Engine light lots of codes

[Tomnewcombe99]

Hi, I’m at a loss of what to do so any tips or suggestions would be appreciated.
Orange engine light came on in my Volvo xc40 3 months ago (2018 petrol 60k) and is solid not flashing. Took it to garage for diagnostics they said there was about 50 codes so couldn’t tell what was wrong cleared it. Then a week later it comes back on, take it back and again about 35 codes they clear it and suggest if it comes back on get it checked for electrical issues.
Comes back on a couple of weeks later so take it to a check with an electrical garage and they couldn’t see anything wrong and again cleared it.
Light comes on so leave it for 3 weeks as it’s in for a service - nothing comes up in the service and they said there was 50-60 codes. They cleared it and 2 days later it has come back on. I’ve got MOT in 3 weeks so will fail if engine light is still on and I’ve paid nearly £300 in diagnostics plus the £250 service. So as I said any help would be amazing!

[Deleted User 4613]

I don't understand why the codes have been cleared when they are the clue as to what is wrong. Do you have the list from each reset? It may well be that one issue is causing multiple error codes but you need to find a Volvo specialist who is willing to analyse all the codes and based on their experience get to the root cause.

[Tomnewcombe99]

So it’s a second hand Volvo not under warranty and a Volvo dealership is over an hour away so took it to a kwik fit. They said because there was over 50 codes they couldn’t tell what it was and hoped that if it came on again there would only be a few at most but when it happened again there was loads again so they said it was electrical issue. So took it to electrical specialist and he said the same basically 50+ codes so couldn’t possibly tell me which one it was. Again same with service… I suppose eventually if I keep getting it cleared and taking it in they might be able to narrow it down but how many trips is that going to cost me?!
I might take to a Volvo specialist and see what

[Chris John]

You need to take it to a Volvo garage, or as a minimum a Volvo specialist and certainly not a Kwik fit

[Deleted User 4613]

Couldn't agree more, Kwik Fit is OK for tyres, perhaps an exhaust or aircon recharge but they are not suitable for anything else. If you buy a Volvo you have to accept that they need a specialist garage or main dealer to maintain to a decent standard. Sometimes you can find a small conscientious garage who will also have the skills but they are becoming hard to find.

[Felindre]

You could buy your own scanner and do the same as them for what you've paid them!

[percymon]

You could purchase a wifi/bluettoth OBD2 scanner , and use a phone app such as car scanner or EOBD-Facile which are free. You dont need a £2k scanner to read most of the codes.

With you own you could scan daily and note the sequence of codes..

You have an awful lot of codes though - have the little vermin been at the loom ?

[Tomnewcombe99]

Hi thanks for the replies on this. So I took the advice and bought a reader, don’t know what kwik fit was on about as only 1 code came back P2002 diesel particulate filter efficiency below threshold bank 1.
So first question (and apologies if this is daft!) but I have a petrol car so is that correct? And is the advice still take it to a specialist to sort this issue?
Thanks!

[Felindre]

I know mid 2010's there was mention of a Petrol Particulate Filter being introduced on cars, so maybe it's the same code. Does you scanner have a selection for the vehicle or is it generic?

[Tomnewcombe99]

No it’s just a generic one - fairly basic only paid £30 for it