bigwoodenradio
08-04-2006, 04:14 PM
Our 2001 XC70 turned 'five' on July 16th. On July 20th, with only 52,000 miles, driving along on the highway, the transmission suddenly 'shifted' into 'neutral'....no response to the gas pedal, down shifting, etc. And, importantly, no idot light and no message displayed. Luckily, and I do mean very luckily, I was able to coast to a stop...turn the car off, start it up, and then pull away in what felt like 'safe mode', a very labored first gear, which revved high, strained, and shifted into second and then, bang, into neutral again. Turn off car. Start car, same thing...a very shaky and repeatedly failing 'limp home' mode that would not allow me to drive faster than 10 mph, and even then it just randomly quit.
No codes, no idiot lights. Limped about half a mile and parked, needing to shift to reverse to finish parking...no reverse, and then no forward, either. Shut off car, started it, and finally a "Service Transmission Urgent" message. Towed to dealer. Dealer says 'solenoid failure, but we can't reliably tell which one or ones are involved'. Options: 1) replace solenoids for $1,900.00 or 2) replace entire transmission for $3,400.
No warranty. Volvo Corporate says too bad, so sad, sucks to be you.
5 years, 52K. This car's rear shocks destroyed a set of tires (faithfully rotated), requiring new shocks and a new set of tires. The ignition key tumbler failed and had to be replaced, $450. Now a new transmission for $3,600. Including the cost of tires, that's $6,000 in repairs/replaced parts in less than two years and 20K of actual miles.
No dealer will give me a decent trade in once they check the VIN# and see the service record. Volvo's corporate customer service won't step up to the plate or acknowledge the serious hazard this sort of failure creates. "Try merging onto an urban expressway or passing on a two lane only to have your car lose all power", I said to the Volvo Corporate Service rep in NJ via phone. "Yeah, that would be bad", he said, "But what do you expect us to do?"
We bought the Volvo for its reputation as a safe, reliable car.
That's why our next Volvo will be a Subaru.
Apparently, we're not the only XC70 owners who have been endangered and then screwed over by Volvo Coporate and Volvo Dealers. Wonder what they'll do when it gets a family with kids killed?
No codes, no idiot lights. Limped about half a mile and parked, needing to shift to reverse to finish parking...no reverse, and then no forward, either. Shut off car, started it, and finally a "Service Transmission Urgent" message. Towed to dealer. Dealer says 'solenoid failure, but we can't reliably tell which one or ones are involved'. Options: 1) replace solenoids for $1,900.00 or 2) replace entire transmission for $3,400.
No warranty. Volvo Corporate says too bad, so sad, sucks to be you.
5 years, 52K. This car's rear shocks destroyed a set of tires (faithfully rotated), requiring new shocks and a new set of tires. The ignition key tumbler failed and had to be replaced, $450. Now a new transmission for $3,600. Including the cost of tires, that's $6,000 in repairs/replaced parts in less than two years and 20K of actual miles.
No dealer will give me a decent trade in once they check the VIN# and see the service record. Volvo's corporate customer service won't step up to the plate or acknowledge the serious hazard this sort of failure creates. "Try merging onto an urban expressway or passing on a two lane only to have your car lose all power", I said to the Volvo Corporate Service rep in NJ via phone. "Yeah, that would be bad", he said, "But what do you expect us to do?"
We bought the Volvo for its reputation as a safe, reliable car.
That's why our next Volvo will be a Subaru.
Apparently, we're not the only XC70 owners who have been endangered and then screwed over by Volvo Coporate and Volvo Dealers. Wonder what they'll do when it gets a family with kids killed?