Update: Got it! Used car questions - 2001 Volvo S80 T6

[Black2na]

S60's are a better then the S80 on the Sheer fact they dont use that crap 6cyl. they use the same 5cyl that has been used for a while which are proven unit to well into the 300k range if you do the normal maintenance on then. i like volvo cars they are easy to work on and pretty awesome units. not to mention cars 10-15 years old still drive better then most new cars if they were taken care of.

 

[Kaido]

Got it checked out by a car buddy. Looked good. Got it.

I usually lease, so I'll just keep my monthly budget going and save up for the repairs & maintenance that it will undoubtedly require in coming months & years. And if it does start having crazy problems, I can always trade it in and go back to leasing. Man...it's been like forever since I've owned a car! Let the modding begin! :awe:

 

[tracerbullet]

Cool! Who knows, it could be just fine. Sounds like it was taken care of, and that's huge. I'd rather have a high mile car owned by someone who knows cars and takes care of them, vs. a low mile car owned by an idiot that let everything go. Worst case it needs work but you're still not out a lot of money, best case it'll treat you well for years to come and be sellable for not a lot less than you got it for.

:thumbsup:

Also - Phucheneh - awesome info.

 

[Kaido]

Cool! Who knows, it could be just fine. Sounds like it was taken care of, and that's huge. I'd rather have a high mile car owned by someone who knows cars and takes care of them, vs. a low mile car owned by an idiot that let everything go. Worst case it needs work but you're still not out a lot of money, best case it'll treat you well for years to come and be sellable for not a lot less than you got it for.

:thumbsup:

Also - Phucheneh - awesome info.

Yup - he even knew how to operate the trip computer, which is like the modern VCR :biggrin: Knew every feature, did all the service & then some, had it detailed, even the engine was mint! Great guy, really took care of the car, and gave me a great deal. I really lucked out.

Yup, many thanks to phucheneh for the awesome info :thumbsup: I'll be ordering a service manual this week as well. I think I've got about 5,000 miles left on the brake pads, so probably around August at ~1k miles per week. Here's a couple quick shots:

http://i.imgur.com/vm5G8i7.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Rnl2CWW.jpg

Head & shoulders above anything else I looked for in the price range!

 

[sontakke]

Let me be the first one to congratulate you. I had a feeling that you were not going to listen to all the advice that was given.

I think I've got about 5,000 miles left on the brake pads, so probably around August at ~1k miles per week.

I think your math is overly optimistic 🙂

 

[nitrous9200]

Congrats! Looks like a nice car, and the fact that it's well taken care of is a good sign.

And hey - it's pretty cool to say you drive a car with twin turbos!

 

[Kaido]

Let me be the first one to congratulate you. I had a feeling that you were not going to listen to all the advice that was given.

I think your math is overly optimistic 🙂

Derp, month :whiste:

Thanks! Yup, when I checked it out and saw how well it had been maintained, I was sold :biggrin: It drives like a dream and feels like a brand-new car. I'll take some more photos once I get it registered this week.

If the only major thing that goes on it is the transmission, then I'll probably plan on keeping it for another 100K miles. If it's really ~$3500 installed, that would still be a more than fair price for the car in my eyes. Very happy with it (day 1, at least - be prepared for the "WHY DID I BUY THIS BUCKET OF BOLTS" thread in a few months 😉).

 

[Kaido]

Congrats! Looks like a nice car, and the fact that it's well taken care of is a good sign.

And hey - it's pretty cool to say you drive a car with twin turbos!

Thanks! Yeah, it's pretty fun to drive, and I've been dreaming of a twin-turbo machine since my Delorean fanboy days. It's pretty heavy - I think 3600 pounds - but the engine will take you up hills without even pushing on the gas, and if you really need to boogie, it will run for you. I like in a pretty hilly/windy area and did a leisure drive and then a performance run on the test spin and they were both great.

I actually surprised my wife with it today as kind of an Easter present...she's always wanted a Volvo for safety reasons and she was thrilled. She just traded in her Fit lease for a 2013 Civic lease. However, I think the S80 just got stolen...looks like I'll be driving the Civic haha. I drive more highway anyway, so the MPG on it will be the winner for me. I'll miss my Kia Soul (a surprisingly FUN car to drive), but I'm already over-mileage on my lease, so it will be nice to own a car that I can put miles on and not worry about. Plus, I haven't done any car modding for a long time now...it's time to play :twisted:

 

[phucheneh]

If it truly drives well and is not making front-end noises and stuff, then I'd say you got pretty lucky. They must've been a regular of a dealer or an independent shop with some degree of Volvo specialty.

