I Own a Wheeled Toilet! Vent About Automotive Nightmares

rberq wrote:I had a Civic coupe, the garage put new rotors / new pads / rebuilt calipers on it. Then I gave the car to my son. A year later he told me the brakes were worn out, BOTH sides, because the calipers were sticking. WTF?

Probably because nobody bothers to grease the pins. The caliper needs to float - meaning, move freely back and forth on the pins. Also, if the pads have tabs, those need to be greased too, or they will also seize - especially if the car is only occasionally driven. They will seize solid up in the northeast here when not greased - even brand new calipers. Factories found they could save lots of money by cutting WAY WAY back on the amount of grease ... Open up any new bearing today and see how much is in there. It's a wonder they make it 5 minutes!

Rick 386 wrote:Time to rejuvenate this thread.

Daughter has an '08 Volvo XC 90 with the 4.4l V-8. Overall a nice car. Got all the bells and whistles.

..............................

Holy *censored* Rick ... I always thought Volvo was a step ahead of everyone else. Well, I guess they were ... before GM decide to buy them out. The cars were too good, so they needed to ruin them ... by making them exactly like GM vehicles! My buddy has a '95 940. Thing has 140K+ on it ... with ZERO rust! ORIGINAL brake lines! Only things that constantly rot off are the exhaust and hangers. After working on that thing for him over the past 8 years he's owned it, I've come to despise GM.

This lower grease use bullshit is everywhere including where I work, they are drilling mechanics into using less grease because overgreasing causes more problems then undergreasing. WOW! Use the right amount for the bearing duty WTF! I rather stand next to a bearing the size of a beach ball with a little more grease in it than one with less.

rberq wrote:I had a Civic coupe, the garage put new rotors / new pads / rebuilt calipers on it. Then I gave the car to my son. A year later he told me the brakes were worn out, BOTH sides, because the calipers were sticking. WTF?

Did he flush the lines and replace the brake fluid? That should be included anytime the system is worked on or at least every 3yrs.

Rick 386 wrote:Time to rejuvenate this thread.

Daughter has an '08 Volvo XC 90 with the 4.4l V-8. Overall a nice car. Got all the bells and whistles........................

Rick

Got an update on this P.O.S. Volvo

2 weeks ago yesterday she calls me at 0800 telling me her car won't start and is making funny noises trying to start.

So I grab the jump box, another battery and some hand tools. I get there and she tries to start it. It is turning over fine but not sounding good at all. Sounds to me like a broken timing chain or belt or whatever the eff they got in it. I get behind the wheel and as I'm turning the key and then release it, the damn thing is still activating the starter on its own. Key didn't seem to be sticking at all. After hearing the weird sounds, I tell her to call the stealership since it is still under warranty.

They tow it in and she gets the free loaner after bitching a little at them. They were all out of their own loaner cars so they had to rent something for her. A new Tahoe with every conceivable option on it. SWEET FRIGGIN' RIDE !!!!!!

So they say that the fuel pressure is way too high. That's the cause..... Yeah OK... They order a new module and 2 days later it still will not start. So now they suspect the main engine control module is bad. Another 2 days later and still nothing. Now they call in the regional Volvo tech guy. And guess what ???/ THE ENGINE IS SHOT !!!!!! NO compression in 2 cylinders. Probably due to a broken timing belt..... Really, I suspected that from the get go but what do I know !!!!

Now the real kicker. Volvo does not have replacement engines...... Hmmmm maybe too many failures has depleted the inventory ??????

So now the stealership is scrambling to find any reason at all so they can cancel the warranty..... Well they tried.

She now has a lemon law attorney working on her behalf. That stops the bullshit that they were trying to pull.

She wants out of this P.O.S. car as soon as she can.

Rick

Rick 386 wrote:Now they call in the regional Volvo tech guy. And guess what ???/ THE ENGINE IS SHOT !!!!!! NO compression in 2 cylinders.

