I have been a S80 and first time Volvo owner for 3 months. So far I have read on several S80 forums with regards to the S80 and Volvos reliablity and cost of maintenance. There are some good comments and alot of negative comments.

I just want to hear your opinions.

Thanks

i've got an 03 s80 2.9. The car has about 22000 miles on it. Never had a problem. Dealer did an upgrade to the transmission at 15000, made it a new car.

I have a s80 2000 2.8t, and a year ago a nightmare of expensive repairs arraised, repairs like radiator vent and control module, suspension (whole), throttle body, heater core leak, and today again a suspension noice seems to be the joints after 20,000 kms since the past joints change; i am very disapointed with the car but i love its line....

I have a 99 S80 T6, and I have to say that it is one of the most unreliable cars that I have ever owned.

My 99 S80 2.9 has given me more nightmares than any vehicle I have ever owned. Volvo for life?? Mine had a short life!

I have a 2000 S80, bought preowned. I think it was an impulse purchase and I am kicking myself for it. The car is a problem, I am thinking about dumping it. This is a huge financial blow.
I called Volvo, they do not seem to care.

I have a 2003 S80 2.9 non turbo. 52,000 miles no problems. I bought it as a used certified Volvo with extended warranty from a Volvo dealer. So far the car has been great. Only cost has been normal maintance. I guess the newer S80 hold up a lot better than the 1999's.

Bill

I have had my S80 T6 from new. It is 5 years old now and done 55K miles. Very unreliable - had to have it towed in during the first year. Changed the top mounting 3 times already. Changed the throttle body, shocks, brake booster.... too many to mention. The rubber bits are brittle, in hot conditions they keep failing off and cracking to bits. Don't think volvo ever tested this car in the heat. It's made in Sweeden after all...

Early S80's are not a very reliable car (not to mention looking quite a bit uglier than the current verison) at all. Why, I'm not quite sure, but the newer ones are alot better.


The brittle conduit is a weird one to, possibly they changes supplier and didn't test it? I would think this issue is sorted now.

Turbo return seals and breather box seals are another problem, not yet sure if it only affects older ones.


Later model S80s shouldn't be too bad, however I would reccomend a 2.5t (replaces 2.9 N/A) over a T6, even though it has less power, the 5cyl has always been more reliable (and easier to work on) than the 6cyl.

Have had a 99 S80 2.9 since new. currently have 121K miles. up until last year had it serviced by volvo. Got a little irritated with additional charge during oil change to have it run on computer ($180 only to be told all checked out).
Other than recent throttle body change- done at a delearship- no charge have not had any reliability problems besides normal wear and tear replacements.

Slick

:thumbsup: My S80 is my 3rd Volvo. I had a '87 760GLE. Head gaskets at 80K miles and spun a bearing (my fault, bad rear main seal) at 127K miles then drove it past 240K miles, I loved the V6 and the CSI injection. Lots of wind noise.

I have a '93 850GLT and just drove it past 240K miles. Original clutch lasted 190K miles! Lately developed a valve problem on #2 cylinder. I think it might be lifter related as Marvel Mystery Oil helped smooth it out a little. I'll probably pull the head and have the valves re-done. It's my work 'beater' and would like to spin the clock to 300K This car was giving me 32MPH while going fast on the highway.

I just drove my new (1999) S80 T6 from Florida to New York. I bought it on E-Bay for $11,000 with 47K on the clock. Perfect CarFax, Clean as a wistle. Rear shocks were blown out, replaced w/oem, $160. This car is quick off the line but the real fun is going from 70 to 100MPH. Makes me feel like "Mad Max". I was hopping on it today and the engine stumbled briefly under hard acceleration at around 4,000 RPM. It picked up a "Check Engine Light". Thats why I joined the forum to find out how to clear the code. I'll try disconnection the battery tomorrow. I love the way this beast handles and if it holds up like my last two I'll be very happy. Carbon in the throttle body doesn't scare me. Other problems in the forum seem small. I think I'll keep her.

Remember, forums like this attract people with problems. Look for the good advise and ignor the complainers. If you really want a laugh, go to a Jeep forum!

Happy Trails!

