Volvo 850 maintenance and repair issues

pat

We have a number of single question type topics on this vehicle. I'm moving them all to this more generalized discussion so that our members can more easily ask for and find information on the 850.

Pat
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car_fever

Hi everyone. I have a 96 Volvo 850 and is happy with it. However, as time passes, the dash lights are burning off one by one... And now, 3 of the dash light bulbs are burn out. I took my car to the volvo dealer and they said that i have to pay for at least one hundred dollars to replace the light bulbs because they have to get their "specialist" to pull out my car's dash board... i mean... come on, it's just replacing light bulbs! and i have to pay a hundred dollars for it? And i would like to ask if anyone knows if there are other ways to replace the 850 dash lights? Thank you.

dglassma

I have a 1996 850 to. The dealer wanted 140.00 to replace an antenna. It appears that the volvo repairmen work on commission. Major ripoff. I am trading my volvo in for an acura cl type s. No maintenance until 100,000 miles. Japanese cars more reliable.
Look for a mom and pop volvo dealer they charge less than the car sales shops.
good luck

kbarry

Check out www.brickboard.com or www.ipdusa.com.

There are instructions somewhere on one of these sites that explicitly lay out the steps to do your light replacement. It didn't sound hard, just time consuming. If I find it, I'll fowrad the excat location.

And to you Acura person... good luck with it. Parts are just as expensive for Japanese cars as they are for Swedes. And guess what, Acura's break too. Just look at some of the posts for Honda and Accura.

pistolp

I have a 96 Volvo 850 and it has 106,000. The car runs great although when I start it it seems to have a slow start. I an it takes a few seconds to turn over. Does anyone know of a problem like this? What can I do about it?

bobs5

It is possible the battery is getting weak, has dirty connections, or there may be an electrical connection in need of cleaning.

kbarry

It was actually Brickboard that has the posting. What you'll need to do is select the FWD category and then 850. There is a search button on the bottom right of the page that you can type in dashboard lights. It will point you to various archives surrounding this topic. It will take a bit of reserach to find the exact one, but the cost savings of doing this yourself should justify it.

kbarry

I have a 96 GLT with 92K on it and am experiencing a similar problem. I was told last summer that when my alternator went that I would need a new battery before winter. So far, the car has not not started, but is showing signs of a slow start. It only seems to occur when the temps drop below 20 overnight. So, weak battery is probably the cause but with temps under 20, the engine fluids have to be as thick as mud which would justify a longer start as well.

Worst case scenario is that the bearings in the starter are starting to go, or the starter itself has a bad connection. Listen for a grinding or dragging noise when you start it. If you don't, it's probably the battery. How are the temps in your neck of the woods... it could also just be cold weather.

tacomawheels

I have a 93 volvo 850. Only 75K. I want to flush the radiator. I asked a dealer what they use and he said "whatever they have". The manual says to use glycol based stuff, but a mechanic told me a year ago that it is hard on the car. Lastly, could anyone recommend a good radiator flush product. Seems like there are 100's.

Thanks,

alcan

Any glycol based antifreeze from any reputable manufacturer will work well in a 50/50 mix, if changed every 3 years/60,000 miles. Additives such as corrosion inhibitors will be depleted by then. Too many people confuse "permanent" with "forever". Permanent simply means it can be left in year round. To extend change intervals, consider GM Dex-cool or Texaco Havoline extended life antifreeze. Both are orange colour, silicate free, approved for bi-metal engines, and rated for 5 years/100,000 miles.

div2

I like Dex-cool as well. Just make sure that you completely flush all the old coolant out before switching over.

volvoscott

To remove the instrument cluster in an 850, you must lift the dash pad up and then reach back and remove the cluster. It involves removal of the a/c vents, taking out about 8 torx screws, then you lift the dash pad up, and remove the cluster. It's not nearly as easy as it sounds. Do yourself a favor, take it to a volvo specialist, dealer or independent, and have it done right! Just make sure you replace ALL the bulbs in there, instruments and trip computer. I've done several and it takes the better part of an hour to do it.