Knocking/creaking/clunking/ect from the struts, strut mounts, A-arm bushings, sway bar links and possibly some other misc parts is par for the course. It's not that it needs attention super-often or is very hard to do- it's just usually neglected on that vintage of S80. If they kept that stuff up to snuff, and all the electronics are working properly, you probably got as decent as you're gonna find in an '01 S80. (InB4 turn signals, sunroof, and ABS quits working. :awe: )

They sure went heavy on the armor-all there. Not a fan of that. Did you check crankcase pressure or pull that tube (pair of tubes made as one, actually) going across the middle of the engine?

Also, look at that power steering reservoir next to the coolant and make sure the 'power steering suction hose' isn't leaking. They get mushy around the top and the oetiker clamp lets it leak a lot. Quick cheapo fix: pull reservoir loose (clips onto coolant jug), turn upside down, pull hose off while keeping vertical. Toss oetiker clamp, cut 1" off of top of hose, reinstall with new clamp.

I did that enough times that I can accomplish it without spilling any fluid.

 

[Kaido]

If it truly drives well and is not making front-end noises and stuff, then I'd say you got pretty lucky. They must've been a regular of a dealer or an independent shop with some degree of Volvo specialty.

Knocking/creaking/clunking/ect from the struts, strut mounts, A-arm bushings, sway bar links and possibly some other misc parts is par for the course. It's not that it needs attention super-often or is very hard to do- it's just usually neglected on that vintage of S80. If they kept that stuff up to snuff, and all the electronics are working properly, you probably got as decent as you're gonna find in an '01 S80. (InB4 turn signals, sunroof, and ABS quits working. :awe: )

They sure went heavy on the armor-all there. Not a fan of that. Did you check crankcase pressure or pull that tube (pair of tubes made as one, actually) going across the middle of the engine?

Also, look at that power steering reservoir next to the coolant and make sure the 'power steering suction hose' isn't leaking. They get mushy around the top and the oetiker clamp lets it leak a lot. Quick cheapo fix: pull reservoir loose (clips onto coolant jug), turn upside down, pull hose off while keeping vertical. Toss oetiker clamp, cut 1" off of top of hose, reinstall with new clamp.

I did that enough times that I can accomplish it without spilling any fluid.

There's a foreign auto specialty shop down the road where all the work was done, I may just stick with them since the car has been with them for 10 years and they know it pretty well. And yup, spent about 30 minutes pulling everything up on the car checking it out. Not a fan of the tire shine either, but it was done for photos I'm sure, so whatever.

The one quirk I've noticed is that it was making a "breathing" sound every couple of minutes while driving. I haven't learned the climate controls yet and don't have plates to take it out again to play with it, so that might be it. Basically it sounded like someone exhaling for about 4 seconds. A little creepy actually 😀 Any idea what that was? Running low on blinker fluid already? 😉 I drove it home with the radio off and whatnot so I could listen to the car a bit more, so it was in motion and quiet when I did it - about 4 times on the way home. Sort of a short "ahhhh" sound.

Say, you aren't in the New England area at all, are you? Volvo mechanic for hire? :awe:

 

[phucheneh]

Tennessee. Everything-mechanic for hire. Honestly I haven't touched a Volvo since the dealer.

But they're typically pretty easy to work on, and I'm happy to give more specific advice if needed. E.g. it's making 'x' noise or 'y' part doesn't work or 'b' part is doing 's' or whateverthehell.

You'll probably be describing a common problem. Hopefully any more complex problems that I've had to deal with on those are not going to be a factor. Stuff like random drivability issues, often related to the throttle or the ECM/ETM software...like I said, check the warranty history. If everything in hunky-dory at the moment, let it be...don't go in and ask for the latest ECM flash (also it'll cost money now; throttle warranty was ten years). But it'd be nice to know the last time it was at the dealer, and when the last throttle repair was done.

I was working at the dealer when the very first S70's were starting to run out the ten year warranty (S70 was a 98-99 'refresh' for the 850, utilizing TBW) and the 99 S80's were coming up. They did everything to deny any more claims. I'd have severe surging issues where I KNEW the throttle was bad, but if it passed their dumbass potentiometer quick-test...update software...sell a cleaning...it'd be back.

