V70/S60 console squeaks

[Armchair observer]

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?

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

 

[Andy Cunningham]

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:

Yes it's a bloody pain IMHO.

1. How do I get the center console apart?

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.

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

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

HTH

Andy

 

[Steve]

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?

Dont know

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

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

 

[Armchair observer]

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.
..

 

[Andy Cunningham]

Thanks for the very detailed instructions. Unfortunately, I still need
a few more details. Specifically, how does one "release" the pen
holder,

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.

the panel around the gear shift,

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

and the ashtray panel.

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

HTH

Andy

 

[Armchair observer]

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?

 

[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?

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