[thebobwiley]

I replaced my rotors and brake pads, as well as painted the calipers and caliper brackets. I had a hard time finding a good guide on replacing the brakes on these cars (and an even harder time finding ones on the suspension, which I will be replacing in maybe a month when my Heico shipment comes in). I decided to record the major parts of the replacement for anyone else that might need some guidance. It was very straight forward, the only thing to watch out for is the somewhat hard to remove/install bolts on the rear caliper and making sure to retract the parking brake piston. Really wishing I had painted the calipers blue like I originally intended, but I would have had to wait on paint to ship and I wanted to get it done before 3rd winter hit in Ohio...

 

[MyVolvoS60]

I replaced my rotors and brake pads, as well as painted the calipers and caliper brackets. I had a hard time finding a good guide on replacing the brakes on these cars (and an even harder time finding ones on the suspension, which I will be replacing in maybe a month when my Heico shipment comes in). I decided to record the major parts of the replacement for anyone else that might need some guidance. It was very straight forward, the only thing to watch out for is the somewhat hard to remove/install bolts on the rear caliper and making sure to retract the parking brake piston. Really wishing I had painted the calipers blue like I originally intended, but I would have had to wait on paint to ship and I wanted to get it done before 3rd winter hit in Ohio...

Weather sucks but not winter or even close....What year and how many miles that you needed full brake job?

 

[thebobwiley]

Well we almost got under freezing again and it's going to be super crappy for a few days... My bedroom window is very drafty so it basically feels like winter with it being so cold overnight. Then it's going to be almost 80 in a couple more days... At least I should get some time to hit up Hocking Hills again
Bought April of 2015, only 38,000 miles. The front pads were in decent shape, but the rears had about 1/4 of the pads left. I just wanted to put some coated rotors on as well as some slightly better pads.

Really need to get some new wheels as well, slightly bent a rim (and destroyed the tire) on a pothole back in November, really annoying on the highway.

 

[MyVolvoS60]

Well we almost got under freezing again and it's going to be super crappy for a few days... My bedroom window is very drafty so it basically feels like winter with it being so cold overnight. Then it's going to be almost 80 in a couple more days... At least I should get some time to hit up Hocking Hills again
Bought April of 2015, only 38,000 miles. The front pads were in decent shape, but the rears had about 1/4 of the pads left. I just wanted to put some coated rotors on as well as some slightly better pads.

Really need to get some new wheels as well, slightly bent a rim (and destroyed the tire) on a pothole back in November, really annoying on the highway.

What year is car? Is it v50 or V60?

Highs in low to mid 50s...Lows in 30s. Out of the ordinary for May. But definitely not winter in the Midwest. Chilly though, very chilly. I've never stopped to explore hocking hills, only driving through that direction. But I hear good hiking and camping out there. A nice little trip, but I doubt it's open, is visiting Amish Country in Millersberg / Berlin Ohio.

Last winter was hell on the Midwest. Here's a picture of pothole hell.

 

[thebobwiley]

Forgot to set up my signature with car info. 2015.5 V60 T5 Drive-E. I have been waiting for some of the virus stuff to ease up before going to walk around in Hocking Hills, it has been PACKED with people the last few good days. I thinking the actual camp ground areas are all closed, but the trails are open. Every single car pull off and parking area was overflowing, decided to take some nice twisty roads in sport-manual mode instead. The weather forecast has been all over the place, last week it was supposed to rain every day, and then it ended up not raining at all. They also called for snow Saturday night, but that didn't happen either. :\

 

[MyVolvoS60]

Forgot to set up my signature with car info. 2015.5 V60 T5 Drive-E. I have been waiting for some of the virus stuff to ease up before going to walk around in Hocking Hills, it has been PACKED with people the last few good days. I thinking the actual camp ground areas are all closed, but the trails are open. Every single car pull off and parking area was overflowing, decided to take some nice twisty roads in sport-manual mode instead. The weather forecast has been all over the place, last week it was supposed to rain every day, and then it ended up not raining at all. They also called for snow Saturday night, but that didn't happen either. :\

FWD I presume? I own a 2015.5 S60 FWD. Use to have a V40 but that ended up getting totaled. Definitely miss the station wagon hauling capabilities. Dogs get thrown into a carrier cage in back seat. Didn't plan that out well I guess. Outdoor stuff hasn't been shuttered so that's why people are crowding parks. One of the few things to do while restaurants are relegated to take out, movie theaters, bowling allies, and all other forms of recreation still remained shuttered.

You definitely don't drive much if you purchased car new in April 2015 and have 38,000 miles. I got mine June 2016 and it sits at 68,500 miles. Had 2000 miles on clock as demo / loaner CPO.

