2000’s Volvo? Would you buy one?

[Elkins45]

I’m in the market for a used car with an automatic transmission and I’m seeing a few 2005-2009 Volvos with decently low miles in the local market. Are there any big reasons to avoid a 2005-2009 Volvo? Any particular models to seek or avoid? Most of them seem to have the 2.4 five cylinder engine.

 

[atikovi]

Had this 2005 S40 AWD Turbo with over 250,000 miles. The records show it had the transmission rebuilt at Aamco around 200K. Its an Aisin unit which is pretty good so may have been neglected. I'd stick with a turbo engine because it's more enjoyable to drive without much reliability problems. It uses a timing belt that isn't all that hard to replace. The PCV system sometimes gives problems as well as the AWD. They can be found for sale pretty cheap after the owner takes it in to a dealer and gets a $3000 estimate for routine service and repairs that the DIY'er can do for under $500. If you're the latter, go for it. If you have to take it to a shop for service, it will drain your wallet like an Audi or Mercedes of that year.

 

[CleanSump]

When I was considering them I found there are a few engines prone to bad PCV systems and sludging, or so I read in Volvo forums.
That didn't stop me and wouldn't now, wife person just insisted on MB and BMW. Do research and be confident.

 

[Oillover]

Considering the OP is in the US, I'd recommend a used Volvo (compared to other more expensive Euro offerings).

Volvo dealerships and parts availability north of the border is spotty at the best of times.
This makes them more of a "hobbyists" car than dependable transportation - especially at the age of what OP is considering.

 

[meep]

I’ve had 3 of the 1 Gen s60s. Have loved all of them. Volvos have a different design language than say a japanese make, but I figured it out over time and found them just as easy to work on after that.

things to watch out for.

1. Crank case ventilation contraption. If it’s clogged, the cam seals will blow out. Use of synthetic oil basically prevents this. Many will have been replaced by now. Google “Volvo glove test” for more info.

2. 1-2 shift flare in the transmission. Seems very common on the NA models. On my 2nd s60, I installed a magnefine filter and did 3 drain-fills with amsoil and the shift flare eventually went away.

3. Evap leaks. There aren’t many hoses in this engine. With 2 of mine, simple hose swap fixed it. On the third, it was the evap canister/pump assembly. It was easier to reach in my non-turbo car. The turbo car, where the evap pump was faulty, I decided it wasn’t worth it and lived with the occasional CEL.

4. The ECU is fan cooled in the engine bay, drawing cool air from the firewall. The fans last a long time, but get tired and not everyone catches it.

5. Earlier models have some abs model aging and failure from solder joints coming apart. Xmodex does great repair on them.

6. Fcp euro is your friend for parts.

great gas mileage. Quiet interior. Best seats in the business great ergo, good headlights.

metal seemed to get thinner, plastics became thinner towards 2009. The earlier and mid-2000s models seemed built to higher standards before Ford seemed to influence cost-cutting. The drivelines and chassis remained the same throughout.

ones with smaller, less fancy wheels rode better and did not detract from handling prowess. handling was surprisingly good for FWD. as a 2wd, these could take a beating in long ice-snow drives cross country and hold up well. Very tight, well-built cars. IMO, the 2nd Gen lost many of the qualities of the first Gen.

 

[bdcardinal]

I miss my 04 S60R and would buy one again if the opportunity arose.

 

[ruhroh]

I like the 5-cylinder turbocharged engine better than the 3.2 that replaced it in some models. They are good durable cars and repairs aren't bad if you've done it a few times. The first time might involve some yelling and possibly throwing of tools.

My XC90 has very comfortable but cracked seats. Most of them like that, along with loose headliner hanging on for dear life. It's also heavy and doesn't turn well. I'd probably pick a V70 for its versatility and much better fuel economy if I can choose again. The 2.5T AWD XC90 have common angle gear failure. FWD models are easier to maintain.

Avoid any 2.9/3.0 T6 models. GM transmission in those would fail.

