How's your V50? What options? T5? Problems?

 

i too, am looking into the V50... my Audi S4 was just hit this weekend ($9,000 in est damages). once it's fixed, it won't be the same car again.
how does $31,500 (without taxes) for a fully loaded V50 sound? the car has all the options except Nav and Dynamic Trim.

 

I have a new V50 T5 AWD. Only 1600 Km on it. A few little things:
- A brake groan at slow speed from right front wheel
- The message center flashes that there is a low beam bulb out when the headlight switch is set to off but goes away when the lights are on. I leave them on all the time anyway.

Does anyone know how to adjust the foglights?

 

I have a v50(not a turbo) and around 4000miles the brakes started groaning, only in reverse, but they got LOUD as hell. I had the dealership replace the two front pads and discs, now no sound at all. Other than that the car is great and i want to look into getting a chip for it after a new exhaust. I'm not sure though if a chip can only be installed on a turbo or any car? Looking for new V50 posts!

 

to answer shauntos, i just bought a chip for my t5 from evolve.. they do sell chips, however, for the non turbo ver.

as for my v50, it drinks gas.. i get about 12.8L/100 km.. not too impressed with that.. however the mileage did improve when i started to drive with the traction control off.. other than that, i love it.. had it for two months now!

 

Got mine for 26K w/o leather, but w/sport pkg, rack. wait till most 06s are gone

 

Good. Not the reliability of Honda/Toyota, but great MPG, performance, and space. Only issue so far is cupping of the tires (Michelin) @ 20K will need to replace by 25K

 

I just got my V50 a week ago and I've already put a thousand miles on it. I drive a lot for a living so I'm hoping this thing will last at least 150,000 miles.

I've got the regular 2.4 with leather and the premium sound that doesn't sound that great to tell the truth. I'm having a navigation unit installed at the dealer next week. I hope that works out since an aftermarket audio store told me that it couldn't be done.

Anyway, the car's handling reminds me of my old 1995 525 bmw. The ride is not too stiff but handles corners well. The seats are very comfortable and the ride is very quiet. So far so good.

Jack

 

My wife bought an 07 V50 (nonturbo) in early November. No issues so far, and she loves it. I agree with Jackmc, the premium sound system doesn't sound all that good. Bass is way overboosted. I fiddled with the equalizer and took out a lot of the bass, and it has a more natural sound, but still nowhere near high fidelity. Other than that, the V50 is a great car, especially with the sport package. The 17-inch tires are noisy on a few roads, but the ride/handling compromise is ideal.

 

What parts did you have to replace that it cost you 9000?

 

That's a shame - do you recommend getting the basic stereo and upgrading with 3rd party unit, rather than the "premium" option?

 

This is my first Volvo.I've been and still am an avid BMW fan but decided to mix it up a bit. I am loving the V50 so far. I bought my 2007 V50 T5new last summerand have since drivenit 15Kmi. No issues what so ever. It feels like a solidly built car. Fuel economy isn't as good as I had hoped but other than that, the V50 has met all of my expectations and more. Ergonomics are excellent. Everthing is where it should be.

I love the fact that this car is understated and low key. Overall, I think the V50 is a very attractive car but doesn't draw too much attention to itself. On the inside, although nice, the interior could do with a bit more flash and luxury.

For being a front wheel drive car, it handles fairly well. Understeer is kepted to a minimum. Ride and handling balance is pretty good and is similar to a Merc C-class. Overall, its not quite as sharp of a drive as the BMW 3-series but then again, not too many cars are.Its overall driving dynamics make it an excellent freeway car and long distance cruiser. I've taken several trips to Northern Cal with it and thought it performed flawlessly.

I'm becoming a Volvo fan.

 

We decided to get the V50 and have had it for three months now. I would agree with you that the driving ergonomics are very good: switches are way they should be.

However, the lay out of the radio control panel could be better. Buttons are not colour segmented not grouped well enough - so it takes more time than it should to look there and change something while driving.

More over the storage provisions are extremely poor in both front and back of cabin. The door pockets can barely handle a mobile phone, the glove compartment is far too low, narrow and deep, and there isnt really any storage in the back.

These things for me are more important than flash, even in a car of this range and Volvo has fallen short here.

No regrets on the purchase so far. Overall the car drives well, but is let down by these issues.

 

2007 V50 2.4i with select and sports package, also Sirius Satellite Radio. After 11,000 miles, car is running smoother than ever. I changed oil to synthetic at 3000 miles, 7500 mile service, then tire rotation and oil change at 11000 miles. I use Mobil 1 Synthetic 1030. Only had one problem with the radio, sometimes no sound while driving. I took it to Phillips Volvo, Hampton and they replaced the sound module. Since then no more sound problems. At next scheduled service at 15000 miles, I will have them look fixa rattling noise in the right side mirror. I left a can of mountain dew inside the car on a hot 95 degree day. It exploded all over the car, like what would happen to an egg in the microwave. The interior was sticky. I paid 100 dollars for a professional interior detail at Flagstop Car wash, Colonial Heights, VA. The seats were back to normal, but a few spots are still left on the roof. The t-tec seats were easy to clean. Most of the compliments I receive are ofcourse the waterfall console and the black t-tec seats with white stitching. People love the feel and looks of the seat. I love most the handling with sports package. I don't brake for curves or turns. Car handles hard turns like a champ and people forget its a wagon that they are in. My only regret is that I didn't get the keyless drive option. That would have made life easier. This is my first Volvo, and i am Volvo for life.

