[johudso7]

I feel like it's likely a faulty sensor, or the system needs recalibrated, seeing as the warmer temperatures seem to be having an effect on the sensors. Fingers crossed for a positive service experience as the last one was troublesome.

 

[johudso7]

Well, I was supposed to drop my car off with the Volvo dealer this morning but when I got there, the service manager came out of his office and told me that they were canceling my appointment and would not allow me to make future appointments at his dealership because I did not lease my vehicle through that dealership. He said that he reserves the space in his shop for his customers only. He referred me to the selling dealer for any future service needs.

I leased my Volvo in a city about two hours away because they had the color I wanted and my local dealer was not willing to do a dealer trade to obtain that color. Seems like I made the wrong decision to lease at a different dealer in December 2022.

I have never leased vehicle before, is it incorrect to lease a vehicle from a dealer where you do not intend to service it from? What if I had leased the vehicle from one dealership and moved to another city or state, how would I obtain service then? If I am in the wrong, I can own that. Live, learn, do better… That’s all you can do. Or is this dealer not playing nice?

 

[johudso7]

I reached out to Volvo Customer Care, at first they stated that dealers are independently owned and operated and can conduct business however they wish. But when I brought up my lease agreement stating that I am responsible for maintaining the vehicle and questioned how I am supposed to maintain the vehicle if my closest dealer is refusing service. Within reason, what am I alternatively supposed to do? That question prompted my case to be escalated and I received feedback that no certified Volvo service center can refuse servicing a Volvo branded vehicle that is under manufacturer warranty or has remaining complimentary maintenance, beyond those warranties/complimentary services the service centers are independently owned and operated outside of Volvo North America and can perform as they wish.

I received a nasty phone call from the service manager at my local dealer telling me I had an appointment on August the 9th. Didn't tell me what time, said nothing else and hang up the phone. I don't think I'll be making that appointment as I don't wish to be treated that way. I've reached back out to Volvo regarding the feedback I received from the service manager. If this isn't resolved, I'll have to look at what actions can be taken to get out of my lease without penalty as I feel as if I am being prohibited from getting my Volvo serviced without unreasonable effort. I understand that Volvo dealerships can be spread out to major metropolitan areas only and it would be different if I leased/purchased a Volvo and moved far away form a dealership causing an unreasonable amount of effort on my part to obtain service, but that's not what is happening. I leased the vehicle from a neighboring dealer with the expectation that I could obtain service from my local dealer. My previous Hyundai I purchased in New Jersey and had it serviced in Oklahoma where I live, they never batted an eye. I don't feel as if my expectations are unreasonable.

@BigVikC40Dadda I'm glad you mentioned the Volvo app to schedule appointments, that is how I made this particular appointment with the dealer that refused to service my vehicle. The service manager stated that his staff "could not stand" appointments made in the app and stated that he is going to start requiring all his appointments be made over the phone with this team. I don't exactly understand his reasoning behind his thought process, but he made a point to express his displeasure in regards to customers making appointments using the app. Also, a two hour drive one way seems a little unreasonable when I should be able to visit the local dealer closest to me. What does it matter if I purchased/leased the car on the moon and needed service at this particular service center. What if someone from Phoenix Arizona was here on vacation and needed some sort of service, is he perfectly justified in turning those customers away? I had a confirmed appointment that I made a few weeks ago, I don't think I had unattainable expectations outside of receiving service on my vehicle. I appreciate your input but if Volvo requires me to take it to the selling dealer for service instead of the local dealer nearest me, I'll have to see what actions can be taken to cancel the lease without penalty.

@mikebritton15 I wasn't even out of my car yet when the service manager came out of his office and told me that he was cancelling my appointment. I drove an hour into the city, arrived 15 minutes before my scheduled appointment all for nothing. It shouldn't matter where I purchased the vehicle. What happens if someone moves with their vehicle or is traveling with their vehicle and needs service? I certainly hope other owners who moved to Oklahoma or may have been passing through had not been turned away from obtaining service at this dealer. It's really off-putting and has made it where we will likely never look at Volvo again in the future. It's unfortunate, I really do like my C40 and I do not want to end the lease early. Hopefully this issue can be resolved.

 

[johudso7]

So this entire process has been a big mess. After contracting Volvo Customer Care, I did contact the selling dealer that way I could say I did and had all of my bases covered. I called and asked for the service manager so I could advise them of the situation and asked them if they would be able to service my vehicle if I were to make the trip. The service manager said of course they were willing and able to get my vehicle in for service but also disagreed with the local dealer's "you didn't buy it here, you can't service it here" philosophy. The service manager said that they were going to inform their regional service manager of this issue and then have the scheduler reach out to me in order to schedule service. Well that didn't exactly happen.

I received a call from the regional service manager informing me that they advised my local dealer to perform the service at their earliest scheduled time and to provide a loaner vehicle even if that meant the local needed to rent a vehicle from Enterprise/Hertz in order to make up for the lack luster experience on my original appointment date. I informed this regional service manager that I had already received a not so kind phone call from the local service manager informing me of my new appointment date but that I wasn't provided any details regarding a drop off time, a loaner, or a ride home before he hung up the phone on me. Again, apologies were made and the details of the new appointment were provided to me. I expressed that I wasn't feeling very trusting in this dealership and the service/care they would provide if I were to take my vehicle there and that I wished to take my vehicle to the selling dealer in hopes of a better customer service experience. I was meet with lots of pushback and hesitation from this regional service manager and they strongly encouraged me to give the local dealer another opportunity. Being truly over this entire situation and trying to remain polite and courteous despite mounting frustration I agreed to move forward with the appoint at the local dealer.