If you finally did get a legit claim that they might authorize (throttle had a more easily demonstrable fault than 'it doesn't work right sometimes.')...you had to do a checklist on the car, basically. Stuff like a weak battery, any voltage drop from cables (if it wasn't an amount of real concern, I lied), high crankcase pressure. Nope, no warranty throttle for you, one of these other issues must be causing it.

Anyhow, they were still releasing ETM and ECM (flashed as a package) software updates in like '06 or '07. So if it went into the dealer with a throttle complaint, the later it went in, the better the software should be.

I don't know that every car had throttle problems, btw. I think most of them did, or at least were sensitive to needing cleanings. I will say, now that I think of it...I seemed to do MUCH more ETM work on NA cars. There may be something about the boost pressure on the blade? Or the oilier intake charge? Who knows. Something seemed to make them act better on turbo cars...ooh wait, brainfart...your car might have the later style throttle, like IIRC all S60's. It's fairly small with all the guts on one side, and they are FAR better. That would be a Bosch unit.

If it's the one with a big aluminum slab coming off of either size, like some kind of retarded miniature Holly Dominator...That's Magneti Marelli. You don't want that.

Wait, what was this point about again? 😕

Fucking S80's make me ADD with all their issues.

 

[phucheneh]

Oh, your noise.

Is the climate control on 'auto'? That noise is probably normal, I remember some of the CC changes taking a bit long and having a noticeable sound. I want to say defrost was a loud one, but front defrost doesn't go off until you tell it to, IIRC. It might be the recirc door. If the car has a cabin air filter with activated charcoal, there is an 'air quality' system that will close off the fresh air when it feels it needs to.

edit: all control doors in the dash are electric, btw. There is no vacuum behind the firewall. Hell, I don't think there's anything vacuum-operated in the engine bay, either, for that matter...

 

[Kaido]

S80's make me ADD with all their issues.

Maybe I *should* go with a one-grand beater subaru wagon for backup :biggrin:

 

[phucheneh]

The deed is done, just report back if/when you have problems.
YOU REALLY PROBABLY DO NEED AN OIL TRAP BOX.

dammit.

 

[phucheneh]

Let me add one more thing:

I would change the oil immediately and use synthetic. Then do the next change early (for synthetic) and use whatever you normally would.

Or do a couple quick conventional changes. Something to try and nip any possibly sluding issues in the bud. It's bad enough when the oil trap has to be done. Worse when the passages in the blog that it uses are clogged.

 

[jlee]

Tennessee. Everything-mechanic for hire. Honestly I haven't touched a Volvo since the dealer.

But they're typically pretty easy to work on, and I'm happy to give more specific advice if needed. E.g. it's making 'x' noise or 'y' part doesn't work or 'b' part is doing 's' or whateverthehell.

You'll probably be describing a common problem. Hopefully any more complex problems that I've had to deal with on those are not going to be a factor. Stuff like random drivability issues, often related to the throttle or the ECM/ETM software...like I said, check the warranty history. If everything in hunky-dory at the moment, let it be...don't go in and ask for the latest ECM flash (also it'll cost money now; throttle warranty was ten years). But it'd be nice to know the last time it was at the dealer, and when the last throttle repair was done.

I was working at the dealer when the very first S70's were starting to run out the ten year warranty (S70 was a 98-99 'refresh' for the 850, utilizing TBW) and the 99 S80's were coming up. They did everything to deny any more claims. I'd have severe surging issues where I KNEW the throttle was bad, but if it passed their dumbass potentiometer quick-test...update software...sell a cleaning...it'd be back.

If you finally did get a legit claim that they might authorize (throttle had a more easily demonstrable fault than 'it doesn't work right sometimes.')...you had to do a checklist on the car, basically. Stuff like a weak battery, any voltage drop from cables (if it wasn't an amount of real concern, I lied), high crankcase pressure. Nope, no warranty throttle for you, one of these other issues must be causing it.

Anyhow, they were still releasing ETM and ECM (flashed as a package) software updates in like '06 or '07. So if it went into the dealer with a throttle complaint, the later it went in, the better the software should be.

I don't know that every car had throttle problems, btw. I think most of them did, or at least were sensitive to needing cleanings. I will say, now that I think of it...I seemed to do MUCH more ETM work on NA cars. There may be something about the boost pressure on the blade? Or the oilier intake charge? Who knows. Something seemed to make them act better on turbo cars...ooh wait, brainfart...your car might have the later style throttle, like IIRC all S60's. It's fairly small with all the guts on one side, and they are FAR better. That would be a Bosch unit.

