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2012 S60 T5 - 40,000-mile update

4K views 13 replies 13 participants last post by  DreamsMaker 
#1 ·
Well, I just flipped to 40,000 miles yesterday, so I thought I'd update you all on my experiences so far...

I'm still in love with my car. This car is such a head-turner. I've had people of all ages, literally, compliment me on the car and the car's interior color. The most surprising compliment came from a lady who must have been in her 70s. She said that she loved the color of the interior and exterior and that it's a really cool-looking car. I go on a 450-mile trek every other week and I end up getting about 31 MPG (my calculation, not the on-board computer) on the highway pretty consistently. I get about 22-23 (again, my calculation) in the city. I'm not sure where people say that the Sensus is hard to use - I think it's pretty easy to use. My phone pairs up with the system immediately.

Through this first 15 months, I've had a few quality issues:

- The air conditioning compressor noise is VERY annoying - I hate the whine so much that I sometimes turn off the A/C just so I don't have to listen to it.

- I had an issue with the car wandering off to the left on highways. I had the car realigned and it solved most of the wander. When I changed the tires from the ContiProContacts to Kumho Ecsta 4Xs. Additionally, I didn't read very carefully what was included in the Safe and Secure maintenance program. I didn't rotate the tires, as I thought it was included in the maintenance program. I'm better about this with these tires.

- The driver's seat lower outside bolster started to discolor due to wear. Volvo NA and Barrington Volvo were absolutely wonderful to deal with. They took pictures and replaced both front seats. I was impressed with the service I received.

- I had the harsh downshifts, so I had the TCM reflashed. For the most part, the harsh shifts stopped. However, it seems that the TCM gets easily confused and I've had an occasional harsh downshift even with the programming update.

- The front speaker rattling is VERY annoying. The door panels should have been designed to not vibrate or Volvo should have gone with a dedicated subwoofer. I'm quite disappointed in this. The sound of the premium sound system is excellent, but a dedicated subwoofer should have been included. I've read of people putting a subwoofer under the passenger seat - that might be something that I'm going to look into.

- I wonder if the paint is a little soft. I have quite a few stone chips. I wish I had put the clear bra on the front when I bought the car. Since I plan on keeping the car for a while (and probably to over 150,000 miles), I will probably end up repainting at least the front bumper and the hood at some point.

- I had some of the leakage that others have experienced from the moonroof when going through car washes. I have since learned to not have the moonroof visor open when I go through an automatic car wash.

- I continue to have some periodic squeaking coming from the upper rear portion of the driver's door. I'm sure this will become more frequent and more loud as winter arrives.

- My center console is starting to get a little nicked up because of me hitting it with the metal seatbelt latch when I buckle up. The plastic is a little soft by the cup holders.

- Recently, my brakes have started to pulsate. My rotors will probably need replacing at the next service update (42,000 miles).



Some wishes that I wish the car had:

- fully automatic headlights (2013 has it - could this just be a software/sensor update/upgrade?)
- make a sunglasses holder standard
- sliding sun visors (a major oversight, IMO) - I'd be willing to buy this from Volvo parts if they offered it
- subwoofer - again, I'd be willing to buy this from Volvo parts if they offered it


Even with these "issues", this is the best and most fun car I've ever owned. I look forward to driving my car every time I get in it. I love the looks, the gas mileage, and the overall driveability of the car!

When it comes time for me to get a new car (in the next 5-6 years), if a redesigned S80 takes on the design language of the S60, I will probably go with either an S80, another S60 or, if Volvo brings it to NA, an XC40. I will also consider an XC60 if the gas mileage comes up. I will definitely stick with Volvo because of the service I've received to this point.
 
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#2 ·
The A/C problem is very common on S40s and its usually the compressor clutch that needs to be replaced. Dealers tell you to replace the whole compressor but with the right tools its possible to just change the clutch pulley and that will solve the problem.
 
#3 ·
The leaky moonroof should be fixed under the new car warranty, as should the front speaker/door rattle.
 
#4 ·
Wow, you put a lot of miles on your car - good to hear that it seems to be holding up well. We're only putting around 12k per year on ours so it would take 3 1/2 years to get to your miles after 15 months.

How do you like the Kumho 4x? I have a nearly new set that I will be putting on the T5 when the OEM Michelins wear down some more. Although expensive, the Michelins have performed very well thus far.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Wow, you put a lot of miles on your car - good to hear that it seems to be holding up well. We're only putting around 12k per year on ours so it would take 3 1/2 years to get to your miles after 15 months.

How do you like the Kumho 4x? I have a nearly new set that I will be putting on the T5 when the OEM Michelins wear down some more. Although expensive, the Michelins have performed very well thus far.
With my love living 220 miles away, the car takes a nearly weekly commute to Wisconsin!

