'93 850, Could the VIN be wrong?

kludge · Post by **kludge** » 27 Feb 2015, 20:56

Hi All,

New 850 owner here! Sorry for being so long winded on a first post!

I just purchased a 1993 850 GLT Sedan with automatic transmission and 110,000 miles... at least that's what the flashes said from the OBD computer said - the odometer stopped at 100,000 miles... but that is not the issue. (No big deal, a speedo gear kit is already on order).

I was able to talk the corner lot car dealer guy down several hundred dollars due to the odometer stoppage, and several "minor" issues (interior lights, dash lights, trunk lid support, etc., but overall the car is extremely clean and runs and drives perfectly, it seems, and has nearly new tires and a brand new battery. (Oh, and just today I filled up and noticed a gas tank leak! grrrr.)

I ran a "cut rate" VIN history checker before seeing the car in person and it turned up as "no issues, no accidents, one owner" etc.

My VIN number is YV1LS5502P2xxxxxx

Which seems to indicate that the vehicle should have a manual transmission.

But it definitely has an automatic transmission!

Do you think this could have been an error at the factory, or is it more likely that things were swapped around?

There is no evidence of a swap but with a 23 year old car, anything is possible.

Service records indicate that service was performed at the local Volvo dealership throughout the life of the car up to the mid-2000's and ~85,000 miles. With ~93,000 miles there is a sticker for the timing belt replacement. The dealership service history assuaged most of my fears.

Many parts of the engine compartment are clean enough to eat off of. So clean it's almost eerie. Especially for in Indiana car.

But the carpets and trunk, paint (especially in the door openings - which are very hard to keep perfect through Indiana winters) match the condition, so it didn't throw up too many red flags. The exterior paint looks normal for a 100,000 mile car that was garage kept. Perhaps it was the proverbial little old lady's car who drove to the grocery store and church on Sunday?

But while I was looking at the service records, I noticed that it was driven regularly until about 2008... then nothing... Then the oil was changed last summer (perhaps that's when it got a new battery and tires?) and then it was on a dealer's lot... the dealer recently got it at auction, so recently that I had to wait a day for the title to come from the auction house.

Aside from the "new" looking components under the hood, another strange finding... one of the rear fog light bulbs was "burned out". When I went to change the bulb, the bulb wasnt' ever there. And when I replaced the bulb, the bulb carrier wouldn't fit back into the tail light housing... it was being blocked off by a "molding sprue"... so either it was that way from the factory, and it got out the door... never to be caught by many service trips to the dealership... or it was replaced by a tail light housing that did not have factory rear fog lights.

So are the VIN not matching the transmission, super clean under-hood condition, tail light housing an indication of an accident and unscrupulous people in the chain of custody? Or something else?

Do you think a CarFax would give me any additional information?

I plan on calling the dealer where it was purchased and serviced to see if they can she any light (I already called once to get the radio code).

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 27 Feb 2015, 23:01

The 9th digit in the vin is a check digit in North American cars, not the transmission type as it is in the rest of the world. There is no VIN code designation of the transmission type in the cars for the USA and Canada.

There was a recall on the 850 gas tanks and you might want to have your dealer run the VIN to see if the recall was ever performed. The recall addressed cracks in the fuel tank at the point where the exhaust heat shield was bolted on. In many cases though the joint between the tank and the filler neck is the problem and that is not a recall item.

The rear fog light may also be different than advertised in some literature since the rear tail light panel has very different lamp assignments that are based on each nation's requirements. I think the rear fogs on my '94 have a dual filament tail light and the tail light brightness changes when the rear fogs are turned on.

Things are not universal on the 850s and that is particularly true of a '93. The '93 and the very early '94 models were their own animals and there are numerous, and sometimes quirky, differences even between early and late North American cars.

...Lee

crlande · Post by **crlande** » 28 Feb 2015, 05:44

The fog light on passenger side has a the plastic piece to prevent putting a bulb in because in some states it is illegal.

Bluevanacd2005 · Post by **Bluevanacd2005** » 28 Feb 2015, 15:16

My 1995 850 only had the Rear Fog Light On the driver's side.

Spenser

kludge · Post by **kludge** » 28 Feb 2015, 18:53

Interesting stuff, guys, thanks!

The tank leak could very well be at the joint where the filler neck meets the tank. It's not gushing, but it's not exactly a slow leak.

If it is at the filler/tank joint, what do I need to replace?

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 28 Feb 2015, 19:50

There is a rubber gasket that is inside of a collar clamp that can go bad. One other thing to check is the rubber gasket on the fuel pump. The fuel pump gasket is a known leaker as well and that one is easier to deal with. Many times the BAN (Big @ss Nut) that holds the fuel pump in can just be tightened and the leak will stop.

...Lee

kludge · Post by **kludge** » 01 Mar 2015, 06:50

Well, it pretty much looks like this picture... again not a gusher, but a continuous flow. And I suspect from the fuel gauge it leaked a gallon or two within 30 minutes of filling up.

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =1&t=43522

crlande · Post by **crlande** » 01 Mar 2015, 07:18

From my 1994 850 manual:
The rear foglight (located in the driver's side tail light cluster) is considerably brighter than the normal tail lights and should be used only when the atmospheric conditions, such as fog, rain, snow, smoke or dust reduce the daytime or nighttime visibility of other vehicles to less than 500 ft (150 meters). For the rear fog light to function, the low beam headlights must be switched on.

Post by **erikv11** » 01 Mar 2015, 13:40

Accurate VIN decoding for your car:

http://new.volvocars.com/ownersdocs/199 ... n1993.html

For any other year 850, just change all three positions of the date in the URL.

Post by **abscate** » 01 Mar 2015, 14:35

super clean under-hood condition

Typical of corner lots. They know how to clean much better than fix cars. Keep a close eye on it for leaks but the low miles are a great find!