It Can Happen To Anybody

[billr99]

Well now, with all the talk on this forum about all the bad qualities of our XCs, I think today one merely needs to look at the mighty Toyota to see that Volvos aren't quite so bad. Can't recall Volvo ever having to have a recall to the extent that Toyota is currently involved in (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/toyotas-problems-spread-to-europe/article1445581/). Or having to shut down the lines of 8 models to correct what appears to be a relatively simple engineering problem. They have known about this for some time and you would have thought they would have had a re-engineered widget in the stream by now so that production limits would not have to be imposed.

Now for those concerned about your tranny, perhaps this situation doesn't give you much comfort since AW is a Toyota entity and the transmission series that we use was originally designed for Toyota products. But with that and looking at all the OEMs that use that box, nobody has gone down this road with it.

Any road, I just couldn't resist. Shows that if one thinks that they can escape such things by jumping from one manufacturer to another, the other perceived as a god of quality, it does not appear to hold that any of the OEMs are faultless. If you currently own a Camry, for example, you merely ned to look at one of the Camry forums to see that this is just one more problem in a growing list. But then again and as I have pointed out here before, forums are also lightning rod for all kinds of things, some of which can be real, such as Toyota's current dilemma, and some not quite so large and problematic.

And for what this is worth, I throw this out there for flames and comments.

Cheers,

Bill

[dfuerst]

There's actively addressing a problem, as Toyota is doing, and then there's sticking your head in the sand and telling owners to f**k off, which seems to be Volvo's approach to the transmission issue on early models of the XC.

There's clearly a problem with the transmission. It's not due to a maintenance issue, despite what some would hope and have you believe. Volvo chooses to do nothing about it. I say thanks, and I'll shop other brands when it's time for a new car.

[billr99]

There's actively addressing a problem, as Toyota is doing, and then there's sticking your head in the sand and telling owners to f**k off, which seems to be Volvo's approach to the transmission issue on early models of the XC.

There's clearly a problem with the transmission. It's not due to a maintenance issue, despite what some would hope and have you believe. Volvo chooses to do nothing about it. I say thanks, and I'll shop other brands when it's time for a new car.

Yes, Volvo dealers aren't known for their PR abilities nor their customer service. However in regard to the transmission and as far as the mechanical bits, the basic box, manufactured by AW, is used by all kinds of other OEMs that do not report problems. But these folks do have recommended service intervals and different software. Clearly, Volvo has blown it and continues to do so apparently, by not recommending a reasonable fluid change interval. Also I think a number of us can agree that Volvo's software approach and extensive use of networked processing creates problems unnecessarily. It appears that the software bug may have bitten Toyota in this case since it is unclear if their pedal issue is inherent in the physical design of the pedal itself and/or something in the fly-by-wire software. My preference would be for OEMs to go back to mechanical-based basics but I suppose that train has left the station as they all use software to do everything. So much for technology always being a good answer.

Obviously you are unhappy with your XC and having had a few bad cars in my day I know what you mean. I will never, ever touch another Porsche or Honda because I have the same feelings about that marque that you apparently have with Volvo. I would suggest that you move on, but additionally I would suggested that you will never find the perfect car/marque. I know after the 45 cars I've had, I sure haven't. Unfortunately, with the number of marques available in North America declining added to my list of those that I will not touch, I'm running out of options.

Good luck,

Bill

[Q-ship]

I honestly think it is a problem with the ECU program. First they said it's the
"floor mats getting in the way", and now it's the pedal "sticking" open. All those cars are drive by wire, so unless it's the switch or actuator, it 's something else. They knew about it for a while, but are only recalling because of deaths, and more importantly "possible deaths". If it was a mechanical part it would have been replaced pre-production. Not being able to figure it out makes me think it's programming related.

---Pure speculation on my part

[colin]

I the little reading I have done about it, it seems that the floor mat issue is different than the current recall issue.

