Failed Auxiliary Drive Belt - after 529 miles...

[RichardXC]

We collected our B4 Inscription Pro in September or October 2020. Since then, the car has barely done any miles due to lockdowns etc.

In fact, it's done 529 miles. Yesterday I used it to take an elderly relative to get a Covid jab and on the way home, whilst on the motorway, a couple of warning messages popped up.

Firstly, the message said the engine was too hot and I should drive slowly. This then escalated to Engine too hot, stop safely. So, on to the hard shoulder (thankfully I had left the "smart motorway" section and was a stretch of old fashioned "dumb but safe" motorway). As I came to a halt the message went away, so I pulled away again - slowly.

Second message popped up a few minutes later, warning me that the 12V battery was not charging and that I should stop. As I pulled up again, this message also disappeared.

By this time I was only 10 minutes from home, so I limped from layby to layby. Towards the end of the journey, there was a high-pitched squealing noise - akin to a slipping fan belt back in the day.

Anyway, got home, called Volvo assist and the technician came out after about 1.5 hours.

His report:

"No warnings or messages on dash, started engine and no messages, lifted bonnet and inspected engine and aux drive belt has failed".

This is what he saw under the bonnet:



All that yellowish stringy gunk is the remains of the drive belt...

The car was recovered to the local dealer who informed me today that they are waiting for an auxiliary belt tensioner from Sweden...

My last three cars have been faultless Audi's, so I'm finding this fairly unimpressive.

[Oldcol]

Hello Richard,
Just joined this forum , and contemplating a purchase soon, that belt failure is completely unacceptable on a new car, or was it the tensioner that has failed thus causing the belt to come loose and destroy itself.i hope you get it sorted soon and dont have any further issues.
I havent made my mind up on which engine yet , but my options are a T3 manual or the new B4 , in inscription pro trim .

[blastpipe]

The first time I've seen this type of failure reported on an XC40 either on here or Facebook.

A quick internet search shows more failures of this type on Audis than on XC40s.

Unfortunate for sure. Hope your dealer looks after you well.

[RichardXC]

I'm not sure, but I imagine the tensioner failed which caused the belt to fail.

As for the dealer - the usual story... I have to chase for information and the only thing they said was "We are waiting for a part...". No apology, recognition of the issue, or anything else.

[Dermottdog]

Not nice but the odd mechanical failure can occur on all makes and models. The dealers response is not ideal. Be sure to get a full technical report detailing the suspected reason for the failure. A stone could have been kicked up and semi dislodged the belt. The tensioner might be at fault or the belt might have damaged it (think of an F1 tyre and the damage it causes when they fail).

[XC40Warwick]

Sometimes components have faults during manufacture. Volvo seem to have been perfectly reasonable, they have to order the parts and wait for them to be delivered. There is also a global pandemic happening remember

My XC40 now has 30k miles and I have not had any mechanical issues.

[RichardXC]

Sometimes components have faults during manufacture. Volvo seem to have been perfectly reasonable, they have to order the parts and wait for them to be delivered. There is also a global pandemic happening remember

My XC40 now has 30k miles and I have not had any mechanical issues.

Good grief. I am well aware of the pandemic - and it may even be a reason for hoping a new car would be reliable...

I thought I would make other owners aware of the problem, but I should have known the subject would attract its fair share of apologists.

[Den48]

Hi all

I believe the initial response of the dealer has not been good, yes they have ordered parts because it is clear what is damaged ,but not to offer an apology for the failure and put a customer’s mind at rest with an assurance of an investigation is not good enough.

If it is found that there was a manufacturing fault with the belt or the tensioner that is bad luck and as mentioned earlier it’s bound to happen considering the thousands of parts made.

However it’s possible that the tensioner was not torqued up correctly at the factory and it gradually worked itself loose ( I doubt it would be part of of the pdi check) If this is the case , and I doubt that would be confirmed, pandemic or not that is not acceptable.

[Dermottdog]

Sometimes components have faults during manufacture. Volvo seem to have been perfectly reasonable, they have to order the parts and wait for them to be delivered. There is also a global pandemic happening remember

My XC40 now has 30k miles and I have not had any mechanical issues.

Good grief. I am well aware of the pandemic - and it may even be a reason for hoping a new car would be reliable...

I thought I would make other owners aware of the problem, but I should have known the subject would attract its fair share of apologists.

I honestly don’t think the comments you have received have come from apologists. The term I was thinking is realist. Very little in this world is perfect. Things like this can and do happen. The main thing is that the dealer has taken the problem on board and is running with it. My drivers heated seat didn’t work, it didn’t just pack up, it never worked. Dealer ordered a new heater element and fitted ASAP. All in all, good service. It’s unfortunate that the issue led to you having to keep pulling over but hopefully the route cause can be identified 100% and it won’t happen again.

[Deleted User 2507]

I have had company cars for the last 20 years and other than an awful Renault Laguna back in 2000 my only cars to fail on a big scale have been Volvo's. A V50 back in 2010 that I drove home in limp mode from Glasgow and this XC40 which is just not worth the 43K list price. I've not even done 9K miles and already getting engine emission warning lights. This hybrid isn't a solid enough product yet, its too much computer now and not enough car. I've come to this from back to back Lexus IS300H and they are by far the best cars I've had in 20 years. It was only their lack of PHEV at the time that brought me here. Wish I had gone for the Merc A250e which was my other choice now, but there you go, live and learn.