we just got a call from the shop working on my husbands s70, they wanted to replace the original timing belt. the car has 115 miles on it, we had the 105 service done and paid for the timing belt to be replaced, apparently they did not do the job. the dealer has agreed to take a look at it tomorrow to see if maybe there has just been a lot of wear and tear on it in the last 10k miles(they are kidding right).
we stopped taking our cars to the dealers ever since they were not doing the work they said they were doing.
is there any way a well serviced car can need a new belt after 10k ?
the service rep got an attitude when i said if they look at the belt and determine its the original i want the money back. i told her i can't trust them to do the work and want it done at the shop we now go to.

 

Take a look at this thread from Tech. It will help you tommorow, to see who is telling the truth.

https://volvoforums.com/m_81256/tm.htm

 

10k miles for a new timing belt seems highly unlikely (in my non-expert opinion). They should last between 60-100K depending on the type. If it looks like the belts in tech's post that Eric referenced, I'd guess that they lied about changing it the first time. At the very least, they should have some sort of warranty on the belt and a record that they just changed it 10k miles ago. If they say it needs changing, I'd fight for some compensation (either money back from previous service or free replacement).

 

No way it should be worn out in 10K

 

I have trouble believing that a Volvo dealership would lie about changing a timing belt. I can see them changing one that didn't need changed, but to out and out say the did it when they didn't is hard to believe. Especially if the car has 105K on it and has the original timing belt. If they did that, my next call would be to the Better Busines Bureau.

 

my husband just returned from the volvo dealership to have the belt examined. the service manager looked at the belt and said no way is there any wear on the belt, its new and why would someone say otherwise. we are not experts in this area and don't know what to expect it to look like. why would an independent well known shop lie to us just to make a small sale?

 

Check out the link posted above.
There is picks of what a old belt looks like.

 

A good practice when having your car repaired is to ask for the old parts back, But do that when you bring the car in or approve work, Not after the work has been performed.The service depts that I managed returned old parts to the customer as a policy.

Of course a shop can just pull an old timing belt out of a trashcan and say it
is yours, but when you ask for your old parts back it just lets them know you are paying attention.

 

my husband is going to bring his car in to the shop that said he needed a new timing belt. he is going to ask them to show him the belt and explain why they would recommend replacing when volvo said its new. we just don't know who to believe and don't want to get stuck with a broken belt. in the past we have had a few volvo dealers that have been less than honest with their repairs.
several months ago i had some issues with my car and took it to the same shop, they told me there was no way the transmission oil had ever been changed, they had to flush the fluid and it was an expensive job when the fluid should have been fairly clean.
if we find the belt is fine, should we contact the BBB?

 

It's hard to say at this point. I would tend to side with the Volvo dealer as they have no reason to rip off the puplic at the expence of their reputation.

 

I would think that any shop that saw a Volvo with over 100K on it with the original timing belt is going to change it. I think your husband it doing the right thing in making the independent shop show him why they say the belt needs to be changed. Watch them say the belt has been changed since we last saw the car. In essence they would say the dealer changed it when you took it back to them to have it inpsected. Then you still would not know who to believe.

 

JimKW, that is what i am thinking the shop will say. my husband watched the volvo dealer as he opened the hood and looked at the belt, so we know that the dealer was not doing a quick replacement to cover their butts. i will be very interested in seeing what the guy tomorrow has to say.
the guy at the shop said the belt was in terrible condition and not sure if my husband should be driving the car for any type of long distance driving without replacing. he also told me that my transmission fluid was the dirtiest he had ever seen and there was no way it had ever been changed, this makes me believe they are not being honest with us.

 

Could we be confusing the serpentine belt with the timing belt?

1st post: “they wanted to replace the original timing belt. the car has 115 miles on it, we had the 105 service done and paid for the timing belt to be replaced,�

2nd post: “why would an independent well known shop lie to us just to make a small sale?�

3rd post: “my husband watched the volvo dealer as he opened the hood and looked at the belt,�

It would make quite a difference.

 

no confusion over the belts. the serpintine belt was replaced by volvo and looks fine. it is the timing belt that we are having the issue with.
We have had 5 volvos prior to these 2, we have never had these problems before.