XC70: Body Seal on windscreen.

[wilbydoughboy]

Originally Posted by apersson850

Well, there is no rubber seal nowadays. That's been completely replaced by the bonding.
When Volvo had problems setting their windscreens properly, the issue was the primer used on the windscreen, to prepare for the bond. There was nothing wrong with the bond itself, but the priming was faulty, so the bond couldn't attach to the windscreen as it was supposed to.

What I fail to understand is surely the same primer and bonding was used for all around the screen and the other glass areas. Why would the failure only be along the top of the screen, unless the primer and bonding used along the top edge was different.

[apersson850]

I don't know that for sure. I do know that some windscreens leak also elsewhere than at the top, but usually the customer will not notice, since water has a tendency to drip downwards, not sideways.

So it could be that either the bad bonding is everywhere, but you only notice it on the top, or there's something in the process that gives the problem mainly at the top.

[Tatsfield]

Windscreens are bought in for the assembly like with the edge surfaces pre-primed. The quality of the primer application would be the responsibility of the glazing supplier. Sadly there may have been a poor primer application of the screens and Volvo didn't have a pre-assembly QC test in hand to eliminate faulty primed screens. Once the screens are in the cars, there isn't an easy way to know that they haven't bonded at all points around the screen. As said above, no one notices poor adhesion allowing water ingress on the sides as water tends not to flow sideways in any quantity and at the bottom it's out of sight of the owner and he may not realise that water is entering the car as small amounts evaporate unseen. Volvo have not been the only automotive company to suffer screen priming problems but they do seem to have let the issue build up before dealing with it.

[wilbydoughboy]

Originally Posted by Tatsfield

Windscreens are bought in for the assembly like with the edge surfaces pre-primed. The quality of the primer application would be the responsibility of the glazing supplier. Sadly there may have been a poor primer application of the screens and Volvo didn't have a pre-assembly QC test in hand to eliminate faulty primed screens. Once the screens are in the cars, there isn't an easy way to know that they haven't bonded at all points around the screen. As said above, no one notices poor adhesion allowing water ingress on the sides as water tends not to flow sideways in any quantity and at the bottom it's out of sight of the owner and he may not realise that water is entering the car as small amounts evaporate unseen. Volvo have not been the only automotive company to suffer screen priming problems but they do seem to have let the issue build up before dealing with it.

I found it very easy to find that my screen was not bonded securely by just pushing from the inside and observing it move away from the bonding. I removed the side trims and found the screen was very well bonded at the bottom and sides, it was only the top bonding that had failed. I spoke with Volvo to see if there was a recall for this problem but there was not but was advised to speak to a Volvo dealer for advice. The dealer said they knew of no problems with leaking screens and it was not something they could deal with so I was left to sort things out myself.

[apersson850]

It's so different. After I discovered my leaking windscreen (when I was in the UK, actually) and went to my dealer to ask for advice (expecting to pay), I was told by the dealer that they wanted pictures of the windscreen, license plate, water ingress etc. This due to that they intended to present this evidence to Volvo Gothenburg, to make Volvo Car Corp. pay for the exchange.

They replaced the windscreen, free of charge. A while later I noticed that the camera behind the windscreen couldn't see the road when it got cooler outside. The heating of the windscreen in front of the camera was found faulty. Volvo Gothenburg told the local dealer to fix it with conducting paint, which they did. But it failed again after a while. When that happened, the dealer took the car in and replaced the windscreen again, now with another new one.

I didn't pay anything at all for this service. And since I work four minutes walk from the dealer, it's no issue for me to leave the car there in the morning either. I can complain about the issue, if I like, but I for sure can't complain about how it was handled.

[JonnyA]

hi guys
coming late to this thread. I have just discovered my windscreen is loose at the top (wasn't like that a couple of months ago).
is it worth approaching Volvo (2012 car with volvo (original?) screen.?

[Johnny Kebab]

Definitely contact Volvo. They’ve agreed to reinstall my screen at no cost as long as the screen is original. Mines also a 2012.

Johnny Kebab

[JonnyA]

Hi JohnnyK
thanks for the support. I spoke to both Volvo CS and local dealer, they both said (without actually committing until the dealer tech has seen it) that if faulty on a volvo screen they'll refit/seal it. great news.
Unfortuantely we have the best part of a 1000mile drive through the rain on friday and they won't be able to sort it out before then ... so biting the bullet and having a replacement fitted. (at least that gets rid of all those small chips that dazzle)

regards

[Vol S80 Lux]

Originally Posted by JonnyA

Hi JohnnyK
thanks for the support. I spoke to both Volvo CS and local dealer, they both said (without actually committing until the dealer tech has seen it) that if faulty on a volvo screen they'll refit/seal it. great news.
Unfortuantely we have the best part of a 1000mile drive through the rain on friday and they won't be able to sort it out before then ... so biting the bullet and having a replacement fitted. (at least that gets rid of all those small chips that dazzle)

regards

This is very encouraging news. Ill speak to volvo customer service tomorrow morning and see if they'll be just as kind to me.

[Ant B]

Originally Posted by apersson850

Well, there is no rubber seal nowadays. That's been completely replaced by the bonding.

Mine definitely had rubber round the edge of the windscreen, it was visible at the top edge of the screen, sort of underneath / behind the screen? Whether it acts as a seal or not I don’t know, but there was rubber round the screen, I saw it when the Autoglass guy got the old screen out!

2012MY facelift car (registered late-November 2011)...