 

i have a 2008 2.4i v50 with select... im not sure if i got the sports package, but i do have leather interior & 17in rims that, as far as i know, are avail as an r-series option only. also the bottom rocker is color matched to the car (silver) - i have less than 2500miles on it and i love it so far.. however i have a few gripes:

1. when in idle the car shakes a bit.. its noticeable b/c the sun visor above me actually vibrates against the roof...
2. the door handles feel cheap
3. sirius satellite sounds worse than FM
4. i have a door rattle in the passenger side
5. the storage around the cupholders is useless, there are 2 small containers that can maybe hold 5 coins..

i had a pretty major issue with the power steering completely locking up the car (but that auto-magically went away)

this is my first non-japanese car and i'm concerned about reliability, but the drive is awesome. i wanted the t5 but when i saw this one i couldnt resist.. i paid $1800 under invoice.

mileage is 19-25 for me so far. i also like the configuration with the seats laid down... i have a young child and a dog so it works perfect for me...

 

First off.. Im a Toyota master technician, and this is my first volvo. 05 V50 T5 fwd. As far as options Volvo dosent have set trim packages. A T5 has standard trim of coures but it doesnt mean that your get leather and , or other small trim details. Some come with more than others, kinda weird. Ive had mine for about a month now, there are some problems! I dont like the dealer support at all. Volvo has what it called a ajustment period for warrenty? Mine is still under factory warrenty but it doesnt cover certain things.. such as the radio ***** that are pealing, and door handles that stick. I dont understand. Toyota will bend over backwards to make you happy. Volvo doesnt care! Wondering if I should have stayed with my own kind?? But I did pick this one up for about the price of a corolla, and this car is far better in everyway! Love the power!!

 

I've had a 2007 V50 T5 FWD for about 20 months now. Not a single repair problem to date. I have all packages and options except for the sport package. I didn't want the sport suspension, which was too stiff and harsh-riding for my tastes. Only regret is that I got the optional dealer-installed subwoofer for the Dynaudio sound system and found that the subwoofer was largely useless. The bass in the Dynaudio system is more than adequate and the subwoofer adds virtually nothing more in the way of low-end response. Outside of that, I haven't a single complaint about this wagon. Gas mileage is 31 highway and about 27 mixed highway and local, which is just about what I expected based on pre-purchase research. It's a shame that Volvo has discontinued the T5 FWD model for 2009 in the American market, although it is still available in the European market.

 

I love my V50!! No real problems to think of? I do go to the dealer and try to get all I can while its still under warrenty. But I am a tech. Just little trim problems here and there. My radio ***** were peeling, rear hatch molding deformed. Had the headlights replaced due to some inside hazeing. But I live in Florida and the daytime running lights do put alot of heat in them. Had a key problem, they replaced the module that reads the keys. By the way the dealer calls the keys themselves "half a grand keys" $500.00 to replace!

 

I bought my V50 in December of '07,2007 MY,used with 25000 kms on it. It is the 2.4i with the auto trans. As of today I have had just over 19000 kms of trouble free driving. The looks of the car is it what sold me on the V50 in the first place and the cars performance so far has confirmed that I made a good decision. No mechanical or warranty issues, gas mileage has been a bit better than I expected, and the looks inside and out have not gotten old. I replaced the factory Continentals with Nokians at 36000 kms, the original tires never seem to last very long. So far I have used the dealer here in Calgary for my scheduled maintenaces and have come away impressed with their service department. This is my first Volvo so long termreliability is still a bit of a concern, but so far so good. If any forum members can post any trouble spots to watch for with the 50 it would be greatly appreciated.

 

In the interests of full disclosure, I should probably state that I am a lifelong audiophile with a home full of high-end audio and video equipment. That having been said, I guess it is fair enough to state that bass response in audio systems is probably a function of both source material and personal taste. I listen mostly to classical music and acoustic jazz. Those whose musical tastes run to heavily processed electronic source material, such as most rock and pop music, might well find the bass response excessive.

I also have a 2007 V50 with Premium sound and found the bass response good enough for a car audio system. I added a dealer-installed subwoofer and found it largely useless. Seven months later, I took delivery of a 2008 S40 with Dynaudio (the digital audio system which replaced the 2007 Premium analog system) and found the bass response to be inferior to that in my V50 and quite disappointing. I wrote Dynaudio, the Danish firm that developed and licensed this technology to Volvo, about this issue and got back both a reply from Dynaudio (in Danish, which I will spare you) and a very informative and interesting reply from Volvo which I would like to share with those concerned about such issues:

"Thank you for your email below of 19 January, which was forwarded to Volvo Car Corporation by Dynaudio and then to our technical experts in this area, who have asked us to assist with a response.

We sincerely regret to hear of your disappointment with the sound and would like to at least partially explain why you may have experienced a negative change.

After receiving customer complaints about exaggerated base reproduction, new sound settings were introduced, with less response in the lower frequency area. Naturally this could be experienced as negative by some customers and we regret that this is so. However, please be assured that our engineers are constantly striving to find the ultimate sound experience and are most grateful for your comments, which have been presented to the relevant technical development departments, who have taken your views most seriously.

We recommend that you stay in close contact with your Volvo dealer, in the event that there may be future software upgrades which could help rectify the problems you have experienced with the bass reproduction."