I've been making use of the time by going Fishing and taking my dog to the park.

 

[thebobwiley]

Yep FWD. Last year when we had the super heavy snow I was wishing I had sprung for the T6 and AWD. However, other than a few icy spots, it did really well, even on an incredibly steep hill. My Old 2004 S60 had "winter mode" and I would turn it on and drive past mustangs stuck in the snow and laugh. I would also turn off "winter mode" and spin it around in parking lots. I know it wasn't good for the rear hubs/control arms...

 

[MyVolvoS60]

Yep FWD. Last year when we had the super heavy snow I was wishing I had sprung for the T6 and AWD. However, other than a few icy spots, it did really well, even on an incredibly steep hill. My Old 2004 S60 had "winter mode" and I would turn it on and drive past mustangs stuck in the snow and laugh. I would also turn off "winter mode" and spin it around in parking lots. I know it wasn't good for the rear hubs/control arms...

I made a mistake last year. I run Michelin Pilot Sport AS/3+ in Summer, Spring, Fall and Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3's in Winter. Sadias Wheels on Michelin / Steelies on Winter. Couldn't find a reasonably priced set of Volvo wheels so paid $125 for a set of Steelies in mint condition. Anyway, I was about 30 miles east and it didn't snow where I lived, but I came out of a movie and dear lord it had snowed and ground was slick. I hadn't anticipated a snow storm yet and still had on the Michelin. WORST SNOW TIRE EVER. SUV's were driving by me and I was a nervous wreck. Spinning all over road, Almost fish tailed several times, it wasn't pleasant.

From now on, I'm going to set sign of first snow as swap over. Not taking chances. FWD + Winter tires = Gold. AWD gives 4 wheels to grip and get you moving, but Snow tires on a FWD or AWD really make a difference.

I too wished I'd considered AWD at times, but the snow tires work sufficiently in almost all cases. So long as I don't procrastinate or get blind sided by a surprise storm and get them on!

Not sure where you are in Ohio but Hocking Hills sits in Appalachia so you've definitely got more rugged terrain out that way.

Was your old 2004 AWD?

 

[thebobwiley]

I have never run with a set of dedicated winter/summer tires. I have been using Continental DWS tries since around 2009ish when I got my 2004 S60 FWD turbo. They were always fine overall and great in the snow even as the tread got lower. However, I have been wanting to have separate sets since my S60, but never did it, mostly because I had nowhere to store the extra tires... and still don't. One of the big things pushing me to have dedicated sets is last year I tried out an SCCA autocross event with my friend, and while it was really fun in my 3,500 lbs fully equipped wagon, the tires had very little grip and I have been more aware of their shortcomings since then. The Yokohama Advan Sport A/S tries feel a lot better than the Continentals... But I think a solid set of summers and some new lighter wheels will help even more. I was planning a roadtrip down through the Appalachian mountains, devils tail, etc. to Florida before the virus hit. I am hoping to have the car better prepared for such a trip next year now, that's my big goal.

I am actually in Columbus, so pretty flat with lots of farmland around. The one nice thing was being able to bed my brakes in with some solid 60-5mph stops with no one around, once I found a nice little farm road.

 

[Stampermann]

If you are in the Central Ohio area, then I would suggest Wheel Medic to straighten your bent wheel. I had one that was slightly bent on my V60 when I bought it. They fixed for less than the price of an aftermarket wheel.

 

[MyVolvoS60]

I was planning a roadtrip down through the Appalachian mountains, devils tail, etc. to Florida before the virus hit. I am hoping to have the car better prepared for such a trip next year now, that's my big goal.

Ya, I've made several mental notes in life.

1. If there's a toll road, take it. A journey down to florida resulted in twice through every podunk city when I opted to avoid toll road.

2. Driving through Gatelinburg / Smoky's at night is a good reminder of how life was Circa 1900 and before. When most of the country didn't have electricity and there were few cars. Absolutely the pitchest dark black imaginable. And this was on the highway.

3. Went down to Lewisburg, WV and made the dumbest mistake.. Skipped Toll Road (See #1). It took me through route 60 at night. White knuckle experience. Couldn't see a thing. Route 60 began normally so I wasn't suspicious when it skipped toll road. But about 30 or so miles in, with zero cars behind me, the thought of having screwed up quickly dawned on me. Road zig zagged, cut V and Z shaped through the mountains of WV. I lost a great deal of time having to go 20 MPH through this area. Maybe not so bad in the daytime, but probably not too exciting either!

