Volvo 850

Full Service History (FSH)
For a Volvo, a high mileage should not be any problem if the engine is well maintained and looked after. They can run for +250000 miles without any problems. Check the service history to see if maintenance was performed every 10k miles by a Volvo dealer. You can verify this by the stamps in the service book.
However, if it was the owner himself who looked after the car, this is a good thing too. Most of the time this means that the car hase been looked after at a higher standard than with the dealer garage. It will mean your Volvo has been handled with love and care, and most often these people have folders full of receipts and spreadsheets of every single thing they did.

Check the oil
Use the dipstick to check the oil, but don’t be alarmed if you see some creamy gunk on the end of the dipstick. Many Volvo 850′s, and especially the T5′s have some condensation inside. Even more when the car has been used frequently for short journeys. This creamy stuff on the dipstick (looks a lot like “Baileys”, the drink) can easily be confused with a head gasket failure, but that’s not what it is. To check for a head gasket failure, or a split in the radiator/oil cooler, turn of the oil filler cap, and look for signs of the creamy gunk there.
As for the dipstick, it should show the correct oil level.
is correct.

PCV (positive crankcase ventilation) System
Take out the oil dipstick again, but this time with the engine running. If you see smoke puffing out, then the PVC system will need to be replace, or it will lead to a rear main oil seal failure.

RMS, Clutch & Oil Leaks
The rear main oil seal of the Volvo 850 is a weak point, due to the PCV system. You can check this by getting underneath the engine bay, and check for oil residues between the engine and the gearbox. If there are leaks there, it means the gearbox will have to com off, which is +6hrs of work. If this work needs to be done on your Volvo 850, it makes sense to also replace the clutch, as the clutch will undoubtedly have had it’s best days already, and replacing the clutch also means taking of the gearbox.

Oil leaks further down the back of the engine most often mean there is a leak in the return line from the turbo into the back of the engine. This is not a big deal, and fairly inexpensive to get repaired, but it could be another reason to bargain the price.

volvo 850 engine

Cambelt
The cambelt should be replace every 70-80k miles, or 6 years. The cost for this replacement is about +150$. Most dealers write the date and mileage of the cambelt replacement on the inside of the hood, but you can also check it in the service book.
To check the status of the cambelt, turn on the engine, there should be no unusual noises coming from the side of the engine where the cambelt is. Also visually check the condition of the belts.

Dash warning lights
Turn on the ignition, and check that all the warning lights go on. A trick that is often used to hide malfunctions in the car, for instance for the Lambda light, is to remove the light bulb from the warning light. Leaving you with a very exensive cost afterwards. Also check for warning lights such as the ABS/TRACS or Lambda warning light that start burning after driving a few miles.

Climate Control and Airconditioning
Check if Airconditioning is working as it should. It should kick in and stays in while driving. if it doesn’t, this could be a sign that it just needs re-gassing, but it could also mean there are some much more expensive things going on.

Heated Seats
The 1996 Volvo 850 models had a recall regarding the heated seats. If the Volvo 850 you’re looking at is the 1996 model, ask the owner if the Heated Seats recall has been actioned, this is FOC action by Volvo dealer, so normally it should have been. If it hasn’t, it won’t cost you anything to get it done, but it could be a reason to bargain the price.

1. Locate the OBD  located next to the washer reservoir under the hood, it’s a small black box with A and B on the cover.
2. Turn the ignition on, and open module A of the OBD,  and insert the little cable into socket 7.
3. Find the the button on the OBD and press it 4 short times. The LED should go on continuously, and the OBD is ready to accept your  input.
   

   Volvo 850 Service Light

4. The code for resetting the service light is 1-5-1.
5. To enter this code, press the test button once and release it. The led will light again.
6. Next, press the button 5 times and wait for the LED to go on again.
7. Press the button one last time again
8. This time, the LED will flashes several times to show that your input was accepted successfully
9. That’s it, your service light is now rest. Just put everything back in place, and enjoy a warning-free dashboard!

Volvo 850 (1996-1997) and S70, V70 (1998)

These models do not have the old OBD, but the newer OBDII. These have their advantages over the older model, but the disadvantage is that you need the OBDII Tool to read it out, and to reset the service lights.

S70, V70 , C70 and XC70

1. Press the odometer reset button and hold it while turning the ignition key to “Run”
2. Wait until the Service Reminder Light flashes, then release the odometer reset button.
3. Turn the ignition key off and on again.
4. You have just reset your Service reminder light!

