2003 S60 2.4T - Maintenance issues

Ken_in_D · Post by **Ken_in_D** » 31 Dec 2007, 09:18

I recently bought a used 2003 S60 2.4T with 34,000 miles. A couple of questions - The manual suggests oil changes every 7,500 miles. I assume it's synthetic oil but this seems like a pretty long interval. The car is driven in city with equal street and freeway driving. Any opinions on this long of an interval? #2, the trim on the sides and bumpers is black and has faded a bit, especially on the bumpers. Any suggestions on a product that might restore it to more black - it looks sort of dark gray at the moment. The only thing I know about is Armorall. Thanks.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 31 Dec 2007, 11:56

Welcome to MVS! Yeah, I've never followed the recommended oil change...it's too long of an interval. And, you'll be surprised that what's in your crankcase is probably not synthetic. This is a good time to change to a synthetic (ie: Mobil-1 or other) and shrink the oil change interval. I am mostly highway miles and do mine every 5K miles (both cars).

When you get up to 40K miles or so, it would be a good idea to flush your transmission. After that, try to flush it every 30K miles or so. Like the oil change interval, the dealer has its own thoughts on the transmission fluid- in this case, to never touch it, but we all know that by not flushing it, the transmission will surely have trouble down the road. There is a good write-up in the repair database for how to do the flush.

In regards to the black trim, I have had very good luck with Kiwi Black Shoe Dye...it comes in a bottle with an applicator, but I use it liberally on a rag. Be careful getting it on your paint. Once it dries it's hard to get off. If after one application, the trim looks streaked, apply again. I think you'll like the results.

Regards,
MIJ

Ken_in_D · Post by **Ken_in_D** » 31 Dec 2007, 12:57

Thanks, MIJ. I bought the S60 from Southwest Auto in Dallas. They specialize in Volvo repairs and are ASE Certified, so they can do warranty work on new Volvos. The owner is a longtime Volvo guy and I'd bet he used synthetic oil in the S60. He goes to Volvo Finance auctions and buys lease-end cars from them. He goes through them and then sells them certified with a 90-day warranty. This guy has everything from P1800s to brand new S60s in for service/repair at any time. BTW, he told me that he thought the S60 was the best car Volvo ever made. He has a very low opinion of the S80s (at least the earlier ones). I had not thought of doing the transmission so soon, but I'll look into it. It is odd that Volvo has no interval for transmission service. I'll give the shoe dye a shot. Thanks again.

Post by **JRL** » 31 Dec 2007, 14:01

Forever black is the best of the "black products"
If you can't find it locally, buy it on line, about 15-16 bucks
Personally I would not use shoe dye, it will just come off and
NEVER use Armorall

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 31 Dec 2007, 14:51

I agree with never use Armour all, but don't knock the shoe dye until you've tried it. We had waxed our V70 and got wax on the black trim. It turned whitish and looked terrible. After trying all kinds of things (except Forever Black which JRL mentions) including peanut butter (yes, someone suggested this) we finally tried Kiwi and guess what? It's been 2 years now and it hasn't come off...the trim pieces still look exceptional!

Ken_in_D · Post by **Ken_in_D** » 15 Jan 2008, 11:58

MIJ,
A quick update. I bought Forever Black from an internet mail order company and used it on the S60 trim. It worked very well but took several coats on the horizontal part of the rear bumper, which was the most faded. Overall, I was very satisfied with the way it turned out. FYI, it came in an applicator bottle and sure does look like liquid shoe dye to me. Maybe it's good marketing!