Scott

tacomawheels

I have a 95 Volvo 850. Only 75k miles I really like the car but since I bought it last year it has had strange characteristics. The cold idle at is very high at about 1500 RPM. When warm it is still high at 1100. If I put it in park it goes up to 1300 or so. Sometimes when I open the door and sit down the idle surges down to 500 then back up. When the engine is warm I can feel a vibration in the steering wheel at stop lights that feels like it comes from the hard idle. I have also noticed that the emissions smell like gasoline, especially cold. When I hit the pedel hard particularly uphill the car does kind of a shutter. It also sometimes does this when I let off the gas around 35 miles per hour. At first I thought it was the trani, but it feels more like the engine now and the RPM's shoot up and down during the shutter. Oddly all the problems are worse when it is raining. It also seems worse with premium gas. It runs better after higher speeds (75) on the interstate The fuel pump was replaced when I bought it. I ran the onboard diagnostic and found nothing. I took it to a Scandinavian specialist and he replaced spark plugs and distributor and said to try some different brands of gas. 6 months latter no improvement. I installed a K&N filter and checked hoses for leaks. Engine now idles even faster. I replaced the fuel filter and ran several Tecron bottles through, which helped some. This weekend I will be searching for a hotter spark plug, I think it may be getting too much gas. My last thought is to replace the battery or find a hottor coil. I thought they may be robbing power. I am baffled, can anybody help?

recko

Hi, my wife hit a stone wall in our driveway and damaged the front bumper (don't ask how she did it..........). It looks like she damaged the bumper cover and the styrafoam behind it, but didn't damage the actual metal part of the bumper behind that. Is this something I could fix myself??? I had to cut off some of the cover and is seems that it's attached at least on the sides, by a bolt. (although I didn't look underneath, I'm assuming it's somehow bolted to the frame). I replaced a radiator on an old Jetta I had, so I'm not afraid to attempt it, but I don;t know if I'll need some special tools. The parts (the bumper cover and styrafoam piece) will run me about $4-500, and I'd like to save some $$$ by doing it myself (and also learn how it's attached!!!!)

Any books/sites that will give me instructions????

eneth

Physically replacing the bumper is probabl not that difficult as long as none of the mounting points are bent or misaligned.

The real difficulty and the expensive part of the replacement is in painting the new bumper to match the rest of the car - if it's painted to match the car in the first place. Painting plastic requires careful preparation of paint and flex agent, or the paint will peel off the bumper. It may also not be easy to match the paint on an 8-9 year old car perfectly.

Mr_Shiftright

Have you checked for manifold leaks? This sounds like a vacuum leak problem of some sort, given the weird changes as the heat changes (metal expanding and contracting can cause more or less air through the mating surfaces of the intake manifold and the engine).

You could also have 2-3 problems going on at once.

I don't find your Scandanavian's solutions very logical given the symptoms, but maybe his meters did pick something up to justify what he did.

What about new injectors...this will often cure a myriad of problems. If there are no leaks, no codes, and nowhere else to turn, well, it's a chance....

myv

1995 Volvo 855. Who would've thought that a gentle snow-skid of the left front tire into the curb would come to this? Is this price within the ballpark for the NY Metro area? Are there other Internet resources for common maintenance problems with this model?

stupenal

Hi, i'm looking at several used volvo 850s, from 1993-1996. However, even though i know that Volvo's are reknown for their safety and reliability, i get the feeling that reliability is not that great on these 850s. i know that the 240s were great, but the 740s were horrible. i was just wondering if i should expect to pay a lot to maintain the car. Also, i'm currently driving an 89 Toyota Camry, thus, i'm used to spending little to maintain my car (just oil and filter change every 3k). Any advice would be great. Also, does anyone know if the manual transmission is more reliable than the automatic? thanks

rosep

I just traded in my '95 850 Turbo Wag which I owned for nearly 6 yrs having bought it new. The car had only 65K miles on it,mostly city miles. I bought the car because of Volvo's reputation for safety and reliability and because my husband and I liked driving the car. Maintenance has been absolutely horrible though. Here's my quick list:ignition switch (see NHTSA serv. bulletin),ABS system,cv boots (right & Left), Headlight wiper motor,valve job,fuel door motor,exhaust systm leak and the miserable tire expense (class action lawsuit for that).Little nuisances-cupholders that always broke and hatch that always rattled until an ind. repair shop put a patch on. Good luck.

