Hi everyone, I've just bought a XC70 3.2 petrol, I live in the north east of England however the UK Volvo forums don't tend to cater for this engine type, they are very rare in the UK, someone has suggested I post on a US forum in the hope of getting a better response.
The car seems great, really enjoy driving it, it's a MY2008 auto 3.2 petrol, it's done 107,00 miles, my question is this, what should I look out for? Are there things I really should consider that are not common on the diesels? Are these engines generally long lived and reliable?
Any tips or advice would be gratefully received.
Kind regards,
Jeff.

 

if you don't have the maintenance history for the car, I'd suggest reviewing the maintenance schedule and do all the inspections recommended and baseline the service items. I'd suggest a refresh of the fluids - brake, coolant, power steering pump, transmission (drain/fill should be good enough). Not much to a tune up on these cars - spark plugs are typically good for 60K miles so ;you can wait a few miles. I'd check the cabin air filter - people tend to forget serving that. A general inspection of the suspension rubber components (look for cracks and visible wear). Check for any wetness on the floors after a rain (sunroof drain channels can clog on some models). 107K miles is just past break-in. Properly maintained these are 250K mile+ cars.

 

I have a 2008 xc70 3.2 and after 250K the electric stuff starts to get funky. For instance, check engine light on constantly, hood open light on constantly, etc., but it runs great.

 

Andy, those are typical maintenance issues for any car in the north, not the XC. When cars get old, connectors can get corroded from moisture and road salt + water makes an excellent conductor :-) rubber gets hard and can crack, particularly if you live north where you can see below zero temps. So as general maintenance you can clean electrical contacts, adjust/replace failed contact switches to fight the gremlins. My 2000 S40 was having some odd shifting and cleaning the contacts and reseating the TCU fixed that. As to the CEL, as with any 10+ year old car, you should own an OBD2 scanner and read codes and understand how to address the root cause. Could be a wonky sensor, could be a wiring/connector issue, could be a failed rubber bit like a vaccuum line, could be an exhaust leak and so on. Pinch, the best road to longevity is keeping up with maintenance. Things like changing out brake fluid/coolant/tranny fluid etc, following the factory service intervals are a start but also doing proper visual inspections. Lots of posters whine about the cost of dealer maintenance but don't value that they are trained to do a full inspection with any job, keeping an eye out for potential problems. Get an oil change and learn your rear brakes are at 4mm is better than hearing your brakes squeal when there's no pads left. Do that and you'll get 250K miles easy.

 

mt,
-8 F when I woke up this morning. And that is not atypical. So, yes your advice is sage. Thanks! I do not have the luxury of a garage, so the routine maintenance is difficult. I know I am making excuses, and I know I need an OBD2 scanner.
I am new to the forum, so forgive my noviceness. How exactly do you clean electrical contacts? And on the other issue, the problem with the CEL is the car thinks my fuel tank cap is not screwed in properly, light goes off after an oil change for about two days. Any thoughts on how to fix?

 

The loose gas cap can set an evap system leak code, but that code can also be a vacuum line issue ( Google Volvo J tube for example) or a problem with the charcoal canister.