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Lewisburg,+WV+24901,+USA/@37.9290887,-81.042042,10z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x884c476dbc8dcb17:0x33249664b1748d47!8m2!3d37.8017879!4d-80.4456303

Moral of the story, enjoy the dragon's tail! Too many white knuckle experiences in my life.

I am actually in Columbus, so pretty flat with lots of farmland around. The one nice thing was being able to bed my brakes in with some solid 60-5mph stops with no one around, once I found a nice little farm road.

Do you service out at Byers Volvo in Columbus or do your own work?

 

[thebobwiley]

I probably won't bother straightening it, especially if they are moving to my winter setup. I have already spent over $600 since I got the car repairing curb rash and straightening a rim once already on these rims. I am very careful along curbs, but between living on OSU campus for a year and potholes I am pretty much done spending money on the original rims. I would very much rather put the money towards a new set.

Out of curiosity, anyone have experience with Advanti wheels? I am looking at their 17" Storm S1s. Hard to beat a set of 4 @ $760 that are flow formed...

I use to do a lot more work on my old 2004 S60 FWD. It had electrical issues for the longest time, after 2 full CEM replacements and a dash replacement, I traded it in for my current V60. I do almost no work on my car now, mainly because it has needed basically no work and I (somewhat foolishly) paid for the extra maintenance plan. Not to rant, but I was misled about how the maintenance plan worked, original maintenance covered up to the 30,000 mile service interval OR until dd.mm.yyyy. Since I really don't drive that much I missed the "free" 30,000 maintenance by about 4 months. So that was like $400 for fluids and whatever else is under that maint. interval. My "extended" maintenance picks back up at 60,000-100,000. So I will be doing my next few oil changes and whatever else is listed under those maint. intervals., until I get to the 60,000 mile one.

I really need to check out the Byer's Volvo location, but it's on the other side of town from me. I have been going to the MAG Volvo of Dublin location since my first Volvo and honestly, it's been pretty hit or miss for me. My biggest problem with them is they have NEVER ONCE called me to tell me my car is ready for pickup. I always have to call and ask how far along it is and they always immediately say it's ready and, "I was just about to call you". I let it go once, dropped it off first thing in the morning for an oil change and software update. They said it would be done before the end of the day. 2 days later I called them to find out what was going on. Got the same "I was just about to call you".

However, they have never done anything wrong, though they did once throw away my Volvo branded tire valve caps, so I have mostly just been too lazy to go to the other location. :shrug:

Sad P.S. I learned that my S60 was totaled about 2 months after I traded it in. One of the employees' kids bought it and got into an accident.

 

[MyVolvoS60]

I probably won't bother straightening it, especially if they are moving to my winter setup. I have already spent over $600 since I got the car repairing curb rash and straightening a rim once already on these rims. I am very careful along curbs, but between living on OSU campus for a year and potholes I am pretty much done spending money on the original rims. I would very much rather put the money towards a new set.

It would be inadvisable to run any tire on a bent rim, depending on severity of bend. It could ruin the tire, cause vibration and steering issues, etc. So I'd either fix the one bent rim if necessarily to run the winters or find two new sets of wheels if the other set is in poor shape.

Out of curiosity, anyone have experience with Advanti wheels? I am looking at their 17" Storm S1s. Hard to beat a set of 4 @ $760 that are flow formed...

I found a cheap set of Ford Steelies with 63.8 mm center bore for $125. I run those in winter. I'd hoped to find a genuine set of Volvo wheels but after looking and looking and dumping around $200-300 to swap the winters and spring tires onto the sadias, I just bought what I could find. Wasn't my first choice, but after doing that a few seasons it began to add up. I wasn't really wanting to spend $1000 bucks for a nice set. And it seemed any 17x8 Volvo wheels were hard to find. Or even 17x7.5s

I use to do a lot more work on my old 2004 S60 FWD. It had electrical issues for the longest time, after 2 full CEM replacements and a dash replacement, I traded it in for my current V60. I do almost no work on my car now, mainly because it has needed basically no work and I (somewhat foolishly) paid for the extra maintenance plan. Not to rant, but I was misled about how the maintenance plan worked, original maintenance covered up to the 30,000 mile service interval OR until dd.mm.yyyy. Since I really don't drive that much I missed the "free" 30,000 maintenance by about 4 months. So that was like $400 for fluids and whatever else is under that maint. interval. My "extended" maintenance picks back up at 60,000-100,000. So I will be doing my next few oil changes and whatever else is listed under those maint. intervals., until I get to the 60,000 mile one.

The free maintenance is 3 years / 36,000 miles. So did you wait 40 months (3 yrs + 4 months) for 30K? You could have done it early of course if the time frame was running out. Seems pretty petty though the selling dealer (if that's where you bought and service) wouldn't make an exception.

