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Just bought a 2003 S80 T6... problems abound

Everything on the Volvo S80. Sometimes called an "executive car", the S80 was Volvo's top-of-the-line passenger car. P2 platform.
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jhebert
Posts: 1
Joined: 12 October 2012
Year and Model: S80 T6, 2003
Location: United States

Just bought a 2003 S80 T6... problems abound

Post by jhebert »

OK so I got a screaming deal on a 2003 S80 T6 w/ 90,000 miles for $1200, knowing at least turbo needed a rebuild, as it had a bad seal and was dumping white smoke. Father in law volunteered to do the rebuilds and help me remove/replace them.

I admittedly focused on the mechanical when I was inspecting it and didn't inspect the exterior well enough, I knew it had been in an accident with no airbag deployment leading to salvage title (carfax+DMV lined up with owners description) but the owner said it was completely rebuilt. Not quite. It's probably the shoddiest job I've ever seen, there are 2 plugs I can't identify dangling near the lights, but both side markers, blinkers, and hi/low beams work, fogs don't but are connected. On top of that, the Pax side side markers were not installed properly, both the running light and the blinker. First time I drove it today the running light cover fell off and is gone, the blinker was not installed properly AND the paint looks much more faded than the rest of the car, leading me to believe the shop used salvage yard parts to put it together.

so on to a series of questions-

#1- My sunroof doesn't respond to input, all fuses are intact, I understand that it can be related to the siren module, however my lights do flash when i lock/unlock, and panic button does set the car off. I do not have an alarm system requires maintenance notification. Could it still be siren module causing me problems? I've tried locking and relocking the car multiple times, the battery was flat dead when I got the car, installed a new battery this morning.

#2- I looked at the technician page someone posted (I believe here) on removing the Turbo, but it said you need to remove the right drive shaft. Can anyone explain this? I can reach back and touch the pax side turbo easily and my father in law after looking said he believes he can access the drivers side turbo without removing it.

#3 I know the trannies on the T6 in this year range were problematic, but this one checked out fine, are there any early warning symptoms I should watch for that will warn me something is about to go wrong and I can get ahead of it?

#4- are there any cheap places to get small body parts like the side markers?

#5- Fog lights- foglights appear to be connected, when i press the button on the dash it lights green and no error message pops up but no lights come on. Rear fog says dead bulb....except I can't find the rear foglight to replace the bulb...

#6- my car has fuses for heated seats, but I have no dash buttons to turn them on, is this typical? I live in southern California so heated seats aren't exactly important to me but I'd like to know.

#7- I've got the On-Call system with phone and whatnot, is there any way to change it from the craptastic onboard phone to bluetooth? I love having the keypad on the dash, steering wheel controls, and speaker behind my head, but have no use for yet another phone number. If I could continue all of the on board controls with a paired bluetooth cell phone it would be amazing. I'm fairly tech oriented (I'm much more tech inclined than mechanically) so i'm not afraid of doing custom wiring but I'd love a nice kit to do it with.

#8- Anything else I should know?

mbreed
Posts: 104
Joined: 12 September 2012
Year and Model: 2005 XC90 2.5t
Location: Allentown PA

Post by mbreed »

Best place to start is to pull some trouble codes. I would take it to a junk yard and call it a day. And lesson learned. Those T6 Seightys don't hold up well.

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