4 replies to this topic

[oddferkout]

So, some of you remember (or maybe not) I posted a couple weeks back about my driver seat issue. I bought my '06 S40 T5 with 7500 miles on it in July of this year. Being a previous service loaner it was taken care of by the dealership under their Certified Pre-Owned, etc etc. Nonetheless, it was well kept. Or so I thought...

A little history lesson:

3 days after I left the lot, I noticed a puddle of water collecting in the back right footwell. The A/C was not draining properly. I took it back and they replaced some hoses, etc. Odd that they didn't realise this problem before they told it to me. Just getting the car a couple days prior, I wasn't happy.

The following week, the driver noise had been making some sort of knocking or popping noise. It'd happen whenever I went over bumps, took turns...especially u-turns. And pretty much whatever caused me to josh around in my seat. I took it back to the service department and they had added "sound dampening tape" to the rails. As expected, problem not solved.

Once again, a week later it was back at service for the same problem. This time they re-secured the bolts and added felt to the seat rails. The service tech told me that it was the WHIPS system causing the noise. Apparently a tech bulletin was posted on the car which required the whole seat to be refastened in a different way. This seemed to heighten the problem, for the noise continued at a higher frequency than before. UGH.

So... yup, back at the dealer the following weekend. Same fixes, same explanations, same noises, again.

I decided to take it to a different dealership. There was a Volvo lot down the street from my place so I took it there. The service manager immediately wanted me to take him for a drive so he could hear the problem. He heard it and took it in for service. They replaced all the seat rails, and pretty much the whole underside of the seat assembly.

Got it back yesterday... noise is still there.

And now... today...

I'm seriously frustrated with this car. I've contacted Volvo North America it, spoken to a representative from there as well as send in a letter with a copy of all the service receipts. The service manager at the second dealership I went to suggested I speak with the General manager at the Volvo lot I bought my car at 2 months ago. So I did.

I went there earlier this afternoon and one of the salesmen took me straight to the general manager. He pretty much laughed in my face and said, "well, you can trade the car in..." smiled and then said, "have you introduced yourself to our service manager, why don't you do that right now."

Pretty much kicking me out of his office.

I spoke with the service manager for about 20 minutes regarding this issue. I mentioned Lemon Laws in this and he said it's not at that point yet. Although California law states you have to bring in the car 2 times for the same repair to fall under these laws. I've brought it in 4 times already. It seemed like he was trying to avoid touching that topic.

Anyway, at the end of the meeting he suggested I let one of the regional techs look at the car. Coincidently he'll be in on Friday to look at another car. They're FINALLY providing a loaner (or paid rental) for this car. Oh yeah, I never got a loaner car for all these visits. But, yeah... apparently I have a friday morning appointment. Before I left they suggested I take the car for a drive with one of the mechanics so they know what noise to look for.

I did. First thing he said was my body weight is causing this noise. Yes, I'm not a small guy (250 lbs) but certaintly not big enough to break a seat. He then continued by saying the Whips system is sensitive to weight and then went off on this little speech on the WHIPS system. I don't know... I understand him informing me on how it works, but we've owned 4 Volvos..... I know how they work and this is the first one that's had a problem.

And anyway, the passenger seat doesn't have this problem. I don't know... I probably sound whiny and childish, but this problem is frustrating. I lose time in the day dealing with this. It sucks.

I just need to vent. Sorry guys.

[dmelviØØ7]

Call a lawyer.

[Volvo Virgin]

I don't have much nice to say about Volvo standing behind their products,at either the local or the corporate level.Keep doing what you're doing,maybe call a lawyer like Danny suggested at least to get a threatening letter to Volvo,and if all else fails...turn the radio up louder.You can only do so much,before it starts to eat away at you.As much as I like my car,the interior is not the quietest,by far,I have ever owned and has all kinds of little gremlins.Good luck!

Edited by Volvo Virgin, 21 September 2006 - 12:44 PM.

[fastboy]

We have a sales person here who is very picky about his car. He bought an 05 S40 T5. His drivers seat makes a pretty big anmount of noise too but he's only 150-180lbs. It does sound like a WHIPS issue as that's what his problem is. Reg. tech's are pretty good about resolving issues by throwing a whole lot of parts at the problem, but it can take some time. Best of luck tomorrow getting this resolved.

[oddferkout]

Just got it back from the lot...

...they greased the WHIPS system. Seems to not make the noise anymore.