Ok, so I have owned a 94 940 wagon for about 5 years and put well over 100k on it. when i bought it the only thing wrong with it was it had a rough idle which took me a while to fix. I replaced the injectors, replaced rotor, dist cap, wires, spark plugs, cleaned the throttle body, fuel filter and all sorts of things. Something fixed it along the way and the idle smoothed out.

It was a great little car. No horsepower to speak of. It took its time to get up to speed but once there was smooth as a whistle on a freeway at 75-85. I do a lot of canoe racing and I would often load 3 canoes on the roof and pack the thing with equipment and 5 people. But no matter it would always get 27 mpg and would cruise.

It started getting old, 230k, and its mpg dropped down to 18-20 and it seemed to have lost a hell of a lot of power. it developed an exhaust leak someplace in the exhaust manifold, got a big chip in the wind shield, needed new brakes and shocks. and annoyingly needed a new radio. Stuff also started getting rusty so bolts would break and things would be hard to work on.

The major thing that made me want a new car was the low mpg. I drive so much and so far that its a killer on finances. I couldn't find the cause of the low mileage. the car throws you no codes to work with. Everything is guesswork. I changed the oxygen sensor, did a major tuneup and cleaned everything up and nada. same mpg. Maybe it was somehow something to do with the leak in the exhaust manifold. Anyhow, time for a new car.

So I bought another 94 940 wagon for 2k This time a turbo. It was friggn sweet. 96k and just a baby. It had the same idle problem. I cleaned the throttle body, replaced wires, spark, inspected the rotor and dist cap which seemed nearly new, checked the air box for a plugged filter and did a number of other things.

At this point it could be any of and air, fuel or electrical problem. My next step will probably be to somehow check every one of about 50 little hoses that lead into the intake manifold for air leaks and then replace the injectors for 70$

And here comes the real bitch. I did 2 trips, both over 200 miles and I got 20.1 mpg on one trip and today 16.2 on another with boats on the roof. My brother owns a turbo 940 and gets 23-24 mpg.

And here is where I rage. Who the hell makes a car that gives you nothing to work with diagnostics-wise while getting only 16.2 mpg? I can deal with fixing just about anything but the time put into replacing a million little parts is a killer. I just don't have the time to research a million forums an websites to get ideas only to replace something with no results.

There are a million idea but no direct fixes. One site suggesting looking in the airbox to see if little bits of foam had broken free and lodged on the tiny wires in the air mass meter. Another site suggested getting a fuel pressure gauge. a third said replace every one of those million little hoses on the intake manifold, hoses that I cant even locate a source to get. a fourth said always start off with replacing the oxygen sensor 80$(940 sensors don't tell you when they go bad, they only throw codes if the wiring is intermittent). In the end I might put 300$ worth of parts into the car just to make the damn thing idle properly and figure out what is giving it bad mileage. (something i cant solve on the other 940, who knows about the new one.)

Ok, now I'm done with my rage. How are 850s? Does it take a months to diagnose problems? Are 50$ code readers worth it? Are there weird quirks like having a transmission mount-beam covering the transmission pan which needs to be removed every 20k miles to get at the transmission filter? is the oil filter jammed inside the engine so deep that you have to bend pipes and remove parts to service it?

Should I get an 850? or are they just as frustrating as 940s?
Would the tighter spaces to work in be just as frustrating as not being able to diagnose problems?
Are 50$ ODBII readers worth it?
How truthful is the estimate of 26mpg for a non-turbo 850?
what is the probability that buying a used one for 3k with 120k on it last at least 100k miles without having to replace anything major?
What is the cost of replacing the timing belt?
And mostly, are they easier to diagnose than a 940?

I need reliability, not headaches. Time is money to me.

/rant over

 

Well, I got my 1995 850 turbo when it was about the same as the one you mentioned, around 3k, 120k miles.

I should ask you what you are using to gauge the MPG, because if you are using the on board computer then you might not be getting the most accurate of results.

For example: In my city, neighborhood speeds are 25 mph, streets are 40-45 mph, and freeways are 65-70 mph.

my average mph according to the computer? 15mph. Yet I normally drive on the 40-45 streets.

I know that's mph, but the same seems to go with my mpg estimate, the real time mpg is all over the place depending on acceleration which is understandable, but I've gotten average readings from 12mpg to 22 mpg.

So the first thing i'd do before raging and forgetting your 940's is to actually verify that the mpg is where the computer is telling you.

As far as reliability, mine just went through its repair curve at about 15 years old, and 130k miles, this was mostly small stuff like spark plugs, injectors, timing belt (about $250 to address your other question), had some oil leakage that was easy to fix, and cv boots.

However, myself and a few other people have had a problem with the radiator at about 15 years, it just seems to self destruct, mine leaked and fried my fan and died, so It was a pretty major repair to flush the system, get a new radiator and fan, etc.

Overall however, I would recommend the 850 to someone who needs a reliable car to get them to where they need to go, which it sounds like you do, but like any car, when they hit their repair curve, they can be a real pain in the butt.

Hope this helps.

 

The way i tested the mileage was to fill it, then drive so and so miles and refill it. Then I divided the miles by # of gallons put in. Definite 16.2 there. Thanks for the reply.

 

Mik: The first thing I would do to your 940's is put in oem spark plugs. For some reason a lot of people get poor milage with other plugs. Also, are you using 91 octane? I get 15% to 20% better gas milage with 91.

Yes O2 sensors do cause you to get low mileage. If the car is that old you may want to try that 2nd. Those cars should get what you expressed before, average of 24, highway over 27. Also check tire pressure and brakes. Sorry to hear that the car does not have the OBD-II connection.

As for 850's, yes they do have the OBD-II ports and I do have a $50 code reader that works pretty good for me. Either you go with one of those or spend a few hundred dollars for one that reads Volvo stuff. As for how long you can keep it, depends on how good of condition it was in when you got it. If you keep the oil changed and do scheduled maintenance you can go 500,000+. You can see all the post here about the problems people have with them. You can also read our Buyer's Guide to get purchasing tips. I would rather have a 940 Turbo or a 960 wagon. The 960's are pretty nice though.

As for mpg tips, you can look into Hypermilling techniques to help you a bit. Also, you can find the sweet spot with your mpg. I was getting 23 mpg with my 960 at 70 - 75. I figured out that I can get 27 - 30 mpg when I drive 62 - 63 mph. So that's what I drive now.

Again, try the oem plugs first. Also, you may want to cut and paste your post in the 940 section to see if you get some help there.
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Tobolate: I don't think the 940's or 960's have the trip computer. Also, the computer calculates the time you sit at a light was well. So if you drive 20 minutes at 45 mph, and you sit at 2 lights for 5 minutes, it will tell you that you were driving about 26 mph.

 

Found a massive air leak in the intake manifold gasket by using throttle body cleaner to find a spot where it would suck up and rev the engine and a piece of plastic tubing to listen through.

Now for the mileage issue.....