Inocent Bystndr

The cars electrical system has been a nightmare since we got the car in Jan. 2000. My wife loved Volvos, but this thing was in the shop for almost 3 months of its life with us. Symptoms: doors locked/unlocked themselves; engine shut down in heavy traffic, intersections,, freeway driving; remote system did not operate from more than 2 feet away, radio buttons dead; cruise control, etc., etc. After 2 years of this and runarounds from dealer, I was lucky enough to get a senior Volvo marketing VP in SoCal. I explained that Volvo couldn't be the safest car, if I couldn't count on my family being able to get in or out of the car in an emergency, etc. Reported this to NHTSB. They took the car back, terminated lease 10 months early, refunded 3 months of payments. That model has lots of problems.

DWC_2.7T

Considering their immense popularity, where ARE all those Volvo's bought in the 80's and early 90's? They've apparently disappeared. I agree that Volvo drivetrains are generally dependable. That was enough 25 years ago when A/C and power windows were only for the Cadillac/Lincoln crowd. Volvo didn't do such a good job on all the acoutrements. Accessories, paint, interior; seem to disintegrate at a pace not seen since American Motors was around. My neighbor's never abused '89 DL runs fine but nothing inside works and it looks like a refugee from a chicken farm.

Inocent Bystndr

Once, during all the hassle with our S80, I was given a new V70 turbo to drive while the S80 was "in rehab" again at the dealer. I'm driving 80 on the I-405 freeway (L.A.) when a warning light comes on.... "brake failure- stop immediately", an oxymoronish warning if I've ever seen one. As I slowed the car down (downshifting)and pulled over, I hit my cell speed dial to call the gen. mgr. of the dealership with the latest of my Volvo quality control issues. By this time, the factory was already involved in my problem and the G.M. was very responsive. Turned out to be a ....big surprise, electrical problem, not actual failure. I navigated the last few miles home safely and he had another car delivered to me within an hour. But, when you do the research you find that the S80 has had serious electrical issues from the introduction of the model. Many complaints to the NTSB. I shocked they haven't done a recall yet. On the other hand, they were never able to solve my car's problems after almost 3 months in service, numerous ECU replacements, etc. When the car worked, it was fine, but Ford has a long way to go to reestablish the brand.