1995 Volvo 850 from Australia and New Zealand - Comments

Well, the radiator went, that got replaced, then the water pump, then the thermostat, and then the air conditioner and heating stopped working, and the whole electrical system won't work unless you turn the key back a little.

The car also randomly shuts down and loses its ability to steer and brake properly, sometimes not for weeks, and then for no reason hot or cold.

Also the transmission keeps staying in fourth gear for no reason.

1700 dollars down the drain, and now the head gasket has completely stuffed up, it will be several thousand more to fix, and all I can do is sell what parts work on the net to recoup a small amount of what this crap box has cost me.

These cars when they are working, are really nice, I loved it, but there are so many things wrong with it, and trust me, when it falls apart on you, unless you are made of money, you will want to set it on fire.

I talked to other owners, many have had similar problems with the cooling system breaking down and the transmission.

My advice, even if it looks pretty as can be, and the low kilometres and pristine engine bay and purring sound tempt you, don't be fooled, you are better off with an ugly Toyota that works, than a scandinavian beauty that ruins you!

I had the same electrical problem on my 960. I needed the whole ignition barrel replaced at around $170. It worked fine after that. The problem was blamed on heavy keyrings creating extra vibration and wear on the ignition lock. Maybe true, but I've never seen that happen on any other car.

You're right about sticking with Japanese cars though. It used to just be Holden and Ford that the Japanese made to look silly.

Now they humiliate everybody.

Blimey, you've had more than your fair share of car woes?! And it can't be blamed I gather on high mileage? (126 000 km -+) You don't mention of course, what service history your 850 has, if any, or how many previous owners your 850 has suffered? Often if a car is hammered, despite the pedigree, it will fall apart, no matter what. The 5 cylinder Volvo engines, I gather are a carry over from shared technology, between Volvo & /Audi/VW in the late eighties, early nineties? At full cry, they sound glorious, but head gaskets are always an issue. Usually can be traced back to a previous careless owner, who ran the coolant down & warped the head, with over-heating? Electric gremlins in a car such as an 850, can also be traced back, to earlier bodges, wrong fuses etc Not much help now, if you've lost complete faith in your car? I agree on Japanese motors, although only ever owned a '96 Camry, which rates for me, as one of the best cars that I've ever owned. But, it was a company vehicle, so servicing & repairs etc were never my problem. In those days my company ran our vehicles to 18 mnths/ 220 000 kms, which ever came first. We had a couple of Audi 500 e's (Audi 100 in the UK I think) which had a similiar engine to the 850 Volvo's. Equally good cars in those far off days. cheers.

The electrical part on the back of the ignition switch is the problem, it's available separately and cheaply. There is also a problem with the basic cars that have the green ignition/injection relay - it causes random stalling as it ages.

But don't get me started on Honda's fuel relay issues, or their distributor problems.

Aircon can be faulty, but you'll get the same problems in Japanese cars anyway as my Primera ably demonstrated. Aircon is a serious liability in older cars, I'm stripping it out of my 850 at the moment.

And I'll give you the radiator, mine has been replaced and every Swedish car I've ever bought has needed or had a new radiator... but so did my Primera.

Old cars need parts - it doesn't matter where they were made.

I have a 1995 850 T5 wagon. I have owned it for 13 years. I have had very few issues with this car. Some of the comments scare me. I will buy another Volvo if I ever wear this one out.