VOLVO PENTA OF THE AMERICAS, INC Review

I have been very impressed with Volvo Penta's warranty response on my MJM 36Z.

16 years of Volvo Pentas. ~1000 hours. Recreation only. Never once even one Minor mechanical problem.

2015 Cobalt R5 - shifting in and out of gear too harsh, large clunk, dealer says normal - confirmed with 2 other boats same drive / engine. Gas consumption on high side, sold Cobalt converted to over to outboard, different 25' - much more economical, much smoother, top end about 3MPH different

Customer Service sucks ass, been waiting an entire week for return phone call, you never can get a hold of anybody directly, you have to play phone tag, or leave a message with somebody that types an email so they can conveniently forget, they would rather hide behind technology than deal with people,

Engines have been good except for warranty. My boat was a demo and 12 months after purchase a $3,700 display failed. Volvo would not cover the failed part under warranty.

More people should put reviews up on this company s products and service. My experience owning over $100,000 worth of their engines was really bad. They perform great when they run, but the frequency of break downs is horrible and the cost and difficulty to maintain and repair is ridiculous. Some examples:

Their tech support won t talk to you. They make you go to a dealer and the dealer talks to them. This includes for issues with their easy connect app that goes on your phone to get NMEA data from the boat. Try talking to your mechanic about issues with an app on your phone some day. Typically not their cup of tea. On top of that, you are paying them $135/hr to be the conduit to somebody at Volvo to get help on the app on your phone. Really?

I have a joystick control on my IPS. It has a little rubber boot to keep water out. It tore. Called on a replacement and they say it can t be replaced. Need to buy a whole new $3800 joystick and pay to have it installed. Come on man!

Every part they sell is ridiculously priced. $150 for a crankcase filter. Are you kidding, it s a piece of rice paper.

Rudder angle says 8 degrees while running straight. What does tech support tell the dealer? Don t worry about it, the computer knows what it is doing . Really helps when docking to not be able to tell where your rudder is pointing.

If you want a high performance machine you can use when it feels like working and very deep pockets to pay for it when it does not feel like working, Volvo Penta is for you.

Response to VP: thanks for your response. I will forward it to the new owner of the Volvo Pentas I used to own. Not planning to buy new ones in this lifetime.

6 phone calls, and 2 dealers none of which could give me a price for two D4-225 marine diesel engines. Does anybody care?

Disappointed would be an understatement. Contacted Volvo six different times and six different people told me I would be contacted by the marine division (Felipe Boarsch) and I have yet to hear from anyone. Where is the accountability in this company. Very disappointed my boat is powered and propelled by Volvo, will make a different choice next time.

Volvo will not talk to the end user.
You can only ask questions through a dealer, and the dealer emails questions to Volvo that never get replied to. My boat has 2 Volvo Penta D-12 715 h.p. engines and I can't get any help with them.

Ridiculous!

Will never buy another Volvo Penta engine.

If you re trying to feel safe on the water please look for another engine. The warranties are awful customer service is not effective. Their executives have cut corners to save money. Perhaps they should just do the right thing and try to build a great motor.