 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Car Forum / Volvo Cars / April 2005240 to an 850
Been a loyal 240/740 owner for 10 years. Time to move on, does the 850 wagon hold the same reputation for reliability and modest repair costs? I am looking at a 94 with 130K. Thank you > Been a loyal 240/740 owner for 10 years. > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Thank you The 850's, other than the '93 year have been holding up pretty well. They're not as much of an indestructible tank as a 240 but they're more refined and more comfortable, get better fuel economy, definitly more difficult and expensive to work on but not too bad compared to other cars of similar age. > The 850's, other than the '93 year have been holding up pretty well. They're > not as much of an indestructible tank as a 240 but they're more refined and > more comfortable, get better fuel economy, definitly more difficult and > expensive to work on but not too bad compared to other cars of similar age. The best years for the 850 are supposed to be '96 & '97. The main problematic areas are: a) A/C condensor b) ABS controller Another thing that the original poster will have to contend with in switching to an 850 is that the car is not RWD, so handling is quite different, turning circles are wider etc. The 850 also has an interference engine - so routine maintenance must be followed more carefully. Beverly  SignatureMany a smale maketh a grate -- Geoffrey Chaucer We replaced our 1989 240 wagon with a 1996 850 wagon. The 850 is sturdy and has lots of cool features the 240 didn't. It's more comfortable and much better on snow. On the downside, the 850 is very complicated, prone to random (and expensive) failures, and nearly impossible to diagnose. From reading this group, it seems natural to expect to replace your 850 automatic transmission every 50K miles and fix leaks in the air conditioning every spring. I'd rather have a new 240 than a new 850. ----- -RL > Been a loyal 240/740 owner for 10 years. > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Thank you 50K Miles on a tranny??? You must be joking right? Sounds more like the fluid change interval - or has your 850 been eating through its transmissions? I've heard the 93/94s had some tranny issues, but nothing this bad. On the note of A/C systems - our dealer tech commented (be glad you don't have an 850 <we have a 960 wagon> or else you'd see me more often, this is the 2nd or 3rd 960 i've seen in here for an A/C leakage problem.... why they didn't do the A/C systems in a similar way for both cars... who knows - but I remember one summer when at least 30 850's came in with broken A/C's, some under warranty). > We replaced our 1989 240 wagon with a 1996 850 wagon. The 850 is sturdy > and has lots of cool features the 240 didn't. It's more comfortable and [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] >> >> Thank you > 50K Miles on a tranny??? You must be joking right? Sounds more like the > fluid change interval - or has your 850 been eating through its > transmissions? > > I've heard the 93/94s had some tranny issues, but nothing this bad. Yeah some of the 850's were known to eat transmissions, but I'd be shocked if any significant number failed within 50k, even if you beat the crap out of them. Including me, there have been about a dozen posts to this board over the past year with 850 A/T problems, usually with less than 75K miles. The story is always the same: "flashing up-arrow on dashboard - dealer says I need a new $3500 tranny." It seems common enough that it always invokes the same response from the experts on the board "Next time change the fluid every 20Kmiles." This even though Volvo recommends something like 100K miles service interval and some folks recommend never changing it. In my case, the code claimed a failed solenoid valve. I did some snooping around and found that it's designed to be replaced without removing the tranny from the car (there's an access plate), but I couldn't find a mechanic you would attempt it and our local dealer only replaces entire transmissions. As it turns out, I haven't replaced it yet (I don't have $3500 lying about), and I found that it would work for a bit after clearing the codes (so it's probably not flat-out broken). I had the dealer flush the transmission and the problem went away for six months. Now, it re-appears every couple of weeks or so, usually on the highway. I pull off the road, clear the codes, and it's good for another stretch. ----- -RL >> 50K Miles on a tranny??? You must be joking right? Sounds more like the >> fluid change interval - or has your 850 been eating through its [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > if any significant number failed within 50k, even if you beat the crap out > of them. Sounds more like a sensor problem to me. Our 960 had the "upshift arrow" come on, flashing.... It was the gearshift selector switch... Couple hundred bucks for that one... I think it only went off because it was cold outside, but oh well... it's replaced now, good for another 160K Kms ;-). > Including me, there have been about a dozen posts to this board over the > past year with 850 A/T problems, usually with less than 75K miles. The [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] >> out >> of them. "Robert Lutwak" <Lutwak@alum.mit.edu> wrote