2001 v70 issues and more issues

ltanner · Post by **ltanner** » 27 Jul 2021, 16:55

Hello

My dad passed down his 2001 v70 to my daughter and she used it with no issues for 2.5 years. She just took it to college 4 hours away and it has been multiple issues. we are trusting a local mechanic shop that has good ratings. 1st thing was new radiator as they said it was leaking. Then it was the brake booster. Then the throttle body all within 5 weeks. Now the EL power system service light is on and the suspect the alternator.

My reason for posting is after the radiator repair she had to bring it back bc they forgot to top it off and she picked up after hours and service engine light on. Then after brake booster repair again she picks up and the next day service light on again! They said it was a connection that was faulty. So now again a new light is on after the throttle body replacement. I am concerned it is something they missed bc of my experience so far. A new alternator is 500+ after just sinking 2000 in this aging car. We are on the lookout for another car but I am sure you know the used car prices are very high rn.

Any input is appreciated. Is a 2001 even worth anything? it has 160k miles and was serviced by my dad very well. everyone says its in great shape

Thank you!

Post by **volvolugnut** » 27 Jul 2021, 17:16

The cost of paying someone to maintain these Volvos increases with age. If you have to pay someone to do all the work, it may become too expensive to continue. Doing the work your self changes the equation. I have owned a 2001 V70 T5 for the last ten years and radiator, throttle body, many other parts. I now have 200,000 miles. It helps that you know the history and it has been well maintained. In 'great shape' my opinion this car is worth several thousand.
volvolugnut

Post by **abscate** » 28 Jul 2021, 04:25

Where is she in school? Maybe we can get another set of eyes on it? The number of shops thst really kniw these cars and their quirks isn’t large. My local independent(s) knew nothing of the P80 bread clip fix for the AC compressor. Happy to bolt on a new AC compressor amd charge for $1500, vs one hour Labour for the bread clip fix.

A 2001 is a perfect college kid car to ride out her degree, and first job , without a car payment. Let’s get her to “ stage zero” and happy driving.

Pm me if you don’t want to go public on details of course.

darylrobert · Post by **darylrobert** » 28 Jul 2021, 05:58

the older any car gets the more things need to be fixed, however once fixed the car will go another 20 years. For things like alternators is could be just the regulator not the whole unit that needs repair, you need to find a knowledgeable mechanic.

ltanner · Post by **ltanner** » 28 Jul 2021, 08:04

She goes to school in Burlington Vt. so if anyone knows a knowledgable mechanic in that area please let me know! I was wondering if when changing out the throttle body they could have created this issue with the EL power system light happening. Also last night she went out to go to the store and it was stone dead. We had it towed to the shop where we have been having all this work done. I'm sure they were not happy to see it in their yard when they got in this morning. I am waiting to hear from them.

Post by **abscate** » 28 Jul 2021, 11:02

I think it is Swedish Pit who are the go to Volvo guys up there. Anyone can have a bad run though.

jkatz · Post by **jkatz** » 28 Jul 2021, 14:30

I live in Burlington (area). I’ve gone to some awful shops here in the past that came recommended by people I respect, so take this with the requisite skepticism: now I have my favorite place which is Double G on Birchcliff Parkway (South End). The owner (John) is just a great guy and does good work. He’s not a “Volvo guy”, but for 90% of what needs to be done a specialty shop isn’t necessary. If you are fed up with your current shop give him a try. Two years ago he replaced a 2.5T engine for my brother, it’s still on the road. He’s also replaced an AC compressor for me, as well as a fair amount of maintenance like brake calipers and tires.
I try to do my own work these days, but I completely trust Double G and would not hesitate to bring anything beyond my ability to them. He’s also showed me his snap-on code reader and that it reads Volvo codes, so he’s not cluelessly googling when troubleshooting.

Hopefully that’s not where the car is now!

Another edit: the Swedish Pit is often recommended. They are probably great, but I’ve never been a customer - for no particular reason.

Jon

ltanner · Post by **ltanner** » 29 Jul 2021, 09:30

Thank you for the input. The volvo is at New England Automotive. All nice ppl, but not sure of their volvo expertise at this point. They conferred with someone they know at the volvo dealership and it was decided the regulator not the alternator due to fluctuations of 12 something to 14 something in voltage. I sure hope this is the end of repairs for now. I made the mistake of saying good thing it didn't die in an intersection! now my 19 year old is worried to drive the car! yikes! For me the best thing this car is, it is a solid safe car for her. Thanks for your input all!!

Post by **jonesg** » 30 Jul 2021, 02:45

Most of the time its the regulator, $45 but not the easiest to get to.

leapdragon · Post by **leapdragon** » 30 Jul 2021, 19:48

Echo what was just said. These cars are cheap and reliable *if* you learn a little bit and do the preventative and repair work yourself. They're also not that hard to work on.

But they will eat you alive if you have a mechanic do it.

You can pick up a new alternator on Amazon for $120-$140 depending on the one you select. If you have tools (socket wrench, metric sockets, a T60 Torx bit and either a breaker bar or a length of pipe to fit over your ratchet) it takes about 30 minutes to replace it, longer of course if you're not used to working on cars.

Similar equations all around—locally they'll charge you $1,800 to do a PCV service on a V70. Parts run about $150 and I just did mine about a month ago (needs to be done about every 100k miles). They'll charge $800-$1k for a timing belt. I also did my own, again parts cost around $150 for a full kit (timing belt, water pump, tensioner and idler).

I don't have a ton of special tools—ratchet, sockets, jack, jack stands, a few torx bits in "Volvo sizes" (T10, T25, T27, T30, T60) but I manage to do most all of my own work, meaning I just pay parts costs.

Just adding up the regular maintenance items above (PCV, timing belt) for every 100k miles, you're at nearly $3k every 100k miles to keep it on the road... or about $300 in parts every 100k and a Saturday afternoon.

If you're planning to have a 2001 V70 serviced by a mechanic or a dealer, I doubt you're going to keep it very long or be happy with it—if it's in good shape, better to sell it along to someone specifically looking for one who will work on it themselves and invest in something newer.