Beware the S80

A short summary of my tale of woe:

27,000 mi: Replaced battery.
37,000 mi: Replaced two front link rods, ABS module.
41,000 mi: Replaced power steering pump.
49,000 mi: Replaced two front shock absorbers.
52,000 mi: Replaced link rod, inner tie rod end, engine mounts.
57,000 mi: Replaced lower right front ball joint, steering fluid
reservoir.

Oh, and the AM radio hardly ever works in any built-up area.

Don't say you weren't warned! If you have to buy yourself an S80, get
two: One for the road and one for the shop.

 

Where do you live? What are the roads like? (Who listens to AM?)

John

 

Ooooh man. That must've sucked. Thanx for letting us know. I was thinking of one but I've heard soooo many bad experiences with S80. Yours tops
off the cake.

 

Ooooh man. That must've sucked. Thanx for letting us know. I was
thinking of one but I've heard soooo many bad experiences with S80. Yours
tops

And it can't possibly have anything to do with how or where he drives so
you, obviously, must never buy one because you must drive just like and
where he does. Don't you think you need a little more information before
you start assuming all S80s are piles o'crap?

 

Sounds like you hit quite a few pot-holes. This is not normal wear.
Was this all dealer service? Was any covered by warranty?

 

It's not a matter that "all S80s are piles o'crap". It's simply not
true. Not all S80 are sh*t.

But, the odds are stacked against you. And the penalty is high $$$$$.
Why take the chance? OTOH, for anyone who is a sadomasochist, the S80
might be the perfect car.

 

Sounds like you hit quite a few pot-holes. This is not normal wear.

I'm skeptical of claims like these. My 2000 S80 has 55,000 hard miles on it
hitting plenty of rough roads and washboard dirt roads at 50-70 mph for
hundreds of miles plus rough ski area roads which are just like hitting
hundreds of potholes an hour. All I've ever had done to the car was the
scheduled maintenance and the ball joint recall work during the cars first
scheduled service. In other words, this car is built like a tank and
probably more reliable!

In my over four years of driving the car I've spoken to numerous other S80
owners (I always try to strike up a short conversation when I see someone
entering or exiting their S80). Over the years I've met perhaps 15- 18 S80
owners and I always make it a point to ask them about their cars
reliability. Every single one of them has had good things to say about that.
Not one of these people had a single major repair item. To me that's a lot
more credible than listening to a single anonymous person in a newsgroup
badmouth his experience with the car. Even the 2005 Automobile Consumer
Buyers Guide lists the S80 as having a "good" reliability rating. The rumors
of S80's having poor reliability started almost before the S80 was widely
available. Consumer Reports initially said they couldn't recommend the car
because it was a completely new platform and was therefore had unproven
reliability. This was widely mis-translated to mean the car was unreliable.
About the same time it appeared a S80 bashing campaign was in force. People
who lusted after the car but were too shocked with the high price were all
too eager to jump in and speak their two cents about how poor they had heard
the reliability was.

The one remaining unknown is how long the turbo's of the T-6 last. So far I
haven't heard of any needing replacement! Early in the S80's release the
word was the turbos would be problematic. That has proven to be fictitious
as well. Expensive? Yes. Trouble-prone, no! So far this has been the most
trouble-free car I've ever owned which is particularly impressive
considering the technology it's loaded with.

 

A defender of the brand steps in and blames the owner/driver. Old song,
often wrong.

John

 

(snip)

Boy, Peter, you've been through absolute living hell, haven't you?

Oh yeah --- that too.

My own naturally-aspirated 2.9 experience hasn't been nearly as dramatic as
yours. It's a sort of dull car that I really wish was turbocharged but
hey - that's all my fault. I should have spent a few more bucks. Other
than being a so-so performer it's as solid as a rock. I wish I could hate
it but I don't. It's ok. I tolerate it because my HU-611 radio is so
good...and I listen to news, sports and talk shows on AM all day long as I
drive around L.A. and Orange Counties in Southern California. You've heard
of California? Lots of big buildings here. And there are freeway bridges
and so-on. No problemo.

Pat

PS - I've also got a '98 Mercedes that I bought new and the AM band on its
radio is nearly unusable. FM, cassette and CD work great. The AM is crap.

PSPS - You're not just another one of those "brick lovers" who hate anything
new, suspect vaguely that Ford is to blame for all the world's evil, and who
might even manufacture a tale of woe to help promote their point of view are
you? Just curious. Don't be insulted. It's a legit question.

 

Normal. I had a battery last 6 months once.

Normal for the first(roads are tough), but the second, no.

Not normal.

