MOT Failure - Wheels rubbing - useful info!
 

Hi there,

Just had my first MOT (sadly not at the dealer where I bought the car) and it's failed due to the 18" Wheels (Approved Volvo Accessory I guess) rubbing.

This must have happened before, anyone with any advice ? Apart from going spare at the Dealer where I bought it ?

Cheers,

Paul.

You can put lock-stops on the car.

However, my preferred method is to use an MOT garage that understands Volvos (ie a Volvo MD or a Volvo Specialist) as they are a lot more 'flexible' when it comes to issues like this. I've had 18 inch wheels on my car that have rubbed (also Volvo standard), and its passed its MOT every time with these wheels.

Sounds very overzealous - even the 17" wheels rub, depending on tyres but I've never had an MOT failure as a result. I'd echo the suggestion trying somewhere else, preferably with Volvo knowledge, who are aware that this nonsense is how Volvo intend their cars to operate - not beyond the wit of man to redesign the wheel arch lining you'd have thought - or perhaps it is!

I agree that it's over zealous... but I'm trying not to critcise the MOT guy too much, it's Volvo's problem - The law says that none of the tyre should catch the structure of the car, and they do, so it's a fail.

It's going back into Volvo Thursday so they can fix it with a retest on Tuesday... it'll be interesting to see what Volvo say.

Thanks for the responses,

S60 nebula wheels rubbing - MOT failure?
 

I panicked about this, but it is a known issue, even to vosa, the MOT people!. Have a look at their website.

http://www.vosa.gov.uk and type MOT 35 in the search box.

Why can't volvo come up with a modified plate, surely this would then not compromise the turning circle. This is my first Volvo and i am getting a bit nervous!

Hi,

That search found:
Any particular one?

Des. . . ;)

des on their main page i selected the top doc off the list in the center and toward the bottum of that page there is an article about wheel rub being normal on some model volvo's etc.. hope tis helps

Hi Paul

The way I resolved it, without losing even more turning circle by using lock-stops, was to fit 5mm spacers to the front wheels. It has made a massive difference to my turning circle and virtually stops the rubbing on the wheel arch (I still get a slight bit on full right lock but only occasionally which is probably due to the sports suspension).

They only cost £12.50 inc delivery - and are worth every penny and more. I went for these instead of the ebay ones available as they are solid cast with just the cut-outs for the various wheel nut spacings and not as flimsy looking as some on offer.

See previous post:

http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=39165

One change I have done is I had the wheels fully balanced and used copperslip (sic!) to 'hold' them while refitting the wheels which should also stop them binding to the hub.

HTH

Dave

Hi Paul,

Had the same problem and with the MOT due I did a quick 'fix'. On the lower wishbones there is the rubber limit stop bolted on. I fitted 2 washers to each bolt to pad the stop out a bit. Worked a treat! Now I am one of those Volvo drivers that takes 23 attempts to do a 3 point turn........

Bob

Related to this pdf document - last page.

:)

Mot
 

Unless really excessive this is not a cause of MOT failure should have been pass and advise.
Tell your MOT tester to read the last Matters of Testing magazine as there is a particular reference to Volvo and this problem.
Your car should not have failed for this reason.
Paul.

Hi
Mine did this so I took it back to the place I got it from and they swopped the lock stops from side to side that has fixed the problem, mine has done 138k and has 17 inch wheels.

The tyres rubbing the arch should NOT fail as Volvo provide metal plates for the tyres to rub on . Volvo put the plates there to pass the MOT , get your Tester to read his Tester's Manual ... Appeal ... The same applies to Morgan cars , they have an alloy block bolted to the chassis for this very purpose as well .
When you have 18" wheels you really need the stop kit from Volvo otherwise the rubbing is so bad the plates rub through eventualy.

Rubbing...
 

I found my S60 with 18" alloy also got this problem. I got photos to show...

question...
 

One thing I don't quite understand is:

Why the driver side got an extra plat while passenger side doesn't?

Could it be the passenger side plat simply been rubbed off?

