2006 V70 D5 163 Geartronic and towing
 

I might be changing the caravan for a bigger fixed bed model with which my 1999 V70 Auto 2.5D at >215,000 miles could struggle to cope legally.

It has a maximum towing capacity of 1,600 KG but I'm not desperate to change.

I have the opportunity to buy a 2006 V70 SE 163 D5 geartronic and I have been to look at it recently.

The D5 has a couple of small cosmetic issues but appears to be basically a sound car.

Does anyone here tow with such a car or have experience of towing with one in the past?

Which D5 engine and which auto gearbox will the D5 have?
Will it have a DPF - it sits at about 100,000 miles.

Is there anything I should be aware of being that most of my mileage are for towing - local miles are few in comparison.

Geartonic - what is that about - my 4 speed AW50-40LE is good and not ***tronic anything as far as I know.

Your towing experiences with such a car would be appreciated.

Thenks - Colin

Hi Colin, on a 2006 D5 it will be a Euro4 with DPF.

Two versions were made 163 ( not to be confused with the Euro 3 163 ) and the 185.

The Geartronic gearbox will be a 6 speed and geartronic alows you to move the gearlever over to the left and select gears manually.

The 6 speed box is a better ( stronger ) box than the earlier 5 speed geartronic BUT make sure that you get it thoroughly warmed through and check for hard changes, slipping, flaring prior to purchase

If all is well and you buy it, change the gearbox fluid straight away and use JWS 3309 spec oil. This can ensure that a healthy box stays that way for many many miles.

If you do plenty of decent length journies, the DPF should look after itself.

Lastly, if possible stick a good code reader on it prior to purchase to see what it throws up ( remembering that some could be old stored codes and no longer relevant.:regular_smile:

Er.... what he said? ^^^^^^^^^

Thanks for those replies.

Iv'e been doing some reading up on the 6 speed geartronic box and have discovered that they don't have an ATF dipstick which would make it difficult to take a fluid sample on a forecourt and that is something I would want to do.
I noticed it didn't have a dipstick as I wanted to check it.

Do the 5 speed geartronics have a dipstick?

I'm not sure either that a sufficiently long test drive would be acceptable to the vendor. My readings suggest at least 30 minutes and to get up to speed in all gears.

The car has a 2 x 7 pin towbar already fitted so I suspect it has been towing a caravan and therefore would have really needed a fluid change quite some miles ago.
It has a FSH but as we know a fluid change isn't normally on the schedule.

The two cosmetic things I saw on a quick 15 minute inspection were a slight graze on the nearside front wing just above the bumper and ( bizarrely ) the fabric covering on the A pillar mouldings on both sides has lifted for an inch or so along all the edge close to the windscreen.
Perhaps it's had a windscreen change.

The radio is not the original OEM and it is fitted with a single DIN unit.

For these reasons I think I'm not going to follow up on this one.

This is the car for anyone that may be looking for one.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Volvo-V70...gAAOSwxGlboSej

It's my local Volvo indi.

Colin

its a bit pricey :eek:

That fabric peel looks hideous - I’ve never seen that before. They just unclip so changing the screen should not cause that.

As well as the graze on the o/s/f wing, the bonnet gap is not even. And the radio doesn’t look great and the steering wheel controls probably don’t work now.

There will be better cars out there...

The fabric peeling on the front pillar trims is a common issue... mine did it as well. Trying to glue it back makes it look worse. I just bought two brand new ones from the dealer. They were about 50 quid.