 

[atikovi]

I miss my 04 S60R and would buy one again if the opportunity arose.

I could provide such an opportunity.

 

[Cropduster172]

I had an 06 XC90. It was an excellent vehicle. Volvo was a bit late to the game with technology then...no Bluetooth, etc... but there were workarounds for that. Volvo leather just didn't last but the 5 cylinder Audi designed engine was stout and it drove great in all conditions.

 

[dlundblad]

My wife has a “P2” 2002 S60 2.4t. It’s been a great car. I’ve had to do quite a bit of work to it PM wise, but it has 220k on it too. Zero rust whatsoever and a good back and forth to work car. She’s had it for 11 years.

All the stuff I’ve done the last 7 years or so. FCP Euro has treated me well.

0w40 oil changes
PCV system
Rebuilt gauge cluster
Camshaft seals
Brakes and rotors
Motor mounts
Front control arms (bad bushings)
New ball joints since the control arms were replaced
Sway bar end links
New shocks and quick struts
Several PSF flushes (Pentosin CHF11s)
Transmission flushes
Timing belt and WP
Fuel pump (leaking housing)
New throttle body
New alternator
Spark plugs and coils
New MAF sensor
HVAC blower motor (It just failed one day.. pulled one from an S80 for $20 the next day.)
Transmission gear position sensor

 

[skyactiv]

it wouldn’t bother me if the Volvo turbo engine is such, but it seems all port injected turbo vehicles need premium gas. I test drove a C30 hatch with a stick and the 2.5 5cly turbo. It was priced about the same as a VW GTI which I ended up buying. The C30 was peppy, but not a luxury car. The C30 was made in Belgium and is rare on U.S. roads.

 

[kebabaluba]

Volvos from that era are solid in one place and bad in other. 2,4 NA and 2,5T are solid engines, but automatic transmissions from Aisin are not. XC90 from that era with 2.5T and auto are a turd, avoid it. V70/S60 also have weak front suspension components and bushings wear out quickly because they are weak.
PCV on 2,4 and 2,5 engines, throttle body and said front suspension components, failing instrument cluster are common weak points on V70/S60/XC90.
So depending what you are buying you might get decent Volvo like mine or get a total turd like XC90. But you might need to address certain Volvo issues as i mentioned above.

 

[Astro14]

You don’t mention which model. They all have great seats, durable paint, resist rust, and great safety and construction.

The 5 cylinder turbo engines are reliable and durable. The PCV system is a maintenance item. I’ve done the PCV on each of the cars. It’s a timing belt engine. Timing belt every 90,000 or 105,000 (depending on year). Water pump should be done on the second timing belt. A variety of displacement and turbo options mean they range in power from 168 to 300HP.

2001-2002 5 cylinders had the Aisin Warner AW-55 transmission with bad valve bodies. Early intervention by replacing or rebuilding the valve body gives them a long life. 2003 and up are good.

AWD models have the angle gear, a front differential and known weak spot because they’re not looked after, they only hold 700cc of fluid. A bit of a leak and they burn up. Cared for, with even infrequent fluid changes, they’ll last a long time. A Service bulletin for fixing leaks was issued in 2003. Updated angle gears don’t leak. Mine don’t leak, and I installed a drain plug while they were apart for the resealing work.

2001-2002 AWD models use a viscous clutch in front of the rear differential. It can be burned up by running tires with different tread depth. 2003+ AWD models use a Haldex system with electric pump and clutch. The fluid can, and should, be changed, along with the filter, or you kill the pump. The clutch itself lasts forever. The pump ain’t cheap.

Electronic modules sometime have issues. CEM, or central electronic module controls a lot, and can overheat. XEMODEX can rebuild it and it will be plug and play. DIM or instrument cluster can go out, again, XEMODEX.

The XC-90 is roomy. Lots of cargo space. Ponderous. Heavy. Safe. Slow. Nice driving. Wonderful seats. I’d buy one for my kid or my wife in a heartbeat.

