Has anyone experienced an air bag warning which advises you to take your vehicle to the nearest Volvo workshop as your air bag has a problem. Well I did. I had only owned the xc 40 for a week. Returning the car to the dealership little did I know what a saga it would turn into...
The dealership had the car for 2 week and then told me I have some good news and some bad news. Good news we know it’s a problem with your rear centre seat belt. The automatic tensioner in an accident doesn’t work, we need a new one. Bad news it’s going to take 4 weeks to get here.....fast forward 4 weeks....sir we have some good news and bad news...good news is we’ve fitted the new seat belt ....the bad news is it didn’t fix the problem.....more huddled discussions in work shop.....the good news sir we found the problem ....The wiring loom has low readings....the bad news is....the Replacement wiring loom will have to come from Sweden.....really.....really....
Well you better replace the xc 90 Petrol You’ve given me with a replacement Like for like xc 40 As I can’t afford a shell petrol tanker to follow me to my golf club because the xc90 drinks juice. Certainly sir....
8 weeks later I get my car back....but I was not happy due to the inordinate length of time to fix The car.....the compromise offer From Volvo was a brand new car With 6 miles on the clock....vs 20,000 miles on my first addition.....having driven the lower spec xc40 for some 6 weeks, I realised my first addition had every thing on it known to man, and the replacement new vehicle didn’t and would never live up to my expectation. No camera, no auto unlocking, no wave your foot under the boot with your hands full of golf gear.....
so I refused the offer as I didn’t want to be reminded that I had accepted low spec car and was not what I wanted....every day I opened the car door. So I Compromised and excepted My repaired first addition and an extension to the warranty for an addition year.
Don’t get me wrong I love the xc40 car....The 360 camera brilliant, adaptive cruise control, lane guidance, lock your car remotely when you rush off to the match. etc......
Now here’s the rub.....I can live with a rear seatbelt fault as I never sit in the back. What I can’t accept is to be in film called ground hog day. Because I guess by now your on my wave length......yes the same thing happened again....almost to the day a year later.....which reminds me....I will have to vary my route home....
We’ve got some good news and some bad news for you sir.......really......what’s the good news.....well...we need to replace the complete wiring loom of the car......your kidding me......errr well no sir, the bad news is we’ve no idea when the new loom will arrive....ok give me the car back then I will drive it until the wiring loom turns up......err the really bad news sir is.....the car is in bits all over the workshop.....s%-+=/ hell.....The wiring loom apparently is bespoke, and manufactured for each car. It’s not standard and because your car is a first addition, it has more connectors on than most hence we don’t know how long Sweden is going to take to make it....and then again there is Brexit and were not sure of our priority in the manufacturers.
( I am thinking now, do I trust these guys to reassemble the car with out creating more problems than when I started.) Using a well known maxim, don’t touch any if it works....these characters have touched b%%%=+-y everything.
I want a replacement xc40 then.....we will try sir, but with lockdown and operating on a skeleton staff I’m not sure when we can get you one..... Pause....one week later......we’ve got some good news sir, .....we’ve got a replacement vehicle......bad news it’s is not available till we get a driver....it will be next week now.....
Stay tuned for an update on the continuing adventures of the xc40 first addition. Which won car of the year award.........really....