Whats where:
A1 Transmission
A2 Fuel System
A3 ABS
A5 Transmission Control
A6 Ignition System
A7 Combined Instrument

B1 Climate Control
B2 Cruise Control
B5 SRS
B6 Power Seat

Automatic Transmission Fault Codes A1

CODE MEANING
1-1-1 No fault detected
1-1-2 Solenoid S1 circuit shorted to 12 volts
1-1-3 Fault in ECU
1-1-4 Break in driving mode selector circuit
1-2-1 Solenoid S1 circuit shorted to earth
1-2-2 Break in solenoid S1 circuit
1-2-3 Solenoid STH circuit shorted to 12 volts
1-2-4 driving mode selector circuit shorted to earth
1-3-1 Break or short circuit to earth in solenoid STH circuit
1-3-2 Fault in ECU
1-3-4 Incorrect load signal
1-4-1 Oil temperature sensor circuit shorted to earth
1-4-2 Break in oil temperature sensor circuit
1-4-3 Kickdown switch circuit shorted to earth
2-1-1 Fault in ECU
2-1-2 Solenoid S2 circuit shorted to 12 volts
2-1-3 Throttle position signal too high
2-2-1 Solenoid S2 circuit shorted to earth
2-2-2 Break in solenoid S2 circuit
2-2-3 Throttle position signal too low
2-3-1 Irregular throttle position signal
2-3-2 Vehicle speed sensor signal absent
2-3-3 Incorrect speedometer signal
2-3-5 Oil temperature too high
2-4-5 Break or short circuit to earth in torque limiting circuit
3-1-1 Transmission RPM sensor signal absent
3-1-2 Transmission RPM sensor signal faulty
3-1-3 incorrect signal from gear position sensor
3-2-2 Incorrect gear ratio for given road speed
3-2-3 lock up slips or not engaged
3-3-1 Solenoid SL circuit shorted to 12 volts
3-3-2 Break in solenoid SL circuit
3-3-3 Solenoid SL circuit shorted to earth

Motronic 4.3 System A2

CODE PROBABLE CAUSE (for Volvo vehicles)
1-1-2 ECU faulty
1-1-5 faulty signal to No. 1 cylinder injector
1-2-1 MAF sensor signal absent or faulty
1-2-3 Coolant temperature sensor signal absent or faulty
1-2-5 faulty signal to No. 2 cylinder injector
1-3-1 Engine RPM sensor signal absent or faulty
1-3-2 Battery voltage too low or too high
1-3-5 faulty signal to No. 3 cylinder injector
1-4-3 Front knock sensor signal absent of faulty
1-4-4 load signal absent of faulty (fuel system)
1-4-5 faulty signal to No. 4 cylinder injector
1-5-2 air pump valve signal absent or faulty
1-5-4 Leak in EGR system (leakage or excessive flow)
1-5-5 faulty signal to No. 5 cylinder injector
2-1-2 heated oxygen Sensor Signal absent or faulty
2-1-4 Engine RPM sensor signal absent intermittently
2-2-3 Idle air control valve signal absent or faulty
2-2-5 A/C pressure sensor signal absent or faulty
2-3-1 Long term fuel mixture too lean or too rich in part load stage
2-3-2 long term fuel mixture too lean or rich at idle
2-3-3 long term idle airs trim outside control range
2-3-5 EGR controller signal absent or faulty
2-4-1 EGR system flow fault
2-4-3 throttle position sensor signal outside of voltage range
2-4-4 Knock control at limit
2-4-5 idle air control valve closing signal faulty/absent
3-1-1 Vehicle speed sensor signal absent
3-1-3 EVAP valve signal absent or faulty
3-1-4 Camshaft position sensor signal absent or faulty
3-1-5 EVAP emission control system fault
3-2-3 Malfunction indicator lamp signal faulty
3-2-5 ECU memory loss
3-3-5 request for Malfunction indicator lamp signal from auto transmission ECU
3-4-2 air conditioning system relay control signal fault
3-4-3 fuel pump relay control signal faulty
4-1-1 Throttle position sensor signal outside of voltage range
4-1-3 EGR temperature sensor signal absent or faulty
4-1-4 Turbo boost pressure too high
4-1-6 Turbo boost reduced by auto transmission ECU
4-3-2 High temperature inside ECU module box
4-3-3 rear knock sensor signal absent/faulty
4-3-5 heated oxygen sensor response too slow
4-4-2 air pump relay signal absent or faulty
5-1-1 long term fuel mixture too rich at idle
5-1-2 short term fuel mixture too rich
5-1-3 Excessively High temperature in ECU module box
5-1-4 Engine cooling fan faulty at half speed
5-1-5 Engine cooling fan faulty at full speed
5-2-1 Oxygen sensor heating faulty
5-2-3 signal to ECU module box cooling fan shorted to 12 volts
5-2-4 transmission torque c

A3 Codes

142 – Stop lamp switch faulty
141 – Pedal signal faulty – Shorted to ground

A6 Codes

241 – EGR system flow too low in system
214 – Engine speed (RPM) sensor signal missing sporadically
324 – Camshaft Position sensor signal missing sporadically
314 – Camshaft Position sensor signal missing or faulty
131 – Engine speed (RPM) sensor signal missing

A7 Codes

132- No RPM sensor signal
122 – Temperature signal interval too long

B1 Codes

122 – Outside temperature sensor open circuit or shorted to 12 volts
132 – Driver side air duct temperature sensor open circuit or shorted to 12 volts
134 – Passenger side air duct temperature sensor open circuit/shorted to 12 volts
411 – Blower fan seized or drawing excessive current
413 – No control voltage at driver’s side interior temperature sensor inlet fan
414 – Driver side interior temperature sensor inlet fan seized
415 – Passenger’s side interior temperature sensor inlet fan shorted to earth
416 – No control voltage at passenger side interior temperature sensor inlet fan
417 – Passenger side interior temperature sensor inlet fan seized
418 – No control signal to blower fan power stage

B2 Codes

122- Abnormal speed signal.

