Living Dangerously with a Volvo 850?

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Some friends just bought a '96 Volvo 850 sedan, 2 wheel drive, 2.4 non-turbo, for $8100. The car has 85000 miles, was garage kept by the original Virginia owner and looks immaculate but my friends got nailed by Maryland State Inspection for brakes, rotors and tires.
Does anyone here have experience with this model? Pros, cons, things to look out for?

The previous owner admitted the timing belt had not yet been changed. The owners manual 'recommends' changing the timing belt at 75000 miles. Is this an 'interference' engine? After dealing with the repairs for Maryland Inspection, my friends haven't time or money for the timing belt job until they get back from driving it to Nags Head. I wish them luck.

Happy Motoring, Mark

my previous volvo (240) was NON interference.
dont know on the 850.

send them to brickboard.com for more info.

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Yeah, the Volvo 240 had a Single OHC 4 and rear drive. This 850 has a Double OHC Multi-Valve 5 and front wheel drive. Thanks.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[blackmercedes]

MY father-in-law has the exact car you describe, right to the model year. He has had a few minor problems (heater blower motor and other electrical probs) but the car is deadly reliable and seems well made.

He replaced the timing belt at about 70K-miles as it's cheap insurance. The dealer told him it is an interference engine.

Regardless, it is a huge PITA to have the belt break. You're stranded, and the car has to be towed. Why wait until it breaks? That's goofy. It's past the replacement mileage, so just change it. If it's too expensive, get rid of the car.

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Well, my friends were in a big hurry to take it on vacation and after getting nailed for brakes and tires they want to wait until next week. I told them 2 or 3 times that the timing belt needed to be done but I can't put a gun to their heads. If it breaks I guess it will be a major 'learning experience' for them!

Happy Motoring, Mark

it's a big mistake to take this risk the 528e BMW's are the same way with the timing belts and you can read how many owners have let the belts go and brake valves pistons etc. costs a lot more than the simple change

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Yes, I'm very familiar with the BMW timing belt, having worked at a BMW shop for over 2 years. A couple of years ago, a friend invited me to his house to listen to his '84
528e. It seems when he started it up to go to work, the engine ran OK but was making a loud rattling noise. He started it up again to let me hear. After a few seconds I told him to shut it off immediately and not run it again until the timing belt was checked. After he had the car towed to my place I discovered the timing belt had jumped 2 teeth and had over 20 teeth shaved off it. Apparently, it was just out of time enough for the pistons to touch the valves but not bend them! After belt replacement, the engine ran perfectly and quietly, as if nothing had happened. How it had continued to run and not move further off time I'll never know. I let my friend know how lucky he was!

Happy Motoring, Mark

[william rogers]

I belive a crate engine for my Euro 500SE is something over 20 k.and would guess that that Volvo engine is no cheapo. it seems to me for that kind of money that if they insist on makeing interference engines that there would be a better way to drive the cams or open and close the valves such as the gear driven cams on some racing engines or the few camless engines.
I always figure that the timing belt was one of the biggest automotive rip offs ever bestowed on us car lovers.No die hard Chevy or Ford lover would have put up with a pretty much mandatory 7 hundred to well over a thousand dollar
dealer rip off every 70k to 100 k interval ......
William Rogers........

[Mark DiSilvestro]

William Rogers,
I agree. In the past 10 years or so, many Japanese manufacturers have switched back to timing chains, at least on their 4 cylinder engines. I suggested my friends look at a late-model Toyota Camry but the husband said he didn't like Japanese cars, then he asked me what I thought about a '96 Jaguar! I said I thought it could be about as reliable as his '96 Land Rover Discovery, which now sits in his back yard with a blown engine! The wife hates the Rover and would like to push that money-pit into a nearby rock quarry. She made the final decision to get the Volvo and, compared to a Jag or Rover, I think it was a pretty good choice. (if the timing belt doesn't break!)

Happy Motoring, Mark

The Volvo 850 is a horrid, horrid car, at least compared with the 940 in terms of reliability (last of the RWD Volvos).

They are known for having a situation occur known as the "lawnmower problem"...occurs when the Volvo is moved out of a garage with the engine being run for only 30 or so seconds. Something happens with the valve lifters that cause a no-start condition that the dealer charges 500 dollars to fix.

Search for "lawnmower" on the Brickboard for more details.

I'd never own a front-wheel drive Volvo. IMHO, the Lexus ES300 makes a lot more sense than the Volvo 850.

-Sam

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Well, I'm not quite sure about 'horrid'.

For what it's worth, Consumer Reports rated the 850's reliability as average for most years, with the worst trouble spots being electrical, brakes and AC. They did rate the 940's reliability as above average.

I still think it was a better choice than a Jag or Land Rover and my friends woudn't go for a Toyota. They don't yet have a useable garage so maybe they'll be spared the 'Lawnmower syndrome'.

I haven't heard from them yet so I guess they made it to Nags Head OK.

Happy Motoring, Mark

Here's a few 850 stories:

http://www.brickboard.com/AWD/?id=626822

http://www.brickboard.com/AWD/index.htm?id=626858

"850's are terribly unreliable compared to earlier models.

Common problems are:

AC Evap Cannister
Heater Blower Motor
Radiator Fans
Thermostats
ABS Control Module
Rear Main Seal

Aside from that, other annoyances are lousy power antennas, door panels that peel, roof rails that peel, wipers that do not make contact with the glass, winshield moldings fall out, washer sprayers clog up constantly, my alternator died as well as my starter, sunroof leaked, synchros were messed up in 2nd gear,A/C never worked right, etc. etc. etc. It was at least $500 each time the car went in. Oh, I stand corrected, the remote for the doors was only $90. "

Might want to take a look at these stories and others.

-Sam

PS: That 5-cylinder engine's on borrowed time if it's still on the original T-belt at 85K miles. I hope your friends do it (the belt, lol) ASAP.

[Mark DiSilvestro]

My friend's AC was working fine when they left for Nags Head.
I agree about the timing belt!

Interestingly, last Tuesday I tuned into the tail end of our local channel 7 news auto segment. It was about the decline in reliability of European luxury cars, specifically naming Mercedes and Volvo!

Happy Motoring, Mark

[wbain5280]

Mark, the timing belt needs to be changed NOW!!! If it breaks, the valves will be bent and a new head is expensive. Some years have issues with A/C evaps leaking. This may have been fixed by the owner. There can also be transmission problems, premature wear, but this can be reduced or eliminated by frequent oil changes.

What year is the car?

Also, check this link:

http://www.volvospeed.com/vs_forum/index.php?showforum=3

It's run by a guy in Fairfax at the dealer there. This is his site:

http://www.volvospeed.com/maintence.htm

He goes by the name Bay13.

The belt needs to get changed.

Regards

[Mark DiSilvestro]

I agree about the timing belt. If it was my car, it would now have a new timing belt, waterpump, idler and tensioner.
Fortunately, I'm not the owner of that car.
My friends were told about the timing belt. I'll let them play 'Swedish Roulette' and
hope the Volvo doesn't join their Land Rover on 'Death Row'!

Happy Motoring, Mark