2000 Volvo s80 with Airbag Light on

Melissa-K · Post by **Melissa-K** » 11 Jun 2014, 23:44

Hi,

I'm sorry if this is in the wrong section of the forums, this is my first time posting.

I found a 2000 Volvo s80 on Craigslist (found here http://norfolk.craigslist.org/cto/4516115281.html) for what seems like a really good price ($2400 with 85k miles) and I'm really concerned about safety now that I have a daughter so I really want to get a Volvo. I've never had one but from reading up about this year/model I'm kind of scared to get one because of the supposed transmission problems they have, but I'm running out of time to buy a car and cant seem to find anything in my 2500 dollar price range that doesnt have a ton of miles or isn't a piece of junk.

The car seems to be in good shape besides the paint peeling (which I'm not worried about, just want safe transportation), AND the Airbag Service Urgent light being on. Is there a easy and cheap fix for that or does it have to be taken to a dealer??

The other thing is the battery. He says the airbag notice came on after replacing a dead battery, which makes me nervous about the electrical problems i've heard these have. I carfaxed it but I'm not totally sure if its a good report or not. (besides no accidents reported, which is good). I did notice it had the battery replaced two years in a row though. I pasted the Carfax below.

Anyways, I really want a Volvo and I love what I've read about the s80's (from the owners with no problems at least). Can anyone lend some advice on what they think about this one?

Thanks
Mellisa

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Owner 1
Purchased: 1999
Type: Personal lease
Where: Florida
Est. miles/year: 10,339/yr
Est. length owned: 8/28/99 - 12/16/02
(3 yrs. 3 mo.)
Low mileage! This owner drove less than the industry average of 15,000 miles per year.
VOLVO

Date: Mileage: Source: Comments:
06/05/1999 Volvo Motors Vehicle manufactured

06/28/1999 US Customs Vehicle exported from Swedenand imported to Jacksonville, FL

07/01/1999 Volvo Motors Vehicle shipped to original dealer in Fort Lauderdale, FL

08/28/1999 Volvo Motors Vehicle sold by dealer in Fort Lauderdale, FL

08/28/1999 38 FloridaMotor Vehicle Dept Odometer reading reported
Dept.Montvale, NJ

02/15/2000 FloridaMotor Vehicle Dept.
Montvale, NJ Titled or registered as personal lease vehicle

09/18/2000 11,378 Inspection Co.
Florida Vehicle inspected Anti-theft device present
at the time of inspection

04/20/2001 Florida Motor Vehicle Dept.
Montvale, NJ Title issued or updated
First owner reported
Loan or lien reported

12/16/2002 29,320 Volvo Certified Retailer
Miami, FL Offered for sale as a Volvo Certified Vehicle
Odometer reported as 47,186 kilometers

12/17/2002 Warren Henry Automotive Recommended maintenance performed
Miami, FL Front brake pads replaced
Throttle body cleaned/serviced
Door lock(s) replaced/repaired

02/10/2003 Volvo Certified Retailer Sold as a Volvo Certified Vehicle

02/10/2003 29,638 Service Plan Co. Service contract issued
Hallandale, FL
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Owner 2
Purchased: 2003
Type: Personal lease
Where: Florida
Est. miles/year: 6,674/yr
Est. length owned: 2/14/03 - 2/7/07
(3 yrs. 11 mo.)
Low mileage! This owner drove less than the industry average of 15,000 miles per year.

Date: Mileage: Source: Comments:
02/14/2003 Florida Title issued or updated
Motor Vehicle Dept. Title or registration issued
Montvale, NJ New owner reported
Titled or registered as personal lease vehicle
Loan or lien reported

05/22/2003 30,602 Warren Henry Automotive Battery replaced
Miami, FL Battery/charging system checked
305-690-6157

11/12/2003 34,306 Warren Henry Automotive Recommended maintenance performed
Miami, FL Wiper(s) replaced
305-690-6157

01/20/2004 35,197 Warren Henry Automotive Two tires mounted and balanced
Miami, FL
305-690-6157

05/03/2004 37,346 Service Plan Co. Service contract claim
Vehicle serviced
Cooling system serviced

05/18/2004 Florida Registration issued or renewed
Motor Vehicle Dept. Titled or registered as personal lease vehicle
Hallandale, FL Loan or lien reported
Registration updated when owner moved
the vehicle to a new location

05/27/2004 Warren Henry Automotive Battery replaced
Miami, FL Radiator fan replaced
Battery/charging system checked

07/14/2004 38,852 Service Plan Co. Service contract claim
Vehicle serviced
Engine serviced
Fuel system serviced

08/03/2004 38,853 Warren Henry Automotive Vehicle serviced
Miami, FL

11/08/2004 41,694 Service Plan Co. Service contract claim
Vehicle serviced
Steering serviced
Suspension serviced
12/28/2004 Warren Henry Automotive Steering gear replaced
Miami, FL Four wheel alignment performed

06/03/2005 Florida Registration issued or renewed
Motor Vehicle Dept. Titled or registered as personal lease vehicle
Hallandale, FL Loan or lien reported

12/19/2005 Warren Henry Automotive Ignition control module replaced
Miami, FL Engine/powertrain computer/module checked

02/09/2006 Warren Henry Automotive Pre-delivery inspection completed
Miami, FL

03/01/2006 Volvo Cars of North Recall #S25045
America, LLC El.Thr.Sys SW Upgr.
Manufacturer recall/service bulletin issued

02/07/2007 55,417 Auto Auction Listed as a dealer vehicle
Florida Sold at auction

03/15/2007 Virginia
Motor Vehicle Dept. Vehicle purchase reported

03/23/2007 Freedom Volvo
Virginia Beach, VA Key(s)/remote(s) reprogrammed
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Owner 3
Purchased: 2007
Type: Personal
Where: Virginia
Est. length owned: 4/16/07 - present
(7 yrs. 1 mo.)

