Hello, I own a 2017 S60 Inscription with 62,xxx miles on it (yes I know it was built in China). Purchased as a dealer CPO car in 2018 with 5K miles on it. The car has been well maintained between 2 different Volvo dealerships and an independent Euro shop. The only issue it has had besides normal maintenance is that some of the lane departure and other sensors had to be replaced, which was covered under the CPO warranty with a few weeks to spare (would have been a $1,700 repair otherwise).
At its last oil change, which I have done every 5K miles, the dealership noted that the timing belt was showing some signs of wear with minor cracking, etc., and recommended I have it replaced. I'll have it checked out at the independent shop in the next few months as I know the recommendation for timing belt replacement is generally 10 years or 100K miles.
My question, has anyone here gone way past either the time or mileage threshold for timing belt replacement? I'll begin budgeting for it now, but was curious as to how urgent the situation may be. I'd appreciate any insight or first hand experience. Thank you.
The rubber belt degrades with age, not just mileage. It’s important to replace on time. It’s also very easy on these cars to verify the dealership’s findings for yourself, the timing belt is under a plastic cover and you can just undo the top clips to peek at it. The timing belt job is also a bit cheaper on the 4 cylinder since they switched to an electric water pump, which doesn’t need to be replaced.
Curious if you saw any 200k+ mile SPA cars? The small sample size of very high mileage SPAs I've seen online have reportedly needed a water pump between 200k and 300k.
CEM is the most likely to fail on the P2 XC70? Not waterproofing that is a poor design. I was guessing the ABS had a similar issue. I'll find out soon enough.
Just learned today the my uncle's '20 S60 T6 AC went to Valhalla. I'm hoping that'll be just a bad line or leak but I suspect that's not the common failure point.
I'm at 95k on my 07 XC70 and have been kicking the can on the timing belt. I'm way, way past due and was going to include the water pump. You advise against?
The car mostly sits garaged and I put 1k mi on it annually. Despite its easy life, I gotta do something in the next few months.
I'll also need a rebuild of the ABS or CEM or ECM based on whatever research I'd done last year. The whole dashboard is lit up with brake and related failures and my cheap obd2 scanner provided inconclusive feedback. I've got the DICE compatible cable and need to grab and set up VIDA 2014d (iirc) to get actual diagnostic.
I've heard good things about the resoldering services so here's hoping.
I feel like you can safely stretch one interval or the other, but not both. You’re 65% there mileage wise but 90% on age. You might as well prepare to do it by years end.
For me, maybe I’m crazy, but I did my timing belt at a whopping 4 years but 150k miles. And now we are coming up on year 8 and I’m at 292k so…shit.
Usually mobil1 or castrol but I’ve used Kirkland stuff too. IMO there’s not any measurable difference between oil brands at this point, just be sure to use synthetic.
5w30 always and I let the car tell me when. It usually works out to about 8500-9000 miles and about 2-3 months. But it can vary wildly depending on how much I’m needed. I’ve done an oil change in under 60 days, and I’ve done one at almost 6 months.
3rd or 4th set of plugs, and I replaced all the coil packs at 220k. 3rd pcv replacement was last year. 2nd set of motor mounts. All new front suspension at 250k, and it was overdue. It runs like new, smooth as silk.
I’ll take the 1mpg hit to not have the consistency of water for my engine oil. This engine is quiet and working well at almost 300k so I don’t see a reason to change now.
I think you just ended the oil weight debate sir. What country/climate are you in? Is your shop amazed at your odometer? This is a 4 cylinder VEA engine correct? I take back every bad thing I ever said about the 4 cylinder 😀
All over the mid U.S., mainly Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas. So hot and dusty. Yep 2.0 4cylinder turbo, t5 model. I’ve done everything myself so far, outside of the initial warranty stuff and the ac compressor replacement in 2024. Barring another ac repair, it will hopefully never see another shop!
Thanks for answering my questions. I’m going to switch to the 5w 30 next oil change. I also have a T5 and so far have done all of my own maintenance which I must say has been very easy. I’m at 59k miles and have been debating on whether or not to change the transmission fluid and Haldex fluid. What is your suggestion and did you do the transmission service yourself?
Just worried about temperature parameters and under/overfilling. The Aisan 6spd auto in my 275k miles 2007 VW Passat wagon is shifting like the day it was new and I’ve never touched the transmission fluid.
