Which s80 model year has the better reliability?

ariete57 · Post by **ariete57** » 20 Mar 2009, 19:59

Well here goes, I WAS the proud owner of a 95 850 turbo,untill my wife was involved in a head on collision with someone who went in her lane instead of passing on left side. I thank God she just received a few bruises from seat belt and air bag . So..........I am now looking for a s60 or s80 but I do not have enough info to choose the year. Please let me know if possible. thank You

Post by **VCA** » 20 Mar 2009, 21:58

ariete57 wrote:Well here goes, I WAS the proud owner of a 95 850 turbo,untill my wife was involved in a head on collision with someone who went in her lane instead of passing on left side. I thank God she just received a few bruises from seat belt and air bag . So..........I am now looking for a s60 or s80 but I do not have enough info to choose the year. Please let me know if possible. thank You

Buy as late a model year as your can afford--they really did get better year on year. Avoid S80s through 2003 as they were only available with the troublesome GM 4T65EV transmission. From 2004-05 buy only 5-cylinder S80s, they have the AW55-50 transmission, which is a much more reliable powertrain. Frankly, I'd stick to the S60, it's a more solid car all around.

Post by **dcarlson12** » 23 Mar 2009, 14:11

From what I have read/researched the main difficulty is that the S60's do not have as much rear leg room. I guess smaller car overall? But if you rarely need that leg room then the S60's definitely seem the way to go. I bought a 99 S80 which had most of the problems commonly noted for its vintage replaced/repaired under warranty or by the previous owners under their own expense. I have done the timing belt replacement(including water pump('just in case'), idler and tensioner and recently replaced the left front wheel/hub bearing. Have put about 13,000 miles onto her (now about 112,000 miles). Also did a flush of the transmission. The old fluid was looking a bit dirty. Other than that is has been good so far. But if I had it to do again, I would probably look for an S60 based on all the data that is available....

rprestonatmitre · Post by **rprestonatmitre** » 24 Mar 2009, 11:37

What transmissions do the 2005 T6's have?

Post by **VCA** » 24 Mar 2009, 13:18

rprestonatmitre wrote:What transmissions do the 2005 T6's have?

GM 4T65EV-GT

JackZero · Post by **JackZero** » 25 Mar 2009, 22:34

VCA wrote:GM 4T65EV-GT

I'm considering an S80 and bringing it to a mechanic tomorrow to check it out. Is it possible for the mechanic to tell if the transmision is original equipment?

Were any tweaks made to the 4T65EV-GT transmision over the years, or is it the exact same thing from 1999-2005? I'd hate to buy a time bomb...unless the dealer will take the cost of a new transmission off the price.

Thanks!

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 26 Mar 2009, 04:36

From 2004 and later models there is was a choice of an Aisin-Warner (AW) transmission on turbo models only. Hope this info helps.

Post by **VCA** » 26 Mar 2009, 05:43

MadeInJapan wrote:From 2004 and later models there is was a choice of an Aisin-Warner (AW) transmission on turbo models only. Hope this info helps.

But only for the B5254T2 turbo 5-cyl. The 2004-2005 6 cyls (2.9L and T6) had GM transmissions. The 2nd gen units (2006- ) all have 6 speed gearboxes (the Aisin AWTF-80 SC).