I love the Kumhos! They grip excellently in the wet, the sidewall is stiffer so cornering improved as well. Even though they're not rated as a LRR tire and the Contis were, I haven't noticed any drop in MPGs.

I'm definitely going to ask about the A/C compressor clutch issue and the speaker rattles. As for the moonroof, I've had it into two dealerships about the issue and they cleaned the channels and surrounding seals, but it didn't really doesn't seem to help much. Just learning to live with it.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for sharing..........
 
#7 ·
Wow, 40k already.....

Get that AC fixed now! Before the warranty expires....

I wonder if the paint is a little soft. I have quite a few stone chips. I wish I had put the clear bra on the front when I bought the car. Since I plan on keeping the car for a while (and probably to over 150,000 miles), I will probably end up repainting at least the front bumper and the hood at some point.
I've thought the same thing in the past. I'm amazed at how easily and quickly my two Volvos have chipped on the front, but none of the other cars I've ever had have had this problem. I know, because I've had to quickly purchase touchup paint for my Volvos, but have never purchased for my other cars so quickly for the purpose of touching up chips. And some of my chips were small but appeared to be down to the metal?

My V70 wasn't bad enough that I wanted to repaint it. Well, except for the very bottom edge of the V70 that's all scraped up.... but that's not the paint's fault.

I had thought of repainting the XC90 hood but ultimately never did.
 
#8 ·
Great review! Thanks.

I'm up to 8900 in mine and just rotated the tires.
 
#9 ·
I got paint chips on my hood pretty soon after getting my car too...I think the paint could be a bit soft but then again I'm babying this car more than others I've had, so maybe I notice more. That said, I've just been using the Dr. Colorchip chip repair kit on the car whenever I see any...it works great! (that and I REALLY do my best to avoid large trucks on the highway) Small chips pretty much disappear and bigger ones are much less noticeable. My paint is metallic so it's harder to match when touching up small areas, but not metallic paints are even better with this kit.

About the speaker...I would definitely get that looked at...I will say this car has been the best I've had as far as door rattling. The only time it rattles is when I have stuff in the door compartment (and it's the stuff that rattles not the car)
 
#10 ·
Nice post. As I was reading it, I was checking off the boxes for mine as well.
+1 on the front speaker rattle, especially on the passenger side door for me when a bassy song is cranked up
+1 on a subwoofer is needed although I'm not sure where they'd put it
+1 on the soft paint in the front
+1 on the moonroof leaking a little in carwashes. Mine leaks a little too, although never other than in the carwash
+1 on making the sunglasses holder standard. I bought and installed Volvo's option, but still it should be standard. Not sure who uses the "oh crap" handle (as my daughter calls it) it replaced on the driver's side.
+1 on wanting the fully auto headlights
and I was also a little surprised that tire rotation isn't included in the maintenance program as well. They cover brake pads and even rotors for heaven's sake, seems like they should include 15 minutes of labor for a tire rotation. Oh well.
 
#11 ·
Good report, thanks for sharing. My 2012 T5 is also at 40,000. No real issues. Front speaker rattle was identified as a loose clip that held speaker to door frame. Resolved. A/C compression is somewhat loud, but not annoyingly so. Worked well this hot summer. No issues with sunroof. Passenger side door pillar rattle went away on its own about 20000 miles ago. Everything else is working solid. Need a pen paint touch up on the rear panel where the trunk meets it. Also need to replace a passenger side front panel (in front of passenger front door) since I banged it into a parking garage post. Operator error on that one.
 
#12 ·
Regarding your AC noise, does it happen all the time? I think my roaring noise mostly happens when the weather is in the 60s or 70s, especially if it has just rained or is high humidity. During the heat of the summer (100+ degrees F here in DC), I never had any issues. Now that it is staring to cool down, I'm having the noise again occasionally...
 
#13 ·
- I continue to have some periodic squeaking coming from the upper rear portion of the driver's door. I'm sure this will become more frequent and more loud as winter arrives.

I've had something like this for a while (I have posted on this before). My most recent
"fix" seems to have done the trick. In my case it is a tap tap like squeak on slightly
rough pavement (like bricks or asphalt with an embedded gravel surface).
I found I could reproduce the squeak by pressing hard on the top of the front door frame
near a weld under the seal (pull the seal back). The back door had to be closed; if open,
no squeak.

What I did was loosen two 8mm bolts that hold a metal guide for the seat belt. This bracket
is behind the B pillar trim about a third of the way up. I just loosened them and the squeak
was gone. Then I tightened them back up and squeak is still gone. I did have the B-pillar
trim pulled back to do this but it might be possible to do this with an open-end wrench without
pulling the trim all the way off.
 
#14 ·
I'm having the same sound under the same circumstances(rough/bumpy road) but the sound is coming from the door it self somewhere in under the driver window. it sounds like something is not really fixed, something needs to be tightened up. I don't know what to do to fix it :(
 
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