I had this same issue and tried one epoxy that didn't work. Then I contacted J-B Weld and they said to use J-B Weld Plastic Bonder. It has been up since 5/20/17! We scuffed the plastic pieces that attach to the underside of the headliner, let them cure overnight and then popped them into the roof. Easy fix for $9!

 

Surf City NC, mid section headliner adhesive failure also. Wishing to know how

Plat.B's Gorilla Glue Epoxy repair results.

Thanks

 

My C70's headliner is still holding up well. The car is parked outside most of the day, and I operate the roof almost daily. So far so good with Gorilla Epoxy.

I agree with ZiggyVolvo to clean up the plastic piece so that the old glue is removed and the underside is scoffed up for a better grab. Appreciate the suggestion for J-B Weld Plastic Bonder

 

My headliner did the same drooping thing, has to be the heat. My brother and I tried one epoxy, but it didn't even last a day. I searched online for possible solutions and then contacted J-B Weld and gave them a detailed explanation. They said to J-B Weld Plastic Bonder.

My brother ruffed up the base of the clips, applied the bonder and I put them in place on the headliner and let it set overnight. The next day, I snapped them into the roof and so far, so good! It's been 3 weeks in the Florida heat.

Way better solution than paying the dealer!

 

So I followed suggestions in other posts and cleaned up the clips, used a 2 part Loctite plastic bonding system (681925), pulled the buttons from the ceiling and installed them back into the clips, and put it back together; put the top up and down several times and no problem. And now some additional details:

I used a single edge razor blade to "shave" the old adhesive off the clips and the headliner reinforcement board - be careful or you'll wind up fraying the board where you are going to be gluing the clips, that's just old adhesive on the board, not another piece of plastic.

Followed the directions on the package.

I pulled the buttons out of the roof and put them into the clips before putting the headliner back up - it strikes me as nearly impossible to slide the clips onto the buttons if the buttons are still in the roof.

Working from the front, I put the rear of the headliner up first, as it is much easier to locate the holes in the roof for the buttons when you have a clean line of sight and are not trying to bend over the rear quarterpanel and locate the holes.

It also seems to me the tensile strenght of the adhesive has nothing to do with the performance of the adhesive in this application; there is no compressive component, and the only weight is the weight of the headliner, there is no stress put on the clips other than supporting that weight.

 

First off, let me start by saying I love our Volvo. Our first Volvo was an S60 that after over 100,000 maintenance free miles we traded in for the C70 back in 2010.

I learned a very important lesson after bringing it to my dealer for repair. So I thought I'd share my experience.

Wish I would have read all the suggestions above before I brought our 2010 C70 to the dealer when the back liner's clips came unglued.
Here is the actual cost breakdown:
The new "plastic" clips & glue: $365.91.
Labor: $270.00
Total with tax: $693.14

They told me they couldn't reuse the old clips because removing the old glue was too labor intensive. Their first attempt failed. I know this because I was to pick up the vehicle one afternoon but, they called to tell me it wasn't ready because the glue failed. They either didn't mix the two part epoxy correctly or it was bad glue. They told me they could reuse the same clips because the glue never dried hard and it was easy to wipe off... go figure. The repair lasted less than two months and now the front liner has also dropped so the car is nearly undriveable with both liners down.

I was out of town on business when the second failure happened so my wife brought back to the dealer and they recommend replacing both liners for $2500 with no deduction for the first failure. I haven't spoken to them about it but, needless to say, I will most likely not return to that dealership.

I will now follow the instructions by good folks here and I'll be back to let you know how it goes.

Thanks,
Nu

 

The center section of mine came loose on all but two of the clips. I took it out of the car completely and re-attached the brackets with JB Weld plastic bond. I removed most of the old adhesive from the headliner (I left enough to make sure that brackets went back in the exact spots) and all of it from the brackets. I roughed up both surfaces with sandpaper. 30 minutes later, the epoxy was set. An hour later it was back in the car. It went back into the car a week ago and have had no issues since in the North Carolina heat.

 

I live in San Diego and I have a c70 2008. The back portion of my headliner just dropped. Dealer referred me to upholstery shop. They said they would not warrant the work because it is hard to do. They repaired and it fell again after 3 uses.

Now in the process of purchasing a new headliner. The upholstery store said I need to purchase and they will install.

