Volvo Owners' Most Common Concerns and Complaints

We’ve been an independent Volvo repair shop since 1982, and Volvos are all we work on. Over that many years, you hear the same concerns come through the door again and again. Here are four of the most common complaints from Volvo owners, what’s usually behind them, and what you and your Volvo mechanic can do about them together.

“My headlights or tail lights keep burning out”

Start by getting a handle on how often it’s really happening. Walk around the car every week or two and check each light, so you know which ones fail and how long they last. Keeping a couple of spare bulbs in the car doesn’t hurt either.

On older Volvos, the fuses are often the real culprit. The contacts corrode over the years, and a poor connection can make lights flicker, dim or quit. Corroded bulb holders and weak grounds do the same thing. A Volvo mechanic can pull the fuses, clean the terminals and check the connections.

If bulbs keep failing after that, it’s time for a proper electrical system check to see whether the charging system or the wiring is behind it.

“My Volvo’s transmission has a hard time shifting”

Some Volvo models are better known for transmission complaints than others, and it usually shows up as a harsh, late or hesitant shift.

Don’t wait on this one. Shifting problems rarely fix themselves, and they tend to get more expensive the longer the car is driven. Sometimes the answer is as simple as overdue fluid. Sometimes it isn’t the transmission at all.

The best protection is regular transmission service, and a real diagnosis as soon as something feels off.

“The warning lights and check engine light keep coming on”

Those lights are there to protect you and the car, so never ignore one. The frustrating part is that the sensor doing the warning can be the part that failed. From the driver’s seat, there’s no way to tell a real problem from a bad sensor.

A few rules of thumb:

• A red light means stop when it’s safe and find out what it is.
• A yellow light means get it checked soon.
• A flashing check engine light means the engine is misfiring. Ease off and get it in right away.

When you bring the car in, we read the stored codes and trace the fault to its actual cause. Keeping up with regular service helps too, because fluid levels and worn parts get caught before they trip a light.

“My Volvo idles rough and clunks when I put it in gear”

We hear this one a lot. Worn motor mounts are a common cause on Volvos, especially the upper mount on top of the engine. When a mount wears out, the engine moves more than it should. You feel it as a shake at idle and a clunk going into drive or reverse.

Mounts aren’t the only possibility. A vacuum leak or a clogged crankcase breather can cause a rough idle too. That’s why we like to look at the mounts at every regular service. Caught early, it’s a small repair.

The pattern

Every one of these gets easier, and cheaper, when someone who knows Volvos sees your car regularly. Find a shop you can talk to, tell them what you’re noticing, and take a look at your own car now and then.

If you’re looking for a Volvo repair shop in Seattle, WA, we’d love to see you and your Volvo. Our aim is to keep it running longer, for less. If you live somewhere else, we hope this helped, and we’d encourage you to find an expert Volvo mechanic near you.