Volvo troubles

My fiance has a 2002 Volvo C70 with over 100,000 miles on it. Recently, it has been having trouble starting. It make this whiring sound like it’s trying to start, but then it cuts off. He tries to start it again, but it doesn’t work. At times, he has to let it sit for over an hour before it will even attempt to start. He was told that his fuel filter was clogged, so he took it to the Volvo dealership to replace it and and a radiator canister (that he was told was also the problem.) It worked for a week, then the whole thing started again. I suggested to him that his starter was going and he should replace that. (but what do I know??? I don’t know anything about cars!!)He told me that I was wrong and if there was a problem with the starter, there would be a clicking sound and the motor wouldn’t turn over at all. This is our only transportation and we have already put in $400 to fix this thing and it’s not fixed.

My best guess is that his fuel pump may be to blame, but that is merely speculation and there are a number of other possibilities. From the information that you provided, it sounds like the dealership localized the problem to the fuel system, but did not go far enough. I would add that a fuel filter that is becoming badly clogged will put enough strain on a fuel pump to cause that pump to die an early death, so I am theorizing that the fuel filter was clogged and that this condition damaged the fuel pump.

I would suggest that he take the car to a well-reputed independent foreign car mechanic (rather than going back to the dealership) for better diagnosis of the situation. In addition to an indication that the dealership’s mechanics are not thorough enough, I can pretty much assure you that an independent mechanic will charge less than the dealership. However, I would also suggest that you get better information on the car and report back to us because your comment about a “radiator canister” doesn’t make sense. Could it have been the carbon canister on the evaporative emissions system?

Thank you for your response. I told yo that I don’t know anything about car. You are abosolutely correct. It was the carbon canister that was replaced.

You’re more correcter than you think! The starter may not have been the whole problem; but, if the ignition key is turned to START, and all that is heard is a whirling sound from the starter area, then, yes, it is the starter not engaging the engine ring gear. He shoulda, hada, oughta, listen more closely to you (and, to the starter).