My 98 s70 volvo has an issue with the locks. Whether it be with my key or selecting the unlock button the doors do not always open. Is this an easy fix and if so what is the price for the parts I may need to fix this.

 

HI jumping in too. My 98 V70 does the samething. Some doors will unlock some wont - very random. Sometimes none unlock with the key fob and have to do it manually. Anyone have ideas on this one?

 

I researched this for my 00 S70. It turns out the door lock is part of the door latch, and it gets really sticky as water enters the system (from car washes, rain, etc). The downside is that the latches are very expensive, even from sellers like RockAuto. For me, it's $150 a pop for the front doors, and about $100 for the rear doors.

It might be something else, but this is highly likely.

 

Does it work with the key (at least the drivers door)? On our S70, you have to do the key twice to get all of the doors to unlock. They should all lock the 1st turn of the key.

As for the key fob, do you have new batteries? If so, you should try to put the remote to your chin to see if that helps. If it does, you have to hold it right. If that doesn't help, you likely have a bad control panel cluster at your drivers door. That is probably the case if you try with the switch on the door and it doesn't work.

The thing about it is that switch cluster is in the door and is prone to get wet when it rains w/window down. Also some of these switches get some kind of carbon build up in them and stop working properly. In any event, most people just replace the switch cluster and that fixes all of their problems. You can wait for someone else to chime in, I am just telling you things I have read around here.
http://www.ipdusa.com/Volvo-S70V70-1...-128-370-3028/

 

My S70 had a drivers door work intermittently with the fob or the door switch but fine w/the key (makes sense - that's mechanical) Some study lead me to believe that the door lock (which is the mechanical and electric actuator together) go out eventually. The fix is rather lengthy and doesn't look confidence inspiring to me. I found a NIB unit on ebay for 90 w/shipping included, but the price is all over the place for these things. I would suggest caution if contemplating a used unit- it's most likely on life support already.

 

Me too. Key fob broke a long time ago. Manual key operation works for driver's door, but only intermittently when second-turning for passenger doors. This problem is the worst when it's hot outside, so the moisture connection makes sense. For now, we'll just keep stre-e-e-etching back to unlock it manually, too expensive to fix for real.

 

I think it has to do with weather/water..

When it really hot and my car has been sitting and i try to unlock the doors the latches stick and wont come up but like at night and the car is cooled down it tends to work fine.. so the post about them getting sticky seems to be right to me..

have not taken the door apart to look yet but if/when i do i will post what i find.

 

Mine used to have remote problem with the driver door only. It only worked intermittently. Then, all of 5 locks (including trunk) went bad about at the same time. They worked only once and then it took a while for them to work again. So, when I open a door by remote, I have to wait a couple of hours to open/close the door. Remote battery was new btw. Now, none of them is working what so ever. However, all the locks works fine by the key and the master switch on the driver door.

 

I find the heat/moisture problem to be the likely culprit. I have had two now with the same problem. I just live with it since I love the car.

 

yeah, my front door locks are both sporadic in when they work. Thankfully, they work more than they don't work. The rear locks always work, so rather than use the key, just just open the backdoor first and then reach in and unlock the front.

I will pay more attention and see if the time of day seems to make a difference.

 

I see a lot about this problem, has anyone had a real solution? Our S70 is not locking and unlocking properly.

 

Yeah... this is a common problem. Unfortunately, no one has redesigned the mechanism to make them more robust. I'm dealing with it right now with both left doors. I replaced the latch on the driver's door with a new one when I first bought the car 4 years ago, and it's failing again! I plan on taking one apart this time to see exactly what happens to them. Something seems to either get weak or get sticky, especially when it's hot out. My biggest problem is that I'm an OCD idiot about making sure the car is locked whenever I lock it. This applies to ALL cars, not just the S70, but I always hit the lock button on the key fob multiple times. This, of course, cycles the actuator multiple times, which probably wears it out faster! I need to break that habit.

Anyhow, go to eBay to find the latches. New ones often go for as little as $90. Avoid used ones, simply because the part fails so quickly... unless you can get the used ones for next to nothing. They're actually really simple to replace, and between having fixed my own and countless customers' cars, I can do it in about 10 minutes now.

 

I'm thinking that it may be possible to take them apart and clean & lube them before they totally fail? Has anyone tried that?

 

Well, I pulled the door latch out and left it plugged in so I could see it work. It has a latch that is operated by an electric motor and some plastic gears. What appears to be happening is the motor is not turning the gears enough.

So, I took the motor apart. You should know that this is a sealed unit that is not meant to be opened. I had to break into it. After I got in, I found the motor which just plugs into the wire prongs that operate it. MY GUESS IS that the motor has gotten weaker and weaker over the years and is now to weak to turn the gears enough to make things happen as they should.

Here is a picture. If someone can figure out where to get one of these motors I am willing to buy it and try to install it to see if replacing the motor can make it work.

 

Looks like there may be a permanant cure for the latch unlocking problem.
http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/for...hp?f=1&t=49670

I'm about to try it now.

 

I have a 99 v70 and I have been making do with this intermittent problem. It started when temps over 90, first ds front, then ds passenger, now all will lock with fob (new battery) except the trunk. Since this is a wagon and I keep business supplies in it I am thinking I may need to get it fixed as I have forgotten to lock the trunk manually and my helper thinks the car is unlocked, setting off the alarm. Anyone know how to test if it is just the driver's actuator/lock or each lock?

 

 

I love this guy, he has tons of info and fixes for common problems with Volvo's, specifically the S series and explains things extremely well.