No compression? Well, of course they had to bring in the regional tech! Or maybe a PhD engineer. You certainly wouldn't expect a local dealership mechanic to figure that out all by himself, would you?

Thought I would add this weeks experience with a 2014 Cruze that my parents bought which, at all of 155 miles after one week of driving, had one of the two thermostats 'go bad' (dealer tech description) and cause it to lose its coolant pegging the temp gauge.

Dad noticed it while driving and pulled over but I don't know how quickly he noticed it. I am wondering if it was bad from the start because prior to the break down they drove it for a 50 mile trip and a couple 25 mile trips which would have got it fully up to temp. I asked him if he saw any coolant puddles in the driveway and he said there were a couple wet spots but he thought it was from my sisters car. I am wondering if it was way overtemp before he noticed it and may have caused other damage.
the dealer also changed and checked the oil for coolant, said none was present.

Being the compassionate, ball busting son that I am I may have mentioned this could be a sign from above that at 87 maybe he shouldn't be driving since he cant see out of his left eye and only has one eye to watch the road and the dashboard. I got the head slap from mom who didn't want to hear the ensuing argument. she still has a pretty quick left hook for being 86!

Rick, if you see a real old man in a red Cruze driving around the Rofo area you better give it lots of room!

My mother in hate is 82 and I am sure couldn't drive when she was 25. She comes up from FL a few times a year and I leave a 2000 Pathfinder for her to drive. Every corner has been smacked up and no one will drive with here. I am entertaining offers for the Pathfinder and will give a package deal if you take her too.

WE were doin good till I got to the "TAKE HER TOO"

Well the Volvo guys won this battle.

They took off the valve covers and timing chain cover and claim there is enough oily residue on the inside to claim lack of maintenance as the root cause.

Lemon law lawyer states that they can fight it by hiring an expert, blah, blah, blah and maybe in 9 - 12 months go to trial.

So what the hell do you do in the meantime without wheels ??

So I am searching for a used engine and hopefully can just swap it out and get rid of this p.o.s. Volvo. However that all may change when the vehicle gets delivered to the shop and I take a look at it. But It doesn't appear that Volvo will do anything without a fight.

My other comments are probably best laid out if FSC.

Rick

Newbs,you can keep the Pathfinder.....I'm working a sweet package deal here....I'll take her and Rick's Kid's P.O.S. Volvo.....Then,I'll put her in the Volvo and send them both to Donner Pass. At this time of year,history oughta repeat itself and the two of you will be off the hook !......You ever try to eat the seats out of a Volvo ?

Rick 386 wrote:Well the Volvo guys won this battle.

Bastards.

Rick 386 wrote:They took off the valve covers and timing chain cover and claim there is enough oily residue on the inside to claim lack of maintenance as the root cause.

Man that stinks...most Volvo's of the same age & mileage that comes through their shop for an oil change probably looks the same way. Do an internet search for "Volvo Sludge"...their 7500 mile oil change interval sure hasn't worked out well for everyone.

If you drove the car in with a stack of oil change receipts and told them to remove the varnish from the engine as a warranty claim they would tell you it was normal.

Which brings up the serious point: Does she have any proof of recommended maintenance having been performed ? If not,then yeah,your in Litigation Wallet Drain.

Hambden Bob wrote:Which brings up the serious point: Does she have any proof of recommended maintenance having been performed ? If not,then yeah,your in Litigation Wallet Drain.

Yes she does but that is what they are disputing. And as I said, it would be months before any inkling of a resolution. What is someone supposed to do in the meantime?? That is the real issue. Making payments on a vehicle that cannot even start.....

This dealer, Wynn Volvo of Norristown, really sucks at customer service. Even the receptionist made a snide rude comment to her at her last visit. With the attitude they seem to have there, I wonder how they stay in business.

However, by purchasing a used engine, we will have the old one to analyze.

Hopefully is does get towed here today so I can begin to check it out.

Rick

Ah yes, another lil project for your spare time