I saw a V70 on fire today!

[Outrageous]

I was rather unnerved to see a V70 on fire today! We were travelling southbound on I-95 (limited access interstate highway) in Maine (near the town of York) when I noticed a car in the breakdown lane on the northbound (opposite) side, with smoke billowing up. As we drew nearer I recognized it as a dark blue V70 (I believe not an XC). The hatch and at least the driver's door were open, and as we passed by I saw yellow flames rising a couple of feet from the driver's footwell area. The family and quite a bit of luggage were out of the car. Another vehicle had stopped to assist.

[adamc]

Wow, that's horrible...

I was actually surprised as to how warm the engine compartment got on my XC70. Driving around town for a bit and pulled into the driveway, turned off the car, went inside for a bit (5 minutes or so), and then went out to open the hood to take a shot at adjusting the headlights.

Felt like the air was pretty darn warm in there even when I was sticking my hands in to undo the secondary hood catch. Warmer than any other cars I've owned. Warm air could certainly indicate a well sealed engine compartment that reduces noise, etc.

Engine thermostat is dead set in the middle of the gauge though at all speeds, external temperatures...

Adam

[2004XCer]

I was also curious about the higher temperatures in the engine compartment with our new XC70 than I've experienced with other cars. Our Honda/Toyota mechanic explained that turbo models generally run at higher temperatures than the non-turbo models. He was generally not impressed with turbo-ized cars. He complained that everything cooks...anything rubber or plastic in the engine compartment fails faster and presumably engine components as well. All this, I learned after purchasing my XC70. :(


Any thoughts on Volvo operating temperatures vs other cars? Are the Volvo cooling systems more efficient to account for this?


Mark

[adamc]

Ah yes,

We always learn after the fact... Be careful of this forum Mark, you can "learn" A LOT here!

The turbos running warmer makes sense since it brings in warmer air. Interesting point about all the rubber, plastic...

[dlr97]

I don't think it is true that internal operating temperatures for turbo-supercharged engines are necessarily higher than a high compression non-turbo engine of similar size and output.

Engine compartment temperature is higher due to the intercooler mostly. Volvo has more than 25 years of experience with turbos at this point, and the turbo in the XC70 is a low pressure unit which heats the intake air less than the higher pressure units on, for instance, the V70R.

We have had two previous low-pressure turbo Volvos (2000 and 1993 models) and had no temperature-related problems.

[pting]

Engine thermostat is dead set in the middle of the gauge though at all speeds, external temperatures...

I wouldn't be surprised if many manufacturers set up their guages to read dead center through a fairly wide range of temps. Basically if the temps are within specs, the guage will be dead center. My old 1995 M3 did this, and the only time the guage moved north of center, my waterpump had blown.

My old Audi had an accurate guage and driving at various speeds in various temps will definitely affect the water temp. The oil temp however did not move much at all. I wish the XC had an oil temp guage, as it's more important than water temp, but most cars don't these days.

[Big]

Car fires are fairly common and are usually caused by fuel leaks or electrical failures, not slightly elevated operating temperatures. Over the years I've seen several vehicles on fire by the side of the road. The saddest was in a storm on the way to ski when a Mercedes sedan full of gear was engulfed in flames while the people huddled by the side of the road and were clearly not able to grab much before leaving the car. This year I saw a new, full-sized motor home with the front end burned up.

The funniest vehicle fire I heard of was from a friend who led backcountry jeep trips for foreign tourists. They doused the morning's camp fire and put the remains in a box on the roof. After awhile on the trail they noticed smoke pouring off the roof. Some not-quite-out coals had been fanned by the wind and burst into flames. It was quite the scene as they pulled over to put out the fire while the French tourists exclaimed, "jeep flambe!"

[2004XCer]

dlr97,

Are there examples of previous Volvo turbo models consistently going the distance >100k without major engine or turbo repairs?

Thanks,
Mark

[cetaft]

I had a 1983 245T that went 130K and a 1986 745T that went 194K.

[gibbons]

I was talking with the head technician at my dealership before we bought our XC, asking him where the trouble areas would be. Since I had never had a turbo, but heard lots about turbo problems with other cars in general, I asked about them. He Volvos are not perfect, and they have most types of problems like any other cars. He said, however, that has never replaced a turbo.

[cmon4day]

With the increased amount of heat generated by the turbo, be sure to have the oil changed early and often. Especially if all you do is drive around town.

[Silky]

I was rather unnerved to see a V70 on fire today! We were travelling southbound on I-95 (limited access interstate highway) in Maine (near the town of York) when I noticed a car in the breakdown lane on the northbound (opposite) side, with smoke billowing up. As we drew nearer I recognized it as a dark blue V70 (I believe not an XC). The hatch and at least the driver's door were open, and as we passed by I saw yellow flames rising a couple of feet from the driver's footwell area. The family and quite a bit of luggage were out of the car. Another vehicle had stopped to assist.
Holy crap! I can't believe that this was actually posted here, honest to God I know that person! :eek:

They were on there way to the Subaru dealer to trade in their V70 for a new Outback XT and the damned Volvo blew up! It wasn't the first time their Voe-Voe blew up either, that thing was almost as bad as the Ford Exploder :p

[piet22]

From www.consumeraffairs.com:


September 13, 2004
Volvo is recalling 460,000 cars worldwide to fix the wiring in an electronic control module for the cars' main cooling fan. It's the company's largest recall ever.

About 150,000 vehicles in the United States are affected. The cars involved are the S80, S60 and XC70, from model years 1999, 2000 and 2001.

The company said the faulty unit can cause a short circuit in the car's main cooling fan, particularly during slow-speed driving in warm climates. The short circuit causes the main cooling fan to run continuously which, in turn, causes the cooling fan's electric motor to overheat.

If it overheats, the cooling fan could fail, which in turn would cause the vehicle's engine to overheat.

Also, components near the cooling fan could be damaged by excessive heat from the fan motor and there is some risk of fire, although there have been no reported fires, according to Volvo spokesman James Hope.

Volvo will replace the entire cooling fan assembly in the vehicles effected, said Hope. Car owners will be informed of the recall by letter.

[Silky]

From www.consumeraffairs.com: (http://www.consumeraffairs.com:/)


September 13, 2004
Volvo is recalling 460,000 cars worldwide to fix the wiring in an electronic control module for the cars' main cooling fan. It's the company's largest recall ever.

About 150,000 vehicles in the United States are affected. The cars involved are the S80, S60 and XC70, from model years 1999, 2000 and 2001.
Jeez, and I though Ford had a ton of recalls! :rolleyes: I guess Ford and Volvo are a lot more alike than I had thought...

[birddog]

Any more info on this? I've been looking for days now to see if there is any more information but cannot find any. I ,m curious if it does indeed have to do with the recall.

Has anyone received the recall letter as of yet?

:confused:

[Tom H]

The car fire was on a V70. The V70 is not on the recall list. It says S60, S80 and XC70.