Missing after long idle?

foxxys · Post by **foxxys** » 30 Oct 2010, 04:13

I have a V40 2.0 sport 2002. The engine starts fine and the gas pedal works great. But as its winter, I like the car to warm up and leave it idle for 5 mins to reach temperature. This is where is goes wrong.. As soon as i go to accelerate the engine feels like its missing and sounds like a tank and has no power? the only cure seems to be to switch off then wait a couple of mins then it starts and is fine again? but i worry as soon as the car has...to idle again say at trafic lights.

Anyone had this before??

Post by **billofdurham** » 30 Oct 2010, 12:04

Why do you idle the engine for 5 minutes?

Idling in the driveway to warm up the engine does nothing to prolong the life of the engine and wastes fuel. Start and drive.

Modern cars are designed to be used in all weather conditions. There is no reason to warm them up before you drive them, unless it is to defrost the windows which is usually done faster by scraping them or spraying them with a de-icer.

You should be using multi viscosity oil in the engine. If you are using the correct weight oil for the weather conditions, there is no need to warm the oil. The engine has enough lubrication to be driven as soon as the oil pressure light goes out or there is oil pressure registering on the gauge. This is usually about 1 second on a well maintained engine.

By starting and driving, you will be doing more good than harm to your engine. First, by idling in your driveway, you are causing wear and tear on your engine, but it is doing nothing. Next, idling in your driveway makes your engine warm up more slowly. When the engine is cold, the fuel injection adds additional fuel to the fuel /air mixture. This causes more carbon buildup in the engine and gets more contaminants in the oil. By starting and driving, your engine is up to operating temperature much faster and this rich fuel air mixture cycle is much shorter. For the first two to three miles just don't rev too hard.

Now, the biggest reason not to idle in the driveway to warm up. You are getting ZERO miles per gallon. It doesn't get any worse than that.

Try it and see if it cures the problem.

Bill.

foxxys · Post by **foxxys** » 30 Oct 2010, 14:37

Well thanks bill, but the other week i did just that. Got in the car and drove the wife to the bank, she got out and went into the bank, i sat with the car idleing. she got back in the car after about 5 mins being in the bank. the same thing happened, engine felt like it was missing and had no power...

so your method is understandable but does nothing for the fault i have, it even does it when you get in the car cold then drive straight away then get stuck at traffic lights.

so do you have any actual input that would benefit me ?

Retired MVS Contributor · Post by **Retired MVS Contributor** » 30 Oct 2010, 15:10

While this will not solve your problem there is one other reason why one might not want to do long warm-ups...It shortens the life of very EXPENSIVE cats...The cat does not get adequate cooling if the car is not in motion...

Post by **billofdurham** » 30 Oct 2010, 15:32

In your first post there was no mention of this happening after you had run the car, only your worry that it may happen later.

Have you checked for fault codes?

Bill.

foxxys · Post by **foxxys** » 30 Oct 2010, 17:30

No bill, Im not aware of how to check for fault codes? the last time it done it the engine orange light stayed on for 2 days then went off and the car was fine.

Post by **jblackburn** » 30 Oct 2010, 17:47

Next time you're idling at a light or something and no one else is around you, punch the gas, hard, in neutral preferably, and look for a cloud of blue smoke behind you. This sounds like it may be from bad valve seals, common on the Volvo inline engines around this time.

Does your car use a noticeable amount of oil?

My own car is a bit hesitant to get up and move in the morning right after I start it - it does use a little bit of oil, and I know that's what's happening to it.

Your car has an OBDII scan port on-board. Take it to an auto parts store (Autozone, Advance, O'reillys) and they will read the codes for free. You've probably got a misfire code, but have them pulled and let us know. Even if the check engine light is not on, Volvos will still store codes.

foxxys · Post by **foxxys** » 31 Oct 2010, 02:19

The oil in the car is very clean and still yellow and not even dirty as the car was serviced on sale and has only done around 30 miles per week since 7 months ago. I did notice a cloud of white gas behind the car the last time it done it that looked like an unburnt fuel cloud. I am not using any oil . I will try and get the codes and thanks for your reply..

Post by **billofdurham** » 31 Oct 2010, 13:48

If this is Dundee, Scotland find an auto electrician with diagnostic test equipment or you can try Halfords, £49.99. We don't get anything free in the UK.

Bill.