Mr_Shiftright

I'd certainly choose the manual over the automatic. The automatics on the earlier 850s do not have a good reputation.

javadoc

Like Mr. Shiftright, I would favor a manual to an automatic, esp. in a '93/4 850 series car. The trade-off of not having to "row your own" is that they do seem to break. If you want a turbo 850 (highly recommended, btw), you are stuck with an automatic. Go for a 1995 or newer model, as the transmission was made better for those years, and is considered "bulletproof," if an automatic can be called that.

I'm a firm believer in the idea that your car is only as good as you maintain it. I've had virtually no problems with our 1996 854 Turbo (854=sedan/ 855=wagon) and have seen many high-mileage models with very few service visits. The engines should run endlessly, and it should provide you with a high level of comfort, performance and safety for a great price (used), with a little preventative maintenance thrown in.

Of course, my 854 is at the body shop after being broadsided by a Ford Focus... which totalled the Ford

http://www.rydwell.com/brick-page.htm

--java

supersub

I am looking at a '96 850 GLT which is for sale in my area. It has a few minor problems, but after reading the A/C postings, I am a little more concerned about noise I heard in the fan motor when I tried the A/C. It occurs at low speeds when the motor is being turned on or turned off. Does anyone have experience with this problem? Is this just a characteristic, or is the fan motor and/or A/C trying to tell me something? If so, how much will it cost to fix?

othniel13

1. drove this car to Florida and even though its nimbleness saved us from an accident, I wonder if I hit something that caused an oil leak that I cannot find the source to. It is not the turbo problem that volvospeed.com refers to, it seems to come from the inter cooler (is this oil filled?). Its particularly puzzling because it does not seem to effect my oil levels or pressure and my Turbo seems a bit more sluggish in the middle of the torque band (hence my reasoning for suspecting the inter cooler).

2. there is a terrible rattle that seems to be coming from the latch on the 5th door. I put some Duck Tape on it and it relieved the problem, temporarily. But it caused me to lock the doors by attempting to open the back hatch. Is there an easier fix that replacing the entire latch. And were do I find parts?

850crazy1

My front seat heaters have gone out (again), and I thought that I had read about an up-grade some where.
My lights on the console between the front seats are out also......how hard is that to fix?
All of the fuses are good, what next?

vguard

wonderful! I have the "base" model (non-turbo, cloth, no sunroof, manual transmission) sedan. We have already put 135,000+ miles on it (I say "already" because we purchased it new, long after the '96 came out).

I can honestly say we enjoy driving this car as much today as the day we purchased it (can't say the same thing for the previous Volvo 960 we owned).

We maintain the car very well and don't hesitate to fix something if it looks like it is going bad.

Engine mounts are famous for breaking down on these cars, so check them regularly. Expect an expensive brake job at 100,000 miles (rotors, etc), but if well maintained, this car will treat you right. Follow the scheduled maint. and you will be just fine.

As for the manual vs automatic debate, I would not own an automatic in a non-turbo Volvo.....The manual is a hoot to drive (however you won't find as many manuals on the used car lot, at least in the 1995 model anyway...back then you could not even get the manual with the turbo charged version in this country).

maw1982

I am looking at a 1995 Volvo 850 Turbo Sedan. It has 75k miles and is being offered for much less than its trade-in value. What issues should I look out for? I have read on this board about the self-destructing evaporators. I also know that the 740s had problems with the turbos destroying themselves at 60k miles. Is this also a problem in the 850s. Thanks

Also, what type of gasoline is required or recommended for the 850 Turbo.

lancerfixer

Not only will you get great advice here (especially from people like rollie) check http://www.brickboard.com for an encyclopedia of knowledge for all things Volvo. It's like edmunds.com for Volvos only. Great site.