If it's the one with a big aluminum slab coming off of either size, like some kind of retarded miniature Holly Dominator...That's Magneti Marelli. You don't want that.

Wait, what was this point about again? 😕

Fucking S80's make me ADD with all their issues.

If you want to flush out old oil and run something high end, let me know and I can get Amsoil products for you minus the shipping cost (if the order is really small, I'd have to confirm that first though). Call it the ATG discount?

Also, I'm not sure where in New England you are, but black2na has a shop in Manchester, NH.

Best of luck, and congrats on the purchase!

 

[Black2na]

If you want to flush out old oil and run something high end, let me know and I can get Amsoil products for you minus the shipping cost (if the order is really small, I'd have to confirm that first though). Call it the ATG discount?

Also, I'm not sure where in New England you are, but black2na has a shop in Manchester, NH.

Best of luck, and congrats on the purchase!

I do have a shop in Manchester NH and are pretty familar with Volvo's not the S80's but the V,C,S70's and the S60's easy car to work on and im a big fan of how they assemble there cars! let me know! not as in depth as Pnuchenech seems to be detail wise. but can certainly do a proper job.

 

[phucheneh]

If you can do S60, you can do S80. Their engines, from the FWD I5 and RWD I6 in the 90's, on into every single other thing they made thereafter (okay, they had a V8 made by Yahama...otherwise), is of the same basic engine design. Includes the 4cyl variant used in the first S40's.

They all use a complex PCV system that needs maintenance if the oil is not changed on time. They have ignition coils that crack with regularity; these should be inspected during a tune-up (60k) and will almost always have cracks showing in some of them by the 120k tuneup (though it might not have misfire issues yet). Relatively easy timing belt every 105k; leave the water pump alone if it's factory. That's pretty much it for their general issues. The TT I6 has four water lines, plus the oil feeds, plus the drains. Good luck if you gotta work back there. I wanna say headgaskets paid like 16 hours or something on those because the turbos made it such a PITA. I dunno; we rarely did headgaskets. But just pulling a turbo was decent bit of time.

What you're not going to know are the ETM and the trans. Good luck. :awe:

edit: and I only worked on these things for a year or two. But when you're doing probably 80% S80/S60/XC90 and 20% S40 every day, you get familiar with all of them pretty fast. It's the 'recollection' part that's a bitch. We had old dudes that generally fixed the 240's/740's/940's and most of the 850's...I was the S80 platform's bitch. Which is probably partially to owe with why I like the P1/P3/C1/EUCD stuff so much. They had like a good cop bad cop thing going on.

 

[Kaido]

I do have a shop in Manchester NH and are pretty familar with Volvo's not the S80's but the V,C,S70's and the S60's easy car to work on and im a big fan of how they assemble there cars! let me know! not as in depth as Pnuchenech seems to be detail wise. but can certainly do a proper job.

I'm down in Hartford, about 2.5 hours away. If something major blows up, I'll have to give you a ring :biggrin:

 

[Kaido]

Registered her today! Only a 2-hour wait in the DMV :biggrin: It was running low on blinker fluid and needed a new muffler bearing, but other than that it works great :awe:

The ride is interesting...it's a mix of granny car and performance. It has some roll, cushy ride, and initial gas pedal mush like, say, a Buick Century, but just when you think it's really going to continue, you hit the performance aspect and it just keeps going, whether on a turn or acceleration. Driving up an on-ramp is really fun because it just keeps giving you power...I wish I had an autobahn or something near me where I could really push it. Even going up hills is fun, there's no power curve, no pushing - just a solid response anywhere you want it. Passing is awesome because boom, it just goes.

It needs an alignment, and the brakes squeak a bit, but other than that I haven't noticed anything major. Runs super smooth. It has a lot more wind noise on the highway than our 2013 Civic, but not terrible. The seats are amazing and seem to get more comfortable the longer you sit in them. The heaters don't seem to work very well, not sure if that's due to the leather or age or what - the ones in the cloth seats in our Civic get pretty toasty.

The speakers are decent, but I'll probably replace the heat unit with a Bluetooth model for calling & streaming. The center speaker is a dummy since my model didn't come with the surround-sound option; I'm thinking about putting in a GPS mount & power cable through that center grill for convenience - nice & clean. Maybe throw in a push-button start kit & iPhone remote start for fun when I get the bucks. Not really too much else to do in this beast!

