Volvo reviews or opinions

I own a Volvo 880 that I bought it new in 2006. Since I bought it the problems started. The list is way too long to start enlisting. Just to give u an ideea of what happen in the third month I will tell u that I was driving from Montreal,QC to Laredo,TX and at Fort Wayne,IN my engine exploded. I cannot find another word for what happen but was a hole in the block that big I could insert my head inside the engine. Then a lot of other problems follow.
After 8 months the problems stopped and since then everything was OK.
I drove prior this truck a Pete, a Kenworth and International and my favourite a Mack.
I am probably to ostentatious coz I would not give my Volvo for any truck.
I have to be honest and admit that I like the Petes and KW on the road. They look magnificent and if they are decorated are even better.

After 4 years in this truck and going through a lot of situations with it I will try to make a list of pros and cons.
Pros:
-the comfort that my truck offer is unbeatable
-the easiness of driving is a bless(I do not have air suspension on the steering axle)
-the 550HP and 1850lb/ft is a big help when I need balls (I downshift only if I'm close to 80 000lbs and on west coast)
-the dash computer shows me everything I need to know about my truck at any time just pressing buttons(I have to admit that I like computers and buttons)
-fuel mileage is average/year 6.5 mpg
-the engine is quiet(and I like silence when driving coz I listen tons of music) the same is jackbrake
(there are more but these are the main)
Cons:
-16 liters engine parts(ANY PART) cost a fortune - actually any Volvo part cost a lot
-Volvo dealers sucks from all points of view
-when I have a problem there is no other place to go but Volvo dealers and as I say they are nightmares
-the fuel tanks cups are under the sleeper(dont ask me how many swearing new words I learn myself every time I fuel)
-there are not too many things that I can fix myself coz Volvo took care to make everything workable only "in the Volvo shop" - they want us to depend on them
(and also few others)

Like a conclusion: no matter how many "cons" are, the feeling that I have when I step into my truck is special. Coz at the end of the day my life and the way I live it is more important for me than any load and any technical issue. I love driving this piece of iron more than anything I drove in my life. But is the opposite what I feel for Volvo people.
There are only 4 years and I will have to wait another 4 to make a complete statement about this truck but until now this is it.
If I will have to buy again a truck I would buy again a VT 880.

Respect for all fellow truckers that post here and share with others experiences.

 

I am a technician at a Mack Volvo dealer in the Twin Cities and I am sorry to hear that you have had such a problem with them. We always strive to take care of our customers here. Alot of people dont seem to understand how complex these vehicles are. A fully loaded volvo has 10 onboard computers working together to make everything work. Couple that on top of the miles of wiring, dozens of sensors and thousands of diagnostic codes not to mention all the new emmissions equipment and possible mechanical problems that seem like they should be easy can quickly turn into a nightmare. We have to do hundreds of hours of trainning every year just to keep up with technology. Sorry you feel the way you do, I suppose there is more than a few bad dealers out there. Volvo does make one of the sweetest trucks on the road though. Just about everyone who drives one gets hooked right away. Thanks for keeping America moving!

 

That's the thing I don't like about them,...It's a semi tractor not a space shuttle,...

Why can't we build simple easy to fix trucks????,.......

 

because it would cutback on their pocket lining

 

Seem to me it was always American Way of building them, and for Paccar still is. You need to figure that we are all blessed with consumer care here in The States. Not so much in the Europe, where they just build the trucks the way it suits them manufacturers with no regards to little guy. Big fleets don't care much either, just keep replacing them trucks, there are incentives (like different highway toll pricing for different emissions levels on the trucks) to keep buying them. After all everybody is duped into high costs and no way back, so its going to be interesting to see whats next. I bet American Way will prevail, but it's gotta take a while

 

I for one love Volvos and am a die hard fan because of their style, quietness, and turning ability. Do not get me wrong, every truck has their fair share of problems. My former trainer at RM owned a 770 and never had any major problems. My former boss has owned both the 780 and 670 and never had any major issues. My major complaint is the lack of more gauges available. However what wins me over is their safety. Find me a truck that has the same level.

KH

 

http://www.roadtransport.com/blogs/big-lorry-blog/2010/03/truck-and-train-crash-and-the.html

 

Pretty sure those died with the do-do bird years ago. Heck, why buy a new one? Just find an old beater and make it new again. The onboard computers were necessary when people started going crazy about emissions and fuel mileage. And who, on earth, could afford to be getting 3.5mpg with the old mechanical motors these days?

There's still some simple trucks out there (they're old) - but even a 379 only looks simple and "classic" on the surface. Underneath you'll figure out that it's got almost everything going on that every other truck has - engine ecu, truck ecu, electronic dash (they just "look" like separate gauges), etc.

That was an awesome question, and the answer has missed for years. A few others in the same ballpark - why 5,000 different shapes and sizes of filters, batteries, etc?! I thought the world was a better place when half the vehicles on the road took a group 24 battery and an FL1-A oil filter.

Problems aren't brand specific at all, but customers are - and every maker should be making BIG strides in being the best at what they do. We don't ask them to do anything that isn't in their job title - as long as they do their job, we can do ours. When they don't, we wind up doing both.

