Thinking of pulling the trigger on a 2016 V60. It is a beautiful car. Drives nice, love the car. Only question is if anyone knows-has any experience with reliability & or above average maintenance costs? Or other thoughts. I believe the V60 is basically the same car as the S60. Consumer Reports rates the reliability as slightly below average.

I currently have a 2001 Subaru Outback with 300k on it. I am not joking when I say the check engine light has been on for 4 years, it leaks oil, smokes from the oil leak. But I have done nothing to it in years and it just keeps going & going & going. I have had to pay practically $0 beyond oil changes etc. I might be a little overly concerned about the V60 but I am leery of getting a $1000 software update or some other silly part costs.

Thanks In Advance!!!!

 

45,000 miles on our V60 and the only thing that's happened is that the screen had to be replaced under warranty. It did have the recall for the plugs done but only as a precaution.

 

My 2015.5 V60 (for all intents and purposes the same as a 2016) was purchased about a year ago with about 44K miles on the clock - fortunately as a CPO used car. The 50K service reminder came up at about 48K. I took it in and asked that the Stop/Start function be looked at - it never came up as "available" The culprit was weak battery that was replaced under warranty. About a month later the car refused to start - even with a jumper. It took the dealer 3 weeks to sort out what eventually proven to be a faulty starter/circuit. A lot of this time was spent waiting for parts to arrive to see if they would "fix" the problem. In other words, despite all the computer aids and mechanics now called $150/hour/"technicians" no one had the skill, experience or insight to diagnose the problem from first principals but had to resort to the usual "throw parts at it until something sticks" routine. A month later, during a very cold spell when the car was used only for short trips, the battery went flat again. This time a jump start revived it and it has been fine since. I love the way the car drives but I don't know if I'll ever trust it completely.

It is, compared to your present car, a far more complex device. The old adage that if you have fuel and spark it will run no longer applies. Add to that the probability that most "technicians" these days could probably not think their way through a disassembled lawn mower engine forces me to the conclusion that the benign neglect that you describe would have unfortunate consequences.

 

Pretorien thanks for your reply. I'm sure all new-newer cars today suffer from the same type of over-technicalization (if that's a word). But that sure sounds like it would be expensive if it wasn't under warranty.

 

Two idiosyncrasies - no spare tire (I'm in the process of rectifying that) and no dip stick - just an electronic read-out (it works, I think - no way to check it) The latter really bugs me. You can learn a lot by seeing the oil beyond just the fill level. How much can it cost to bore a hole in the crankcase and supply a dipstick?

 

I thought the lack of a spare was really weird as well. I live in a coastal-rural California where there are 20-40 mile stretches with no services. Would be weird to not have a spare.

I think the other thing to consider is that the current version of the V60 hasn't been around that long, therefore the reliability ratings could change with time. Our other car is a Prius and, while it has been a great commuter car, very reliable, great on gas, maintenance has been fine, there's just absolutely nothing exciting about the car, I mean nothing.

 

I wasn't thrilled with the lack of a spare tire and that can of compressed air and the fix kit might not get the job done.

We've only had our 2016 V60 for about 7 weeks and we do love it. Fun to drive, comfortable, etc. The only thing was that I thought my MPG would be a bit better. IF this car is as reliable as our V50 and S60 was I will be very very happy. I guess time will tell????

 

I purchased a V60from new in March 2017. Within two weeks of getting it the DAB radio come up with Xxxxxxx's instead of the radio stations, it failed to start and had to have a software system shutdown/start up outside my house by Volvo repair man.
Then I had a strange metallic noise coming from the OS front wheel - service dept was not interested as they couldn't hear it when they listened - 6 months later they dropped the front axle and replaced the king pin. The PTT stopped working - replaced. When I pushed the rear wash button the water would enter the passenger footwell.
Today I noticed a wheel wobble when braking - ? why.
Nice driving car, extremely expensive for what it is and unreliable.

 

you didn't mention how many miles on your car. Re the wheel wobble, this can be glazing or wear on the pads/rotors or warping on the rotor. Newer cars balance the front/rear braking a bit different from older models so don't assume its the fronts - I've seen rear rotors glaze up causing a faint pulsing on braking.

 

Hi ya, the mileage is 19,000 (today) when wheel wobble began. Its under service plan but Volvo have said that they may charge me to look at it. To which i replied "its either covered or it isn't. As you can tell from my tone Im really not happy about the grey area. I don't have the money to let them look at it with the possibility that they would turn around after inspection and charge me £100s of pound for the privilege of telling me theres something wrong when I was told everything is concerned on the contract except tyres and such like.
Sorry, Im ranting .

 

I'm trying to figure out what they replaced. I haven't heard of a king pin on a car for a looooong time. Maybe the bigger trucks, pickup etc. may have them. Did they mean ball joint? Do these cars have a king pin?

If it is a ball joint going bad at 19,000 miles to me that would be an anomaly. If it were in a lot of cars I would think it would be a sticky note on forums. Maybe it is and I haven't seen it.

Did they need to replace the radio and if so was it a covered event.

I just come off of owning a 2015 low mileage outback limited certified car and in the 6 months I owned it I had a lot of software issues, radio issues, driving issues. The issues became apparent almost immediate the day after I bought it. I sure hope my 2016 V60 is as solid as all my other Volvo's.

