2006 XC70 Are they all this badly made?

[scot850]

We have owned this car for nearly 3 years, and have only covered about 12,000 miles of the 68,000 miles on the car. I have owned many Volvos over the last 40 years, and this one seems to always have some fault or other with it since we bought it. Fortunately for 2 years it had a warranty on it but, even so there has been way more faults than I can believe for the age and mileage:

1) Rotors (front) were machined when only 3000miles on them for warping problem/pulsing brakes peddle. They had to be replaced at under 10,000 miles for warping again. Even the new rotors have a slight pulsing on gentle braking.
2) Brakes failed. Brake booster pump failed
3) Front control arm bushes, sway bar links and spring seats and to be replaced and an alignement
4) Minor evap leak. So far replaced the fuel cap and now the evap purge valve. So far so good but need more time to be sure it is fixed.
5) Car had the full 60000 mile service at dealer ( where all work has been done)
6) Now we have the infamous "anti-lock brake service required". This has only happened so no diagnostic carried out yet.

My wife is pressurising me to sell our 98 or 2000 V70's (they have cost a lot in repairs also in the last year), but I'm starting to think this is the one to dump ASAP as clearly the quality is not as it used to be.

Does anyone else have this many faults at such a relatively low mileage? Even my 120 series Volvos with up to 200000 miles had less issues than this.

Neil.

[JRL]

1) Rotors (front) were machined when only 3000miles on them for warping problem/pulsing brakes peddle. They had to be replaced at under 10,000 miles for warping again. Even the new rotors have a slight pulsing on gentle braking.

NOT COMMON AT ALL ON P2S

2) Brakes failed. Brake booster pump failed

SAME, NOT COMMON EXCEPT ON 2001s

3) Front control arm bushes, sway bar links and spring seats and to be replaced and an alignment.

COMMON IF YOU DRIVE ON ROUGH ROADS

4) Minor evap leak. So far replaced the fuel cap and now the evap purge valve. So far so good but need more time to be sure it is fixed.

NO PURGE VALVE IN THESE. PERHAPS YOU MEAN THE LEAK DETECTION PUMP, ALSO COMMON/

6) Now we have the infamous "anti-lock brake service required". This has only happened so no diagnostic carried out yet.

NOT COMMON AFTER 2001 AND NOT INFAMOUS AT ALL, THAT'S FOR 1996-2001 ONLY. THIS CAN BE AN SOB TO FIND

[vtl]

Late P2s are generally bullet proof. Unless neglected...

[oragex]

Although not all common faults, two things to mention. Having the car serviced at a Volvo dealer will prove extremely expensive. First reason is the repairs are astronomical, second reason is Volvo will often times suggest global repairs, not always needed and not always successful. This is a common Volvo fault.

The second thing, yes, recent Volvo are more problematic than the old, emblematic Volvo cars that helped this company build it's reputation. Later cars have still some very durable components, while other parts were problematic.

I think it's a good idea to get rid of those cars when repair bills start to accumulate, speaking about the V70's. But speaking of your XC, it doesn't seem so problematic. The rotors might be due to improper lug torque (possibly caused by worn allow wheels where the lugs are seated).

[scot850]

Thanks for all the replies guys and particularly JRL who I know has worked with these cars for many years.

The 2006 XC70 is fully serviced all it's life at the same dealer. I know the dealer and the mechanics well as I worked there for a while to help out in parts dept during a busy spell over 3 months.

Sorry JRL there is a evap purge valve on this car. I had a post previously asking where to find it. I did found it hanging off the front of the block under the intake manifold above the starter, and not where I was told to look on the fan shroud. I have replaced the part and so far not re-occured, but not many km's on the car since replacing. There is also a pump as you rightly state near the fuel tank, but when that goes normally you get a major leak fault code so I'm told. Don't hold me to that as I am not sure of my facts on that.