I just got my 99 S80 non turbo less than a month ago. Car Fax indicated good reviews about the car so I decided to pick it up. It was from a local used car dealership. 140,000 KMS for 14,000 CDN.
No problems as of yet, the only time my car gave me a message on the screen was for an emissions failure. That message cleared itself off after getting an oil change. (luckily.. cause it had me worried)
I agree with the brittleness of the rubber by the windows. Mine's all chipped and cracked! :(
Overall, I'm happy with it.... is so far... :clap:

Bought my 01 s80 with 31k miles five months ago. I love the car but have had some issues. Luckily it was a certified used with extended warranty. After about a month, I experienced an problem with the car idling at a stop. Seems like it wanted to stall. First fix by the selling dealer was to replace the ignition coil on #3. Got the car back but immediately the problemed returned. Went to my local Volvo dealer and after 10 minutes they found 2 cracked spark plugs. Problem resolved.

Now I have an issue with the sun roof. Local dealer wanted $200 to replace the track guides. I'm trying to convince the original dealer that it should be a warranty issue. Wish me luck!!

This car - 99 S80 - is the biggest hunk of stinking whale dung that I have ever had the displeasure of owning. I only wish I had done my research prior to purchase. Because I am honest I am fixing it all before selling it... so far I am out about 3K and the d@mn check engine light came on again this PM. Stupid car... /Stupid owner!

Ok - thanks I feel much better now!

:beer:

I was at the bookshop and came across a thick book called the "Dog & Lemon Guide" which list reliability and problems of just about every car in production.

The previous years reliability status of "Average" has been superceeded with the word "Dodgy". Then of course there is the best rating of "Good" (one above 'Dogdy') and also maybe a couple of poorer ratings.

Volvo's (inc S80) like the nearly every other major European manufacturer scored "Dodgy" on the average. Whilst Japanese manufacturers faired better on average.

My previous vehicle (owned for 8 years or 190,000kms driven) scored "Dodgy" also and the book went on to a long list of problems, 90% of which never happened. I did experience a couple of other problem which the book failed to list.

Maybe I won't be waiting in line when the new 2007 S80 model becomes affordable. However the 2009 or maybe 2010 model when some of the teething problems of the 2007 have been ironed out.

Then again there might be no oil left for any of us to enjoy driving by then.

Purchased 01 S80 as a certified used with 36K miles. It now has 65K miles. I love the style and ride of the car. I did my homework beforehand on reliability and purchased it despite the horror stories.

It loved to eat light bulbs until I found bulb grease. It works!

I have had as stabilizer replaced under the extended warranty. Today I just took it to the dealer to have the the ETS upgrade(recall) performed and now the car won't idle and check engine light are on and the dealer says the oil box needs to be replaced a a $500 price tag. Ran fine until they did this upgrade. I'm mad now and hence the reason I found this forum. See my posting S80 ETS Campaign.

Battman

I bought my S80 2.9 brand new in 1999. Mechanically it has been "okay" as long as I'm willing to drop $1000 at the dealership every time it needs servicing. I experienced the ETM problem last September while on the road to Santa Fe for vacation. Not a great time to have this type of issue! Had to turn around and go back to my dealer for repairs, which they kindly did that day (a Saturday) for $950. If it weren't for this forum and Vexedvolvo.com, I never would have known about the ETM problem resulting in an extended warranty that would get me my $950 back. Volvo and my dealer did a shameful job of informing owners of the problem and rebate.

Mechanically, though I have tried to stay up to date on servicing, I don't trust the car. The weird messages that come up on the dash, the ETM, then there was an air intake problem, and it hasn't run smoothly at a stop for years even after many trips to the dealer for diagnostics and software upgrades. Then there is the interior... the inside of my car is falling apart! I've already lost the fabric covering one of the front windshield posts. Fabric in another area is coming loose. The surface of the padded console is cracking and peeling, as is the "leather" housing around the emergency brake. Outside the window rubber is cracking (as mentioned in other posts) and all black plastic/rubber areas, such as on bumpers, strip across doors, etc. looks tired and brittle. BTW this car is garaged every day!!

If I weren't upside-down on my loan, this car would be gone in a heartbeat. I will never buy another Volvo and would discourage anyone else from buying one.

my window post fabric is falling off as well, have you identified a fix?

This is for batman, If i am correct, recall for the ets is recall 155? if it is then there was an issue with this upgrade and has since been corrected. This was an issue from volvo and they have corrected it. If i were you i would talk to your local dealer about possibly redoing the recall 155 (if that is the recall. if not, then ignore what i just said :) ) We have had a few come back with idle problems and other drivability problems beause of this issue.

I have a 2002 T6 since new and I have been very happy with the car. The only problems to date were a brake sensor that was replaced under warranty and the DVD player, also replaced under warranty. I have 60,000 mile on the car and have found it a joy to drive. I have been using the dealership for servicing and bring it in every 7500 miles and use synthetic oil.