Avoid the 6 and 8 cylinder versions. The transmissions don’t last. It’s a P2 chassis, so the front lower control arm bushings wear out often. IPD makes a HD lower control arm with upgraded bushings.

The V70 is the sweet spot of room, ride, and handling. The XC model is higher ground clearance with a softer ride. Same P2 chassis issues. Same reliable 5 cylinder. Same transmission. The S60 is the same car, same powertrain, everything but the cargo room.

My wife’s 2002 XC70 has about 286,000 miles on it. Original engine, turbo, angle gear and transmission. It’s had two complete suspension rebuilds. Three timing belts. One water pump. Valve body done at 115,000. DIM and CEM done.

The 2.4 base model is a bit slow, with 168 HP, but a good car.

The 2.4T is a bit quicker, with 190 HP, and XC has the 2.4T. (2005 and up are the 2.5T with about 210 HP due to a bump in displacement and VVT on the intake cam).

The T5 model comes with sport seats, a 2.3 turbo with 247 HP, bigger roll bars and larger brakes. The larger brakes are an easy retrofit to 2.4 and 2.4T models requiring only the larger rotors and T5 brake caliper brackets. Later T5 have the VVT on the intake and are a bit over 250 HP.

My 2002 V70 T5 was my daily driver for many years. Quick. Reliable. Lots of room. Great handling. Good MPG. It’s got over 210,000 on it now. It had the Valve body done at 100,000. One suspension rebuild. Two timing belts. One water pump.

My son has a 2001 V70 T5 with IPD cat back and down pipe. He runs it hard. It’s doing very well. Did the timing belt, water pump, and suspension pre-emptively before giving it to him three years ago.

The 2004-2007 R models are somewhat rare and highly desired. 300HP 2.5 turbo with a GM auto transmission or six speed manual. Sport seats. Electronically adjustable suspension. Four piston Brembo brakes. Big rotors. Haldex AWD. Some unique body panels. They’re fun, but rather expensive. Unique parts make them more expensive to maintain.

My 2004 R is, well, just great. Quick. Fun. Room for skis.

hope this helps.

 

[ruhroh]

And disagree about the angle gear being fine with maintenance. Not on an XC90, at least. There is a service procedure to reseal it so it doesn't leak on the earlier model years, 06 XC90 angle gear incorporated the TSB change.

But more commonly it's the outside connection to the transmission that fails. Other than no AWD, there are no codes, so the owners aren't the wiser. The transmission collar and angle gear input shaft both strips out splines of each other. If you jack up the rear of the car and you can rotate the prop shaft, the angle gear is dead. The only permanent 'fix' is to weld the two together, not an easy thing to do. I've taken off 5 angle gears at the salvage yard from 2.5T XC90s, 4 were completely stripped like mine. The last one was partially, mostly, stripped so I bought it since I didn't want to search anymore. I'll disconnect the prop shaft to make it FWD instead of pulling another batch of AGs. It took about 5 hours for the first time to take the original AG off, I got it down to about 50 minutes by the last one.

 

[Astro14]

I’ve done the collar on both angle gears while I had them out, it’s a wear item, softer steel than the transmission output shaft.

With a new collar, resealed, and regular fluid changes, the original angle gear on the XC is approaching 290,000 miles. That’s a good life.

It‘s when they never get fluid changes, or are run low on oil, that they fail.

Yes, you can strip a collar, but that can be replaced. And you should reseal them angle gear while it’s out.

 

[ruhroh]

The collar can be replaced, but the entire AG shouldn't be a wear-item. It's not just the collar itself on an XC90, the actual angle gear input shaft is one-piece to the pinion gear and is not replaceable by itself. That part strips out too.

 

[Astro14]

The collar can be replaced, but the entire AG shouldn't be a wear-item. It's not just the collar itself on an XC90, the actual angle gear input shaft is one-piece to the pinion gear and is not replaceable by itself. That part strips out too.

