Topic: CD Article: 1998-2000 Volvo S70 and V70

[Autos_Editor]

You may discuss our cover story of the day in this thread....
Used Vehicle Review:

Used Volvo S70 sedans and V70 wagons score high marks for safety, robust mechanical components, and offer "much of the comfort and luxury of a German car for significantly less money," reports Chris Chase. However, they have a "reputation for electrical issues," he says.     More...

[a4_tom]

Haven't heard of the electronic-related problems from 2 persons who currently owns S/V70 T5 SE.

[mdxtasy]

Hey Scaerio....does Volvo have electrical problems?   

[Scaerio]

I owned the 1998-2000 S/V70's predecessor - a 1993 850 - for those of you who are new here, my car caught fire due to an electrical glitch...

Oh yeah - that and my A/C and ABS were shot...

I still love Volvos, but be warned, European cars with no warrenty left are a wealthy man's game...

[Bullet Blue]

My guess is that a majority were affected, but there are also some with no problems whatsoever with electrical glitches.

If memory serves me, I believe S60's 1998 (?) S70 did not have any electrical problems. I owned an 84 240 before my 91 240 that I have now and the 84 had no problems. My 240 has had some electrical problems in the past, but seems to be behaving now.

I think it's important to note that not just Volvos are plagued with electrical glitches, pretty much anything European. VW, BMW, Saab etc all have had these sort of issues before.

I'd love to fine an S70 either base or T5 with a manual tranny. They are very hard to come by. And if you do, the milage on em are usually too high to even consider buying. 

[Howswedeitis]

I wonder if these people at Consumer Reports know anything about cars! I think in all honesty they should stick to reviewing hand mixers instead and the people at Canadian Driver find a more reliable source.
That being said, I've owned a 1998 V70 for 4 years now and have well
over 200,000km with not a single electrical issue to speak of. I know many Volvo owners and they have never complained about electrical issues. My brother has owned a 1989 740 and drove it to over 700,000km's and didnt do so much as more than a tuneup and regular maintenance. The car passed smog test in Ontario everytime!
Volvo's and ironically enough Saabs (I've owned 4) are extremely relaibale as long as regular maintenance is performed. There is no Japanese car out there that is built as solidly nor is as bulletproof over the long haul as is a Volvo or Saab. The drivetrains are of highest quality and keep going and going and going. My 1998 V70 runs perfectly with over 200,000k can go 10,000 km's on synthetic oil without consuming more than a 1/2 litre of the stuff. My 1990 Saab 900 had 450,000k's when I sold it and again compression was very close to original spec and continues to roll today...my other Saabs albeit not nearly as high mileage also ran flawlessly. I think Canadian Driver should do a little more research before taking claims from others as being accurate. Happy motoring!

[Bullet Blue]

See? there you go. The electrical glitches don't affect ALL Volvos, yet it always gets pinned on Volvo for some reason.

[ovr50]

I think you will find that Consumer Reports, while not perfect, is far more accurate than anecdotal stories from individual owners who say "my Volvo went x,000 kms with zero problems". CR is based on thousands, in fact, 100s of thousands of replies.

Some owners will have zero problems in any make of car; but you have to look at the bigger picture, not just a few owners reports.

I have no axe to grind with Volvo, in fact, I owned one years ago. They are good vehicles.

[AVToller]

Be aware that when Consumer Reports gives it's worse reliability figure (the dreaded solid black circle) it means that 14.8% or more of the owners reported that problem. On the other hand, over 80% MAY NOT have experienced that issue. Average reliability means 5% to 9.3% have that problem area. Best reliability is less than 2%. They are in no way saying ALL (fill in the blanks) will show a particular problem or be problem free. They are merely giving a probability statement based upon owner experiences. The majority of new cars are relatively problem free - even the "least reliable" makes and models.

[Careener]

I always look here http://www.carsurvey.org/modelyear_Volvo_S70_1998.html and at NHTSA to see what are common complaints. Electric does seem to be a registered complaint..mostly eating bulbs.

