repair manual for a 2004 xc70?

hi--
anyone have any leads on a repair manual for a 2004 xc 70 wagon? it
seems chilton has not come out with one......

also, just had my volvo in for service today, and is less than
enchanted...was charged 4 hours of labor (only there for 1.45), and new
brake pads. hubby requested old brake pads....as the tech said they
were 3mm. they were at least DOUBLE that. so....hence the request for
leads on a manual. the hubby will do the work, not me!

thanks

betsey

 

How many people worked on it?

 

Maybe they had more than one bloke working on it?

 

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?satitle=volvo vadis

 

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 Although slightly outdated, I have used it as a resource to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:

http://cvolvo.com/Central/Repair/B5254T.html

Frankly, 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

--
"*-344-*Never Forgotten"
Is for the New York City Firemen who lost their lives on September 11,2001.
The official count is 343, but there was also a volunteer who lost his life
aiding in the initial rescue efforts. And I will never forget them as
long as I live,
nor should any American.

 

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!

Cam

 

Dumb-assed question.

 

It doesn't matter HOW MANY of the androids in the service department
worked on the car. 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.

 

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 <g>

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....