I have owned a 2000 S80 for three weeks now. Last week I fell victim to this vent tube cancer. The tube was pushed loose form its mount, caused the serpentine belt to go, and of course, as any car ownwer knows, when the rubber belt goes it takes the timing belt with it (yeah right!). My problem now is what do "WE" do about it. Please help.

While other here discuss this issue - my dealer "knows nothing about such a problem" The old Sgt Shultz defense, I guess.

Does anyone have any reference to service bulletins or advisories ?

The info regarding that has NEVER been in writing and probably never will be for what's now obvious reasons.

I fix these cars tubes whenever I see one as I know that replacing an engine or even R&Ring a cyl head is no fun on these cars and would prefer to avoid seeing that happen to anyone.

It's a bad situation, no doubt but if anyone reading this who has an earlier S80 with that tube in need of modification, do make sure to fix it ASAP!.

It's very easy to fix the tube (BEFORE damage that is). As mentioned below, just cut off the extra 3" of hanging tubing flush with the subframe and wire-tie the upper area (near the serp belt) to the large wiring harness. Doing those two steps WILL prevent that problem from occuring.

One more thing....be very aware of the front of your car when parking near those cement parking lot stops or curbs (especially if higher than usual). That includes ice in the winter, equally dangerous to that area.

On closer inspection I find that;
1 - you'd have to overhang a parking space curb SUBSTANTIALLY before ever engaging the 3" protrusion. Bad judgement, in my opinion. Ice chunks or road debris are another matter. It's stricly chance in that case. Another reason to avoid debris at all costs.
2 - somebody already made the suggested modification to my 03/2000 build S80 T6. It was never mentioned to me. I assume it got taken care of during a maintenance visit to the dealer. Volvo must be quietly making this modification. Do newer models have this same 3" vent tube protrusion?

My 2002.5 S80 T6 has a new design. The vent pipe comes off the bottom of the electronic box and routes directly down thru a flattened plastic pipe and comes out
about the same place, behind and under the US passenger side headlight. It goes NOWHERE NEAR the accessory belt and there is mucho clearance to the same wire bundle running by the belt area. I don't see an easy retrofit as the box is different. My 2000 has the pipe cut off 1/2 " above the plastic shield and the top of the plastic tube (just under the rubber hose) tied strongly to the front support member just in front of the big wire bundle.

Ben - excellent advice, and particularly well written. I had never considered frozen snow mounds, which are commonplace in the Northern US states after parking lots are plowed. They probably pose an even greater danger to S80s than concrete parking curbs.

It is indeed unfortunate that we don't get this sort of "plain talk" from Volvo. I suspect only a small percentage of S80 owners regularly visit, or are even aware of, Brickboard.com, and other similar forums. The rest are at risk of serious engine damage that could be easily prevented.

The Dealer I use for service is fairly large (several hundred new Volvos on the lot). It is conceivable that smaller dealers may have not seen an occurrence.

Other unfortunate owners report that their Service Manager's position, backed by the Volvo Zone Manager, is that the damage is considered "collision damage", and owners should make a claim with their insurance carrier. Their "official" position is that some foreign object must have been run over and thrown up into the belts. Thanks to the Brickboard, Volvospy, and Edmunds owner's forums, a lot of us know better. But some dealers may have accepted that premise, so are genuinely not aware of the issue.

Yet, some other owners (who have not yet experienced any damage) report that their Dealers were aware of the danger, and cut the duct shorter, flush with the underbody cover, at no charge, sometimes even without being asked. Cutting the duct shorter does reduce the chances of it coming loose, but does not eliminate it. Laying on my garage floor, I could extend my arm underneath and raise the underbody cover 2 inches, and push the duct into contact with the accessory belt, with just one finger, even with it still securely fastened (don't try this with the engine running).

Volvo appears to be "stone walling" on this issue, probably out of fear they will be faced with reimbursing scores of S80 owners the $3000 (or so) spent to repair the engine because of this obvious design flaw.

About all you can do (if you live in the USA) is post a complaint on the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration web site (www.nhtsa.gov, then select "complaint form"). If enough owners complain, perhaps NHTSA will force a recall, and owners will have grounds to sue for the cost of repairs.

When I asked the Customer Service manager at my Dealer about this issue (while making the appointment for my 7500 mile service), he immdiately knew what I was talking about, and said they would relocate the vent tube during service. He even showed me another S80 in the service area with the same damage, commenting that they get another such incident once every few months.

Unfortunately, when I brought my car in for service the next week, I supplied a written list of what I expected to be done. They then refused to relocate the vent, citing a directive from Volvo that there can be no written records.

I fixed it myself (not all that hard).

Open the hood.
On your left, the ECU/TCU housing is just in front of the power steering fluid filler cap.
A tube at the top ducts fresh air from the radiator shroud. Another tube, on the lower left, passes down along a recess in the washer fluid reservoir. At that point, it transitions from round to rectangular, then passes toward the center of the car, within 1/2" of the accessory (serpentine) belt. It then curves downward, through a cutout in the lower engine cover. It terminates in an angle cut, such as to form an aspirator. This is an essense a "road draft" tube, similar in principle to what 1950's cars used for crankcase ventilation. When the vehicle is moving, a vacuum is established that pulls fresh air into the ECU housing (I assume for cooling).

I cut the tube above the transition point, then used a section of radiator hose (and hose clamps), to reposition the outlet well away from the belt, behind the right fog light. I used "ty-wraps" to fasten it to existing components.

For those not familiar with the problem:
Extending your front bumper over a common parking curb can deflect the lightweight lower engine cover. This dislodges the vent tube which is only retained at the top. Once underway, the rapidly spinning belt and alternator fan suck the dislodged vent into contact with the belt (which could happen several miles down the road). The direction of belt travel draws the duct into a pulley where it is shredded and demolished. The timing belt cover, directly behind the accessory (serpentine) belt, is only a lightweight plastic material, whereas the vent duct is a harder plastic. Shards penetrate the timing belt cover, and cause the timing belt to skip when drawn into the tensioner or drive gear. Since this is an interference engine, the pistons and valves contact each other, for all practical purposes destroying the cylinder head, and perhaps pistons as well. Unfortunate S80 drivers report $3000 repair bills to rebuild the top of the engine. I have read 9 such reports in the last 14 months on various S80 boards.

Amazing. The ECU gets cooling air when the vehicle is moving, but not when sitting, which is when underhood temperatures soar. How long before fried ECUs become another problem? Why on earth would you move the ECU from the passenger compartment to the engine compartment, other than to reduce build costs? Or maybe the newfangled curvaceous styling made it impossible to fit the ECU in back? Feh.

I figure I've got about another ten years of Volvo driving left before the RWDs become impossible to maintain. Then what?? Over to Toyota, assuming they haven't been ruined by Ford or GM by then.

Are these people for real? Next thing we'll hear is Volvo finance will be doing car loans only with cash out of suitcases at midnight in back alley's and if you are late with a payment they send some guys out to break your legs!

Don't they know everybody is hearing about this obvious design flaw and it's just a matter of time before it comes back to bite them? I am really stunned that a car company as old and established as Volvo could screw up so bad trying to enter the higher end luxury market. They only had one chance to make a first impression and as a loyal Volvo owner I can't wait to RUN back to my local Benz dealer when the S80 lease is up.

E320 HERE I COME!!!

These people should go to jail with the Enron and Worldcom people and Martha Stewart!

Volvo for life? Fugeddaboudit!

-Phil de Cassandra