So my 15.5 S60 was bought with 2000 miles as CPO. Came with 7 yr / 100K old plan. And then selling dealer REALLY SCREWED up big time. And the Finance Manager pissed me off. Suffice to say I told them to come get their car back and I met with a what will it take to make things right. I wound up the free 40-100K Prepaid Maintenance + Wear Plan. So My Brakes (had one set) + Wipers and 40,50,60K have all been free. I have 70-100K remaining. That saved me several 1000s of dollars. I'll definitely have a Brake / Rotor job done all around at my 100K before warranty and Prepaid Maintenance expires.

The long story short is I bought my car out of state and had sent up. Selling dealer lost my check, and instead of Finance Manager putting on Big Boy Pants and calling me, recalled the title. I sat at the BMV for 4 hours and wasted about 3 days of my life trying to solve his screw up. And then he had the brass balls to tell me O well mistakes happen, send out a new check. Not even an apology. So I reached out to General Manager and said I've got a car waiting for you to pick back up. Suffice to say he was very apologetic and I wound up with the maintenance plan.

I really need to check out the Byer's Volvo location, but it's on the other side of town from me. I have been going to the MAG Volvo of Dublin location since my first Volvo and honestly, it's been pretty hit or miss for me. My biggest problem with them is they have NEVER ONCE called me to tell me my car is ready for pickup. I always have to call and ask how far along it is and they always immediately say it's ready and, "I was just about to call you". I let it go once, dropped it off first thing in the morning for an oil change and software update. They said it would be done before the end of the day. 2 days later I called them to find out what was going on. Got the same "I was just about to call you".

Byers Volvo is 100% fantastic. I drive 1.5 hours to have my car serviced there as the closest dealer had the absolute worst service manager. He eventually got fired, and new one is better, but their techs are by no means as competent as Byers. Ive got other dealers around me to choose from but I gave Byers a try and have stuck with them since.

You always get a loaner if you schedule and ask. They fix problems without arguing even it's a judgment call via the warranty. And I've had several issues on my car in beginning.

1. Backup Camera issue
2. Gearshift enamel cracked
3. Side Mirror Motor Died
4. SRS AIrbag Urgent
5. Several software issues that required updates

etc.

I've been infinitely happy with Byers Service Department. And their work is always superb.

Sad P.S. I learned that my S60 was totaled about 2 months after I traded it in. One of the employees' kids bought it and got into an accident.

Ugh. Well it lived a good life with you and a very short life with him. But at least it did its job by protecting the driver.

 

[Stampermann]

Byers service is excellent. I have CPO coverage on my wagon. We took my wife's previous 2017 there for all the maintenance (free for 3 years) and plan to do so with her new 2020. Unfortunately, my car started burning oil. I mentioned it to them and they put a new PCV system on my previous to last visit and they just put new pistons/rings in it last week. They were great about, and I didn't even mention/push for it to be done. I just told them that it was starting to use a decent amount of oil. (3.5 bottles in 10K miles). I even had them put a new timing belt on it while it was apart (I paid for parts).

Bob and the people over there are first class. I say this admitting that I hate all other Byers dealerships. I will never buy a Subaru or VW from them, as even their parts-counter is sub-par. You go buy VW parts there and you feel like a second class citizen for not having bought a Porsche. However, to be fair, I got the same treatment at MAG.

I typically do my own work on everything, but I've found it's cheaper to have them do the oil changes than it is for me to buy all the stuff and do it myself. Plus they then have a record of it being done so if there is an issue (like the oil rings that were just changed) then there is no argument about how the car was taken care of. And to be honest, while I enjoy working on my racecar, I have no desire to crack apart the 2.0 in the wagon. I'll do things like suspension and brakes, motor mounts, etc, but don't want to get into the working of the transmission or engine of this car.

 

[MyVolvoS60]

Byers service is excellent. I have CPO coverage on my wagon. We took my wife's previous 2017 there for all the maintenance (free for 3 years) and plan to do so with her new 2020. Unfortunately, my car started burning oil. I mentioned it to them and they put a new PCV system on my previous to last visit and they just put new pistons/rings in it last week. They were great about, and I didn't even mention/push for it to be done. I just told them that it was starting to use a decent amount of oil. (3.5 bottles in 10K miles). I even had them put a new timing belt on it while it was apart (I paid for parts).

Bob and the people over there are first class. I say this admitting that I hate all other Byers dealerships. I will never buy a Subaru or VW from them, as even their parts-counter is sub-par. You go buy VW parts there and you feel like a second class citizen for not having bought a Porsche. However, to be fair, I got the same treatment at MAG.

