My 1996 Volvo 850 sedan (non-turbo) recently hit 75K and I am thinking of taking it to my mechanic for a tune-up/check simply to see how the parts are faring after all of these years (and also because I'm due for an oil change in about 500 miles anyways). I know most of the parts that have both an age and a mileage were replaced at the suggested age (i.e. the timing belt was replaced before 70K) and I believe I'm due for a tranny flush (I have the records from my grandfather, the original owner, and also can consult him about the car itself if need be) but aside from that I'm not sure what to ask the mechanic to check.

The only concern I really have is that the ABS light comes on intermittently. I did some research and found out that it's probably due to bad solder joints on a sensor unit (the ABS brakes themselves work fine). It does not affect the drivability of the car (everything feels fine) but I'd like to get this fixed. Do these parts usually need to be ordered or do dealers (he gets parts directly from a Volvo dealer) usually have them in stock?

Also, in the case of Volvo parts, are OEM parts always the best? I have had the mechanic install OEM brakes in the car to avoid the squeaking problems associated with other brands but if something else would need replacing, does it matter what brand he uses or are they all about the same?

I'm thinking of taking this car in Monday or Tuesday so any thoughts on what to ask the mechanic would be appreciated so I can make a list over the weekend. Please note that I do not perform maintenance myself (the only thing I do to the car is replace tail light bulbs).

Another question in general--the car is used almost exclusively for short commutes (less than 10 miles in one direction) and has not been on a major highway trip in nine years (I do try to get it on a freeway once a month but usually not for more than 15 miles). Given its age and mileage, would a trip of a total of 500 miles put it at any sort of risk for component failure provided I give it periodic breaks along the way?

 

I'm from the old school of "If it's not broke, don't fix it". If the car is driven once per week, and maintenance has been kept up (which is sounds like it has), I would not give a mechanic a free "Charge Me For Anything You Can Pass".

If you poke around this site, you will see the common quarks with these 850's. AC, man it's hot, ABS system codes, smoking here and there. Sounds like you do not work on cars so just let them fix the ABS with what they would use.

I also belive "Any car that will start and drive 10 miles, will drive 1,000 miles". My thing with road trips are as follows:
1. Have a good battery.
2. No coolant leaks.
3. No oil leaks that you are not 100% sure the cause, location and amounts.
4. Good belts, timing & others.
5. Good tires.

Other than that, if the car runs daily, it should go down the road with no problem. Have fun, these cars are very comfortable on the road.

 

Due to it's age and mileage???? This is your first Volvo isn't it? It's a 96 and ONLY has 75,000 miles?!?!?! My car is two years older and has 214,000 and I take it everywhere, road trip shmoad shrip, don't be afraid to drive it.

There really aren't specific things that go out at any given mileage, it's more to keep it tuned up. New plugs, plug wires, cap, rotor. Once to the shop I would leave the car running, pop open the hood and pull the dip stick out of the tube and make sure you don't have any smoke coming out. I'm guessing they should have parts like that in stock.

And obviously not all parts are the same, I mean they'll all do the job, it's just how good of a job you want them to do and how long you want them to last.

 

It sounds like I'm in good shape with most of these parts. I have a battery with an 8 year life expectancy under the hood that I just got two years ago. There are no oil leaks that I am aware of (I see nothing leaking in the garage at least), the tires have only 12K on them so I'd imagine they've got at least another 15K, probably more. The timing belt went in around 48K (eight years old) so I'm thinking it's got another year or two before I have to be concerned about it (I've heard 7 years/70K miles for them).

My A/C is indeed non-functional, but I'm not really a fan of air conditioning (plus I live in Pittsburgh where we only have about 100 days every year that warrant the use of an A/C). I do know this is very common on these cars just from looking at other 850s on the road during the summer--almost all of them have their windows rolled down.

I'll have him check the coolant level and spark plugs just to play it safe. I looked up ABS units for the 850 on the web and the part doesn't look to be overly expensive and they seem to be fairly commonplace so I'm guessing he won't have a problem getting one. And yes, this is my first Volvo and I absolutely love the car. In fact, it's tough for me to drive anything else these days because the Volvo is extremely comfortable and is a joy to drive (plus it's known for safety, which gives me peace of mind when I'm on the road).

 

So don't be afraid to drive it, 75000 miles is nothing. And you don't need to take it to the mechanic to check the coolant level, all you have to do is pop the hood and look at the coolant reservoir.

