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S/V/C 2010 V50 T5 R things to know?

Bready

board deviant
Joined
Nov 23, 2002
GF is looking at a 2012 V50 T5 R - any pitfalls to know about?

Thanks :wave:
 
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These don't exist in Canada. Are you sure on the nomenclature?

I do know America got the V70 longer than we did.

I was not aware the V70 ever got a T5 though.

It would be an R-Design (so avoids the expensive suspension stuff the early R's had).

I'm going to ASSume it has a 6 cylinder.

Suspension wise
- you want to check the stay arm bushings in the rear suspension. These are the front bushings on the trailing arms. The rubber separates from the metal housing.
- General check over of leaking struts/shocks, worn ball joints and tie rods and sway bar end links. Though, we don't really see much wear on these components and we have some really rough roads and severe temperature swings.

Interior-
Make sure everything works.
Make sure the screen for the radio works and make sure it continues to work when you press against the center console with your leg.
Make sure the windows and locks work. It is very common for the wires in the driver door harness to break. There is a zip tie that wears the wiring down. If it is working and you buy the car, I recommend pulling back the rubber and removing this zip tie and repairing any wire that needs it. This is a really easy fix and a good way to talk people down on price if these things are not working. Many people will think it is the door module. It typically isn't (I think I've changed one or two in 15 years).

Engine (again I'm working on the SI6 engine, wikipedia also tells me it should have the 6 cylinder). I really should write this out into a pinned post.

Vacuum pump leak- on the back of the intake cam. Easy to repair (kit available). These often leak.
Catalytic converter codes- the cats are expensive. They aren't hard to change, but they're annoying. And did I mention expensive?
Oil consumption- This is a concern. Ask if they had any consumption issues, was it repaired by Volvo at any time? PM me about this. The rings on the NA engines in america were different than we got. Most of these would have been updated due to consumption at some point. This was more of an American engine thing, so although I've dealt with piston replacements, the American guys dealt with it WAY more than I did.
Aux belt, tensioner and idler. Have they been changed? I have started to call them at 150K km (interval is 196k km?). I'm not sure if it is our climate, but the idlers seem to fail.
Check for a white line originating around the aux belt on the firewall- this indicates leaking water pump.
Alternator bolt comes loose and you get a 12V charging fault. Often the fault of the 1 way clutch failing on the alternator or the READ unit. Fairly easy job.

Transmission
Just make sure it shifts nice.
We flush the fluid every 80K km here. I think I've changed 1 TF80 transmission and it was on a brand new transmission. BUT, they do have some abnormal shifting patterns (harsh down/up shifts) on certain shifts. This is due to a flipped seal in the transmission. There is a software that will alternate between two different quality of life settings. (you pick which crappy shift pattern you want). Now, most people don't notice the shifting, it doesn't harm anything. There is a fix where we disassemble the transmission and replace the seals. It is a big job. Only certain cars apply to this. Your car may not.
Since it will be FWD, when accelerating look for wobble in the front end (bad axle shaft). Also look for split CV boots (this might be more common here due to the cold).

I'm sure I've forgotten things here. I'll try and add to it as I think of things
 
That’s a pretty rare car where I’m from. We have just one customer with a v50 r design w/ manual trans and he says he will never sell it. I just recently picked up an 07 s40 for winter, and wish it was a v50. p1s are fun.
 
Wasn't the R a cosmetic thing at that point? I'm not sure when that happened exactly. IMO the T5 was always a better car than an R. Tougher and not as fussy, parts are less expensive, and its easy to surpass R performance with some mods.

I passed on buying an R when I bought my 06 V50 T5, it just drove much nicer. Took some $ to get the performance but I have never regretted the choice.
 
Chicky Boo loves the R interior (this would be her third R series daily is a C30 T5 R and she's looking to trade in her XC60 T5 R for this one).

But I think you are correct - it's basically the T5 with the upgraded interior and trim package.
 
the biggest downfall of the p1 platform (v50) is the lack of coolant level sensors. As long as you replace all the cooling components preventatively you can prevent yourself from having engine failures.

Cars are tight to work on but not impossible. Certainly tighter then a p80 or p2
 
In my experience - from my wife's car, it's been faithful but has it's achilles heels like any car.

Hydraulic engine mounts need replaced about every 60k Mi, same with the lower control arms have fluid filled bushings that last about 60 k. Coolant overflow bottle likes to crack so keep a close eye on that. Central electronics modules seem to go around 120k mi, about $1000 to replace and you're pretty much stuck with the dealer there. The cars love to eat the inner edge of the tires - front worse but rear too - lots of threads on that issue. If it's an auto the shift solenoids will eventually need removed and cleaned. Front wheel bearings only lasted 80k mi for me.

