Today I had to pay $4800 for my car repairs. New air condition, radiator and then new tires. Alignment was off.

Can anyone tell me what other problems that I should expect in the future? Also, interested in advice for keeping her running a long time.

I need to get the transmission flushed. I suppose that I need to be prepared for upcoming expenses. I love the car and don’t want to buy a new one. Up to this point, I have not had any issues.

It’s a 2012 XC 60 T6. 133,000 miles.

 

no crystal ball option on what problems may come up in the future. The only thing you can do is stick to a maintenance schedule and have your shop do an inspection with each scheduled servicing. PS - this is where dealer maintenance earns their higher prices since they typically do the inspections for you. If you haven't been keeping up with the full factory maintenance, then you can start now but any wear has already been done and you can't reverse that...

So, if you don't have a full maintenance history and haven't been sticking to a factory service regiment, you should start with the fluids:

Transmissions - most don't have a stated service interval but I am in the flush every 100K miles camp so if you're original fluid, do a flush or a set of drain/fills. Note that on the newer 6 speed transmissions, the fluid level is not set by a dipstick, its set by an overflow tube when the transmission is at a set temperature (requires a scan tool like VIDA that can read the transmission temperature sensor).

Cooling system - I've seen recommendations to do a drain, distilled water flush, fill that range from every 2 up to 5 years. You should also consider replacing the thermostat and overflow reservoir cap as part of this service

Power steering fluid - Not sure of your cars set up but on my other cars I do a turkey baster drain/fill. I suck out as much of the fluid from the reservoir as I can, fill with fresh make/model appropriate fluid, start the car and turn lock to lock 3-4 times then repeat. After about 3 or 4 cycles you will have consumed about a quart and the car will be 90% fresh fluid.

Brakes - Brake fluid does retain moisture so its a good idea to do a brake fluid flush periodically. This can help avoid corrosion inside the calipers which will turn into fluid leaks. I'd say if you've never had it done or you're past 2 or 3 years, you're due. I think Volvo recommends 2 years or 37.5K miles...

Oil - Everybody knows to change their oil, but you should pay attention to the viscosity and factory spec ratings. Your car probably uses full synthetic so check the owners manual to see the recommendations on the correct weight for your engine and API standards. Most premium oils have a "Euro" product that meets those specs. For example, I use Castrol Edge which I buy at Walmart.

Now onto bigger stuff.

1) Timing belt interval - Good news is your T6 has a timing chain so there's nothing to service. You should check the serpentine (aka drive or accessory belts) for any signs of wear, slipping noise (particularly on a cold wet morning) etc and have the belt replaced as needed and inspect the idlers/tensioner and accessory pulleys.

2) PCV system - On newer generation cars, replacing the oil separator is much easier to do than older cars but you can have the car's crank case pressure tested from time to time (google/ check youtube how to do the surgeon's glove test), particularly if you hear a whistling noise or if you pull the dip stick with the engine running and see some smoke vent out)

3) Axles - as part of the servicing an underside inspection should look to make sure the axle boots are intact and not leaking any grease (which can ruin the CV joint) The tech should also look at all rubber bushings in the suspension/ check for play in the ball joints, control arms, sway bars etc when the car is on a lift. These are wear items and should be serviced as needed before a worn part leads to wearing out other parts.

4) brakes - pay attention to sounds and braking feel - any pulsing in the pedal, vibrations in the steering wheel, pulling to a side should be checked out by a shop. Pads can last anywhere from 25K to 100K miles but do need to be inspected on a regular basis - if you see grooves or irregularities in the rotor surfaces, have the brakes checked out.

5) tires - Depending on where you drive, tires should be checked regularly for wear. If the tires seem noisy to you, then that's a sign of some uneven wear, most likely due to a wheel alignment or a tire balancing issue. I put snows on my cars so I usually do an alignment every changeover - ie 2x a year. Tires can be rotated every 5K or so miles. The owners manual may recommend a pattern, usually I do front/rear keeping tires on the same side. If your tires seem noisy, try swapping fronts to rear to see if that helps.

 

Thanks for all the great advice. Cool will print this.