:08 pm

Post by Chris John »

Bekster wrote: Mon Apr 11, 2022 8:25 pm i forgot to say that i really like my xc40 T4. people joining a trip were of similar thoughts. but i do NOT like a brand to just ignore me and me getting this generic phone call that volvo does not accept my claim. After the originalservice volve did NOT even list my battery fault on the service invoice. I feel I was completely ignored. I dont want a new volvo or do I??
How do you know there’s a problem with your battery?. As I said in my post if the support battery is not at correct charge the stop start won’t work. You did long journeys and it worked so it may well be working as designed
Volvo XC40 T5 R-Drive Pro. Thunder Grey with lots of extras
como
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Jun 17, 2021 4:34 pm

Post by como »

I picked up my car, new, last July. The Stop/Start worked for approximately 2 weeks. I do a return 30-mile commute on dual carriageways, so it gets a steady run each day. After a few months, I put the main battery on a charger/conditioner and the Stop/Start began to work again for about 3 days. It then stopped working and has never worked since. I'm unsure about the relationship between the main and auxiliary batteries. However, charging the main battery did, briefly, fix the issue. Overall I think the function is merely a tick-box exercise to appear to meet certain emission regulations. It most certainly is not fit for purpose. That's my personal experience anyway. My 3 previous cars were Mercedes C and E class vehicles with this facility and they all performed as advertised throughout a total of 9 years of ownership.
T3 Auto R Design Pro, Thunder Grey, MY2022
Felindre
Posts: 777
Joined: Wed Dec 23, 2020 2:19 pm
Location: South Wales, UK

Post by Felindre »

Volvo's not alone with this issue, VW also have a lot of complaints with their system, though I've found it mostly reliable, even on my 6 year old Tiguan. But then being in the countryside, even our short trips are fairly long.

On my B4 stop start has been faultless, but then it's a totally different system with a separate 48v battery and a large motor generator belt driven off the engine. This replaces the conventional starter motor, and is very quiet in starting.
B4 AWD Inscription , Fusion Red, Blond interior. Drivers Assist, Climate, Tinted rear windows and Towing pack.
Ordered 14 Dec 20, delivered 10 March 21
Bekster
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri Nov 02, 2018 12:11 am

Post by Bekster »

Chris John wrote: Mon Apr 11, 2022 10:28 pm
Bekster wrote: Mon Apr 11, 2022 8:25 pm i forgot to say that i really like my xc40 T4. people joining a trip were of similar thoughts. but i do NOT like a brand to just ignore me and me getting this generic phone call that volvo does not accept my claim. After the originalservice volve did NOT even list my battery fault on the service invoice. I feel I was completely ignored. I dont want a new volvo or do I??
How do you know there’s a problem with your battery?. As I said in my post if the support battery is not at correct charge the stop start won’t work. You did long journeys and it worked so it may well be working as designed
i do not know if this is a battery fault. The software was updated during the service 2 weeks ago and did not make a difference. They did not even look at it, because Volvo did not approve it. So no one knows what is wrong.

I used to have a E-class Merc with a 3litre diesel engine and that start/stop system worked without any problems for 4 years. Being a diesel, and bigger engine than my T4 petrol, it is dissapointing the T4 has this problem.
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