Drop off day was on August 9th and I covered all three issues I was experiencing with my C40 Ultimate with the service advisor, two of which the service advisor was able to confirm with me present. Fast forward to today, I did receive a call from the service advisor that the technician was able to replicate the issue with my parking sensors as well as the other two issues already confirmed but they are unaware as how to fix as all parking sensors are functioning and have been recalibrated but the issue still persists. They are waiting on feedback from Volvo on how to proceed with getting this issue resolved. I am grateful and appreciative that the dealer is taking the time to actually get to the bottom of the issues with my vehicle.

I am also appreciative that I was given a loaner vehicle as six days, as of today, without transportation would be a hardship for us. However, I'm paying Volvo monthly for an electric vehicle to avoid purchasing gasoline all together. I'm doubtful that my local dealer, or many other dealers for that matter, have EV loaners. I'm conflicted on seeking compensation for the out of pocket fuel expense as I am grateful the dealer is diligently working to resolve the issues and the fact I was given a loaner vehicle. But on the other side of that coin, I pay a pretty hefty lease payment for an EV and don't have the expense of premium gasoline. If this repair goes on much longer I may feel compelled to seek compensation from Volvo. Has anyone with an XC40/C40 Recharge asked for or received compensation for their vehicle being out of commission due to a failure or lengthy repair time?

 

[johudso7]

That’s kind of what I’m thinking too. Now if we’re a month into it and they are still trying to figure it out, that might change my tune. I will just give them time as I’m happy they were able to duplicate all concerns and are working towards a fix. Hopefully things continue to move in the right direction. 😁

 

[johudso7]

Picked up my C40 today as they replaced all the front parking sensors and stated the issue did not persist. I got in the car to drive out of the service lane and the error is already being displayed again. I showed it to the advisor who stated that they’ve already done everything they can do to resolve the issue and consider this repair closed.

Ten days and I’m back at square one, kind of frustrating. Any suggestions on how to proceed?

 

[johudso7]

On Monday 8/21 I was able to get in touch with the regional service manager and discuss with them the repairs that were done and that the issue still persists on my vehicle. I informed the regional service manger that the servicing dealer feels like that they have exhausted all repair options to which he disagreed since the vehicle is still displaying the same error message. I just received a call back from the regional manager this morning informing me of a new appointment this coming Monday to further diagnose and troubleshoot this error message. I am grateful that this point of contact has been able to assist in engaging the servicing dealership to look further into my vehicle.

Coming from numerous Hyundai and Honda vehicles I expected a higher level of service and customer service from a premium brand like Volvo. I understand that the experience at my local dealership does not seem to be the norm for the Volvo brand as many forum members have shared positive service experiences at many service centers. When this all started, my partner and I were in the beginning stages of looking at options to replace our third vehicle that we use primarily for roadtrips. We had strongly considered the Volvo XC90 as we have been so happy with the C40 but this entire ordeal involving the local dealership has pushed us away from the Volvo brand entirely. I do not want to be one of those "this is my first and also my last" kind of people , but this negative service experience with my local dealership is doing just that. The C40 is my first Volvo and I can honestly say that I really do enjoy it. The C40 is so fun to drive, so comfortable, I really enjoy the simplicity of the infotainment system and I just really like the way the C40 looks, it's so unique! We ultimately decided to take the Volvo XC90 off of our short list and recently placed a custom order with another brand.

Years ago I used to work in banking and would constantly remind my staff on a regular basis that a customer who felt they weren't treated right would gladly take their business to the bank next door. I feel like this is a prime example of this advice I preached long ago. I'm not mad with the product, I understand that things go wrong and need repaired but I'm greatly disappointed with the customer service I received from what I perceived as a premium brand.

 

[johudso7]

My C40 is FINALLY fixed. Finally!

The first repair attempt, the service advisor stated that they replaced all the front parking sensors on my vehicle and that did not fix my issue as the error message still persisted. After pushing/pleading for further diagnosis my vehicle was eventually looked at a second time. I was told that it could be the rear parking sensors or the windshield. I am not sure what lead to the diagnosis but it did end up being the front parking sensors.

When the service advisor called to tell me that my vehicle was ready to be picked up he stated that they replaced the front parking sensors and it seemed to have resolved the issue. I said "you had to replace them all again?" to which he said that they had only replaced one of them at random the first time and this time they replaced the remaining three on the front. Makes more sense as to why the issue persisted when they just replaced one of the parking sensors at random instead of just replacing all of them. I'm sure there is a "method to their madness" but it'll likely be something I'll never understand. I'm just glad the issue seems to finally be resolved.

In the end, this service experience with the local dealer will keep me from being interested in the Volvo brand in the future. I've experienced less than stellar service from other brands in the past and they've either gone out of their way to make it right, owned up to their mistake and we all moved on from it, or I just went to another local dealer for that brand. Oklahoma City only has one Volvo Dealer and I feel like they are using that fact as a reason to treat you however they choose. The consumer doesn't have much of an option if you aren't happy with the customer service this local dealer provides. This is a real bummer deluxe as I am really happy with my C40 and overall impressed with my first Volvo product. It's simply just not worth the potential drama and runaround to continue pursuing the Volvo brand. I'm just happy that my C40 is fixed and I can continue enjoying the vehicle until the end of my lease.