V70: Body No yet 4 yrs old and bits starting to fall off

[100K+]

Just a little short rant really. (sorry) Noticed this bit of trim starting to become detached. No sign of clip attachment and VIDA shows a two part appoxy adhesive in the parts manifest. A quick search of the web shows its not just V70 that's affected, but V60 and XC90 too. I have used a small amount of impact adhesive to retain the trim. But am I being too critical? Is it really acceptable to use glue and double sided tap to secure components on a £35K car ? I think not - none of my other Volvo's had trim (outside or inside) fall off and they were all 10yrs+ when sold on.

Cheers
Bob

[tommyweaves]

My MY2011 is doing EXACTLY the same thing but on the other side!

[tommyweaves]

In answer to your question:

The use of glues and bonding agents has been increasing for decades in car manufacturing as well other sectors such as aircraft. Your typical Boeing or Airbus is pretty much glued together!

Bonding windows to the shell for example adds torsional strength far beyond what the old-fashioned rubber seals would have provided. So in fairness I don't think it's unreasonable on a Volvo. However it is disappointing when these things are not done properly.

I thought mine was a one-off and maybe I'd snagged it with a sponge when cleaning the car, but maybe not. It's odd that we have this issue in essentially identical places.

Presumably there's a formal repair process for the trim as it'll all have to come off if you have to replace that window? Maybe an Autoglass technician would know?

[Semnoz]

Mine is the same on both sides. I've tried double-sided foam tape, glue from a heat-gun etc... but they didn't hold it down for long, probably due to unclean bonding surfaces. I'll probably try again soon with something decent like Araldyte or Gorilla Glue.

In my view it is a design fault as air/water will eventually get through the gap and under the rear strip and 'eat' away at the bonding. If the rear strip had been designed to tuck underneath the strip in front, or its front edge recessed so that air/water flows over the top, the factory bonding might have been sufficient.

[XC90Mk1]

Originally Posted by tommyweaves

In answer to your question:

The use of glues and bonding agents has been increasing for decades in car manufacturing as well other sectors such as aircraft. Your typical Boeing or Airbus is pretty much glued together!

Bonding windows to the shell for example adds torsional strength far beyond what the old-fashioned rubber seals would have provided. So in fairness I don't think it's unreasonable on a Volvo. However it is disappointing when these things are not done properly.

I thought mine was a one-off and maybe I'd snagged it with a sponge when cleaning the car, but maybe not. It's odd that we have this issue in essentially identical places.

Presumably there's a formal repair process for the trim as it'll all have to come off if you have to replace that window? Maybe an Autoglass technician would know?

Maybe secondry locking but little if any structural components use adhesives.

[Sotosound]

Originally Posted by 100K+

Just a little short rant really. (sorry) Noticed this bit of trim starting to become detached. No sign of clip attachment and VIDA shows a two part appoxy adhesive in the parts manifest. A quick search of the web shows its not just V70 that's affected, but V60 and XC90 too. I have used a small amount of impact adhesive to retain the trim. But am I being too critical? Is it really acceptable to use glue and double sided tap to secure components on a £35K car ? I think not - none of my other Volvo's had trim (outside or inside) fall off and they were all 10yrs+ when sold on.

Cheers
Bob

My 64-reg V70 has the same issue. In short, it's cheap and disappointing.

[tommyweaves]

Originally Posted by XC90Mk1

Maybe secondry locking but little if any structural components use adhesives.

Not true.

[Peter86]

My v70 was the same on the other side. Got the garage to fix it before buying it. Been OK since. It only had 38,000 on the clock at the time.

[I-S]

Had exactly this same issue on ours too, only on the driver's side.

[Clan]

It is probably due to the 35 C temperatures we have been having recently . Best see the dealer for a new trim under warranty … volvo do improve this kind of thing once they are informed of it .

A lot of number plates are falling off recently too due to this . I have found that this kind of adhesive will let go at 10 degrees C higher than the temperature it was stuck on at … so now is a good time to fit new adhesive components , Number plates etc , not in the winter when it is 5 C .