chadds

IMHO 240s were the most trouble prone, the 740s not as and totally rust free in more then 10 years of ownership. The 850s are reliable but because they are so wonderful and don't show their quirks many don't do preventative maintenance. I've had a 544 two 122s wagons an 83 Turbo Wagon, a 740 Turbo, a 740, a 93 960, two 850 GLTS and an 850Turbo. I have three daughters. Two 760 Turbos gave their lives saving my wife and daughters. Find a private mechanic you can trust and do your maintenance and fix the little things when they break.

kld1958

Can anyone tell me how to turn off the service light on my 95 850 Turbo? This is the second time I got it back from service, and the light is still on! Thanks

KL Diefenderfer

stewarha

Go to http://www.volvospeed.com/Volvospeed.htm. Click on Volvo, Repairs/Maintenance. Now click on the picture of the auto service bay (Bay 13), next click on the link for lights and you'll see an article called "850 Service Light From Bay 13". While there look around, they have a lot of other maintenance tips as well.

khoon

My air conditioning suddenly went on the blink. The dealer performed a "test" and suggested that I change the core/ evaporator/heat exchanger at a total cost of $1100. A mechanic I contacted quoted $500 to fix/replace the evaporator.

Since the "test" was performed, the air appears to be working ok. My question is, how can I accurately determine whether or not the evaporator is truly the problem. I'm also uncomfortable with the wide disparity in the prices quoted to me. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

asfan1

I have had intermittent a.c. problems with my 95 volvo 850 turbo for the last couple of years. I had the freon recharge several times and the a.c would work for a little while and then it would stop working. My mechanic, in consultation with the volvo dealer determined that indeed the evaporator was the problem. My mechanic changed the evaporator and showed me where it was leaking. The price was appx. one thousand dollars. It involved appx. 10 hours of labor. They had to remove almost the entire dash to get to the evaporator. I have read many reports of evaporator problems with the 850. My mechanic offered some consolation by offering that if this was a mercedes or BMW, the cost would be double. Five hundred dollars to do the repair, I don't think so.
After the repair, the a.c. works as well as it worked when I bought the car.

vguard

The mechanic I use (Volvo dealer in KY) also told me the A/C in my model is known to have a leakage problem, after I complained about it not working as well as it did in the past. In fact, while I was talking with him, he pointed out another 850 across the bay that was having the A/C replaced. The guy working on that car had the entire dash out and had been working on it all day. He also said it was a $1,000 job.

I decided to just recharge my system right before summer, as the cheaper alternative. At the time, I was due for a complete brake job (pads and rotors), so I was in no mood for another $1,000 service bill.

This problem is common, at least with the 1995 model, due to inferior parts. However, it always seems to start leaking "out of warranty", so the owner is stuck with the entire bill.

khoon

Gents,

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

Its been hot in NYC, and I've been using my a/c since it was charged last week. Guess what? It works like new!!!

I'm now wondering whether my evaporator was really ever damaged/defective? Or, perhaps, it has a slow leak. In which case I'd rather pay $100 per season to recharge, assuming that the freon will last through the summer - rather that than dole out $1100.

I'd like to hear your opinions/views.

pluckon

My 1995 850 A/C went out just after warranty expired, and the dealer replaced it for free. (Lucky me, otherwise it would have been $1,200.) Don't think you can get by with recharges. The system leaks, and the recharges will last a week or two, tops.

850shopper

On Saturday, a salesman at a dealership in N. Cal. showed me a '97 854 GLT w/72K miles, and an engine compartment that had obviously been steam-cleaned. There appeared to be a small bit of oil scum on the bottom of the oilpan, but everything basically looked OK. So far so good. But then I asked to see the car's service history, or at least a record of the 60K major service, and I got an answer along the lines of, "Well, this was a lease turn-in. We have no records and can't get them. But trust me--we reconditioned everything." A CarFax title search shows it was registered as a commercial lease vehicle in 1997.

No matter how bulletproof Volvo engines may be, I don't think this is good enough to warrant the $1.5K over KBB retail he was asking.