 

[phucheneh]

They drive pretty nice. The suspension is a pretty straightforward design but is rather refined. I can totally understand what you're trying to describe as far as the mix between cushy and handling competence.

They're far from flat in corners, but it's about as comfortable a ride as you're going to get without handling like trash. A base model BMW feels like the suspension is welded solid in comparison (...but it's a much better handler, to be blunt about it).

I think the seats add a lot to the ride. They are both supportive and give a lot of cushion. IIRC I think they still actually have suspension in them. As in, something flexible beneath the foam instead of just a metal pan, like most modern cars.

Gas mileage shouldn't be too shabby, ether. I averaged over 30mpg on trips between Nashville and Atlanta with those things.

 

[Kaido]

They drive pretty nice. The suspension is a pretty straightforward design but is rather refined. I can totally understand what you're trying to describe as far as the mix between cushy and handling competence.

They're far from flat in corners, but it's about as comfortable a ride as you're going to get without handling like trash. A base model BMW feels like the suspension is welded solid in comparison (...but it's a much better handler, to be blunt about it).

I think the seats add a lot to the ride. They are both supportive and give a lot of cushion. IIRC I think they still actually have suspension in them. As in, something flexible beneath the foam instead of just a metal pan, like most modern cars.

Gas mileage shouldn't be too shabby, ether. I averaged over 30mpg on trips between Nashville and Atlanta with those things.

Yeah, for sure. The seats are some of the most comfortable I've sat in. Currently averaging 20 MPG with mixed city/highway and a fair amount of spirited driving. It's really, really fun merging & passing in this thing :biggrin:

Got my first electrical gremlin - "check position light". Came on during my highway trip home tonight for about 5 minutes, then disappeared. Got out at home, googled it on my phone, and checked front lights, with beams, rear lights, and brake lights, plus the interiors & license plate lights. Nothing seemed amiss. Read some funky stuff about the sensors and whatnot on forums, so it appears as to be expected.

I've found I'm really liking the weight of the car. Feels very sturdy when driving. It's a much longer car than I'm used to (came from a 117 HP Honda Fit lol), but it handles well and parks fairly easily. The performance tires rub if I turn the wheel as far as it will go, but no issues other than that. I did take a road trip today and the brakes got pretty noisy on the way back, so I'll throw those on the to-do list soon. Besides that, great car, love it, hope it lasts a long time!

 

[phucheneh]

The 'position light' thing is usually the rear park lamps. There are a pair of identical bulbs in each taillight that sit right next to each other. On older out-of-warranty cars, we always just sold people all four bulbs.

Not only do all four tend to fail before any other light on the car does...there is also some combination of bulb design and orientation makes for zombie lights. The bulb will burn out, and the filament will bounce around while driving; and then through some random act of gravity and/or wizard magic, the connection will get remade just long enough to provide an arc and a tiny accidental weld that will hold the bulb together for a little longer.

Huzzah. You encountered a common electrical gremlin that is not actually an electrical gremlin. Just need to replace those rear lights at the same time (they're cheap).

Also, I can't remember if this applied to those S80's, but some Volvos had a little 'peanut bulb' (about the size of a shelled peanut. no metal or plastic socket. common for tag lights) kind of hidden in the headlights. I think they kinda protruded into the headlamp reflector, giving it a little glow when the park lights are on. Hard to notice that they're even there, and easy to overlook when they burn out.

 

[Kaido]

Huzzah. You encountered a common electrical gremlin that is not actually an electrical gremlin. Just need to replace those rear lights at the same time (they're cheap).

http://assets.amuniversal.com/08441680c796012fdf97001dd8b71c47?width=900.0

:biggrin:

 

[Kaido]

The only major issue I've had with it (a month in now) is that occasionally it won't go in reverse. I'll shift into Reverse and it will stick like it's still in Park. If I toggle it back & forth it will pop out usually, or else I'll just have to wait a minute for it. Aside from that, no transmission slipping that I've noticed or weird noises or anything. Maybe time for some new transmission fluid, I dunno.

The only other thing I've noticed is a fan kicks on after parking sometimes, which is apparently an afterblow feature designed to clear out moisture so it doesn't mold after using the A/C system. It was 90F+ the other day and it ran for like 20 minutes, which kind of freaked me out until I discovered what it was. Fancy luxury car features 😛