So I was driving on the freeway late at night in mid-August. Was coming back from a long road trip, so car had been running without incident all day. At one point I saw something on the road, but it was too late too swerve & avoid it and I’m travelling 70-80 miles an hour, so probably not a great idea to crank the wheel suddenly. I run over what was probably a chunk of tire, hear a “thump”, and continue on. I pull over at the next gas station and can see no damage.
The next morning I am on my way again & suddenly the temperature gauge goes nuts and jump up into the red. I pull over, and coolant is now hissing out of the top of the resevoir (cap is still on). Coolant has expanded and has filled the entire resevoir. I limp the car to the nearest garage, and after looking at it, mechanics have no idea. They suggest it might have been an air pocket, but really don’t know. At this point I am not yet home (i am in small town Texas), so still have hours of driving (to get home. I too up the coolant with deionized water and continue on my way. The car is fine and makes it home without incident. Note that I put on about 500 miles on the way home, with no issues.
A day later (I’m now in Houston) I decide to bring it into my local mechanic who has serviced the vehicle over the last few years. He takes a look and can find nothing. However, he does take the time to clean the mess of dead bugs off the front off the radiator, as that’s probably not helping. However, other than that, he has nothing to report.
I drive the vehicle for some short trips for another day or two with no incident. Then the overheating happens again. I limp the car home again.
At this point (early Sept) I’m kind of at my wits end, so I decide to tow it to the local Volvo dealership. My reasoning is that it will be a pricy fix, but they should be able to figure it out. They replace the thermostat, the fan, and flush & replace all the coolant. It’s expensive, but it’s fixed.
I drive the vehicle for short trips, as my work is close, for the next 14 days (approximately). I don’t drive every day, but when I do, the trips can be as long as 20-30 minutes. No issues. In mid-September I realize it’s due for an oil change. I bring it in to my local mechanic. When k go to pick it up, he says “you realize that your car is overheating”. I explain that Volvo changed the fan and the thermostat, and he agrees, as he noticed they looked new. At this point I don’t trust anyone, so I limp the car home, as I live close by.
Over the next week I “test” the car to see how long it takes to overheat. If the overheating occurs faster when the AC is on full blast, etc. I realize that what I’m doing is crude to say the least, but I figure it would be good to understand if there is a pattern. My “testing” is inconclusive. On one day, the car starts to overheat within 15 minutes while idling. On another day, I idle the car for 20 minutes with the AC on full blast and then drive in the neighborhood for another 25 (45 minutes total) and the needle sits right in the middle.
I relent and tow it back to the dealer after explaining that the overheating is still happening. They agree to take a look at no charge.
Their finding to date: replace the power steering pump (they are saying it is the “wrong pump”) and replace the coolant pump, because part of the pup drive unit is broken or missing. Note that the power steering was replaced 2 years ago, and during that time there have been no steering (or overheating) issues.
So I guess my question is this: does the power steering pump issue make any sense ? Additionally, I never run into a problem like this before. Has anyone experienced this, and what was the ultimate culprit in your case ?
Sorry for the length of this – I know it’s a long read…..