New car issues

[Psychwarlord]

We've had our new car for over a month - a few things amiss

1) rear right fender cladding fit is off by a few millimeters (where it becomes part of the wheel well) - dealer says it's "commercially acceptable" and won't adjust

2) car drifts to the right

3) right front passenger area rattles

4) Xenons pretty weak

5) Steering wheel tilt lever action difficult at times - need to push steering wheel column to left to get smooth tilt lever action

Aside from #1, all issues are being looked at today in shop - I hope more than #2 improves.

[AWD*V70XC]

We've had our new car for over a month - a few things amiss


Are we talking a new car for you ie second-hand or did you get a brand new car.

If you can reply after your car is back we can try and sort the remaining points out.

[gibbons]

Car pulls right- I just posted some personal ramblings about this in newxcmom's post on the same topic.

Xenons weak- Do a search on them, and you will learn to aim them upwards where they become remarkably good IMHO.

[Willy]

Hello,
About the rear fender not perfectly fitting: mine had the same thing, bought it new. The dealer had taken the fender off to mount a tow hitch, and that's where it happend. There are a few small plastic extensions that have to hook behind the plastic cover in the wheel well, one of them was sitting on the wrong side of the cover. If you inspect both sides, you should be able to see if there is any difference.
Willy

[Psychwarlord]

Thanks for replies - the car is brand new 2004 ice white made 05/04

Got the car back yesterday

Cladding fit: Willy, I see what you mean, but it doesn't affect fit. Still off a couple mm - dealer not interested - can I make a big deal about it and win (such a "small thing")?

Pulls to the right: service said all tires at 32 psi - alignment is right on - still pulls to the right - they call it "torque steer" I had a S80 loaner brand new that did not do this

Xenons: their "super tech" was off for vacation - bring it back another time

Tilt wheel lever action: they couldn't "duplicate" problem - when I had the S80, the lever also wouldn't work at times - pushing steering assembly to the left worked in that car also

Rattle in door: they said they took apart and put back and "tightened" - I haven't checked it out yet (baby won't sleep today)

I am disappointed with these issues on such a costly car - I love the seats and heft of the car - it is built like a tank - but of course the auto trans and bulky handling go with the territory - it's my wife's car - still, I don't know if I can live with the rightward drift - it makes me think the car was in an accident with less than 5 miles on the odometer and sold for new!

[Phrog]

When my 2001 XC70 was new, I thought it pulled right.
But after driving around a bit, I discovered that it was
_very_ sensitive to crowned roads. That is, most roads are
built with a slight slope to the outside (right in US,
left in UK) to drain water. The greater the slope, the more pull in
the steering wheel. When I drove down the middle of
the road (that is, straddling the center of the road),
there was no pull.

This sensitivity to crown faded after ~5000 miles.
I don't know why.

-Phrog

[Artz]

Does anyone know if the fender cladding mis-alignment was ever resolved? Ours also has this, and like Willy, we also had a tow hitch installed (10 days after getting the car). I THINK I noticed the cladding misalignment before the tow hitch install, but I can;t be sure. We are bringing to the body shop this week (hopefully tomorrow) so we'll see.

[XCMark]

I bought a new/used car less than a year old and the local Volvo dealer addressed my concerns of the rear cladding not fitting to my satisfaction without any issues. They said it is under warranty and if I want it adjusted, (even tho it was well within factory acceptability), by God they were going to fix it until I was happy.

Maybe it was the excellent dealership working with me but it is fixed and I am happy. It is a small thing but they understood where I was coming from and got it right.

Yes, I'd like to know if this was resolved, too!

mark

[Tom H]

XCMark, I want your dealership!. These guys around here act like I owe them a favor or something. God I hate car dealers sometimes. Looks like I'll need to move to denver to get something done right.

[Willy]

Well yes, in my case it was resolved. Of course, there is always a little difference where the rear cladding meets the wheel well. If it is not resolved with your car, perhaps you could post a picture?
Willy

[sha4990]

I noticed the same misalignment on the rear bumper where it meets the rear wheels. I had a tow hitch installed at the dealer. On the right side I was able to get the bumper back in line, but no luck with the left side. The car is due for the 22,500 mile service and I will check with the dealer.

[tnxcing]

I'm having this same exact problem. I bought the car new exactly one month ago tomorrow and I've had it to the dealer four times regarding the same right pull issue. Initially, there were two problems, one was the bounce from the Pirelli Tires which they agreed they couldn't fix and replaced them with Michelins at their expense. The second problem is the pull to the right, especially at interstate speeds. The pull becomes even more apparent when you accelerate. The dealer has stated today that a Volvo field engineer has seen this before and states the problem is likely due to fault with the front suspension springs. This seems to me would not be as likely of a possible cause as something like a brake pad grabbing or what I personally believe is an unequal distribution of power to the wheels.

The car has over 2200 miles on it and the dealer has put a good 300 miles on it trying to diagnose the problem. I bought the car showing 82 miles on it and at the time I knew it had a problem, but figured the dealer would be able to easily correct the condition since a somewhat similar condition was in my wife’s car when we bought it new last year and they easily corrected it with a simple balance and re-alignment.

I'm becoming very frustrated driving this thing. I've rented xc70's from Hertz rentals on trips I've taken over the years and always enjoyed this car; hence the reason for being interested in it in the first place.

Does anyone have a suggestion I could take to the dealer? I've recommended, they just put me in another similarly equipped new one that drives well, but they tell be they have to go through all the points of correcting it with Volvo. They have been great and I honestly believe they are doing their very best to correct the problem, but I'm unsure how much longer I can manage patience taking the vehicle back on a weekly basis.

I'm beginning to think I bought a $42000 lemon. :(