Egads. You do know that the OEM shocks are only good for maybe
15-20K at most? Just enough to last the first year or two.
49K is very decent.

Mounts eat themselves on most engines these days every 50K or so.
The rods - sounds like you're hitting potholes or something.
Are there bad roads where you live?

Same here.

My Buick - egads I wish this was all it cost. Heh.

 

Huh????
Sorry to hear that about the S80--the 240 shocks/struts consistently
lasted well over 100K miles. It was probably the one single item that
Volvo never suggested I replace, even when I was interested in doing
so. While the 240 shocks certainly weren't high performance, a web
site on performance upgrades on 240s for rally purposes included all
the well known fixes, but still recommended keeping the 240 rear
shocks, coupled with top-grade Bilstein struts. Doesn't Boge still
make the OEM shocks/struts?

 

That doesn't make it normal. The batteries I have had in my Volvos
have lasted about 70,000 miles (5 - 6 years). On my old 760, the
OEM battery was replaced at 70,000 miles (recommended), and the
replacement 72-month Interstate battery lasted until I sold the car
(183,000 miles).

 

Wow, sorry to hear the problem. I have seen such a degradation of so
many things Volvo as well - leaves me wondering what the company's
focus and priorities are. Thanx for the info and good luck.

 

I don't know who makes them but they are the best shocks I've ever had on a
Volvo. I don't know any S80 owners who have had to replace them yet. After
over 4 years of hard use mine still keep the body motion quiet, even over
rough roads. There's this one restaurant I go to that has big speed bumps
(three of them). They are about 8 inches tall and 6 feet wide. Most cars
slow down to about 10 mph and they still look like bouncing wombats. I hit
them about 25-30 mph in my S80 and it soaks them right up with nary a
shudder and no bounce. I tried the same thing in my Eurovan and was just
about thrown out of the seat had it not been for my seatbelt.

Anyway, I abuse my S80 shocks all the time and they take the beating and
still have all their damping and good characteristics intact after 55,000
hard, dusty, wet and muddy miles. Maybe someone had a defective shock, I
don't know. Maybe someone has a bad service station who is taking them to
the cleaners. I don't know. But I do know that it's ridiculous to conclude
the S80 has bad shocks because one person claims theirs wore out early. I'm
just amazed at what passes for intellect here.

 

It's normal if you draw the battery down and leave it in a discharged state.
That happens no matter what kind of car you drive.

My S80's T-6 original battery is still going strong after more than 4 years
and 55,000 miles.

I would also point out that this "Peter Lebensold" who started this thread
used Google Groups to post to Usenet and that is his only Usenet post ever
(using Google Groups). There is a real Peter Lebensold who has a number of
posts to Usenet regarding software, etc. but he always accesses Usenet via
normal channels. I think Peter Lebensold is a hijacked identity. I doubt the
"problem" car in question even exists.

 

I would reason that is the _expected_ behaviour if one leaves a battery in a
discharged state, but that isn't how I _normally_ treat my car, even if I have
to be away for an extended time.

 

Well, Consumer Reports doesn't rate the S80 for '99 very well, neither does the Canadian
publication Lemon Aid.

The later models were to be "improved".

The OP never offered the model year of his car, maybe he owns a '99?!?


At the Volvo dealerships, you can buy a 1999 S80 (In Canada) T6 for about $20k, funny
thing, cuz a 1999 S70 was $24,995 for a non turbo!! But a 2000 S80 was minimum $30k.

Why was there a difference of almost $10k between a 1999 and 2000 model year S80 on the
lots?!? We test drove a 1999 and loved it, but it had problems as we were driving it. We
drove another one, and same thing (engine stumbling, creaking suspension, etc....). sure,
they sit for a while, but hey........ Instead, we ended up buying a '96 850 from a Volvo
dealer, saved thousands, and the thing is in near mint condition (low kms, I mean, Volvo
wouldn't normally keep an old car like that kicking around unless it was good).

So yes, I've heard the horror stories about the S80, in books, and on the net, so, that
changed our minds about the car, for now.

 

The last time I saw Ford or GM struts, they were no-name OEM
versions that were good for maybe a year or two. I don't know
about what they are putting on the Volvos, but their 5% cost
reduction per year plan doesn't seem compatable with expensive
European struts.

 

They aren't? Well, share the blame between Ford and George W. Bush
perhaps.

 

I have a hard time believing the 2.9L was stuttering on your test drive. We
have the original version of that motor (mounted the proper North-South way)
in our 960 (from 1993, before that screwed around with the design) and it
pulls like crazy... Even before we replaced the ancient spark plugs and
wires two days ago.... Maybe it was the ultra compact 4 speed tranny?