[John@CdnRockies]

I can speak from experience, owning an '06 Avalon with 115,000 kms and an '04 XC-70 with 170,000 kms. Both bought new, both following the service manual with synthetic oil.

The XC-70 is WAY BETTER than the Toyota. (I really should capitalize the entire sentence!). No significant issues with the Volvo (one wheel bearing cheerfully handled under warranty at 65,000 km). The Avalon had major transmission problems which Toyota denied for over 18 months (I had to find the corrective TSB bulletin to prove there was a fix) and has had a number of other significant quality issues as well. And bear in mind that the Volvo has a much tougher service life: regularly towing our 26 foot sailboat across the Rockies and doing ski and back road duty into the mountains.

Folks, I would buy another '04 XC-70 in a flash. We have owned 6 Toyotas (all bought new) and their quality has truly diminished over the past ten years. I have seen their obfuscation tactics first hand. A number of investigators have suggested that the acceleration issue across their model range is probably computer-systems related but Toyota will not even share the "black box" info to allow an independent assessment. This recall was only issued when ABC advised Toyota they were going with an independent investigation story the following day.

I know we all post sad tidings of our Volvos, but our real-life experience has been that they are much more reliable than our current Toyota. And a lot more practical in terms of flexibility of use I might also add ...

John[thumbup]

[kk3dln]

my volvo car won't move in gear xc 70 2002

[billr99]

An interesting update (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/gas-pedal-troubles-spread-to-ford/article1447265/). Apparently Ford sourced pedal switches from the same outfit and those were put together in the same plant as the Toyota ones. In any event, Ford is now contemplating a recall of diesel Transits built in China. Kind of ironic that all is, don't you think?

Cheers,

Bill

[Mike_v]

Toyota is currently running a big advertisement campaign saying: "If you buy a Toyota and there's something wrong, we will take our responsibility, so... don't worry: keep buying Toyota's"

[Heneghant]

I am probably not the only one that has seen this, but the NHTSA has posted recall for many of the V70s (including the XC models).

You can look it up yourself at NHTSA (http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/recalls/recallsearch.cfm)

Here is part of the recall notice-

Summary:
VOLVO IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2001-2005 S80, MODEL YEAR 2001-2004 V70, S60, XC70 AND MODEL YEAR 2003-2005 XC90 VEHICLES SOLD IN OR REGISTERED IN THE STATES OF ALABAMA, ARIZONA, ARKANSAS, CALIFORNIA, FLORIDA, GEORGIA, HAWAII, KENTUCKY, LOUISIANA, MISSISSIPPI, NEVADA, NEW MEXICO, NORTH CAROLINA, OKLAHOMA, SOUTH CAROLINA, TENNESSEE, TEXAS, UTAH, VIRGINIA AND THE U.S. TERRITORIES. WHEN EXPOSED TO CERTAIN ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS (HOT CLIMATE AND TEMPERATURE CYCLING) OVER TIME AND IN COMBINATION WITH VARYING FUEL QUALITY, THE FUEL PUMP CAN DEVELOP CRACKS IN THE FUEL PUMP FLANGE.
Consequence:
IF THE CONDITION OCCURS VEHICLE OWNERS MAY NOTICE FUEL SMELL AND/OR FUEL LEAK WHICH, IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE, COULD RESULT IN A FIRE.
Remedy:
DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE FUEL PUMP INSTALLED IN THE VEHICLE, AND IF NECESSARY REPLACE THE FUEL PUMP WITH A PART OF A MODIFIED DESIGN. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JANUARY 15, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT VOLVO AT 1-800-458-1552.

[Mike_v]

did you see this:
Honda recalls 646,000 Fits for fire hazard
(http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/29/news/companies/Honda_recall/index.htm?hpt=T1)
Honda didn't like that Toyota was getting all the coverage (bad coverage is also coverage...) so they started sending out messages: "If you buy a Honda and something is wrong, don't worry, we have your back". It costs millions, but it's not much different than what is spent on traditional ads.