 

Joebrothers and Platinum - thanks guys for the details on your re-install, esp. the pics. I have a 2009 c70 and same thing happened yesterday (live in florida). My 14 yr old was in the rear and it dropped on his head and I made him hold it up till we got home. lol. I got same response from dealer - take it to upholstery shop. Well, I think I'll try it myself considering both your experiences.
A few questions please: 1) all my clips are still in the roof. Joe, I presume you pulled the entire button/clip combo out of the underside of the metal roof, reattached them as is with epoxy to the cardboard plate, then inserted the button back into the roof. Is this right? I can slip the rectangular clip off pretty easily, but the not the top button. 2) Platinum, what do you mean by "body panel removal tool" ? is this the blue tool that one of the buttons sits on in one of your photos? Is there another way to pull these without this tool and not break the buttons? 3) Platinum, since part of this inner liner is sewn in on the sides , are there any issues to be careful of when opening the roof into the service position (liner is not attached in the middle but only hanging in place on the sewn sides)? Does that make sense? It looks like Joebrothers reinstalled his panel with the roof in place (roof not partially open).
Thanks fellas - gonna try to do this soon .

 

I found it easiest to pull the button out of the steel roof. After gluing the clip back to the fabric headliner, I put the buttons on the clips. I did have the top partially open. I found it worked best to position myself in the front seat area facing back, then line up the buttons with the buttons at the rear of the headliner with the holes in the steel roof, and reinsert; I found it impossible to line them up leaning over the rear quarterpanel. The front are easy to do as you can see the holes. I will also say that it takes a good smack with the flat of your hand to reinsert the buttons. Good luck.

 

Joe, thx for the response. looks like you did both front and rear while you were in the front seat. I'll keep that in mind. Did you have a difficult time pulling the buttons out of the steel roof? did you use a tool at all or just your hand. How are they secured in the steel roof -- like an anchor that expands once inserted? thx buddy.

 

Joe, I put my top in a halfway position once to lube the rubber parts and I hot an error code...something along the lines if mslfunction, take to dealer. I can't remember what I did but thank goodness it went away on its own. I'm a bit nervous about opening it partially again to reglue the headliner. Do you have any guidance on opening it partially to do the fix. I've seen mentions about a "Service" position in a few threads but can't find anything in the owners manual or Google about it. Thanks!

 

Rich, I've had the top in various partially open positions, never received an error message; did you have the car in gear when the error popped up

 

Thanks Joe! I took everything down, glued the caps back onto the headliner after shaving them down with a razor to get the old glue off (used JB Weld glue) and got everything back together except I'm stuck on where the strings should be routed. I'm scared that if I don't see a picture I'll try it and it might rip the plastic holder out if I have it in the wrong place in relation to the support bar that moves. Any chance you can post a few pictures showing the proper routing of the headliner string? I searched every YouTube out there to no avail. Thanks!! By the way, the top didn't give me the error code when I stopped it halfway for the repair this time

 

Rich, I did not take the headliner out of the car, left it in place.

 

Where do I get a body panel removal tool or is there another way to remove the clips? I bought the JB Weld and everything else I need to clean the clips but don’t want to break them thrying to get them out. Thanks in advance!

 

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Eblam, I didn't need this tool... Thought I did, but no. Use a thin scraper and pull down in a controlled motion. My clips came out easily w/no damage. I reinserted them into their respective part after I scraped the old glue off, glued the flat part back onto the original cleaned spot on the liner, waited 24 hrs for jb weld to fully cure, then snapped them back in place. Follow the advice above about placement, orientation of the roof and you'll be fine. Easy fix!

 

Joe7brothers and platinum's advice and photos were tremendous help. Thanks much gentlemen.

 

I’m in Sydney Australia and had the same problem. The front lining panel dropped and moved forwards when closing the roof and the locking pins on top of the windshield punctured the lining. I had to replace the front lining panel completely at great cost. Shortly after that the rear lining panel dropped also. Volvo tried gluing it back but I suspect the direct sun in summer on a black roof meant the glue didn’t hold. I had it fixed by again by Volvo with new retaining clips, luckily at minimal cost. Hopefully now it holds.

 

Request update please from those who posted fixes last year. Did the JB Weld Platic Bonder hold up? How about the 2 part Loctite plastic bonding system (681925)? Our 2009 C70 headliner fell this week (after a very hot June) and we are looking for a permanent solution. Has anyone tried using a mechanical fastener through the headliner (plastic push fastener or even a small screw with a big upholstery washer to attach to the existing clips)?