I just brought my XC90 into a major tire store to have my tires balanced and rotated and was told that I need a front brake job. They said that the rotors would also need replacing and could not be turned. That Volvo, BMW, and Mercedes are all designed this way - that by the time they would "turn" the rotors they would be out of spec. My Volvo has under 58K miles and at least half of those miles were due to long-distance traveling. Should I believe this guy and fork out the $500-$600 he said it would cost or move on......Thanks for any advice you may be able to offer from your own experiences.

 

Man, that's your call. Are you sure the brakes are worn? I usually replace rotors when they are warped.

BTW, You posted this question in the S90 section. You may want to move your post.

 

On my 05 T6 XC90, the original rotors with the lip around the perimeter were pretty good. If the rotors are still true, DO NOT HAVE THEM TURNED. Slap in new pads, and enjoy the rotors until they are warped or worn out. I ruined my OEM rotors by having them turned even though they did not need it. I never liked the brown brake dust from the OEM pads, and I didn't want to pay premium for OEM rotors, so I had 4 dimpled and slotted rotors from brake performance.com installed, and I love them. You can hear and feel the dimples when you brake, which I personally think is kind of cool, but may not be for everybody. They look great and the feel of the brakes is excellent. The brakes have squeaked a couple times after getting rained on then sitting and getting rusty. I can't stand squeaky brakes, but it has gone away each time. When I need new pads, I will either buy their premium pads or shop around. If anybody has a replacement pad recommendation, that might help us all. The rotors themselves are still true as can be with zero pulsation. The control feels great when I stop. Front and rear rotors cost $434 shipped to my door in March 2010 with a lifetime warranty against warping and with free pads.

If your Volvo is wearing parts and tires out prematurely, I highly recommend going to a reputable non-Volvo shop and asking them to ignore Volvo's alignment spec, and point all 4 wheels the same direction. Willis Volvo kept aligning the front wheels very pigeon toed and it chewed through 2 sets of tires, 5 tie rod ends, 3 hub bearings, rotors and brakes, etc., etc., etc. I avoided the Volvo dealer, and had Merrill Axle replace the last tie rod end and hub bearing it needed, then align it to a normal spec, and our XC90 drives way better than when it was new and it is no longer chewing through parts and tires. My wife can tell the difference in how it drives and rides, and she is not picky at all about that stuff. 20K on tires and 40K on rotors is totally unsatisfactory to me, but I think I finally solved the root problem because I have 15K on tires (235/60R18 Yokohama Parada Spec-X) and brakes and show hardly any wear on either with the non-Volvo alignment.

Also, next time I get my tires rotated, I am going to put anti-sieze between the hubs and wheels, because the wheels seem to fuse to the hubs and have to be beaten on to get them to release. I suspect this might be leading to some of the hub bearing failures. Good luck.