The AG is not a wear item. I didn’t say it was. The collar strips out. The input shaft splines should be OK. Mine have been OK, even though the R was tracked.

I’ve pulled both angle gears on my cars, done the reseal, and put them back in. I replaced the collar as a preemptive measure. Original angle gears on both. 286,000 original miles on one of them.

They don’t all die.

But most Volvo owners aren’t good about maintenance. Nowhere does Volvo suggest fluid changes or even fluid level checks.

I do both. I recommend both.

With fluid changes and level checks, they last a long time.

 

[ruhroh]

A lot of fluids are 'lifetime' on these Volvos, and yes it shouldn't be. No, you didn't say the angle gear is a wear item but the transmission collar isn't the only failure point.

I just don't agree that with proper gear oil changes, the angle gear will be fine. 5.5/6 XC90s with gear oil in the angle gear, including mine, had completely failed angle gear input shaft, which the failed part doesn't even touch gear oil and is on the outside, is not a good record. 290K is a good life out of any component, without a doubt.

The R models had different angle gear part numbers than my standard 2.5T, probably built better to handle more torque. It's also likely pulling a lighter weight than a 4.5K lbs SUV

Here's my core; the others I've pulled were in similar condition. The deeper parts of the splines were ground down. The entire replacement angle gear is a $1800+ part at FCPEuro.

 

[Astro14]

It shouldn’t strip out like that, so, yeah, that’s a failed part. An expensive one at that. Maybe the weight has to do with it. Don’t know.

Interesting that the R model angle gear is OK, when it’s got 300 HP. This is despite the previous owner doing some tracking and the car having 139,000 on it. Your experience suggests that the input shaft splines are weak.

I did buy a used R model angle gear on EBay. I know they can fail, and I wanted a spare. $300 Seemed reasonable for that.

15 years ago, when I bought the 2002 V70 T5, as a lightly used 72,000 mile car, I was talking with one of the Volvo techs at our local dealership. He told me I would be a lot happier with the T5 as it was just as quick as the automatic R model and a lot more reliable. He wasn’t wrong.

The automatic cars all limit torque to 250 lbf, so the auto-equipped R has the same torque as the T5 but is heavier. The FWD is simpler. Both T5 have required less maintenance and work than the XC, and now the R.

I wanted the R for its manual transmission. I wanted the XC for its AWD. I also bought two T5 FWD.

Since I am recommending a car, I would suggest the T5 model of the S/V70 line for the simplicity of the powertrain and the good performance.

In fact, I’m likely going to buy a friend‘s 2004 XC90 - A 2.5T5 FWD - as a car should my recent college graduate need one. It depends where she next goes to school, because, like her sister, she will need a car, soon, and a FWD P2 is a solid bet.

OP, you mentioned up through 2009. The XC90s through 2009 were the P2 chassis. The XC70 changed over to the P3. the P3 is heavier, slower, and more softly sprung. Still a decent car, but I don’t know as much about them.

 

[ruhroh]

Yeah, I just don't know if it's mostly XC90s or if there are just more XC90s sold. I thought it might be the weight, but I've only taken these off of XC90s at the yard even with the FCPEuro's fitment guide page because I don't see AWD S60s/V70s when I'm there. I only have an XC90 so I can't comment on other models, I just don't know enough about them. Interestingly there aren't many angle gear posts for the XC90 after the 3.2 I6 took over starting MY07.

I'd gladly pay $300 for a good angle gear. $1.8K.... FWD-only here I come.

But with its quirks, it's still a durable heavy car. Safe, comfortable and enough space to sleep in. But yeah, V70 if I could do it all over again.

And thanks for responding to that PM awhile back. I ended up redoing the oil pan with the appropriate anaerobic 518. No issues but I wanted to do it correctly. Good thing too, because it turns out the previous time I reinstalled the pan, the o-ring was pinched. No low oil pressure light but that couldn't have been good. New large o-ring again and I hope it didn't pinch this time, but can't be sure.