eraas
02-04-2005, 07:48 PM
Thanks to this forum I learned of a bunch of issues with the '03 XC70, some of which I was pretty sure were affecting my car. Recently I ran into an acute problem with the power steering which prompted me yesterday to finally make the call to bring the car in to the dealer. Got an appointment the next morning (no loaner car on short notice but turns out they have a very handy shuttle service).
When I took the car in I brought the following issues to their attention:
- power steering whine
- sluggish gas pedal response
- transmission flare
- muffler contacting drive shaft after driving through slush
- headlights out of alignment (as delivered)
- parking brake way too loose
All but the last two are known issues that I learned about on this forum (so thanks!) Thanks to you guys I was able to describe the problems in such a way that the dealer took immediate and appropriate action on them, which they seemed to do quite happily under warranty. The gas pedal and transmission issues were both addressed with VADIS updates, and they installed the bracket to push the muffler down to prevent contact with the drive shaft. Power steering was a leak which was repaired. These and the other things were all done under warranty with no questions asked. The person who said that 'Volvo Certified Pre-Owned' does not mean they applied all the applicable TSB's is right, however!
I know this is kind of the least they should do but have had the experience in the past where you have to plead sometimes to get this stuff done so I'm pretty happy with a dealer who does it gladly and on short notice. In addition to this visit they have also previously 1) sent a tech to my house to do a VADIS update to change the temperature to Celcius and 2) given me a same day appointment with loaner car when the summer washer fluid with which the car was delivered froze.
I also had a first (under my ownership) oil change done and switched to synthetic, hoping that this will in fact improve starting under very cold weather in which we frequently drive (although we live in Boston I spend a fair bit of time in Ottawa and Montreal). Invoice said they used Valvoline but the invoice is a little vague and will verify that this is what they actually use. This was the only thing I paid for - charge was $73 (synthetic) which is probably not cheap but I would pay this a few times a year for the convenience.
Anyway knowing the nature of the above problems and how to ask to have them fixed will definitely increase our enjoyment of the car. In particular the accelerator pedal response and transmission weirdness made the car honestly rather unpleasant to drive. It is, like others have said here, almost like a completely new car now!
So thanks for all the advice,
er
When I took the car in I brought the following issues to their attention:
- power steering whine
- sluggish gas pedal response
- transmission flare
- muffler contacting drive shaft after driving through slush
- headlights out of alignment (as delivered)
- parking brake way too loose
All but the last two are known issues that I learned about on this forum (so thanks!) Thanks to you guys I was able to describe the problems in such a way that the dealer took immediate and appropriate action on them, which they seemed to do quite happily under warranty. The gas pedal and transmission issues were both addressed with VADIS updates, and they installed the bracket to push the muffler down to prevent contact with the drive shaft. Power steering was a leak which was repaired. These and the other things were all done under warranty with no questions asked. The person who said that 'Volvo Certified Pre-Owned' does not mean they applied all the applicable TSB's is right, however!
I know this is kind of the least they should do but have had the experience in the past where you have to plead sometimes to get this stuff done so I'm pretty happy with a dealer who does it gladly and on short notice. In addition to this visit they have also previously 1) sent a tech to my house to do a VADIS update to change the temperature to Celcius and 2) given me a same day appointment with loaner car when the summer washer fluid with which the car was delivered froze.
I also had a first (under my ownership) oil change done and switched to synthetic, hoping that this will in fact improve starting under very cold weather in which we frequently drive (although we live in Boston I spend a fair bit of time in Ottawa and Montreal). Invoice said they used Valvoline but the invoice is a little vague and will verify that this is what they actually use. This was the only thing I paid for - charge was $73 (synthetic) which is probably not cheap but I would pay this a few times a year for the convenience.
Anyway knowing the nature of the above problems and how to ask to have them fixed will definitely increase our enjoyment of the car. In particular the accelerator pedal response and transmission weirdness made the car honestly rather unpleasant to drive. It is, like others have said here, almost like a completely new car now!
So thanks for all the advice,
er