Speaking of gizmos, I was playing with the dash settings last night and found a new favorite. You pull up display on the LCD menu in the dash, then hit black panel *poof* all of a sudden, all the lights in the cluster except the tach and speedo black out. If a trouble code hits, they light back up again until you clear the code - AWESOME and great for night vision. I like gauges as much as the next guy, but that setting is cool!

 

There are a lot of other features in Volvo panel. I used to play with those features at the begining and I found very nice tricks.
For example I found after 1 year after bought my Volvo that the windshield wipers speed can be adjusted at the desired speed(OK u can laugh guys but this is the truth). I do have immobilisation feature that is very usefull when I park the truck for more than few days. Just insert the code and the one who want to steal your truck will need a laptop and the VCAD-Pro software who is available only for Volvo dealers.
There is no way someone could start your engine untill that feature dont get the right password.
Now this one was the best proof that I am an ignorant and a still a rookie. Laugh if u want but I didn't know that in very cold times I can press the ignition key for a second and the the preheater will start. This provides cleaner combustion and longer engine life. I discovered it 3 weeks a go.
The one that turn off all the dash lights was already mentioned above. I love that feature when drive in dark nightes.
There is also o feature called Volvo link. I do have to pay a monthly fee for that feature and for me is worthless but I know a guy who has 4 trucks and comunicate with his drivers through that feature. They write messages to eachother like a text message on a cell phone.
The feature that I like the most is the GPS locator installed by the manufacturer. One time I was on hwy-401 in Ontario, Canada and for whatever reason the cell phone signal was completely off for few hours. I was going to pick up a load and was a terrible accident on the hwy. All traffic was detoured on a very complicated detour. I was in late at the pick up and no one knew what is going on with me. A friend of mine finded the load for me and he was talkin to the shipper when and how to do the pick up. My friend was really worried and called my wife asking her if she knows something about me. Then the panic started. Nobody was able to find me and they start thinging at ....u know ...those bad thoughts. My friend got the ideea to call Volvo and he asked if they are able to locate me. They located me in seconds and Volvo was able to tell them that I'm in X location, driving very slow with and so I was not into any accident or so. Everybody then was relaxed coz my wife was crying already and my friend was calling the Police and he found that was a big accident so ....go figure what they were thinging at.
After that I found out that for 15$/month I can get that feature in my hands. And if someone wants to know where am I they could know my location at any time. Funny huh ?
I am not lazy at all, but when outside is -30Celsius and wake up and have to go outside for the daily inspection, reading the oil level from the dash is a bless.

Now looking on the other side of the coin(coz nothing is for free....) all those gadgets are related with sensors, electronics etc and when something goes down u will heear that famous replica "show me the money" from the Volvo people.
I know I posted long this time but I will tell u one more and I'm done. Is a negative one but good or bad people have to know the truth.
I'm doing my oil change at truck stops like most of the people. When the screw back the oild drain valve they never use the torque wrench and in time the thread from the oil pan got damaged. I didnt know untill few weeks a go when I was into a TA for an oil change and the mechanic told me that he cannot unscrew the drain valve. I realized what happened and of course ....straight to the Volvo dealer. They told me they will have to replace the oil pan !!!!! For all the other Volvo engines the pan is from fiber or so and cost 800$, but for 16 Liters angines is from metal and is .....3000$ !!!!!! I was speechless for few minutes. The I realized my engine has 5 years warranty (this is another very "funny" story) and I urge them to check my warranty. They admited that I'm right and replaced everything for free. I was stunned by the price of the oil pan.
Now I do have a torque wrench and after they unscrew the valve I'm taking the valve with me and they have to call me when they want to put it back. I'm doing it myself coz is 2 minutes job and at least I know the standard torque for that drain valve.

So watch out Volvo owners when u do oil change coz one day u might remember my post right here and then will be to late for regrets.

I hope I was not that boring but this topic has to stay alive for those who decided to buy a Volvo.

Respect for all my brothers and sisters who earn the daily bread from highways.

 

I have had my 2004 780 for about a month. I have had some gremlins pop up but one would expect that from a used truck, however gently used.

1. I have a heater core leak. Minor but needs to be fixed.
2. There are some air leaks. Sometimes it holds air fine overnight sometimes it dumps it all in 10 minutes after I shut down. Works ok in operation but needs to be addressed now.
3. Refrigerator stopped working. I fixed that. Loose connection.
4. Environmental control stopped working. Comes and goes but also affects the defroster so it gets attention when in the shop.

Mine is pretty well loaded. The remote key fobs had never been used. And the remote for the stereo was hidden in an upper cabinet. The sub woofer works fine but the cd changer is jammed so I need to look at it. But, the seat heaters work fine and the seats still swivel.

All in all I am pretty happy, at least until I get the repair bill for the above issues. At that point I'll re-evaluate my feelings. Like I said, it's used, I expect to have to do some repairs. It will still be paid for in 30 months and I can't say that about a newer truck. It certainly has a quiet comfortable ride. With the big Cummins and the 13 speed, not many pass me climbing hills even at 76k pounds. Fuel mileage stays around 6mpg pulling I40 out of California.

Two old guys are talking about the new cars. How the last for 2 or 3 hundred thousand miles and don't need tune ups like they used to. One guy says, "they sure don't build em like they used to." the other guy says, "thank god."

It certainly isn't as easy to work on them but I'll take the comfort and automation and trouble free miles of the vehicles today over the old ones anytime. When I get a couple of days off, I really would rather somebody else work on it anyway.