850 Heated Seats - Volvo Car Corporation bulletin

[foggyjames]

I see your point, but some of these problems are not exactly Volvo's fault. The fact that the first inspector doesn't seem to have done his job properly is a real shame.

The battery must have been on the way out anyway (even if it was ok 3 weeks ago) - batteries have a lifespan. Batteries are abused by long periods of non-use - Dad's 940 needed a new one soon after we bought it. People seem to think a car that's new to them is somehow going to be in A1 condition. Arguably, its when are car is most likely to have faults. I reckon on spending up to £500 soon after buying a £6000 car to make it A1. In the 3 years since we bought it its only needed a clutch master cylinder (and that was because the previous owner drove with his foot half on the clutch all time, hence the clutch needs doing too sometime). The 360 has never needed any major work in the 13 years we've owned it.

As for the brakes...well...if you are going to carry out modifications, you need to do them properly, especially to things as vital as brakes. Whether the cross-drilled discs are suitable for the car or not should obviously have been highlighted (as should the fact that they were non-standard), but aftermarket brake discs are not in themselves dangerous(!), so I rather wonder if your garageman/tech has overeacted (as some are prone to do)?

I fully understand your frustration with Volvo, although I think you'll find this is the same with almost all manufacturers. They've paid almost no attention to our attempts to gain answers to our questions (for example regarding the famous door handle cracking problem on 300s), so wherever we can we don't deal with the manufacturer - although clearly this wasn't an option in your case. For what its worth, I'd always take an independant specialist to a car inspection - he doesn't have any kind of vested interest.

I would strongly recommend having someone else look at those brake before spending god-knows-what on a new set-up. About one in ten gas inspectors who look at our house tell us its downright dangerous, and the whole lot needs replacing...

As for the RS1800...nice cars if you can find a straight one, but they rust like crazy. My flatmate saw a white fiesta in our road being towed away today....broken down....ho hum...(to be fair, at least this one wasn't rusty!)

I can't emphasise this enough - don't give up with Volvo. Remember I mentioned my friend with the 340 that had almost every mechanical part replaced? They had a further 8 years trouble-free service from that car, and they've had a 740 and an 850 2.5 20v (concurrently with the 340), all of which have been perfectly reliable. It's the longevity which is so much better than almost anything else.

cheers

James

Heated seats!! my 855 is the first in a long line of Volvo's where the heated seats work and seem to cary on working ok! a first for everything - but, the drivers seat works 'cos a year ago i actually bothered to get underneath seat and fix wiring problem - simple job - one of the wires had frayed at the spade terminal into the pad which ataches to the heater element - just extended the wires, new connectors and job done!

is it worth me taking vehicle to dealers for recall? will new loom make seats work 'hotter'? i doubt it.............

and wont it give dealers 'excuse' to say charge attached as wiring not original? not paying my local dealers £95 per hour plus VAT!!
(H R Owen in Hendon)i'd rather collect revised wiring and fit myself!!

never have sent my car(s) to dealers and never will!

So unless anyone thinks differently............

ps - i didnt spend 5 years at college doing C&G part 381 and IMI for nothing!!

[vjck_uk]

I certainly agree with you that taking a Volvo to the dealers is a bit like getting mugged.
Certainly a last resort (computer time etc).
They charge an extortionate rate and have a bunch of youths doing the work with the mighty technicians sat on their backsides trying to look intelligent on the computer.

Mine went in for a routine service in March and came back with the new wiring loom done free of charge. Wonderful, i didn't get a singed bum every time i forgot to turn it off! Thanks Volvo!

i must be very lucky as my Volvo dealer (Lloyd's in Aberaeron)is about an hour away from where i live, they collect and deliver my car for free, do whatever's necessary then i phone them up and pay over the phone. The car always comes back pristine inside and out and last time they even sent me a bouquet of flowers as they'd heard about my husband's death. How's that for a wonderful dealership? i think they're fabulous and they're one of the main reasons i want to replace my 850 T5 with another one.

When we first had the T5 (which we bought from Somertons in Newport) they gave it a thorough going-over and did £1200 of repairs under warranty and the car was 2 years old by then. i'd thoroughly recommend them to anyone who lives at the end of the world, nothing is too much trouble. They even ring you up a week or so after the service to make sure you're happy.

Elaine

1988 740 GLE
1997 850 T5
... Hopefully another T5 soon, watch this space

[TomW]

Hi Everyone,
I'm having a problem. My 850 chassis number falls in the middle of the recalled range so naturally thought I would qualify for a recall check especially since the drivers side was not working. I rang Volvo uk customer service only to be told there was no call up on my car. I explained I could not understand why not for the above reason. eventually after much persuasion my volvo local dealer inspected the seat foc. He agreed there was the same problem as with the recalls....the wires had broken off under the seat. He told me it was likely my car was not in the recall because it was an import which I had aquired second hand 3 years ago. He told me It would cost
£150 + vat to sort it with a kit. I brought this to the attention of vovo uk but they say nothing to do with them and they have stopped returning my calls.
What should be my next move??
Tom

[Bob]

I think Trading Standards would be the next port of call.

Bob
_____________________________
Robert Isaac
Volvo Owners Club
Director and Web Admin

[eddie69]

Took my 850 T5 to local dealer as drivers seat didnt work and they replaced the looms free of charge, more than happy with a warm rear