I'd like your thoughts on whether this is a "walk away" problem, or just a "negotiate down" situation. The lack of records and commercial registration make me suspicious. His story sounds silly to me--I can't believe there is no service record anywhere. Is his story likely? Is there any significance to the commercial registration?

I told him that his dealership should stand behind its reconditioning with a one-year warranty, and he only acknowledged it as a possibility when I started walking off the lot. I'm thinking of offering him around $5K less than his asking price, unless he can prove that this vehicle hasn't been abused. Am I out of line?

Thanks in advance. I'm looking forward to hearing your opinions.

im_brentwood

First,

"commercial lease vehicle" probably means that it was leased to a company.(More like it was leased to some corporate executive who ran it through the business) So really nothing abnormal there.

Buuuutttt.....

$1,500 over KBB? With 72K? Sounds like a $11K or so wholesale and $13,500 retail car to me...

Somemore info would help. Color, etc... Where the car is at..etc..

As far as service records go, when my customers drop off their lease returns it's funny. They are standing there, talking to their salesperson, and grabbing everything with their name on it out of the glovebox. Can't say that I blame them...

Feel free to e-mail me...

Bill (No... not with a volvo dealer any more...)

surferdave

I'm a first time Volvo buyer. Found a '95 850 turbo for sale at a non-Volvo dealer w/ 90k miles, all options, good condition. I know Volvo are famous for their safety/reliability. But is this a good buy at $9,000? What should I look out for in terms of mechanical problems? I've been learning a lot from these postings. Greatly appreciate any advice from Volvo/850 owners.

Mr_Shiftright

I wouldn't recommend ANY Volvo 850 older than 1997. You'd be well advised to stay away from these older 850s at any price.

lancerfixer

Why's that, Shifty? I've been under the impression that '96 was a good year as well. I know the '93-'95s has A/C problems, mostly. What else is there to look out for? As you well know, I'm hoping to eventually get one, or if I can afford it, a '98 S70.

pjin

I bought a 1994 850 Turbo sedan. I have had more problems with this vehicle than any other vehicle I have ever owned! This car has many electrical problems. There are always lights appearing on the dash, electrical malfunctions etc.

For a Car that is "Supposedly" really reliable, I sure got shafted!!

Seriously, go to ANY Volvo dealership and you all can see for yourself. If this car is so reliable, how come the damn Repair lines are so long!!??? Do NOT Buy the 800 Series Volvo! Trust me!

vguard

Although I will admit the A/C issue bothers me. I have a very small (but growing) leak in my system that so far, recharging has maintained. It is only a matter of time however before I will need to make a decision on whether to fix the A/C (a $1,000 job), or sell the car. With 135,000 miles so far, I just love driving this automobile, so unless some other major issue comes up, I suspect I will fix the A/C and try for another 135,000 miles.

And for those who confuse "long repair lines" with reliability, what they don't understand is Volvo owners follow "scheduled maintenance", vs. the normal car owners approach of "fix it when it won't start any more".

I take my Volvo in and have belts, etc changed out "before" they go bad. The timing belt is the best example of this "preventive" type care. Volvo schedules it to be changed out every 70,000 miles. I get a little more "preventive" by having mine changed out at 60,000 miles.

The net result of following a "scheduled" program is my car has never failed to start, or broken down (knock on wood) since I purchased it new in 1995 (135,000 miles later).

Mr_Shiftright

I know a lot of people in the used car and repair business, and they are generally down on the car. Now these are guys "in the trenches" who see a lot of them. One of my friends who owns a very successful lot, has forbidden his wholesalers to even bid on one, much less bring them home from auction, if they are 96 or older. Perhaps he is over-reacting, but when I asked him he said "been burned too many times". Not to single out Volvo, however. He has a number of cars on his S-list besides that particular model of Volvo (Jaguar and certain domestics to name a few) . He very much likes some other Volvo models as well.

