C70 common faults and things to look for

[Rowley010]

Looking at getting rid of my V50 later this year and getting a C70, 2008 or newer D5. Not bothered about manual or auto would take either.

Are there any common faults and things to look out for with this car?

Do the electric roofs fail and are they costly to fix?

I've had a few electrical issues with my V50, and I'm hoping the C70 may be better?

[Baxlin]

When I first went to see my C70, the salesman demonstrated the roof, while it was down, I tried the yellow boot access button, and nothing happened. And the roof wouldn't go back up either, although he assured me it was working when they took it in.

It was one sensor out of quite a few that had failed, which I was told was an easy fix(!?), so yes, roofs can fail!

Also, from a recent thread on here, make sure the door latches are well lubricated.....

But these aside, I've had no problems which would be directly associated with the C70, and I'm thoroughly enjoying driving it!

[Proghound]

Expect mainly the same issues as the V50 as they share the same platform and have mostly common parts. The electrics are even more complex due to the addition of the roof module! Probably quicker to wear the suspension too as they're heavier by several hundred KG over the same engine & spec V50. A 2008 or later should see you clear of most of the problems with parts fitted to earlier years that were updated.

Roofs aren't infallible, and roof parts other than simple sensors will be expensive, but equally you don't see many problems reported on here. Nearly 4½ years in with mine as a daily driver, it's been totally reliable and I'm loving it. Apart from routine servicing & consumables I've had a leaky hydraulic ram in the roof replaced (yes that was an expensive part), and the aircon condenser (same weak Ford part as the V50) - oh, and the front springs as one got broken, but that's just British roads for you these days.

[poiuytre111]

If looking at C70s, I would look at the rear wheels' camber which, if excessive (>2.5 deg) will exacerbate the tendancy C70s have to wear the inner edge of rear tyres. I believe the standard car rear camber is not adjustable even though some other ford C1 platform cars appear to use an adjustable inner bolt to give +- 1deg of adjustment.

Also, not so much a fault as such but the early cars like mine (2006) have no easy way of connecting an external audio source other than a fm adapter.

[Rowley010]

Thanks for the replies

[phil1968]

Had mine for two years & so far have had to replace the aircon condenser & the alarm siren module integral battery (both done myself at a fraction of what it would've cost at a Volvo dealer). Other than that it's been just the usual consumables

[asustech]

as not to alarm, but i have posted this elsewhere on these forums.

Purchaased my C70 2007 T5 Auto last march (16) and had a full host of issues. The car is at 73,000 miles and so far

The rear suspension arms replaced amd all corner bushels

The steering rack replaced

Passenger window motor replaced.

Gear box Replaced

Gear box Wiring loom replaced

Front brake discs replaced

Roof sensor replaced

Maf sensor replaced

Passenger side Headlight replaced

Various hoses replaced due to fatigue

Rear tail pipes replaced due to rust

2 x blown fuses replaced

4 new tyres due to inner tyre wear

Luckily, apart from tyres the rest was with the Volvo warranty which thank god i had.

So, if buying this car, think of maybe paying a little extra and take the warranty and negotiate a 12 month cover. I can not fault Volvo for the repairs , they have been easy to deal with.

They have almost re-built the car!!

Hope this helps.

[Baxlin]

With respect, Asustech, most of your car problems weren't C70 specific, were they?

Quite a list, nonetheless!

Mine came with a six month dealer warranty, I bought an extra six months just in case, fortunately not had to use either yet.

[Rowley010]

My v50 was recalled due to the issue with the washer pump leaking water and down the wiring loom. This cause corrosion on the pins of the CEM which gave me errors with the accelerator pedal. Volvo did eventually sort it out but the dealer isn't close to me so it was a pain. Does the C70 have the issue with that water leaking?

What sort of cost are you looking at if the roof fails? And is this one of those repairs that only Volvo can do due to software programming?

[Proghound]

There were some C70's involved in the recall for the washer pump issue. Best thing you could do would be check online with the VIN of whatever car you were looking at: www.volvocars.com/uk/own/maintenance/recalls

Cost of roof failure really would depend on what failed. Diagnosing a sensor or a broken wire would probably be quick at Volvo dealers or specialists with VIDA hence not too expensive, replacing a sensor again pretty easy as it would be a simple bolt-on part, but resolving a broken wire less so if they wanted to replace that entire section of the loom (but an auto-electrican might just bypass the break).

The roof structural hardware is all completely specific to that model though, so new parts would be supplied through Volvo only at (you have to assume) inflated prices. When they did my simple hydraulic ram, the part alone was £511 + VAT, luckily there wasn't much labour involved. They did have to do a roof calibration procedure in VIDA to get everything in its correct positions, so you'd really be looking for at least a Volvo specialist who has it. Or there's a company called Cayman Autos in Dorking who specialize in hardtop convertible systems who might be able to help.

I would say, don't let the possibility of an expensive roof repair put you off, as it's not particularly likely to happen. That said, don't expect the C70 to be a cheap car to run & maintain in general, as you might for the Focus that it's based on. It shouldn't really be that much worse than your V50 in that respect, but if that puts you off, so be it.