1999 Volvo S80 from North America - Comments

Hi Everyone:

My husband bought me a 1999 S80 Volvo as a gift to me for Christmas. I have ALWAYS loved this model Volvo. I didn't want any other car on any lot, but this car. It is a hunter green color, which I really loved about the car.

The car had 117,000 miles and now has 132,000.

About a month after driving the car, we noticed the CHECK ENGINE light. It said "service engine soon". We had the car checked and were told that the car needed a rear 02 sensor. We had that replaced for $281 and thought we were okay.

In less than 3 weeks the light comes back on. We have taken it to the dealer and they said that it was a recall on the Throttle, so they repaired that and the CHECK ENGINE light went off---for only 3 days! After three days, the light is back on! We now hear that we need another 02 sensor replaced.

Well, I also noticed that my gas tank is always empty, and I can put $30 in and I know that gas prices have gone up, but I was noticing that it was running out fast! I had been putting gas in the tank and the gauge would move a little, but I still thought I was driving all the gas out---not true!!! I tried to pump gas yesterday and my tank was FULL, but my gas light is on showing EMPTY!

Now I will not know how much gas I have in my tank! This car has not made us very happy. That will be more money, along with replacing the O2 sensor!

I will say that I love the body style of the car, and the wheels. I love the seats, and the stereo system. The car has a lot of room in the back seat and the trunk has space also.

I love those things about the car.

I've owned 2 Volvo's. A 1989 240 and a 1999 S80. I put 200k miles on the 240 then traded it on the S80. I now have 120k miles on the S80... They are great cars.

However... 1999 was the first year of the S80. This was a complete makeover for Volvo. This model has had several pesky little issues similar to your O2 sensor... I've had my share with my car but it's a very solid car that will take you to 200k miles.

I strongly suggest you find a good Volvo repair shop (other than the dealer). If the prior owner didn't keep up on maintenance, you might have some catching up to do.