V90 Auxiliary Heater Issue

Hey, I'm having a weird issue with my 2019 Volvo V90 hybrid. It's got about 230k km on the clock. The auxiliary heater is playing up – it just won't activate. The display says 'Parking heater unavailable'. I plugged in my OBD scanner, and there's an error code related to the heater. I'm suspecting it might be the glow plug, but I wanted to see if anyone else has run into something similar before I start tearing things apart. Coolant levels are fine, and the climate control seems to be working okay otherwise. I'm just stumped.

4 comment(s)

Sounds familiar! I had a similar issue with my BMW 5 series, although it was a diesel. The symptoms were almost identical – parking heater refusing to fire up and an error code. Have you checked the temperature sensor? Sometimes a faulty sensor can prevent the heater from activating to protect the system. It might be worth a look before you go straight for the glow plug.

Thanks for the tip! Where exactly is the temperature sensor located on your BMW? I can try to find it on my Volvo and check it with a multimeter. I'm just wondering if the faulty sensor could also be causing a slight coolant leak I detected recently.

On my BMW, it was located near the heater core. But honestly, I'd just take it to a workshop. In my case, it turned out to be a faulty glow plug, just like you suspect, and the whole repair was pretty involved. A coolant leak may point to a different problem. Better get it checked properly before you cause more damage!

Thanks a lot for the advice! I appreciate you sharing your experience. I took it to my trusted mechanic and you were right – glow plug defective. The final bill was around 440€ including parts and labor. At least it's sorted now!

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