Wobble when braking? Unless the shop messed up the alignment I would bet you have a disc warped. Two things about disc warp: First is if the tire was torqued too high and it pulled them; two getting those discs hot and hitting a lot of water like a deep puddle. Well another could cause the wobble and that could be a sticking caliper but at 19,000 miles to me it would be highly unlikely.

 

Just returned from a 2 day, 600 mile round trip. 90% on expressway/Interstate roads where the "consensus" speed was 75-80+ mph. The car delivered a steady 35 mpg at those speeds equivalent to more than 600 miles/tankful. There is plenty of "punch" available for sudden avoidance maneuvers when needed. The adaptive cruise control worked well but I'm still on the learning curve. With a warning, it disengaged several times on rough patches in the road - not a problem but I wonder what the programming is.

 

I can't wait to give it a try on the highway. Around town after a tankful my average MPH is about 18 and I get a MPG of the mid 17 teens. The outback I was driving going through the same driving mode gave me about 18. But there is no comparison for driving, comfort, etc. The Volvo wins. Plus the Volvo doesn't have a CVT transmission.

Do you have the 6 speed or 8 speed trans?

 

8 speed and,BTW, the first thing I do on start-up is disable the start/stop function. I haven't carefully looked at my around-town mileage but a "back of the envelope" estimate is around 20 mpg. These are typically very short (< 5 mile) errands in traffic. Of course, given my age (83) and my annual mileage - 5-6K and current mileage - 50K, "long term reliability" probably has a different meaning to me. I will occasionally feel the transmission shifting down when nearing as stop but otherwise, it is seamless. I drive quickly but don't "drag race" up to speed - the old adage - drive as if there were an egg between your foot and the pedal.

 

Now I see why you are getting better MPG. You have the e-drive car or whatever they call it.

We looked at one but the start-stop worried my wife. Even though we also would have turned it off, it is just one of those things that might fail.

I drive about the same as you do.

You are getting better MPG than I do for the same type of driving.

 

I have an "Edrive" button on the dash but have never pushed it. I have driven for more than 65 years and my experience includes competition driving. I did drive a (non turbo) diesel Mercedes for 14 years - it taught me a lot about anticipation and preservation of momentum! On the drive mentioned above the expressway segment was an uninterrupted 240 miles. I touched the brakes 3 times - once at a rest stop and twice for traffic jams.

 

Forty years ago I drovea van for a living in SF. It was my van, I was a 1099 guy, I paid for upkeep, gas, etc. I also learned to anticipate and I've not been one of those people even though the light is red, they fly by hitting their brakes. Me I'm letting the engine brake anticipating the light changing so I don't have to stop. On the freeway I look ahead (FAR AHEAD) to know which lane to be in so that I don't have to be stopped in the lane that has a line of stopped cars. Often I wonder what the heck are people looking at, they fly up to that stopped traffic and then put their signal on crying....please leave me in? On a city street, everyone was getting over because we could see that there was an ambulance in the curb lane ahead. Except for the one car. That car ran the entire way up to the ambulance who had its rear doors opened, lights flashing and then they cried to let them over.

So I do drive like there is an egg under the pedal. I think the 8 speed gives the extra MPG.

When I moved to this area in 1986 it was area that was rural farm land, stop signs here and there. The boom hit and we became a bedroom community for Baltimore MD and now it is traffic everywhere, stop lights galore and I could probably run faster than my car. A developer bought the 5 acres of land that adjoins my property and clear cut 4 acres of mature woods. It was the woods that gave us privacy and comfort. Since the wooded area is gone, there isn't much holding us here and we are looking for a place less crowded. Sometimes it is a shame when you see what progress does. My harmony and quiet enjoyment of my home is gone.

 

Interesting - also in the Baltimore area - Cockeysville - can sympathize about traffic (I have often thought that Baltimore is an overgrown small town trying to give the impression of being a big city by deliberately fouling up traffic management to create agonizing rush hours)

 

Agree 100%, they really mucked up the Cockeysville area.

Have you ever gone to eat at Michaels in Timonium (good crabcakes).

I live about 35 minutes to the north of Cockeysville and have lived in this house for a total of 55 years. It is a mature neighborhood and people don't leave. Well they leave but it is usually on a horizontal basis.

On my road of @11 houses, three neighbors commute into downtown Baltimore everyday. I can't imagine dealing with a 695 commute everyday.

Then there is an old farmhouse, with an extra house with some non-farmed land plus an extra house on the property. A speculator bought the land and the houses. The houses have been boarded up for years. There was a time I never could have imagined a day that I would see boarded up houses on my lane. Another piece of land with a REALLY nice house was bought by speculators. They smashed down the home. Now there are times the homeless sneak onto the property. Progress???

I always thought some crazy person engineered #83 where it is entering Baltimore. Those curves are fun but also dangerous during heavy traffic. Why have so many, many people lost the ability to keep their vehicle inside the lines?

 

I just purchased a 2016 certified with 29,700 miles. Since we are planning on keeping this car long term I bought an extended warranty that continues after the 5 year unlimited. I got the 9 year unlimited miles platinum zero deductible for peace of mind.