repair manual for a 2004 xc70?

How many people worked on it?

In article , betsey writes

Maybe they had more than one bloke working on it?

"betsey" wrote

The Chilton's 1990-98 will have generic information that can be used on your '04 XC70. Although slightly outdated, I have used it as a resource to replace brake pads on my '01 XC and recently to change spark plugs on my '04 XC70. I bought mine in the auto section of a Wal-Mart store.

I have a write up on my web site dealing with oil changes and generally, that's about all you'll need to do. Check out:

I'm surprised you needed brake pads on an '04. When I changes to my winter tires a few weeks ago, I inspected the brake pads and they're less than 1/2 worn, good for another year at least and I have 45,000km on the XC70.

I only take my XC70 back to the dealership for warranty work. In Canada we have an 80,000km or 4 year warranty that covers everything but wear items (brake pads, wipers, etc).

Good luck in the furture.

Cam

HI-- one person had worked on the car. its frustrating, to say the least....

betsey

Most dealers pay their techs on the flat rate pay system if the tech spent approx a hour & 45 minutes he was paid the 4 hours this system has its plus & minus side to it which I am not going to get in to here Glenn

Cam- thank you for the insigt and link...it will help!

the 2005 has 45000 miles on it,a nd that is the crux of the matter, my husband, upon viewing the "spent" pads (he requested them), said that they were good for many many more miles. In other words, the tech looked to make some extra money by recommending replacement.

i work as a loss control consultant for an insurance company, and one of the programs i am involved in is auto dealerships. service techs are not paid just an hourly or salary wage, they are also paid a commission off of the services they "sell". which is why, a good service tech makes in excess of $100,000 a year (not saying they arent worth it, but this is just how the pay is structured). Given yesterdays treatment, the hubby has decided that he will now do his own maintenance on this car. (he's more than qualified, just had stopped due to time constraints....)

betsey

if only one tech worked on the car, you were overcharged by the dealer...ask for a refund or adj, then (if need be) complain to volvo corp and cc the state auto repair oversight office.....you may be a victim of fraud.....these practices are illegal (and stupid) for any auto repair facility...keep us posted !!

Sounds like it's time for another dealer, or a Volvo/European car garage too... for when your husband doesn't have time to work on it.

I've found a good Volvo dealer for our 960, and 2 good VW dealers and one good VW garage for our Golfs.... Apparantly the VW dealers being good is a REALLY rare thing - I've heard of some bad Volvo dealers as well - just gotta ask around, you don't even have to get your warranty work done where you bought the car either.

Betsy:

I have a theory that the garage keeps a record of what you are willing to pay for each visit before complaining. So, if that threshold is say $400, then every trip to the garage will result in a $398 repair bill, regardless of the necessity. Some service managers have a knack of telling you a "doom & gloom" story that they cannot let you leave the garage until this or that is done, otherwise you're driving an unsafe car away and they are not responsible. Of course most people fall for this tactic since they do not profess to know anything about their cars.

I pride myself with over 35 years of knowledge and experience repairing my Volvos, but despite that the dealership tried to put one over on me! I had my '01 XC in for it's annual warranty check-up and asked them to rotate the tires (I gave them the rotation diagram!). When I received my invoice, I was charged $39.95 + taxes to rotate the tires. I said to the service manager, didn't I already pay to have my brakes inspected? He said yes so I asked how that was done. He said, they removed all 4 wheels. I then said, you mean you've charged me to move the tires from back to front? He turned red and said he would credit my account!

In the province of Ontario, it is illegal for a garage to overcharge more than 10% of their estimate, before they start the work. I ensure that they do no more than I ask, by providing a printed list of what I am requesting be done, then get them to sign my copy. Seems to work for me!

BTW, you said your XC has 45,000 miles on it. I'd suggest you take it into the dealership one last time, before your 50,000 mile warranty ends. Get them to fix everything that is wrong on warranty, especially the front stabilizer bars, inspect all velocity joint boots and the "L" gear transfer case. The Haldex AWD system is much more reliable than the viscous coupling, but check the front impeller (driveshaft) - that's a $1,200 (Canadian) part, plus labour.

Also, if you depend on your XC70, you may consider purchasing an extended warranty (about $2500 US) that will essentially give you the same "bumper-to-bumper" warranty on all mechanical problems (other than normal wear items). Since your XC has been dealer serviced, they should not balk at this. Don't tell them that routine service will be done by your husband or a more reputable Volvo friendly garage. I can't remember what you paid for the brake job, but your husband could have done the job for less than $100 - it's not rocket or voodoo science!

Best of luck in the future... Cam

Betsy: Upon reading your original posting, if you live in a northern climate, where salt is used to melt the road snow, then I'd suggest the garage had to "free up" the brake calliper paths. This is common now on all newer Volvos since they use an alloy single piston, sliding calliper that gets gunked up with corrosion - alloy calliper housings + road salt corrosion. This is a necessary repair since if the calliper stays immobile, then the piston might seize and that's a bigger problem.

As far as I'm concerned this is a possible design fault and one that the owner must bear to have checked annually. I'm sure since they had to un-freeze your callipers, they decided to replace the brake shoes while they were at it. Too bad the garage was not honest enough to admit this to you!

Dumb-assed question.

that's what i thought...the tecks always "run" to the shop manual to see what the time and charges are for repairs.......your lawsuit sounds interesting...whats the story on the event that triggered...and outcome?

"The flat-rate manual determines what the labor charge will be. I'v gone through this with Volvo of Las Vegas and won my claim in Small Claims Court."

HI everyone-Here's an update to the brake issue...

my husband wrote a letter to volvo north america, and enclosed a brake pad. this was mailed on a saturday, and by the following tuesday, both the service manger from the dealership and volvo north america had called. after a few conversations with the service manager, my husband agreed to send him a letter and brake pad....

a week later, we recieved a phone call from the service manger, followed by the CEO of the dealership. both stated the same thing--they were issuing a refund for the brake job, and had placed the service tech on probation for 2 weeks-where anything he wanted to do to a vehicle, not listed on the original service order, needed to be confirmed the with service manager.

as an aside, i am a loss control consultant for an insurance company, and deal with many dealerships....service techs make either an hourly or salary wage, as well as earning a commission on parts and extra services they sell. THis tech just got caught, that's all....

betsey

at least volvo corp was responsive....how do you like the volvo (other than the service issues)...??

its good to hear you got a positive adjustement....

I love my volvo...i have a 2004 xc70. I will be honest, in 18 months, ih ave put 45000 miles on it. Its a great car, and suits my needs perfectly-a family of four, plus two big dogs

i have a bad back-two broken vertebraie when i was a teen. the company car's my company provided (grand am) KILLED my back, i was becoming a cripple. Not so with the volvo. it rides beatifully and is so well made.

betsey

yea, the seats are "comfy"...this am it is 12 degrees and snowing a bit here in no colorado ..i just returned from a short drive on very slick "side roads".... the 2000 s80t6 drives and tracks nice... the "bun warmers" just add to the nice feel of the seat system....