in message > We replaced our 1989 240 wagon with a 1996 850 wagon. The 850 is sturdy > and has lots of cool features the 240 didn't. It's more comfortable and [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > I'd rather have a new 240 than a new 850. Not me. The 240 was great, but the 850s have been much better and more reliable. Yes, our 93 had the AT go at 145,000 miles, but other than that may '93 and '95 850 were rock solid. I had a 240 with an AT that went at 100,000 miles. I had another 240 with a soft cam which had to be replaced. I have a garage full of old 240 fuel pumps. They were a problem. I always carried a spare in the car. Also, you weren't in a 240 unless you had a heater fan start to scream. The dealer never replaced it because the new ones did it also. Those were the good old days. SignatureCheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA, USA Owned '67,'68,'71,'74,'79,'81,'87,'93,'95 & '01 Volvos. The '67,'74,'79,'87,'95 and '01 through European Delivery. http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman/volvo.html > "Robert Lutwak" <Lutwak@alum.mit.edu> wrote in message > > We replaced our 1989 240 wagon with a 1996 850 wagon. The 850 is sturdy [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > replaced it because the new ones did it also. Those were the good old > days. Not sure how you went through so many fuel pumps, I've never even heard of one failing at less than 150k miles. I've replaced a heater blower once, it didn't die until the car was 17 years old. >> "Robert Lutwak" <Lutwak@alum.mit.edu> wrote in message >> > We replaced our 1989 240 wagon with a 1996 850 wagon. The 850 is sturdy [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] >one failing at less than 150k miles. I've replaced a heater blower once, it >didn't die until the car was 17 years old. Well, I too have about a half a dozen old fuel pumps from 240s. On top of that, I had to replace two internal pumps over the years. I also had to replace a blower motor at about 100k. So far (70k miles) my 850 is performing very well. At least as good as a 240 and more comfortable. Chuck Fiedler Nothing but Volvos since 1973 > Not sure how you went through so many fuel pumps, I've never even heard of > one failing at less than 150k miles. I've replaced a heater blower once, it > didn't die until the car was 17 years old. The Volvos with the bad electric fuel pumps were from the 60's and 70's. Never left home without a spare. They would start singing before they would fail. I never left them in once they started singing. My '81 240 had the internal fuel pump go at 120,000 miles, the day I sold the car and while I was delivering it to the buyer. I had to find a Volvo garage open on a Saturday afternoon to complete the sale. I found a mechanic working late that did it. That was a close one. I never had a heater blower die, just sing. They loved to sing. I think they were hoping to get into the Met. The dealer would always say, I will replace it if you want, but the new ones will do the same thing. I found out he was telling the truth. I guess you could say the early 240s were a musical lot with their singing fuel pumps and heater blowers. Love my 850s. SignatureCheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA, USA Owned '67,'68,'71,'74,'79,'81,'87,'93,'95 & '01 Volvos. The '67,'74,'79,'87,'95 and '01 through European Delivery. http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman/volvo.html > I never had a heater blower die, just sing. They loved to sing. I > think they were hoping to get into the Met. The dealer would always > say, I will replace it if you want, but the new ones will do the same > thing. I found out he was telling the truth. Well to tell you the truth the blower in mine didn't "die" but it was squeeling as you say, which to me was as good as dead since it was too loud to use it. As I said though, it was old, it didn't make any squeeling at all until it was nearly 15 with over 200k on the car, went another couple years before it got unuseable. I had a 240 (8 years) then a 740 (15 years) and now have an 850 (12 months). The 850 is a whole different vehicle. Different acceleration, handling, more fun! Don't think you'll be disappointed. Running costs and reliability seem about the same but there's a heck of a lot more electric stuff to go wrong with an 850 but they seem to have a reputation for reliability. Time will tell. - Roy I think the fact that it's 2005 and people are still trying to decide if a car made around a decade or so back is still reliable ought to say something. A "time will tell" attitude about a vehicle that's 10 years old isn't something you'd see for a lot of cars. > Been a loyal 240/740 owner for 10 years. > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Thank you > I think the fact that it's 2005 and people are still trying to decide if a > car made around a decade or so back is still reliable ought to say > something. > > A "time will tell" attitude about a vehicle that's 10 years old isn't > something you'd see for a lot of cars. Good point, I guess a lot of us are just spoiled, having seen so many 20+ year old 240's still holding together. The 850's do seem to continue the trait, they're more complex but still very well made cars. |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.