Although the passenger side doen't have extra plat, the original plat shows it's metal inside as well.

5mm spacer does the job
 

I've fitted the 5 mm spacers to my 18" alloy. It does the job. I cannot hear the rubbing noise any more ;-)

MOT faliure
 

Hello

Just discovered forum last night after my S60 failed it's MOT yesterday.

Has 18" nebula wheels and sports and winter pack, 04/53.

Checked out the VOSA link provided by one of you guys but it says there should be no tyre contact when 'static' and this is the reason that it failed according to the tester.

The other, and far more serious problem is that the tyres were so badly worn on the inner portion that I actually got a flat tyre as the rubber had completely worn through to the wire part of the tyre!

Whilst I can appreciate there has always been a bit of a rubbing sound on full lock this surely can't be right can it? man a t volvo told me it was a 'quirk' of the car!

It's now 3 days before Christmas and I'm waiting for Rybrook's in Chester to ring me back and sort it all out - although I won't be holding my breath.

Has anyone else had catastrophic tyre wear in under one year with the nebula wheels?

Firstly if the tyres lightly rub on the plate put there by volvo to prevent it failing MOT then it shouldnt have failed on this point, the tester really should read his testers manual where this is specificaly mentioned as not a fail !

Secondly , has the tyre worn through due to misalignment? I would be very surprised if it has worn through due to solely rubbing on the plate at full lock !

Thirdly , with 18" wheels you need the volvo stop kit which cures the problem , there are different stops which fit in the steering rack and also thicker block stops on the suspension arms . Also if your camber is set too negative this will inflame the situation ...

i d the same problem on my s 80 i noticed that the plastic lock stops fitted i assume as standard had worm quite badly so i swapped them over from one side to another whilst i was doing this i fitted 1 washer behind each one and added wheel spacer hey presto no rubbing at all and virtually no loss of lock as only 1 washer behind each nut used good luck

Discovered wheels rubbing
 

Hi!

Swopped my wheels from front to back the other day to get some even wear and discovered the 18" Pegasus wheels the previous owner put on have been rubbing on the inner front wheel arch, they were brand new on so 8 months ago so the rubbing hasnt been that bad so far. I have 225 40 tyres, I think they are only rubbing on full lock and when the suspension is down. I have a 54 plate D5 sport, dont know if this makes any difference in terms of suspensions height?

What do I need to solve the problem, wheel spacers or stop locks? Want to know before I go to my local Volvo garage and they try and rip me off. Wheres the best place to get them from? I dont have the rubbing plates by the way. also if this is a known design fault, does volvo offer any sort of free modification?

Cheers

James

The previous owner should have fitted the lock stop kit available from volvo as decribed above when he fitted the 18" wheels. It seems he neglected to . It isnt a design fault if the volvo recommended parts are not fitted . Your car will have had the metal arch liner plates from new , have they been removed?
I think you need to make sure the plates are there , if not fit them , them get the volvo 18" wheel lock stop kit fitted .

Thanks for your reply! It didnt look like the plates were their to be honest, just looked like the plastic inner wheel arch. I might have another look and get the lock stop kit. Is it easy to fit the lock stop kit or would be wiser to get volvo or another garage to do it?
Am getting some new tyres soon as the ones I have are rubbish, Achilles make, worst tyre I have ever had so am not that bothered about them being rubbed. Am thinking of getting some Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta, have had alot of Vredestein in the past on my old volvo and found them to be very good, they are also cheaper than the Goodyear Eagles and Michelin Pilot Sports I was looking at lol.

Thanks again!

James

The plates are shaped and black so probably there , when the tyres rub they polish up .
The kit is in two parts , the first are thicker stops for the lower wishbones , The second are plastic spacers which fit in the steering rack after you remove the gaiters and rods . The turning circle will be less of course ..