I typically do my own work on everything, but I've found it's cheaper to have them do the oil changes than it is for me to buy all the stuff and do it myself. Plus they then have a record of it being done so if there is an issue (like the oil rings that were just changed) then there is no argument about how the car was taken care of. And to be honest, while I enjoy working on my racecar, I have no desire to crack apart the 2.0 in the wagon. I'll do things like suspension and brakes, motor mounts, etc, but don't want to get into the working of the transmission or engine of this car.

What vehicle had the consumption issue? The 2017? I thought the piston ring issue was relegated to 15.5 and early 16s? I have a 15.5 S60 I service there.

FYI: Bob is great. Local Volvo Dealer (Another reason I don't use them) wants $170 for an alignment! Byers charges me $69! I get one done every 10K miles. I've done my 10-60K service at byers. And my 70-100K will be done there too. I have prepaid maintenance + wear til 100K.

 

[Stampermann]

My 2015.5 V60 had the issue. The 17 had 50K miles on it and never had any issues. The 20 is nicer, but if I had to pick between it and the 17 then I would pick the 17. My wife drives it so I don't have to worry about it.

 

[MyVolvoS60]

My 2015.5 V60 had the issue. The 17 had 50K miles on it and never had any issues. The 20 is nicer, but if I had to pick between it and the 17 then I would pick the 17. My wife drives it so I don't have to worry about it.

So is the 2015.5 V60 no longer? I don't see it in your signature as a former vehicle or a current one?

I own a 2015.5 FWD S60. I'm at 68,500 and knock on wood, no consumption issue. Byers switched from 5w-30 to 0w20 oil moving forward. It's got the old CPO of until June 2022 or 100K. Probably the 100K will come first. I bought car as a Demo / Loaner out of Texas with 2000 miles. It's been maintained at Byers for all services and about 95% of warranty issues. Sometimes, if I don't want to make a long special trek, I'll have local dealer do simple fixes.

Byers has resolved numerous issues on my vehicle.

1. My Backup Camera kept failing to engage. Took 4 trips driving up there. They were stumped but finally solved.

A. Tried Software Update -
B. Replaced Camera Seals as they found the camera had a poor seal
C. Replaced Wiring Harness
D. Second software update combined with B and C finally resolved.

2. My Driver's side mirror motor died on folding mirrors. Sounded like a jet engine ready for launch!

3. SRS Airbag Urgent - Software Update

4. Internet stopped working twice in car. The hour glass would spin and never find signal - Software Update

5. Auto Dimming Rearview Mirror Clouded - Replaced mirror

6. Gear Shift Knob Enamel Cracked - Replace Gear Shift Knob

 

[Stampermann]

I still have it. It should be the first item on my signature. I just set the sig up yesterday so maybe I botched it somehow.

I bought my car CPO from Leikin in Cleveland. I have had no real issues with it other than Leiken replaced the windshield right before I bought it and the didn't reconnect the city safe sensor. Also, the start/stop wasn't working due to the 2nd battery being dead. Byers fixed both for me. Well, no real issues until they replaced the pistons last week.

I watched the linked video above before I did the vented rotor/caliper upgrade on my car last night. I found that taking the caliper off of the carrier gave me good access to the carrier attachment bolts. Also, my breaker bar does not have the large round head the one in the video does and that seemed to help. I didn't have any real access issues getting to the hardware. Also, I used a ratcheting head wrench on the bolts that held the caliper to the carrier.

 

[thebobwiley]

@stampermann, would you be kind enough to measure the radius from the center of the rotor to the outside of the brake caliper with your RD swapped brakes? I should have just bit the bullet and done the upgrade, but I am worried if it will fit inside a 17" rim. For the swap, do you just need the brackets, calipers, pads, and rotors?

In real life, I took the caliper off and then the caliper bracket. On the first brake I did I started to loosen the 15mm bolt first like in the video, but for all the others I got the caliper out of the way first. Any sort of flexible head would have been a great help on the rear caliper bolts.

 

[Stampermann]

I'll measure it for you tonight, but I can tell you I ran 17" winter wheels on my MazdaSpeed 3 and it had the same front calipers on it.
You should get the splash guards too, though I have read about people reusing the old ones.

On the Front, I bought reman calipers that had the brackets with them. Parts are crazy cheap because they are shared with Ford products. I did buy new hoses too, but the old ones would have worked. There is a post on the forum somewhere that list all the Volvo part numbers. I think I had less than $500 into the whole thing (fronts)including the splash guards. I did have a set of calipers from the junkyard that I used for cores.