 

I was able to check the coolant and it looks fine--filled right to the line where it's supposed to be.

Two more questions:

1. Is it usually easy for a mechanic to get and install the ABS sensor part? I'm taking the car in on Monday early in the morning but will need it by Wednesday night. (This gives him three full days to work on it).

2. How hard is it to replace the light bulb in the automatic gear shifter? Is this something I should let him take care of or is it as simple as the taillights?

 

It's a pain to change that light in the console. The console needs to come out to get to it. The ABS sensor, if it's the one on the wheel, is real easy to get to. As far as a tuneup, I would use all OEM parts. Many have complained about non-OEM plugs. Use the OEM turbo plugs and you will be fine. I also like the OEM wires because they are date stampled. You can look at them and see how old they are. If more than five years old replace them. The timing belt interval is 70K or five years whichever comes first.

I would take a 96 with 73K on it anywhere and not worry about a thing. Heck I would take my 97 with 197K on it anywhere for that matter. I do 800 mile trips with mine three of four times a year.

 

I had always thought the timing belt was a seven year part (the original actually went for eight in my car) but after the horror story of my dad's timing belt failing on the turnpike I've been very careful with that part. My current belt was installed in October 2004 and has 27K on it. I'll probably get it replaced in December when the car is in for its PA state inspection.

Jim--nice profile picture!!! Go Steelers!!!

 

When I picked up my '97 960 in 11/07, I don't think the belt was ever replaced. It only had $53k on it. I was tempted to tow it to have the belt replaced.

When I picked up my '95 850 in 4/09, I don't think the belt had ever been replaced on it either. I drove it (almost in fear) 1,500 miles, then directly to my mechanic to have that belt replaced.

I don't think I would be afraid to drive it 80k or 9 years the 1st time. After that I would stick to the 70k and 7 years because of age. Well, I might push it to 90k if I was driving 30k a year like I normally do. I put 10k on the 850 in 2 months. I put about 30k on the 960 in 14 months. I look at the recomendations in the manual as playing it safe. (My brother-in-law ignored my warning to get the belt replace on a car he picked up in June and it popped in July and ruined the engine - not a Volvo).

No one likes it when their car is down and out so I guess it's best to play it safe.

Should be easy for the shop to get the ABS part. The light in the shifter is a pain in the butt but there are good instructions here to do it.

 

I actually checked over every record the day I got the car to see if the timing belt had been replaced recently. I didn't want to wind up with a costly repair, a prolonged period without a vehicle, or to be stranded on the turnpike for several hours on a cold night like my dad was when the timing belt popped on his Honda (it had been on the car for nearly ten years and had well over 70K on it).

For the record, I don't drive this car all that much. I've put on about 13K in roughly three years, mostly because most of my destinations are within a few miles of my house. I'm not sure if this would be of any concern as far as particular parts are concerned (aside from getting a false O2 sensor reading one time last year, which my mechanic said was caused by not driving long distances often).

I'll look into the center console light repair but I think I'll work with a friend who knows more about cars than I do on that one.

 

If you can, once per week, take the car on the freeway and drive the speed limit for about 30 miles. That should keep things blown out and allow the car to run at it's operating temp for a few minutes.

 

As luck would have it, the ABS light didn't come on at all today when I drove the car to the mechanic. I did inform his secretary of what had been going on and told her what part I thought was the culprit (the computer). He should be calling soon so hopefully we will find out if my hypothesis is correct.

 

I sent out my ABS module to be repaired today (sending it to the guy who rebuilds them and guarantees his work seemed like a more logical thing to do than drop $800 on a new unit). The mechanic is going to put it on for me when it comes back next week.

For now I get to drive my mom's Honda Civic, and the only reason I bring this up is because I went to roll the windows down today and reached down into the center console, only to find the switches there controlled the heated seats. If there was ever a list entitled "You know you drive a Volvo 850 when...", I'm sure this would be one of the top five telltale signs.

rspi, my mechanic actually told me to do the same thing when we talked about O2 sensors a while back. I think I've taken a trip 30+ miles on a freeway exactly once since I got the car (November 2006) so I definitely need to do it more often! As luck would have it I'm going to be traveling well over 30 miles this weekend without the 850...but it may be a good thing nonetheless because the aforementioned Civic, which is a year old, has never been on a highway trip over 20 miles and probably needs it as well.