Otherwise, nothing other than usual wear items.
 
In my experience - from my wife's car, it's been faithful but has it's achilles heels like any car.

Hydraulic engine mounts need replaced about every 60k Mi, same with the lower control arms have fluid filled bushings that last about 60 k. Coolant overflow bottle likes to crack so keep a close eye on that. Central electronics modules seem to go around 120k mi, about $1000 to replace and you're pretty much stuck with the dealer there. The cars love to eat the inner edge of the tires - front worse but rear too - lots of threads on that issue. If it's an auto the shift solenoids will eventually need removed and cleaned. Front wheel bearings only lasted 80k mi for me.

Otherwise, nothing other than usual wear items.

Thanks appreciate it - car is getting pre-buy inspection prior to our looking at it so hopefully those things will be checked
 
I think the coolant bottle issue is with all modern Volvo's, mine cracked as well at about 150k miles. Usually starts as a tiny bit of coolant in the dimples on the top of the bottle.

Weird tire wear also haha, my car has a lot of camber in the back from the factory, so much so that you can't rotate the tires unless you do it all the time.
 
Yeah so you can ignore EVERYTHING I wrote out if it is a V50 and not a V70.

Change the lower rad hose. (when these go, they go all of a sudden typically and it causes engine failure since there is no coolant level sensor)
Check the coolant bottle for cracking (usually just a slow leak/pressure problem)
The later cars wheel bearings seem better than the earlier cars. Not sure if there was an update.
Control arms same thing, the early ones were bad (rear bushings) but the later ones were much improved. You can test them yourself by driving slowly and jabbing the brake, listen for a dunk noise/feel under your feet.

Get an aluminum skid plate for it.
Check aux belt for wear. Replace when doing the Tbelt (10 years 196K km).
Be cautious you don't pull too close to a curb, the AC compressor /oil pan are the lowest points. Cracked oil pans are common. Hitting the aux belt and having it pop off into the Tbelt is something I've seen. This is a winter problem you probably won't see. Also why I recommend an aluminum pan.

Check the front struts for leaking.

The tire wear is abnormal. The rear tires like to cup on them. If you rotate the tires, you will get a bearing type hum. We don't rotate tires on them (should have best tires on the back anyways, and the fronts tend to wear the fastest anyways).

Listen for a hum from the engine at idle, sounds like a bad turbo. If it goes away with the dipstick removed or oil cap taken off, it needs a PCV oil trap (though I've seen you can replace just the cap now through IPD, I haven't done it, and the one guy I know who did, it didn't work and he replaced the entire unit in the end).

This will be an R-Design. The only truely "R" car is the 04-07 S60/V70R. So no worries about the expensive stuff. R-Design just got sportier suspension (without the adjustable 4C stuff), and some design changes (interior and exterior).

I'd have no hesitation buying one of these.

Jordan
 
I’ve had a bunch of customers with these, and they all say how great they are!

Everything Jordan said I second

But check the ac compressor for excessive rust around the clutch, common issue to wear the air gap out and then it will not engage after it is warm.

This only applies if it is a manual, make sure you check the cv boots/axles… there are very few sources for correct manual axles…. I’ve had at least 6 cars that customers ordered aftermarket axles and they did NOT fit and had to go oem…

Check the a pillars for any signs of water, sunroof drains get clogged at the end of the “sound trap” drain, or the hoses shrink and pull out of the drains and leak water right on the cem if on the p/s. not terrible to replace (you should never used compressed air on the p1 platform… I had to write a letter for a customer in a court case… used compressed air and it popped out and fried his cem…

Check the key switch in the ignition, the switch wears and requires replacement of the switch at a dealer…. If it is a r design it should have a keyless switch and therefore should have no wear.

Run codes for any accelerator pedal faults… sometimes as simple as a zip tie on the pedal to hold the connector down.

Make sure all the lights work, especially the led… most of them are direct wired from cem(that gets leaked on!)

Drive the car and press on the upper portion of the windshield and listen for any air leaks(mainly a p3 problem but I have seen it on the p1 too)

I would own one but since I have size 15 feet I can’t work the pedals as well as I like on the p1��
 
Since she already has the Best P1 (C30 T5 - I love mine), the V50 is not any different in terms of common issues - all good advice above.

So, did she buy it?
 
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