My daughters 99 S70 T5 turbo quit on her tonight in a QuikTrip parking lot. It will start and run smooth for 3-5 seconds, then stall. It feels like it runs out of gas. I put a couple gallons in just to make sure that wasnt it. Before I have it towed I want to try to get it running. I have spent the past hour Googeling and came up with 3 possibilities that I might be able to fix on the spot. Here is what I found: Fuel pump relay, antenna ring, MAF. The cool thing is, there are 2 junkyards within 3 miles of the QT. I should be able to get a relay and probably antenna ring at the junkyard, and I can take the MAF off and clean it pretty easily. Am I on the right track here? Is there anything else to look at before I have it towed to the shop? I didnt check for any codes, and the QT is about 12 miles away, so I wont be going back till morning. On the way to rescue her, I was thinking the timing belt broke. UPS just brought me a timing belt kit today and I planned on changing it tomorrow. Thank God the belt is not broke!! Anyway, all help is greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks to all who have posted info on this problem. I was able to narrow the problem down and get the car running for $6.13. I went to the Pull-A-Part down the street from where the car broke down and pulled 2 103 relays and 2 antenna rings. The easiest fix was the relay so I started with that. The car started right up, I drove it a little bit, and it is running fine now. I have an extra relay for the next time it happens ( I read it's a common problem), and 2 antenna rings just in case. This is my first Volvo and like most say, it's a love/hate relationship. I love that it's not your everyday Honda or Toyota, but hate that I am starting to worry about my 16 year old daughter driving it. But, as a plus, I am now holder of a VIP card from Pull-A-Part because of this car !

 

Glad the relay helped. I guess the start gives it pressure past the relay for a few seconds, then the relay has to keep it going (failure).

The pull-a-part tried to get me to get a VIP pass but they rearely have Volvo's. There were 2 Volvo indi's in the area that usually got them from the auctions. One is now closed and the other doesn't let you cruise the lot. She just uses the parts to fix people's car so that's no fun. She will sell you a part at 50 to 75 cents on the dollar which is a real rip. The nice yard closed down, retired. Sold everthing. There were about 75 Volvo's on that yard. I got all I could handle before he closed.

I got my daughter a S70 GLT when she graduated. I've done a few things on it but not much. She's in college now and loves her car a lot, no hate there, nor from me. Her car looks great and sometimes I'll pop her phone (GPS) to see where she is and one day I found her at Bama, a 6-1/2 hour drive. She doesn't hesitate taking road trips with it and her running buddies. I think her car has about 155,000 on it. We've had it 2-1/2 years now and so far I have replaced the PCV system, oil cooler line to the turbo / radiator, t-belt, cam seals, plugs, wires, distrubitor, fuel filter, struts, shocks, brakes, tires, and upgraded her radio. She had a battery put in it. Never had a no start other than the battery. I guess we've put about $1,000 in parts so far. I need to replace a tie rod end and maybe a strut seat, have to find the notes from the alignment shop. I don't think that's to bad for a 14 year old car. I'm glad I could do the work myself. It should be good for a few years.

I drove it to Pittsburgh once and may have broken a record from Louisville to Nashville, there was NO ONE on the road. That T-5 is probably to fast of a car for a 16 year old. One day I pulled the GPS out of my daughter's car and checked the top speed and gasped for air. I personally had never driven that fast so I let her know that she would be dropped from my insurance if she ever got a speeding ticket. I recently gave her my Escort radar detector because I just have not been driving fast and I don't want her to get stopped doing 75 in a 65.

Hope the car doesn't give you guys any more trouble. You can get some good info from the 850 section. Try to get the car to stage 0 and keep the oil changed. I use synthetic since it's turbo.

 

The Pull-A Part has saved me a lot of money, mainly on interior parts such as switches, power seat control, bulbs, fuses, door parts, lock actuators, owners manual, etc. There are a couple 98 S70s that are pretty picked over, a couple 850s, a V70. It's worth it for me to go there for certain parts as it is on my way home from work. Sometimes I put a small part on the counter and they might say something like "is that it?" and wave me on, no charge. They charge $2 to enter the yard but now that I am VIP status, it's $1. They gave me the VIP card, it didn't cost me anything. I enjoy the thrill of the hunt, not knowing what I might find. It helps in a situation like the one I had today, that I wasn't sure the problem, so I got 2 relays and 2 antenna rings for diagnostic (and repair) purpose. For $6 I was pretty sure I was going to get the car running. A new relay can run $40-60. There is another yard about a mile down the road that has a couple Volvos. I found a receipt in a S70 that the struts had been replaced 1.5 yrs ago at a cost of $1,200. I took the fronts at $35 each and will probably go get the rears soon. I kinda enjoy working on the car, it is pretty simple to work on. I am just starting to wonder about the reliability of it as I have been reading alot about problems they all seem to go through. But, I guess this is exactly why this forum is here and I sure do appreciate everyone on it!

 

Well, the good thing is, most cars are buired at 14 years while these are going strong with a few hitches here and there. Fixing these cars is a heck of a lot cheaper than car notes. The $1,000 we spent in 2-1/2 years is nothing compared to a few car notes at $400+ per month. Another good thing is that these cars still ride and look good compared to other 14 year old cars. My calculations come to about $75 per month if you use the shops, that includes maintenance and repairs. If you can do the work yourself, that drives the cost way down. Other cars would need just as much work but would be 1/2 as nice. Most other cars are a constant drain when they get this age and the motors and tranny's are near or past dead.

You'll find a lot of things here because so many of these cars are still on the road. The only thing I would worry about with your car is the throttle control.

People think our S70 is an '04. It rides real comfortable and is should go another 3 years before it needs anything else done to it. Glad you found help here.

 

My 99 S70 T5 rocks.
Its still a good looking car, fast and fun to drive.
Very safe for my kid and wife and I as everyone here enjoy learning how to work on it.
Wish I had a pick a part close by..
Theres one about 2 hrs from here, but does guys sell higher than new parts ordered by mail..

Still need a couple things to do to the car to have it top shape (swaybar, upper dash, fog light grill, get rid of all the fake wook stuff..etc)

 

Elchopperfreak, I see you have a '68 Schwinn Racer on your signature. I'm a bike guy because I can't afford to be a car guy. I take donated bikes and refurbish them and give them to needy kids, and sometimes adults. I have a generous neighborhood that gives me a few bikes a month via an ad in our neighborhood newsletter. I raced mountain bikes until a couple years ago and still ride (mostly road bike now) when I can.
Anyway, I have a '68 Schwinn Sting-Ray 3 speed Stik-Shift that I refinished in campus green with all new decals, a '70 Racer 3-speed that I had powdercoated gloss black, all new decals, chrome fenders, chrome light with generator, rack on back. The Racer turns heads wherever I ride it. My daughter rides a 3-speed '70 Breeze that came with my Racer ($100 for both bikes). I have a '78 Centurion Super LeMans 10 speed with bar end shifters, repainted white with black lettering and have a '75 Schwinn Suburban 10 speed that I paid $30 for, sitting in a box and am hoping to get the frame painted in the next couple weeks. Ken Caruso | Facebook
You can check out the bikes in this link.
Doing a timing belt/waterpump on the S70 today. I've never done one before. Pray for me!
Ken