[johngenx]

My father-in-law had problems with his 850, including blower motors, AC problems, eating bulbs and finally some serious trans problems.  He replaced it with an 03 S60 and it's been mechanically sound, but has had lots of small annoying problems that have required numerous dealer visits.  He still loves the car because it drives great, looks great, and is a Volvo.

It is possible to enjoy a car that has faults.

[chrischasescars]

The drivetrains are of highest quality and keep going and going and going. My 1998 V70 runs perfectly with over 200,000k can go 10,000 km's on synthetic oil without consuming more than a 1/2 litre of the stuff. My 1990 Saab 900 had 450,000k's when I sold it and again compression was very close to original spec and continues to roll today...my other Saabs albeit not nearly as high mileage also ran flawlessly. I think Canadian Driver should do a little more research before taking claims from others as being accurate. Happy motoring!

Note that the article made no mention of poorly built drivetrains - only flawed electrics.

Everyone knows that Hyundai sucks, right?  Yet I drive a 1997 Accent with 227,000 km that has left me stranded but once when the alternator crapped out. Otherwise the car starts and drives reliably every day. Yet you'll find many Accent owners (particularly the early ones like mine) who have had many many issues with their cars.

Volvo does have a reputation for electrical glitches, mainly with their newer models as far as I'm aware. As mentioned, not all cars will be affected, but many are.

[Bullet Blue]

It is possible to enjoy a car that has faults.

Well said, and I fully agree.

[ovr50]

Ageed with that - I loved several of my BMWs (particularily the '74 3.0CS and the '85 535i) but they were not without their glitches. I am less inclined now tho to put up with numerous trips to the dealer even if they are not costing me anything $ wise.

I haven't had a Volvo since 1972 - they have changed !!!!! 

[a4_tom]

It is possible to enjoy a car that has faults.

Well said, and I fully agree.

I 3rd that.

[Howswedeitis]

I really think this forum is great. Everyone made good points and it just shows that most people are level headed when it comes to these things. To be sure, no car is perfect but as I've outlined previously I do not know of any Volvo owners who have experienced serious electrical issues. One comment that does ring true is the fact that the S70 V70 seems to eat head light bulbs up (mine tend not to last more than a year) but I think that's more a function of the fact that the headlight bulb used is a H7 which is prone to burn out faster than most (my guess is since the design doesnt include a plastic base housing with rubber gromet that vibrations shorten it's life). My local autoparts store claims he sells lots of them and evidently Volvo isnt the only manufacturer to use them. Overall these Volvos are excellent cars, extremely reliable, perform well, have strong brakes not to mention a strong platform that is definately safe! I suggest anyone who is interested in buying one used get it checked out by a Volvo specialist and if the mechanical end checks out you really can't go wrong.

[s60]

My 1999 S70  did eat headlight bulbs, but Volvo put a TSB on the socket and cable, which fixed the problem.
I did not have any other electrical glitches.
The person that bought my car in 2002, has not had any problems with it since.

[Howswedeitis]

Your comments are interesting...
Could you kindly clarify what a TSB is?
Thanks!

Brgds

[mdxtasy]

TSB is a technical service bulletin.  Dealers can replace/fix at no cost to the customer if the vehicle owner complains about the issue identified.  It's not a recall and usually involves annoying issues that isn't all that serious. 

[articsteve]

Your comments are interesting...
Could you kindly clarify what a TSB is?
Thanks!

Brgds

My 98 S70 had the headlight wiring update.  You can tell because the new wiring harness has a specific info tag attached to it on both sides.

Volvos are safe cars.  Great safe seats, but they are far from Japanese quality on systems.  My S70 had 2 window regulators and the console switch pack replaced.  AC was upgraded and taged.  Definitely Vovos have substandard AC systems and very expensive to repair.  The  S80 was a technical nightmare.

Recent Saabs are pure junk.  Take a look at Saab's own admission to engine sludge in a quite a few 99 to 2002 models.  Maybe a few 2003. Voluntary extented warranty. Good luck collecting a new motor.  Pure  junk and resale values reflect it.