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New C30 owner with intermittent start issue

Help, Advice, Owners' Discussion and DIY Tutorials devoted to the second generation C70, S40 and V50 Volvos -- awkwardly model year 2004 ½ onwards -- plus where to go for advice and discussion on Volvo's sporty C30 Coupe powered by Volvo's ubiquitous inline 5-cylinder power plant.
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S373N
Posts: 50
Joined: 22 January 2014
Year and Model: 2012 Volvo C30 T5
Location: Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada

New C30 owner with intermittent start issue

Post by S373N »

It's been a while since I've posted on here, a couple of years I'd guess. I've previously owned a 1964 220 wagon and a 1997 850 wagon which were great cars and pretty simple to work on. I recently swapped out my 2008 BMW 328i coupe for a pearl white 2012 Nissan 370Z and my wife's 2011 Nissan Versa for a white 2012 Volvo C30 T5.

So far the C30 has been a great car. It has 64k km and is like new inside and out. It is very smooth, comfortable and quiet - relative to the 370Z it's like an S-class Benz in these terms. The pick-up at highway speeds is impressive for a car of its nature. It doesn't seem as good on fuel (91 oct) as my N52 powered BMW was, but that may just be a perception as the C30 has a smaller tank (or so my wallet tells me at fill-up).

One issue we have been having is an intermittent starting issue. Once or twice a week when you turn the key to crank the starter, it will just click and do nothing more. It does however always start without issue on the second try. No warning lights or errors show, nothing seems out of the ordinary, and other than that very occasional no-crank-on-the-first-try condition, the car has been perfect.

I had initially chalked it up to the roller coaster weather and temperatures we have been having here in Ontario the past month and hoped as the temperatures stabilized the problem might go away. Doesn't seem to be the case...

I've been perusing the interwebs looking for information and have seen everything from simply cleaning battery terminals and securing the connections well, to more nightmarish 'dashboard out' chasing of gremlins through entire wiring harnesses. Much of the information I have seen has been on different models of Volvo's, often much older, and while I know the white block's haven't changed that much, I'm not sure whether that's the case with their electronics.

Can anyone point me in the direction of some good, relevant information on this topic? Or provide some insight?

Much appreciated!
-2012 Volvo C30 T5 (white/auto/level II)
-2012 Nissan 370Z (pearl white/6-spd/touring/sport/nav)

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