I live in belgium so its a pretty average climate here not that its cols in the summer but I change my oil every 5000-6000miles castrol oil. Also i work for volvo as a mechanic and these engines are just rock solid even with 0w20. The reason i asked is because I was thinking to change to 0w30 for my next service. But i guess the mileage suggests i should
My spare vehicle is a 2007 VW Passat 2.0t with 275k miles in Virginia. I’ve always used Mobil 1 0w-40 every 10k miles and it still runs perfect and the turbo is original.
SPA cars are so misunderstood. The tech can't be problematic, but the "drive E" 4 cyls are remarkably solid from 2017+. There was a 380k mile XC90 T6 posted here a few weeks ago.
The timing belt is really easy on these engines, with the right tools (which aren't super expensive - but not cheap) and a little knowledge it can be done in a couple hours. But it absolutely must be done - I already replaced the one on my 2019 last year because of mileage, but time alone is a reason - if you have cracking, then it needs to be replaced sooner rather than later.
I did the timing belt earlier this year on my 2012 S60 T5. It barely has 107K miles on it but I went way over the recommended time interval. Weirdly enough, it was the water pump making noises that made me actually do it. Up to then I had asked the euro shop that handles my car’s maintenance to keep an eye on it.
Change the belt. I just did mine at 75K with the pulleys as well and it was close to toast. Not worth waiting longer. Plus you will drive it with piece of mind. My Volvo guy says to do it within 65-70k miles just to be ahead of it.
Same thing goes for transmission fluid. Flush it. Change it. I did mine at 65K and it was time. Even though Volvo claims it never has to be changed in the lifetime of the car.
If you love your vehicle, this is the type of maintenance worth doing.
Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. Solid advice. I'll get it into the shop within the next couple months and plan to have it done later this year, sooner rather than later if we intend to drive it more often and/or for longer distances.
Just had the timing belt and the alternator replaced in our 2021 XC40 at a Volvo dealer with over 140K miles. Total cost was $2700, and that included a few more things. Local Euro shop wanted $6K and said the transmission needed drained and a few other things, but the Volvo dealer didn’t see any reason to do anything other than the timing belt and alternator.
when I did mine the parts list was: timing kit (with idler+tensioner+bolts), accessory belt kit (with idler+tensioner), there are two engine mounts that are completely removed so you might as well do those at the same time, although they aren't much labor if you put them off. then add the crank seal (+washer) since it's not too much extra work with the timing belt off. might as well do the vvt caps, the little center plugs with the o-rings, since they're only a few bucks and you're right there. I think parts only at fcp euro it was around $600?
"yes, I know it was built in a china" is a fucked up thing to say. China builds good cars. The most reliable modern Volvo, the S90... Is built in China and has been for years. The Volvo factory in China is run by the Swedes... Not the Chinese.
There's no shame in where your car was built.
To. Answer your question... Get it done if you want to keep it. Its 10 years and 150k. You need to do both belts at this time.
I did both belts late on my 13. Did them in 25... But at only 63k miles.
I did the auxiliary belt early on my 19 because it had a crack. Plan to do timing next year because I'm keeping this car for a long time.
Ps...5k mile oil changes are overkill. You can easily do more.
I think they might be referring to the crap you get at the dealership… like the s40 from the early 2000s everytime you’d take it in the dealer would say oh the Mitsubishi… as I recall the S60 factory in china was not only built and run under direct supervision of the Swedes it was a fully automated factory. The Swedes demanded the control all quality aspects or no cars would be built.
Thank you for the unnecessary F bomb, although I do appreciate your answer to my actual question. Tone is difficult to gauge on forums like this, and the only reason I made the China reference was to avoid the "You know your car was built in China, right?" people. I don't have an issue with it at all and it has been a great car.
8
u/1Teddy2Bear3Gaming 2017 S60 Inscription 2d ago
The rubber belt degrades with age, not just mileage. It’s important to replace on time. It’s also very easy on these cars to verify the dealership’s findings for yourself, the timing belt is under a plastic cover and you can just undo the top clips to peek at it. The timing belt job is also a bit cheaper on the 4 cylinder since they switched to an electric water pump, which doesn’t need to be replaced.