The ability for any car to perform to its full potential first and foremost lies in the (petrol) fuel that is used, and as with any type of fuel injection system there are many factors that impede the system from performing to the best of its ability. Let’s start with fuel contamination, which can be caused by a host of foreign matter. Starting with water in the fuel that we all know happens. Dirt from fueling up at the service station and also when servicing the fuel system. Using good quality fuel is a start and replacing fuel filters at the proper maintenance interval only makes good sense. Fuel additives can also be used when the performance of the engine starts to drop. There are too many additives to mention but as with anything else you get what you pay for.
I have seen many Volvos come into the shop that are running ok but they wanted to stumble or the idle quality was at best very poor. Usually checking to see if the proper tune up has been performed and how long ago it was done really matters. We tend to think if the car is running fine that there shouldn’t be any real need to replace parts. I know the reliability of automotive tune up parts has improved with leaps and bounds over the years so we don’t really have to worry about the quality. But when they do break down it is apparent they are in need of replacement. This also holds true to the fuel filter, as I have seen many newer Volvos that are running the same fuel filter at 90,000 miles and they are still doing an ok job but it is such a small expense in the big scheme of things, by this I mean the price of fuel that we all know is not backing down, so any way we can make the engine run better and more efficient the better it is for us and the life of the engine.
Injectors from time to time do become clogged up and the only way to clean them is with a professional injector cleaner or send them out to a shop that specializes in cleaning and checking the flow rate of each injector. I perform in house fuel injection cleaning and am really amazed by the difference that it makes to the runability of the car.
So as you can see having a good Petrol quality and various other factors in place we can all enjoy our Volvos during the summer months ahead.
WASHINGTON