Hello all,
I am seriously considering buying a 2016/17 V60 T5 Premier w/Convenience Package, Sport Package. I have driven a few and I really like them. I like the fact that the 2.0 Drive E gets good mileage and has nice power. In the past my wife had a VW TDI wagon (until the buyback) and we loved that car. I feel like I know all of the pluses, but what about the negative? How is the reliability? I do not need a car that will spend time in the shop, except for regular maintenance. I'll probably but one of these with 35k to 40k miles. Thanks in advance!
Chris

 

I have a 2015.5 V60 - bought as a Volvo CPO - worthwhile in my opinion. I bought it with ~ 42K on the clock - currently 53K. The battery was replaced under warranty and I'm currently seeing the occasional "low battery" message but I'm not driving a lot these days. The front pads/rotors were replaced at about 50K - with Akebono ceramic pads and Brembo rotors. I have used this combination on a number of cars ( Volvo, Benz, Mazda) for years and highly recommend it.

No service problems but I think the charging system is marginal - probably spec'ed to reduce load and improve fuel milage. Only (unresolved) gripe - electronic oil level read-out instead of dipstick. I don't trust it (This and the next issue may be different on the 2016/17 cars) I also fitted a real albeit temporary spare tire instead of the air pump + goop kit kludge originally supplied. I kept the air pump - handy to top up the tires without trying to find one that works at fuel stops.

All in all, I think, after almost 70 years of car ownership, including 5 Volvos, 4 MBenz, etc. etc. it is the best all around road car for my current use which does not call for the really large capacity or towing limit that some previous cars have afforded.

 

Thanks for the input. I too will get an actual spare tire. My wife had a Hyundai a few years back and it only came with a "fix it kit", so I bought an actual tire for it.

 

Bought mine in April 2019 and would not do it again. It had 20,000 on it when I bought it. In 1.5 years I drove almost 11,000 miles. At 25,000 miles It needed a new climate control $1000 ....lucky for warranty but poor quality component. Had low battery light....radio update fixed..lucky for warranty. Just found out that front brake pads need to be replaced. Oh but it is only one pad that is almost to the metal, all other pads are at 10/32. That means a caliper issue....unlucky for me, no warranty on it. The leather (?) steering wheel is peeling. There file is bigger. The low battery light has returned.

The point is this is a liow miles car and in my 1.5 years of ownership the maintenance costs are $2000. What is coming in the future? My s60 and v50 were never this bad and they weren't CPO cars.

Our Honda had 90k on it when we bought it. We've owned it 4 years and put 30,000 miles on it. We had to replace wiper blades and that was it. Also a non CPO but did have the 150 point inspection. So nope, I would not do it again.

 

urdrwho, What year is your V60 you are talking about? Thanks

 

It is a 2016. In 2015 it was a change design year and I always stay clear of the first year of changes. On Consumer Reports the 2015 has a clear red mark for brake issues, 2016 is a bit better. "Brakes
Antilock system (ABS), parking brake, master cylinder, calipers, rotors, pulsation or vibration, squeaking, brake failure or wear.

Premature brake wear"I’m. It sure if this is really premature brake wear, but I’ve owned this car for almost 5-years, and I’ve replaced the front brakes twice, and the rear brakes once. Fortunately, the first round of front and back replacements were covered under the 4-year warranty that comes with the Volvo. The second front brake replacement was just a couple of months ago, and I paid for that."
Anonymous, CA (2015 Volvo V60)"

Also keep in mind (just found out) if you have the electronic emergency brake system, to replace the rear brakes takes VIDA which means dealer only. Hm? That doesn't thrill me and I need to do more research is needed on it.

I just added up the maintenance costs since purchase and it is a little under $2500. Of which $700 was not under warranty.

Who the heck has a sticking caliper on a car that had to have started when the car was under 31,000 miles? I usually have those situations on my beater cars that are over 100,000 miles and many years old.
It is a known issue with the inner pad wearing on the right hand side. Odd but true. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...57878-9999.pdf

I just called the dealer today to talk about the issue with the inner brake pad. The TSB covers a lot of years so something is up. The problem with a TSB is that it could be happening on some cars that aren't included in the VIN number but there haven't been enough complaints to establish a TSB. The sales manager agrees that something something doesn't seem right.

The low battery is a known issue that can be fixed by a radio software update. Apparently without the software update, when the car is off the Sirius radio keeps searching for a signal and runs the battery low.

A $1,000 climate control module going bad at 25,000 miles like mine. The last one of those I needed was on an S60 that had over 200,000 miles on it.

With the issues appearing, I'm starting to feel like I am back in my days of driving Jaguars. Fun to drive but I'm starting to think it is a maintenance magnet.

 

"Also keep in mind (just found out) if you have the electronic emergency brake system, to replace the rear brakes takes VIDA which means dealer only. Hm? That doesn't thrill me and I need to do more research is needed on it."

I just watched this video re replacing rear brakes with electric parking brake


No mention made of VIDAS - resetting is done by cycling the brake on/off 3 times.

 

Good to know --- thanks.

During my search yesterday it was a Volvo site that talked about needing VIDA to draw in the pistons. I will definitely watch the video and book mark it!

 

I contacted the sales guy who is now the sales manager. I explained that calipers don't normally do this unless the car is much older or has many more miles on the car. That there are two things in play:

1. Caliper slide is so rusty that the pad was not moving and in that case it was most likely in bad shape when they sold me the car. The CPO inspection should have seen such a thing.
2. The TSB is valid and the part about the unusual wear on the right, inner pad is at fault.

He agreed and was going to talk with the service manager. After my phone call I emailed a copy of the TSB.

Just had a call from the service manager and he said that the TSB hit the ail on the head and he agrees with my assessment. He's going to order the parts to fix the issue and order pads, will call me when they arrive.

If you read the TSB the premature wear of that inner pad covers a lot of years and a lot of cars.

 

I'll definitely clean and apply penetrate to those Torx. He really ran his pads down low enough to mess up that inner disc.

 

I can think of only two reasons to replace a simple cable set-up that has served well for about 100 years:

1. A way to add the VIDAS mystique to the process in an effort to bind the owner to the dealer and
2. Make certain that oblivious drivers don't drive around with the parking brake on. Another vain attempt to fix "stupid"

 

I agree 100%.

Part of the search for my next car (if there will be one) will be one without the electronic brake. Sadly I have a feeling that most manufacturers will be moving to the electronic brake. Manufacturers also seem to be moving to the computer screen controlling everything from heat to the radio. I kind of like that analog **** that if it goes bad I only have to replace a rheostat located behind the dash.

Then there is the science experiment coming for self driving tractor trailers. I'll feel so safe knowing that 53,000 pounds of vehicle is doing 70 MPH without anyone driving it. Yep I'm a bit of a troglodyte about all this self-driving stuff.