I changed the tyres on my V70 D5 from 225/45 17 to 225/50 17 to get slight improvement on fuel consumption and lower revs at motorway speed which is where it spends most of its time , I dont care about the small loss of acceleration and would judge the speedo to now be indicating slightly under the true speed , would have been better to have a 6 speed box in the first place but not available in 2003 . The only downside is rubbing the wheel arch plates on full lock which contrary to 'advice' I was given 25k miles ago have not worn holes through them (just worn off the paint) and it passed its mot. I am just wondering if I could change to yet another higher profile tyre to get a further improvement in mpg . I have done 125k miles in four years so am always looking to reduce fuel consumption.

The police have 18" wheels on there volvos and complain about the turning circle(I don't think they know about the lock stops they have on them-smaller wheels would sort it)

I've got 18" Atlantis wheels on my S60 D5 05 reg and they have never rubbed on full lock, the tyres are 225/40/18 but i think they're 7" wide as opposed to 8"" Pegasus, am i right?.

will volvo ever build a good car. iv had mine 1 year, iv never had a car with so many problems.

Not too sure about the width.

I have 18" Nebula's on my S60 D5 04 reg, i do get rubbing on full lock butmy tyres are 235/40/18 so i think the extra 10mm in width makes the difference between rubbing and not.

Mr S60R 04 has same size and rubs on full lock plus turning circle is fun too lol. Glad I'm used to driving HGV's so still makes it seem not too bad.

Gaz

So I would need to jack up the car and use spanners etc...

yes , but the kit is a last resort if you cant cure it any other way ... assuming authorised tyre sizes ( listed on petrol filler flap )

First off, excuse my ignorance, but what is MOT? I have the optional Volvo 17" wheels and they rub horribly at full lock. I appreciate the advice here.

[QUOTE=drcnnn;476419]First off, excuse my ignorance, but what is MOT?

MOT is our department of transport roadworthy test which has to be done every 12 month, once a car has reached 3 years old.

Hey much like what bob said above is what ive herd, i went to see a garage to get some work done and i was havin a crack on with the lad who owns it, we talked about mods for it, he said he would lower it a bit and maybe remap the engine he said not much more i can do without spoiling it. i told him i cant lower it as it rubs on full lock, he called one of his mates over and asked him about the fault he had with his, the lad said he had the same issue and said it was common with alot of volvo's he said he put the washers underneath and has never had bother since.

Guys,

As my car is in for a wheel bearing tomorrow and a left front 'clunk' i thought i'd get the garage to do the spacer mod for me.

However, i'm a bit clueless on what/where etc. So if i can give the garage a bit of guidance/tech info that would hep me lots.

FWIW i've got an S60 D5 running 16" Mimas.

well not just the 18s rubbing I have 17s 225 and at full lock they rubbing and once you look at the arch it self you can see nice shiny parts and tyres in few 0000s to be replace, is there a statment anywhere on net where it state that this is sort of normal for Volvo cars and is not MOT fail, I just love to argue with mechanics is well as security guys most of them are not very bright.

It is permissable for the tyres to rub "on a plate put there specificaly for the purpose" thats the gist of what is written in the MOT Testers manual perhaps he should read it ..

The Morgan sports car has alloy blocks on the side of the chassis for this very purpose too .

Now if your tyres have rubbed through the plate and the plastic liner too then this is excessive and should fail , But just shiny marks on the metal plate put there for the purpose which is what you have where the tyres occasionaly rub when parking ,that is not a fail ...

ask for the appeal form!

I didn't take the car for MOT yet, but is due very shortly so will have to wait and see what will happend but at least now I know he can't fail the MOT on this problem

Rubbing wheels
 

Had a similar problem with my S80 on front lock with the tyres catching the inner wings. At first I put it down to the tyre profile. Discussing this at a tyre and exhaust garage the mechanic pointed out the wear on some hard plastic steering lock stops. When I contacted Volvo to get some replacements the first question was size wheels/tyres is the car running on. Changed mine as a pair and rubbing has stopped.

When I had my S60 MOT'd a couple of months ago, the fact that there was slight rubbage from my standard 17 inch wheels/tyres, was mentioned by the tester. He did however say something along the lines of "known Volvo issue" and didn't even advise on it.
I guess he was an experienced/clued up tester?