The anti-skid service issue is fairly common on these P2 cars if you google it. The only issue is it appears there are a host of possible un-related issues that can cause this.

Brake issue with the rotors. I have removed the wheels, made sure the backs of the rims are clean, rotated the wheel rims, run winter and summer rims/tires, carefully torqued the bolts, and the minor flutter on the front brakes still occurs on gentle braking, but less noticeable on harder braking.

Car during our ownership has only been driven on regular roads. We do get a lot of frost heave over the winters and pot-holes, but all our other cars drive the same roads and no issues.

I have the car serviced at the dealer even though I know it is more expensive than other places. Problem is other places (independent Volvo guys) are mostly useless in Calgary, or as expensive as the dealer. Dealer at least has a 2 year warranty on parts and labor on repairs.

With the low mileage we do, it typically means 2-3 services at most every 2 years, and once the cars are out of warranty I do the majority of my own repairs where tools and knowledge allow. I only take the car for non-service repairs if I can't diagnose the issues with the equipment I have.

I have stated on other replies on other forums/subjects that I have a good working relationship with the dealer service guys and mechanics and they cut me a lot of breaks on work, and I get them to diagnose problems on the understanding I may do the repairs myself, or choose them to do them if it is out of my ability. So on the global repairs issue, it has only happened once and we resolved the issue when I pointed out the work was not necessary. Is the dealer perfect, no, but I certainly trust them more than most of local alternates. There is one local repair shop I use, but they prefer not to touch the more complex stuff on Volvos.

On the neglected issue, my cars are far from neglected, they are fully serviced and up to date. We even paid for the 'big' 60000 mile service ($1200) on the 06. I tend to be anal (retired engineer) that all my vehicles run as they should. I could be accused of over repairing....

I agree at least one of the older V70's will probably have to go, more because we don't need 4 cars, and I just don't have the time to maintain 2 older cars. My wife has said the 06 has to stay, so I hope she remembers that when the next issue arrives and the car is now out of warranty!

Many thanks for your insights guys.

Neil.

[oragex]

As for the rotors, do they look shiny all over the surface? Are there any spots on the surface? That could be caused by brake pads leaving marks that ultimately cause bumping on the brake pedal. I also read about people that had the brake disks machined and this didn't completely solve the warping.
Another thing is to make sure the caliper sliding pins are properly greased - usually the dealer would take care of this upon brakes inspection.

[scot850]

No obvious signs of marks or other issues with the rotors. Only thing I haven't done is to strip and re-build them myself and make sure the seating face on the back of the rotor is clean. Now the car is out of warranty, I will be taking on more of the repairs myself, especially when one or both of the old ones have been sold.

Needless to say, JRL will possibly be right again. The engine check light came on again even with the new purge valve fitted. Car is going in for a service, so will have the system fogged to look for any pipe leaks, before having to replace the pump itself.

Neil.

[JRL]

Leak detection pump is a pretty specific code

[scot850]

Thanks JRL. The code I get is for the 'small leak'. I believe the detection pump give the 'large leak'.

I'll let the dealer figure this out and post back. Car is booked in for 5th May. Thanks for your help.

Neil.

[scot850]

Finally got the car in for its service and repairs.

The 'small evap leak' following fogging and code reading was as you rightly said JRL, the evap vacuum pump. I was going to get the dealer to replace as it was in there, but when they quoted me $420 CDN (around $380 US) just for the part, I nearly fell off my seat. As it is not urgent, I ordered one from Tasca for $130 US + shipping! I'll save further fitting it myself. Any hints or things I need to watch out for to replace the pump?

The dreaded 'Anti-skid service required' has entered the first stage of 'fixing' by having the software update uploaded which I believe 'de-sensitises' the ABS system which can be over sensitive in the monitoring department. Again, time will tell........

We are about to do a 2000km+ run to the west coast, so hopefully it will give the car a chance to blow out the cobwebs rather than just running around the city.

Thanks again for your help guys!

Neil.