Date: Mileage: Source: Comments:
04/16/2007 55,467 Virginia
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Virginia Beach, VA Title issued or updated
New owner reported

03/12/2008 Virginia
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Virginia Beach, VA Registration issued or renewed

02/20/2009 Virginia
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Virginia Beach, VA Registration issued or renewed

02/18/2010 Virginia
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Virginia Beach, VA Registration issued or renewed

03/17/2011 Virginia
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Virginia Beach, VA Registration issued or renewed

03/30/2012 Virginia
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Virginia Beach, VA Registration issued or renewed

04/30/2013 Virginia
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Virginia Beach, VA Registration issued or renewed

Post by **matthew1** » 12 Jun 2014, 00:13

If you're not a DIY "shadetree" car mechanic, and your budget/schedule really doesn't allow for frequent trips to the mechanic, shy away from S80s.

Backing up a bit -- the safety wars in the automobile world were pretty much over in the late 1990s/early 2000s. Who won? Everybody. All the manufacturers got really good at making safe cars, as opposed to the 1980s and before when it was a niche talent that Volvo, and to a lesser extent, Saab and Mercedes, excelled at and founded their reputations on.

What am I trying to say: you can choose any car in the last 10 years and it'll have good safety ratings. The playing field has leveled.

I'd poke around here http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings and approach your car search from that angle.

Does this make sense?

Oh and welcome to MVS

Melissa-K · Post by **Melissa-K** » 12 Jun 2014, 10:52

Thanks for the welcome and the advice!

I'm really just looking for a car to get me through the year, not to last me a lifetime (although it would be great if it did

). I'm pretty desperate for a car this week and I'm not having any luck with the Craigslist cars I've found so far. The S80 only has 85k on it so if things start to go south, I could always auction it and easily get what I paid for it, or close to it, I think. It looks really clean (besides the paint that I would fix) so I dont think getting around $2500 would be a problem.

The airbag light concerns me though because if I buy a Volvo OBD reader and reset it myself I'm afraid that won't be the fix and it might be something other than just needing to be reset. Plus, the carfax shows 2 battery changes in 2 years, so that kind of scares me in reguards to the electrical system.

Bluevanacd2005 · Post by **Bluevanacd2005** » 12 Jun 2014, 11:13

The airbag light needs to be reset by the Dealer. It cannot be reset through OBDII. However, there probably isn't anything actually wrong with the SRS system, the light has been known to come on when the battery is ran low.

Spenser

Melissa-K · Post by **Melissa-K** » 12 Jun 2014, 12:53

Thanks for the reply Spenser

I looked on Ebay and found these higher end scanners for around $150.
(http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid= ... &_from=R40).

Will these types not do the job?

Post by **rmmagow** » 12 Jun 2014, 13:46

Looking at the scanners none seemed to say SRS reset exactly. The air bag light is probably from the low battery. If you don't do a lot on your own cars, see if you can find an independent Swedish motor car mechanic and have them give the car a decent once over and carefully check the charging system. Volvo's are safe but overly expensive to maintain if you have to fix it a lot. A good indy mechanic is worth their weight in gold. First 2 owners took pretty good care of it, 3rd, maybe did a lot on his own?? Try to get it for less due to the issues noted, bring cash, $1800 in your pocket, maybe another $200 for negotiation. $2400's not bad but I'd want at least another $1500 aside for heavy maintenance run. The S80 isn't an easy sell even at a good price as reliability has been an issue with these cars.

Melissa-K · Post by **Melissa-K** » 12 Jun 2014, 15:16

Thanks rmmagow. You make a good point.

He says he lowered it from the kbb value based on the issues but maybe i can get him to take it down to more. I called a volvo specialist about it and he said he'd charge $100 to do a pre-purchase inspection and said he'd address the airbag light at the same time. He was very very worried about it being a T6, but luckily this one is not.

Post by **precopster** » 12 Jun 2014, 15:26

The Volvo Vida/Dice is a great diagnostic tool however the software may require several attempts to load and may require IT support in the end (resposible sellers will list system requirements)

An Autel EU-702 will also do the job of resetting SRS, however most are sold on AliExpress, not eBay. I buy them from Shenzhen Zeuss in China for $78 plus postage.

bluezerby · Post by **bluezerby** » 14 Feb 2015, 20:35

I had a 1999 S80 with the airbag light on and got in a front end collision with another car going about 30 mph. Both airbags deployed to my surprise. The car ended up getting totaled and I purchased another 1999 S80. It too has the airbag light on. I'm not as concerned anymore with the light. The next time, it's at the dealership, I'll get it checked out. I read in another post that it sometimes will come on if you try to disconnect the radio without using the proper sequence of steps.