Volvo 850 Estate Tuned

The Volvo 850 meant a big change for the Swedish car maker. It was considered to be one of the greatest engineering endeavours ever performed in Sweden. The Volvo 850 was the first Volvo with front-wheel drive, and was meant to combine a modern and timeless design with sportive looks and performance, and top notch safety features. And considering the high number of Volvo 850′s that are still driving around, we can assume that they succeeded in that.

Volvo 850 Models

Volvo sold its 850 both as a saloon or sedan, with typenumber 854 and as an estate or wagon model, with typenumber 855. All models featured an all-aluminium alloy straight-five engine, but in different setups, for different performance and mileage.
Possible engines were:

• 2 litre 10 valve
  • Power: 126 hp (93 kW)@6100 rpm
  • Torque: 170 N·m @4800 rpm
  

  Volvo 850 Engine

• 2 litre 20 valve
  • Power: 143 hp (105 kW) @6500 rpm
  • Torque: 136 ft·lbf (184 N·m)
• 2 litre Turbo 20 valve
  • Power: 225 hp (166 kW)@5400 rpm
  • Torque: 300 N·m @1900 rpm
• 2.5 litre 10 valve
  • Power: 144 hp (106 kW) @5400 rpm
  • Torque: 206 N·m @3600 rpm
• 2.5 litre 20 valve
  • Power: 170 hp (125 kW)@6200 rpm
  • Torque: 220 N·m @3300 rpm
• 2.5 litre Turbo
  • Power: 225 hp (166 kW)@5200 rpm
  • Torque: 300 N·m @2000 rpm
• 2.5 litre TDI Diesel (produced by Volkswagen)
  • Power: 140 hp (103 kW)
  • Torque: 290 N·m

In order to promote the 850, Volvo prepared some cars for the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), which yielded some pretty good results even. Alot of the specialized racing technique that was used in these BTTC-prepped cars, was also used in the Volvo 850 top sport model, the Volvo 850 R. Due to the high performance, and yet still discrete looks, these R versions were very popular at police forces all over the world as chasing cars.
The top model of the Volvo 850, the R, or the T5-R are also very popular for tuners, since these already high-powered turbo engines can easily be tuned to deliver over 300hp, and even more!

Safety and Engineering

Volvo and safety go hand it hand. Always have, always will. The Volvo 850 isn’t an

Volvo 850 Rickard Rydell 1996 BTCC

exception on that matter, on the contrary, it was an exceptional car with regards to safety for that time. It was the first car to feature airbags for sideway collisions, the so called Side Impact Protection System (SIPS). It had special extra bars in the doors for extra impact protection and self regulating safety belts with explosives to decrease the chances of injuries due to the safety belt. Even more, the safety belts in the Volvo 850, and the engineering of the cockpit were so well done, that a passenger airbag wasn’t even necessary, and not included in the earlier models. However, in the later modelyears, they did include it due to marketing reasons.
Another great example of the tremendous engineering effort that was put into the Volvo 850 is the Cd value (measure of aerodynamics) of the car. Typical values for average modern automobiles are between 0.30 and 0.35, were SUV’s (due to their more boxy design) have a Cd value (drag coefficient) of 0.40 up to 0.45 (so lower is better). The Volvo 850, produced in 1992, sported a wooping Cd of 0.31! Making it one of the more efficient cars on the road, even despite its old age and boxy design! Other cars with this Cd value are the 2009 BMW 7 Series, and the Lamborghini Diablo.
The 850 also has a very tight turning circle of only 10.2 m (33.5 ft), and therefor is very maneuverable. To compare, later large Volvos such as the V70 had a 11.9 m (39.0 ft) turning circle, which is closer to the average turning circle of this type of cars.

Successors

Cream Yellow Volvo 850 T-5R Sedan

The incredibly popular Volvo 850 had a namechange in 1997, in order to comply with Volvo’s new naming strategy, depending on size and body type. The new names included a number, which corresponds to the size of the car, and a letter, which corresponds to the body type of the car. The 850 was thought to be a size 70 car, and the letters of the body types were V (for Versatility), S (for Saloon), and C (for the new Coupé). Together with a bit more modern design (less square edges, more rounded corners), and about 1800 other small changes, the Volvo S70, the Volvo V70 and the Volvo C70 where born.
Due to the high resemblance to the Volvo 850, these were refered to as the Volvo V70/S70 Classic. In 2000, the Volvo S70/V70 Classic was replaced by the Volvo V70 and S80 of the second generation, which featured the typical curvy profile with the more aggresive front.
Many Volvo lovers will tell you though that the Volvo 850 or Volvo V70/S70 Classic, are the last real Volvo’s ever made, due to the selling of Volvo to Ford.