General Info: Volvo Penta D1-30 & D2-40 Engine Recall

[Dsanduril]

Our engines are both covered, so I don't have a dog in this specific hunt. But, a couple of thoughts:

1. Do the engines have an EPA emissions decal attached? Ours do, and that decal describes the compliance of the engines with specific emissions requirements (IIRC if you are looking at the front of the engine [alternator and water pump end] it is on the side to the left, near the injectors and close to the front). If they have a decal and if the decal says the engines are compliant then they should be covered. No decal, well......

2. Reading between the lines, Volvo selected their cutoff sometime in 2008 to comply with the anti-stockpiling and 'normal inventory and manufacturing processes' clauses. And really it was probably Perkins that selected that date, they actually built the engines. Notice that Volvo doesn't take responsibility, in the recall notices they say "our supplier....". I suspect it will be hard to get details on the selection, but maybe worth investigating.

3. The boat was splashed in 2011? That means someone was stockpiling the engines. I'd see if I could find out who. If it was somewhere in the official Volvo supply chain then it might give you an argument. If it was the boatbuilder then it probably doesn't help.

[Perfect Ride]

Originally Posted by Dsanduril

1. Do the engines have an EPA emissions decal attached?

Both have decals.

Originally Posted by Dsanduril

2. Reading between the lines, Volvo selected their cutoff sometime in 2008 to comply with the anti-stockpiling and 'normal inventory and manufacturing processes' clauses.

Our engines are 12/19/2008 and 2/11/2009 so I imagine it will fall in line eventually.

Originally Posted by Dsanduril

3. The boat was splashed in 2011? That means someone was stockpiling the engines. I'd see if I could find out who. If it was somewhere in the official Volvo supply chain then it might give you an argument. If it was the boatbuilder then it probably doesn't help.

Will be contacting the builder for his acquisition date.

Thank you so much for this detail. Very helpful.

[Dsanduril]

To me the decal, and what is says, are the key factor on the older engine. By applying the decal the engine manufacturer is certifying that that particular engine meets whatever emissions requirements are described on the decal. If the decal says the engine meets the 2009 Tier 1 requirements then there are only two choices:

1. The older engines actually do meet the requirements (I would find this really hard to believe).

2. The older engine doesn't meet the requirement, in which case it should be covered.

Of course, if the decal says it meets 2008 requirements then Volvo probably has an out. Our engines (newer) actually say they meet 2013 EPA requirements. One thing I note on the decal, using EPA definitions Volvo/Perkins define the useful life of the engine as 10 years or 1000 hours. I'm guessing this may allow them another out for older engines "they're past their useful life".

[EllesBelles]

Dsanduril,
Can you share the email (written backwards) of the person who wrote you this nice note saying they'd been in contact with the volvo penta warranty department? We'd like to send them our documentation and see if we can get a similarly prompt and positive response.

Also, there was a document I'd seen that listed a range of serial number that were covered. Has anyone got that document?
Thanks!

Originally Posted by Dsanduril

Thought I'd update with what I found out. The warranty registration address for our two engines was not in the US (the PO was European) and, since they were out of warranty I never prioritized updating that information. When checked on the website and by the dealer the engines showed no recall. I had the dealer update the warranty address to our US address in California. About 24 hours after he did that both engines showed up as being recalled, both on the website and at the dealer. The dealer contacted me with that information and I now also have the letter from Volvo. So, short version, the engines will not show up as being recalled unless the address for the warranty within Volvo's system is in the US.

We're halfway around the world at the moment (NZ) so I've been trying to work out with Volvo what we can do. In the end, this was their response:



Basically they've told me we can only get the engines replaced in the US despite their worldwide service guarantee. Our current cruising plans put us back in the US in spring 2019, so we're hoping we can get it all coordinated to happen then. I guess it won't be terrible to have almost completed a circumnavigation and be gifted two new engines

[Dsanduril]

The general e-mail I posted in this post is the only one I've been using. It's a general address but I always get a response from Dana. Sometimes takes two or three days, but I've been corresponding back-and-forth since last December (as we change plans/try to evaluate options) and always get a response that actually has some information/thought behind it.

[EllesBelles]

Thanks so much Dsanduril

Originally Posted by Dsanduril

The general e-mail I posted in this post is the only one I've been using. It's a general address but I always get a response from Dana. Sometimes takes two or three days, but I've been corresponding back-and-forth since last December (as we change plans/try to evaluate options) and always get a response that actually has some information/thought behind it.

[d.taylor]

Thanks for all the info! I have a 2013 Foutaine Pajot with the D2-40 engines (purchased Jun 2018). I gave all the info to my local dealer and he came back with "these are not being recalled"... sigh...
So now I have gone in and updated the "owner" info on the VP website. Plus sent an email to VP.
Hopefully this gets sorted out soon...

[Dsanduril]

We are in Puerto Rico having the recall replacement completed. They yanked the old engines today, new ones go in day after tomorrow (allowing one day for us to thoroughly clean the engine rooms). In talking with the tech the recall has recently been expanded to include boats registered in India and China. Not that I think there are many of those represented here, but thought I'd put it out there.

Also had a discussion with the tech about the actual problem, he said that only some of the recalled engines have an actual problem, and the problem is with calibration of the fuel delivery system. It could be fixed on all engines by pulling the engines and calibrating the fuel systems while running the engines on a dynamometer - Volvo has determined that replacement is cheaper and more reliable than trying to work on engines that may or may not have been maintained, after removing them from a boat and transporting them to a facility with the right gear.