V70/S60 console squeaks

Volvo, in its Scandinavian wisdom, seems to have selected interior plastics that make a horrible squeaking sound when they rub against each other. The center console in my 2002 V70 makes quite a racket going over bumps. Here are my questions:

  1. How do I get the center console apart?

  1. How should I treat the squeaky parts to silence them?

Reply to
Armchair observer
Loading thread data ...

Yes it's a bloody pain IMHO.

Do you mean the tunnel console between the seats or the radio/ecc panel? If its the former then its very easy.

If you release the pen holder at the base of the ecc panel you will see 4 torx screws. The outer two hold the front of the tunnel console in place. You also need to release the plastic panel around the gear stick sheath, but leave the sheath attached to the gear stick.

Next pull up the hand brake surround (just give it a firm tug upwards) and pull the sheath over and off the hand brake removing it completely. Then at the rear of the console remove the ashtray/panel and disconnect the rear cig lighter socket. In the CD storage pocket under the armrest lift up the little rubber mat and undo the two torx screws.

Finally release the panels on either side at the bottom that go forward to the foot air vents. Use a coin in the screw slot on each panel and turn it 90 degrees to release. Then pull the panels backwards to remove.

Once you've done all that the entire tunnel console can be lifted up and carefully manouvered around the gear stick to get it out of the car.

Then it's a case of soundproofing all the points where plastic meets plastic. For this you can use self-adhesive felt pads or similar. Some of the plastic panels appear to be almost spot-welded to each other. This means there are places where you can't get any material in between. In such cases you should give the gap a squirt of silicon spray. Very effective for stopping squeaks.

Just recently I replaced my V70 tunnel console with one from an S60, because I much prefer the look of the S60 console. It's a straight swap as they share mount points etc. I found the S60 console to be assembled in a way that was much less conducive to squeaks. When installed it felt much more solid than the original V70 console.

As I mentioned, if there's room some self-adhesive felt, otherwise silicon spray.

HTH

Andy

Reply to
Andy Cunningham

Dont know

Silicone spray with newspaper or something protecting parts you can see to prevent any discolorations

Reply to
Steve

Thanks for the very detailed instructions. Unfortunately, I still need a few more details. Specifically, how does one "release" the pen holder, the panel around the gear shift, and the ashtray panel. I don't want to damage anything by forcing it to move in the wrong direction.

Thanks again for your help. .

Reply to
Armchair observer

Get a small plastic knife or spatula and lever off one side of the pen holder. Once you've levered one side out a bit, get your finger behind it and then use your plastic knife to lever off the other side. You could use a flatblade screwdriver but you risk scratching the plastic.

Just press on the quick release hooks at the front of the panel which become accessible once you've removed the pen holder.

Again plastic knife in the top of the panel and lever it out. You can be fairly firm without breaking anything.

HTH

Andy

Reply to
Andy Cunningham

Thanks a million for the advice, Andy. Volvo really makes it tough on owners to do simple maintenance by using so many different non-obvious methods for assembling the interior. How did you learn these disassembly tricks? Can you recommend any affordable repair manuals for the V70?

Reply to
Armchair observer

The best thing is if you can get hold of a copy of VADIS, which is Volvo's own electronic manual and parts catalogue. I have seen them on ebay from time to time and there is also a torrent copy floating around somewhere.

As far as I'm aware there are no 3rd party manuals available for any of the more recent Volvo models.

The other thing you can do is pop down to your local Volvo parts department and ask them to bring up the appropriate section from VADIS on their screen. This is what I often do and my local dealer is usually quite helpful in this regard.

Andy

Reply to
Andy Cunningham

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.