My experience with them has been the aforementioned a/c issues, also the automatic transmission appears to be showing an abnormal failure rate, and quite a few of general quality control issues. I have taken the time now and then to stop an 850 owner and ask him /her how she likes the car, and usually I get a mixed response. I have never gotten a "rave".

So that's all I've got to contribute. Not the best data, but it is interesting I think.

Were I in the market for one, I'd certainly do as much research as I could on consumer survey data.

vguard

When I purchased my '95 850, I had to search in order to find what I wanted.....no turbo, manual transmission, no sunroof, no leather, no alarm system, etc....

In other words, perhaps the main reason mine has been so good to me (excluding the a/c issue), is because I don't have any options on my model (less to go wrong).

We knew we would be putting many miles on this car, so we wanted the "base" model, with no frills. (we even got the steel wheels vs. alloy).

vguard

850flagirl

About two weeks ago the horn on my 1994 850 started sounding off on its own. I had my mechanic disable it. He declined to do more because of the air bag. He advised me to see dealer. I went to Volvo of Winter Park and they suggested, based on what I described, that I need a new steering wheel. That sounds strange to me. I mean, do people, actually replace steering wheels? Anyway, the price will be at least $400 for the part, according to dealer. Any suggestions? The car has 123,475 miles. I was hoping to keep it to 250,000 miles. I grew up during a time when people bragged about the mileage they got wih Volvos.I had to replace the transmission about two years ago, at 100,000 miles. I have an appointment with dealer on Saturday, so any advice I can get today will be much appreciated it.

Mr_Shiftright

yeah, people got lots of miles out of their volvos, but those cars were also very tired and shabby (I remember, I saw tons of them) and probably the horns didn't work then either!. I think people expect and demand much more out of their new cars than our hippie parents did 25 years ago. I suspect (just my own speculation here) that volvo drivers were more tolerant of the car's failings (exhaust system, u-joints, timing gears, broken speedometers) back then and as long as it kept running (which it would do) all the other stuff falling off didn't matter so much.

alcan

Old, yellow, rusty Volvo wagons are the war wagon of choice for sailors around here. Gotta be 100 of 'em in the yacht club parking lot here every weekend! LOL

850shopper

Thanks for your advice, Brentwood. I passed for a number of reasons, not least of which was that the salesman refused to move very much on price. I don't know if he was trying to feel me out as a serious buyer or what, but he lost my business.

cheers.

spend2mch

I went to back my car out of the driveway and it shifted into reverse but would not reverse. I could easily move the shifter but could not feel anything "engage" when putting it in reverse. Did not try drive as I was in my garage. I had it towed to a repair shop (authorized Volvo repair) and he said the tow truck had problems getting it out of the garage because it seemed to be stuck in gear. The mechanic looked at it and he said it seemed to be stuck between two gears and he had never seen this problem. Anybody else heard of this? It sounds like more than just a normal transmission problem. HELP! No warranty, of course. It has 80,000 miles which seems kind of "new" to be having this problem.

Mr_Shiftright

Yes, this is not uncommon (standard trans I presume?) and I have heard of it happening to Volvos, although not one quite as new as yours. Something fell out of place in the gearbox, some "dog" probably that is supposed to keep the gears aligned while shifting. I'm afraid at 80K you are going to eat whatever the repair is, so get yourself ready. I really hope I'm all wrong and a tap of the hammer will cure it. Also possible that they can fix this by removing the trans but not disassembling it.

Keep us informed.

spend2mch

Thanks for response. It's an automatic transmission with a price tag of $3,000-using an authorized Volvo repair shop, not the dealer. Dealer was approx $4,000. "Tap of the Hammer" would do you mean by that? Should he take it off and then put it back in and try it? (Sorry if I sound totally naive to how long this would take, but I have no idea!) I don't think he was going to disassemble it. I think he was just going to replace it with a new (actually rebuilt from Volvo) one. I asked if he would be able to tell me what had happened once he took it out and he said no, it was something internal and unless I was willing to pay him to take it apart, I guess I would never really know. Didn't really like that answer but I guess sometimes there's no reason to why something happens. Should I prepare myself for other things to start "going out"? What other major thing could go out?