PHAD: 2005 Volvo V70 crank no-start

[kevm14]

This one was interesting. Here we have a mid 2000s Volvo wagon, with 210k, and the owner brought it to a dealer for a quote. They gave back an estimate with all this stuff on it but for thousands of dollars.

So Ivan does his normal, thorough diagnostic routine. It turns out it needed a fuel pump control module. A new one was an outrageous $500 and when you see it, it doesn't seem like it should be any more than $100. But he found a good used one and that fixed that (no fuel pump required). Then he went through the rest of the list and fixed stuff as required. For one item, the dealer actually caused an airbag light to come on while they were diagnosing the no start and it was a simple matter of resetting the codes (they wanted to charge for this, even though they caused it).

Here are the 3 parts:
1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dx6vLRBxErw
2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDXr8l9osvM
3: https://youtu.be/wCKLM8QUJ8g

What we learned is two things. First, a good independent mechanic is really what you want on ANY higher mileage used car but specifically a European one where any single estimate exceeds the value of the car (nevermind repeat trips). I knew this before but this is a great walk-through of the details of it. Second and more conversation-worthy, it was fascinating to watch him warm up to this car. He went from "oh god, here comes a high mileage Volvo" to "you know, I like this car." I might have to give Tony somewhat of a pass next time he says his car is good...they might actually be decent cars (this body style V70 - not generalizing any broader than that).

In this case, "decent" actually means relatively fuel efficient (this was the base, non-turbo 2.4L), solid to drive (particularly on the highway he says), pretty resistant to rust and, surprise, seemingly reliable and reasonable to fix if you are not a scammy dealer.

[kevm14]

Get ready for some whacky Volvo trivia.

The 2000-2007 V70 is on the Volvo P2 platform.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_P2_platform

It carried these vehicles:
Volvo S80

1998–2006
4-door saloon
P23[6]
184
launched for the 1999 model year
Volvo S60

2000–2009
4-door saloon
P24
384

Volvo V70

2000–2007
5-door estate
P26E[7]
285

Volvo XC70

2000–2007
5-door estate
P26L
295

Volvo XC90

2002–2014[8]
5-door crossover SUV
P28[9]
275
launched for the 2003 model year
Volvo XC Classic[10]

2014[10][11]–2016
5-door crossover SUV
P28
rebranded version of the XC90

That XC90 classic is a whole other conversation....wtf

First, the P2 produced such esteemed vehicles as the S80. That's unfortunate. Maybe the S80 just had too much crap bolted on for the platform. Either that or there were significant platform updates/improvements over time and the early ones just suck....that can be a thing.

Second, look at this:
1st gen S80, 99-06.
Transmission
5-speed Volvo M56 manual
6-speed Volvo M65 manual
4-speed GM 4T65 AWD automatic[3]
5-speed Aisin AW55-50/51SN automatic[3]

WHAT??

There's more. 1st gen XC90
Transmission
6-speed Volvo M66 manual
4-speed GM 4T65 AWD automatic
5-speed Aisin AW55-50/51SN automatic
6-speed Aisin TF-80SC automatic

The T6 offered a 2.9-litre B6294T twin-turbocharged inline-six with 268 hp (200 kW) and 280 lb⋅ft (380 N⋅m) mated to a GM-sourced, Volvo-modified four-speed 4T65EV/GT automatic. While the 2.5T came standard with front-wheel drive, a Haldex Traction all-wheel drive (AWD) system was optional. The T6 was offered only with the AWD system.

What in the hell....modified GM 4T65E??? Ford owned them from like 1999 to 2010! Hilarious.

[kevm14]

But yeah, looking at Volvo platforms, we have:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_P80_platform

P80 brought us some decent vehicles. At least, I understand the 850 to be a decent vehicle (surprisingly).
Volvo 850

1991–1996
4-door saloon
5-door estate
LS (854)
LW (855)[14]
facelift model shown
Volvo S70

1996–2000
4-door saloon
LS (874)[14]

Volvo V70

1996–2000
5-door estate
LW (875)[14]

Volvo V70 XC

1997–2000
5-door estate
LW (876)[14]

Volvo C70 coupé

1996–2002
2-door coupé
NK (872)[14]

Volvo C70 convertible

1998–2005
2-door convertible
NC (873)[14]
facelift model shown

Then there was P2 which I pasted above.

And then I would argue P3 (aka Ford EUCD) gets a little scary.
Ford S-MAX

2007–2016
5-door MPV
CD340

Ford Galaxy

2007–2016
5-door MPV
CD340[3]

Ford Mondeo

2007–2014
4-door saloon
5-door fastback
5-door estate
CD345[4][5][6]

Land Rover
Land Rover Freelander 2
Land Rover LR2

2007–2014
5-door SUV
L359[7]

Volvo
Volvo S80

2006–2016
4-door saloon
Y286[8][9]
124[10][11]
facelift model shown
Volvo S80L

2010–2016
4-door saloon
Y483

Volvo V70

2007–2016
5-door estate
Y285[12]
135[10][11]
facelift model shown
Volvo XC70

2008–2016
5-door estate
Y381[12]
136[10][11]

Volvo XC60

2009–2017
5-door SUV
Y413[12]
(K413)[13]
156[10]
facelift model shown
Volvo S60

2011–2018
4-door saloon
Y283
134[10]
facelift model shown
Volvo S60L

2014–2018
4-door saloon
L421[14][15][13]
138[16]

Volvo S60 CC

2015–2018
4-door saloon
V429
137[16]

Volvo V60

2011–2018
5-door estate
Y352
155[10]

Volvo V60 CC

2015–2018
5-door estate
V423
157[16]

Volvo XC90

cancelled[17]
5-door SUV
Y305[18]
project was cancelled
during development

Finally you have the current stuff, Volvo Scalable Product Architecture (SPA). Nice looking vehicles but I don't think these are stacking up to be super reliable. I should get some data on that.

Volvo XC90 II

2014–present
5-door SUV
V526
256[10]

Volvo S90

2016–present
4-door sedan/saloon
V541
234[11]

Volvo S90L

2017–present
4-door sedan/saloon
L541
238[12]

Volvo V90

2016–present
5-door wagon/estate
V542
235[13]

V90 Cross Country

2016–present
5-door wagon/estate
V543
236[13]

Volvo XC60 II

2017–present
5-door SUV
V426
246[14]

Volvo S60 III

2018–present
4-door sedan
V431
224

Volvo V60 II

2018–present
5-door wagon/estate
V432
225

Volvo V60 Cross Country

2018–present
5-door wagon/estate
V433
226

Polestar 1

TBD
2-door coupé