V50 T5 AWD with sluggish throttle response and lack of power.

Fosgate · Post by **Fosgate** » 25 Jul 2022, 01:56

So I recently got a 2007 V50 T5 AWD with 125,000kms and this is my second V50 T5 AWD so I'm familiar with how they drive and what throttle response they should have. However there seem to be something wrong with this one, the throttle seem to have a dead travel and overall is not zippy at all on take off (with lacks overall power as well). If you press the gas pedal to take of, it feels like its not going anywhere and then you press it bit more and it just jumps, so very hard to get a smooth drive out of it. My sisters 2002 S40 T feels more powerful and agile then this one right now, especially on take off, kind of makes it bit dangerous when you trying to quickly turn into side street from the main road.
I have replaced the spark plugs with genuine Volvo ones and that didn't make any difference at all, I haven't looked further into it yet VIDA but the Engine light is not on. Did anyone have similar issues and how did you resolve it?
Thanks

Joshude · Post by **Joshude** » 15 Aug 2022, 06:21

I had quite similar behaviour. Check the boost pressure sensor, it's located behind the rh fog light and is accessible if you pop the plastic trim.
Still a PITA to change, but it works without taking the front off. Sensor isn't very expensive so i'd just buy it and see if it changes anything.

MRScott · Post by **MRScott** » 10 Oct 2022, 12:21

I can only speak to the throttle problem where it takes off rather jerky. Where you need to be real careful and slow in applying the throttle. Had this happen on a 2011 v50 2.5. Tried a few things, nothing showed up on Vida. Ended up being that the throttle body needed to be cleaned. After removal and cleaning the issue was gone.

Post by **Roger_850T** » 12 Oct 2022, 19:48

Even if there is no check engine light, it might still be useful to scan it and see if there are any codes pending. Sometimes a code has to be active for a period of time before the light actually is triggered, but when the code has not yet reached that threshold, it may still limit engine performance (boost) to protect it.

Otherwise, I would just start checking things. Check the fuel pressure is in spec (easy to measure). Check all the hoses looking for any air leaks - they can wear a hole in the rubber parts (hidden) or things can be only partially connected; an air leak can cause issues.

Also, if you're hooked up with VIDA, you can watch the input from the accelerator pedal as you press it - you want it to be a nice smooth input, if it jerks around then maybe the accelerator pedal is going bad and giving a bad input.

Hope this helps!

Roger

ldenorio · Post by **ldenorio** » 29 Oct 2022, 12:03

is it more prevalent when its cold and at first start, and does it get better when warmed. i had this problem and it ended up being the vvt solenoid

Richard99 · Post by **Richard99** » 28 Nov 2022, 22:21

Sounds like something with the throttle body.

Fosgate · Post by **Fosgate** » 05 Jan 2023, 15:14

Thanks guys for the responses, I got myself another V50 T5 which currently is apart due to overheating problem so I'll use the parts of it to check whats going on with my T5 AWD model.
I have noticed that the response is even worse when I first start driving from cold so I'm thinking it could be the VVT valves as the car feels like having constantly retarded timing and uses crazy amount of fuel without much performance.
I'll replace the throttle body as well to be sure that is not the issue here.

Thanks

Fosgate · Post by **Fosgate** » 05 Jan 2023, 15:29

Oh and Vida showed no error codes related to the engine or any of its components, so must be something mechanical as the ECU thinks everything is working correctly.

Fosgate · Post by **Fosgate** » 06 Jan 2023, 04:43

Furthermore I did some logging today using VIDA and looks like one of my Oxygen sensors is reading constant 1v regardless of RPM or Load, the other one is working properly but the ECU doesn't through any codes... I wonder if that could impact the performance of the engine... I guess it could.