1998 Volvo S70 GLT 2.4 turbo

Summary:

It's a good deal for a luxury car

Faults:

The brakes were vibrating really bad, so I replaced the pads and rotors with the premium options. The cost was $464 and 25k miles the vibration is creeping back...

I replaced the front axles and wheel hubs for $1200 at 95,000 miles.

Alternator, spark plugs & wires... $300.

Heater core is broken, and I'm not going to replace it.

Doors are coming unglued, very obnoxious.

Warning!!! The check engine light will come on and stay on if the gas cap isn't properly screwed in.

Cup holders are bad, rattling sounds are increasing.

General Comments:

I love the comfort.

The car always runs very well.

The sound system is great.

It's overall a great ride.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 3rd June, 2008

1999 Volvo S70 T5 High Pressure turbo

Summary:

Simply Amazing!

Faults:

Never had any problems with this car, just had to clean the throttle body every 30 000Km

Seats are slowly cracking

Low speed very big turbo lag not like my 900SE

Very bad traction during winter (might be due to my tires though not blaming Volvo)

Cd player does not read all burned disks : (

General Comments:

This car is probably the best car I have ever had, very reliable has never seen the dealer, only for the recalls for the headlight switch and a throttle body software upgrade. Very comfortable for long distances and very very very fast. Low end lag is bad, but once you reach 20km/h and step on the gas man oh man does it fly. Sounds very mean and is very mean. Sound system is just amazing in it. Very great car highly recommend it to everyone!!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 26th December, 2007

28th Oct 2010, 02:40

Did you do the cleaning for your throttle body yourself or you had someone else do it? I want to do it myself and can't find any proper instructions for the T5 (99 model).

Please send me an email.

apt604@gmail.com

Thanks.

1998 Volvo S70 GLT 2.5 turbo

Summary:

Worst car in terms of reliability I have ever owned

Faults:

Radio control went out within first 3 months.

Oil leak at 20,000 miles.

Engine check light virtually monthly (long ago stopped having it checked). Dealer admits this is ongoing problem.

Driver interior door lining started coming unglued at approx 20,000 miles (in SoCal with moderate temps). Passenger door lining did same at approx 45,000 miles, but could not get to dealer until 52,000 and dealer refused to fix under warranty even with history.

Intermittent hesitation that no dealer or independent shop has been able to correct.

Overall, trim peels easily, again readily admitted by dealer.

Headlights and tail lights constantly going out and needing replaced.

Electric door locks always sticking, starting at approx 60,000 miles. Particularly frustrating since only the driver door has a key lock. Must reach in to all other doors from driver door to open.

Interior switch for Headlamps literally fell apart in my hand. Fixed under a recall.

Shimmy in front end started at 35,000 miles. At first thought due to tires. Continues to occur on all sets of tires and again neither dealer nor other service has been able to correct.

General Comments:

Car is very comfortable and handles well, except for the constant shimmy in front end that no one has been able to correct.

Looks good, but regarding reliability is the worst car I have ever owned (my first bought in 1979), which is even worst due to the extremely high cost of repair for Volvos compared too many other manufacturers.

A dealer tried explaining away the trim coming unglued being due to the car built more "ecologically friendly" than other cars, so areas such as glue are made to decompose faster and may be less effective. Thank you very much, but my first concern is performance, with ecology being important, but secondary.

My Ford Explorer came with higher end features, such as key-less door entry, lights that automatically turn off after 5 minutes if car is off, etc.

Bottom line, although we love the looks, and the handling with the exception of the front end shimmy, I will NEVER buy another Volvo.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 14th November, 2007

15th Nov 2007, 06:57

This is a shame. I currently have a 1998 Volvo S70 2.5 CD (Top Spec) and a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 Ltd. The Volvo has 135,000 miles and the Jeep 40,000 miles - However, the Volvo is still leagues ahead of the Jeep in terms of quality. The Jeep has knocks from underneath when doing country lanes that the Volvo does not and the Auto gearbox also knocks when starting off (again the Volvo Auto does not).

Apart from that, the cabin in the Volvo is far superior in comfort and quality. The seats are better and the Jeep's interior is made from the cheapest plastics going - I thought that American cars are getting better in quality? If so, they must have been very bad to start with!

Also there is a little thing called ergonomics, which the Volvo has sorted and the Jeep is only just grasping (still a long way to go!).

In summary, it's a shame that this owner has had problems, but I honestly believe the Volvo isn't just a good car, it's a GREAT car.

PS, I am driving here from the UK, through France and Belgium this weekend - guess which car I'm taking? (I'll give you a clue - it's not American)

8th Feb 2008, 14:03

The lighting problems the owner reported was due to a wiring harness that was a recall. Since I had it fixed I have had no problems with the lights at all. I believe that if you follow the required fluid changes and use only 93 octane gas as required the S-70 GLT will run as designed for a long time.

I have had zero problem with the dealer and have found that there are many garages that can work on Volvo's at a reasonable rate.