Dodgy handbrake 2003 2.4 V70 Estate
 

My local garage replaced my rear discs/brake shoes during service/MOT and used OEM parts, which he claims are no different than Volvo parts. However, he didn't replace the handbrake cables and I can drive away with the handbrake on. Not good as we tow a caravan. He now wants to charge for replacing the handbrake cables, but I am not convinced that the problem isn't in part due to the OEM shoes he has fitted.
Any comments or ideas would be welcome.

Not sure how different your car will be, but this forum only deals with the pre 2000 V70. You need the post 2000 forum.

Did you ask for genuine shoes to be fitted? The internet is ‘full’ of stories of shoes delaminating and causing the disc/hub to seize, so ‘only use genuine Volvo shoes’. Nothing about the shoes not being the right size. The ones I fitted earlier this year came out of a Volvo box, had Volvo printed on the shoes along with Made in China. If you didn’t ask for genuine shoes to be fitted then of course your mechanic will charge you for changing them.

Have you tried adjusting the cable? Simple, and done inside the car. If the cables have stretched beyond their limits, they’re not too difficult to change, MUCH quicker if someone’s doing it on a lift.

What did you ask your mechanic to do? Fix the handbrake or change the shoes?

Hello Bobnine,
You don’t tell us whether the handbrake was fully up to MOT standard before the new discs and pads were fitted. Personally, I doubt whether the ‘quality’ of the pads would significantly affect the handbrake efficiency.
Does your handbrake system work on the calipers or are there separate handbrake shoes within the discs. If the latter then it could be all to do with adjusting these shoes.
If the handbrake simply applies pressure to the disc pads, then you need to confirm the lever mechanisms at the calipers are free and the mechanism is working as it should - very often they sieze/ partially sieze. When you are certain these are working properly, the handbrake cables should be assessed for smooth movement - again they often aren’t as free moving as they should be. If they aren’t, then they will need to be replaced. In my book, the handbrake cables should never be adjusted until it has been confirmed that all the above is serviceable.
Based on the above, I can understand your garage wanting to charge you to replace the pads again, but I would have thought they would have confirmed the handbrake mechanism was serviceable, and it’s effeciency was up to scratch before handing the car back to you. It might probably have been claimed that the handbrake would not be efficient until the pads bed in!, but trying that one on the buyer of the car when it was new.

Probably just need adjusting properly. Same set up as earlier phase 1 models, were the handbrake SHOES replaced or just the discs and PADS??

Dodgy handbrake
 

Handbrake cable adjusted to max. Didn't even expect replacement when car went in for service, but had told garage (who service every year) that I thought pads were getting low. They checked and dismissed, saying there was still wear left in them.
There are no adjustments on handbrake assembly, only the cable.
No problems with wear before service and MOT.
The car has been back several times with handbrake not holding since the service/MOT.
Any ideas?

I have a P2 with the same braking setup and when I had a similar issue, I just replaced everything with high quality ATE parts who make the Volvo braking components.
Cables, handbrake shoes, springs and new rear disc.
Overkill for some but the job was right and the job was done once and been fine for 3 years.
It holds on the flat with 1 click and at any angle with 3 clicks. My video of the job is here.

Handbrake
 

It's all in the way it is set up and adjusted, poor mechanic by the sounds of it, way too many of them around who are useless at tasks like this, it's not rocket science but just needs to be done properly, it is not down to non Volvo parts

From what I can see online the post 2000 V70 has a similar but not identical handbrake set up to the pre 2000 V70 so asking in S80 '98-'06 / S60 '00-'09 / V70 & XC70 '00-'07 General section is going to get a safer answer.

What seems to catch most people out with the 850 and pre 2000 V70 is that to adjust the handbrake shoes you need to totally slacken the handbrake cable, not just let the handbrake off, but go into the centre console and slacken off the adjuster there. Adjusting the shoes is then fairly standard with a screwdriver through the hole in the face of the drum(disc) to turn the threaded adjuster, and then readjust the handbrake cables. I spent too many weekends under mine trying to get the handbrake right but it was an easy job once I knew how.

^^^WHS^^^

Adjusting it properly as above makes a huge difference - there's a "how to" in the technical articles section, but Dave essentially covers it above.