Faults:

- Lost all 3 grille pieces.

- Driveshaft.

- Radio.

- Angle gear.

- Emissions sensor.

- Paint chips on dash.

- Steering wheel chipping.

- Frequent bulb burn out.

- Scary oil consumption.

- Various valves.

- Frequent engine light.

- The above is just the tip of the iceberg.

General Comments:

I always used this car as the best example of why you should purchase an extended warranty. The total bills I would have owed could have exceeded $6200.00 in a 3 year period. By far the most disappointing vehicle I ever owned. Foolishly I purchased based on the Volvo reputation of longevity that disappeared a long time ago. Thankfully the Volvo service folks advised me to dump the car, as all of this model had problems with more to come. I then went back to Suzuki, where I have been driving a trouble free Aerio for 7 years and counting.

Stay away from Volvo.

Faults:

The air filter to turbo airline was cracked at the turbo end.

The driver's seat seam was coming undone.

The left hood latch wasn't working.

The AWD center bearing mount plate was rusted through, though there isn't a speck of rust anywhere else.

The passengers rear window up function cannot be controlled by the driver's window controls.

The drivers sun visor is broken.

The top engine mount is broken.

General Comments:

The car has no rust on it. It is good to know that at least one automaker can do proper rust preventative measures, though at a high cost.

The wagon drives like a car, though a heavy car. To get an AWD SUV with this handling, you would have to spend some serious money.

I doubt you could afford to keep it maintained properly at the Volvo dealer. I do ALL my own maintenance, so even things like engine replacements cost less for me than a radiator replacement at the shop.

It is a great car to drive, and very handy with the giant space in back.

Faults:

ABS module.

Engine mount failures.

Thermostat.

Tie rods and sway bar bushings.

General Comments:

An extremely comfortable and practical car. When this car dies - I will pull the seats, and they will go in my living room.

It benefits from zealous maintenance over and above what the owner's manual recommends, and finding an independent repair shop that specializes in Volvos to save $$$.

DIY'ers will find this car OK to work on, however one needs small hands as the engine is shoehorned into a pretty tight space.

Easy to drive, great in snow. Interior fit and finish excellent. I haven't had a 10 year old car that still feels this new inside.

Expensive to run, as Premium makes the engine run smoother.

Search the Volvo forum community for great tips and DIY advice.

Faults:

I bought the car for $5500, and within 500 miles of driving, the fuel gauge stopped working, along with the other electronic read outs.

Apparently the fuel filter was never changed in its first 150K of life, so I ended up having the fuel pump blow on me. Wow, that was insanely expensive to fix ($1200).

All the spark plugs needed to be fixed shortly after this ($200).

Oh, I almost forgot. The viscous coupler blew out its bearings. To get a new one (and to make the AWD work again), it would have cost like 900 bucks. Instead, I had them remove the drive shaft completely for $80, which "fixed" it by rendering the car FWD only.

Seat belts are designed very poorly. The little plastic clips get jammed into the seat. It's really a foolish design.

The key would get stuck in the ignition, but a little WD fixed that.

Now the alternator is dead, but I am out of money to fix it ($200?).

I would totally recommend avoiding old Volvos at all costs. They are just too expensive to fix. I went to non dealer Volvo people who tried to cut me a deal, but it made no difference. Next car I buy will be a used Honda Accord, or something that is not so expensive to fix.

General Comments:

It handles well.

Interior is very nice.

Had good acceleration when it worked properly.