[Bennetttv]

When i turn my Volvo S60 T5 sharply the wheels grind against the wheel wells. Volvo's fix for this is to put sterring stops on the sterring mechanism BUT that limits the sterring and instead of grinding I get a horrible turning radius. Does anyone else have this problem. Volvo told me it's a design problem and basically there is nothing they can do.

 

[Tech]

Almost every S60 with 17" rims has that problem.Only the cars with the 17's have that problem yes it is a design flaw.They havent come up with a good fix yet.

 

[zactx]

My 04 S60 with the 16" rims and continental tires (sport package) does it too -- someone in Volvo engineering was sleeping the day they fit the tires on the chasis I think. How embarassing to have your new 30K car grind like it's 30 years old and then for Volvo not to care at all (at least my dealership doesn't).

 

[The Doctor]

well no

my 30 year old does NOT grind - thats because such things as steering geometry took precedence over sleek looks

so we got the brick - but it worked

 

[zactx]

Hehehe, fair enough

Come to think of it, considering all the nagging problems on my s60 after just 22K miles, I might have prefered something more like yours too...the subaru this replaced was absolutely perfect for 180K miles, but so far the Volvo's been less then stellar reliability wise (though I do still love the car, and it's all been little, but anoying, things).

Gone wrong in the first year....
-Cupholder broke and has been replaced twice
-steering gring (not solved)
-stalling (every single time i take a long highway trip, the first time i slow down to a stop it stalls)
-Gas tank filler (the entire tube down to the tank) has fallen out of the plastic shroud and down under the car (made it tough to fill up) - -twice!
-armrest has broken (the snap to close it)

and I still hate the clutch just as much as the first day

Z

 

[The Doctor]

yes indeed - 30 years ago we used to joke about the volvo I now drive as "a fantastic car to have an accident in", but dead boring

so back then volvo was happy to get market share from THAT image, ie market to the say 10% of people who [unlike me in my E Type Jag] were fine upstanding responsible people

not sure what changed but volvo DID redirect their marketing in 1990s - possibly because the world changed and the pool of responsible people was more like 1%

so volvo became the same as any "market driven" mainstream company and got more "fancy"

I think jury is still out on if this was a good thing, but I seem to get bad vibes via this forum re the no longer reliability factor of a brick

eg you talk of no idle after on expressway, and I have no such problem

reason involves mine is dead simple air flapper thing and yours is a DDC [direct digital control] algorithm that considers 16 sensors, crunches the numbers and decides to cop out

as a long time engineer in the service industry [not cars] the motto was if it aint broke dont f*** with it

modern marketing says you MUST f*** with it - ESPECIALLY if it works

in other words I would far rather be driving along listening to my IPod than getting some computer error code like I was back home in front of my computer

in fact I have even disconnected the 1976 vintage error codes of seat belt warning and light bulb warning [which even then gave false warnings]

life is too short to have such agro

 

[S60 R]

Well, again, with 18" factory wheels I still havent had the rubbing issue. Maybe they fixed it for '05. I havent taken notice if the ones with the prob are pre '05

I think its irresponsible to say that 1% of the world is responsible

But seriously, IMO I think its more of "if we can drive a car on Mars, and discover the chemical composition of moons and planets, why cant I have style and safety". I mean really, especially when u consider that Hyundai is starting to make cars that can rival Honda. Whooda thunk? I think the "responsible" people also want style. I think I am, and I do. Thats why I chose the R

In relation to becoming market driven, like it or not, thats the way it is. If u dont build what the market wants, you wont be building. I do agree though, that I think this is more true today than 30 years ago. I believe the product could be less what the market wanted, and more what the engineer wanted --for whatever reason--back then.

Well at least some things never change, Sesame Street is on and the kids are yelling for me

....

 

[brianf]

What genius in the engineering dept. failed to figure this one out. Mine do rub now and then. 17" with P6 tires.

The stops are a useless idea because the turning radius is already more than that of a cement mixer.

brianf

 

[rlw]

If my '05 S60 is an indication, Volvo must have fixed the wheel well interference problem. I have 17" wheels with P6's and have not had the problem in 13k miles. Turning radius is lousy though.

 

[jameskwai]

I got that grinding problem on my 2003 S60T5 17" tyre Goodyear F1 too at abt 10K mileage. Sent to the dealer and they got it fixed. Asked how they do it. The reply is "just used a bit of grease on certain parts of the wheels". Not exactly sure which part though. It works for me but later I got that same problem 1 month later. Sent to them again and they got it fixed. Now at 34K mileage - that problem has never occur. Touch wood. Where's the wood?!! Get me one quick.

 

[JVAW]

I had the same problem. I have an 2005 S60R with 17 inch wheels. The first time I took it in they put the sterring stops in ... It did not do any good. I took it in again and they replaced my steering rack with a re-engineered version and now it runs great.

It feels slightly different when I steer also. Almost more responsive I would say ...

Talk to you dealer and ask for it.

The fix ran about 1900.00 but it was all under warranty.

 

[JVAW]

Spoke too soon ... the right hand turn is beginning to grind a little bit. I am disapppointed with this "undocumented" feature of the S60.

 

[lianyc]

Would changing to a lower profile tyre reduce the grinding if not eliminate it.

 

[JVAW]

I guess you could but you would have to adjust the speedometer would you not ?

 

[Tech]

Yes it will mess up the speedo readings.

 

[JVAW]

Here is an update to my grinding problem ...

Recall they had replaced my steering rack with supossedly a newly re-engineered steering rack available since September 05.

Well, apparently they had installed the "older" version of the steering rack. I brought the car back and they noticed their mistake/confusiuon.

The dealer finally installed a new "reengineered" steering rack. And, after a short test drive the grinding is gone.

There is one issue, the diameter of the shaft for the new steering rack is slightly smaller than the old one. THe rubber washer that insulates the engine sound from the cabin has a small gap and I can hear the turbo in the cabin. A faint but noticeable humm/hiss.

They are getting the new "washer" in to replace it as well. They say it takes about 20 minutes to install. They chaulk up this issue to getting up to speed with this new "fix".

Of course, I will let you know if the fix totally works. The last time they replaced the steering rack the fix lasted all of 30 miles.

Let me give it a few days worth of driving ...

Hope this helps some of you out there.

 

[JVAW]

The fix works (so far). The steering wheel is tighter to turn however ...

 

[S60 R]

Thanks for the updates JVAW

 

[new2vovo]

After the fix for the wheel grinding, you said the
steering is tighter to turn. Now that you've had a
while to test it, do you think the fix is worth doing?
...or was it better to have the steering how it was, even
with the grinding on very tight turns.

I just bought a T5 today and was shocked when I
did a U turn, the sound of the grinding
of the wheel hitting the wheel well.

Thanks.

 

[starfish]

You could remove the steering stop bolts and add about three flat washers behind each one to draw the stops in a bit.