| 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
Volvo 850 repairs by problem area
Engine (42%)
Transmission and Drivetrain (8%)
Brakes and Traction Control (8%)
Suspension and Steering (18%)
Electrical and Air Conditioning (13%)
Paint, Rust, Leaks, Rattles, and Trim (2%)
Other (10%)
Chart based on 251 repairs.
Volvo 850 engine repair cost distribution
$2500+ (3%)
$1000 - $2499 (8%)
$500 - $999 (20%)
$100 - $499 (30%)
< $100 (38%)
Chart based on 89 repair trips. The repair cost chart excludes repairs made under warranty, do-it-yourself repairs, and repair trips that include maintenance.
1997 Volvo 850
Engine not specified
| 150000 mi US $815 |
The crank case vent system was restricted. The turbo failed. |
| 216000 mi US $414 |
Evaporative Emission leak that required dropping fuel tank to access leaking hose. |
| 208000 mi US $90 |
Spark Plug wire broken at cap. |
| 175000 mi US $300 |
Upper and lower radiator hoses, oil cooler o-rings |
1997 Volvo 850 4-door
turbocharged 5-cylinder automatic 2WD
| 140000 mi US $60 |
Replaced front o2 sensor. |
| 130000 mi US $60 |
Coolant temperature sensor. Wiring to sensor failed at solder joint, sensor end. |
| 130300 mi US $15 |
Worn idle hose. |
| 131000 mi US $20 |
Odometer gear failure. |
| 132000 mi US $48 |
Coolant expansion tank cap failed. Got OEM replacement from dealer. |
| 132000 mi | fuel pump crapped out. Replaced fuel filter and fuel pump relay as well. Oil cooler lines leaking. Replaced on advice of mechanic. O rings rolled on oil cooler lines during insertion by mechanic. Great loss of oil. New o rings and same lines re-attached. |
| 135000 mi US $800 |
Fuel pump incorrectly installed Oct 2010. Gas overflowed from top of tank on every fill up. Fuel pump damaged by fuel sitting on top of Housing where wires feed in. |
| 164000 mi US $2000 |
Fuel pump failed |
| 164000 mi US $700 |
Coolant to turbo leak |
| 151000 mi US $200 |
Fuel Pump Replaced. Intermitent failure over a two week period and difficult to diagnose. When working- it would lead you to believe the problem was in the fuel filter, sensors, switchers, or electronic-ignition. |
| 147000 mi US $300 |
Replaced thermostat. Replaced timing belt at the same time (preventative maint). |
1997 Volvo 850 4-door
5-cylinder automatic 2WD
| 288000 mi US $300 |
muffler and tail pipe replacement due to rust/noise. |
| 132680 mi A $700 |
Exhaust pipe broken and was re-welded leaking radiator replaced |
| 139280 mi A $1705 |
Fuel pump relay replaced |
| 155000 mi US $900 |
Engine rear main seal of left fron axle replaced. |
1996 Volvo 850
Engine not specified
| 107260 mi | Lost coolant - radiator replaced. |
| 107880 mi | Coolant loss - heater core hose had a perforation. Air flow sensor failed on a mountain highway. Nice. |
| 128000 mi US $200 |
Leaking rear cam seal - engine was loosing oil. Replaced seal. |
| 137000 mi US $500 |
Broken turbo cooling hose causing a coolant leak - had to be replaced. |
| 214000 mi | cracked heater core when sold; would have been $800 |
| 169000 mi | Engine valve burned, destroying engine. Sold car to junk yard for $400. |
| 237500 mi | Oil cooler leaked in a recently replaced Nissan radiator. Radiator had to be replaced. The oil softened the coolant hoses resulting in overheating and head warpage. Not repaired. |
| 245000 mi US $100 |
Cam position sensor failed due to the rotating plate coming loose and destroying sensor. |
| 155000 mi US $250 |
Replaced Timing belt,Tensioner pully,Tensioner,Idler Pully and Water Pump All OEM Parts |
1996 Volvo 850 4-door
turbocharged 5-cylinder automatic 2WD
| 114500 mi US $60 |
Replace electrical part of ignition switch |
| 172000 mi US $2000 |
Front cam seals and rear main seals, $765. PCV system replaced, $485. Exhaust cam replaced, $300. |
| 177000 mi US $50 |
Dipstick replaced. |
| 164000 mi US $300 |
Radiator leak. Replaced radiator and hoses |
| 206000 mi US $400 |
flunked emissions: replaced pcv system, replaced air hoses with silicone hoses. heater core, thermostat, thermostat sensor, radiator hoses. |
| 94000 mi US $350 |
Replaced heater core & all related hoses |
| 184760 mi C $130 |
fuel pump relay failed |
| 135000 mi US $500 |
Replaced oxygen sensor and spark plugs due to misfiring engine and poor fuel mileage. |
| 140000 mi US $600 |
Car came in with check engine light. Mechanic pulled no engine codes and recommended engine, and transmission flush. Reset light, car runs like a top. |
| 170000 mi US $670 |
Hoses are beginning to wear out. Oil seals wearing out. |
| 200000 mi US $435 |
Blown head gasket. Replacing engine with used. |
| 188300 mi US $700 |
Slow coolant leak that got worse. Turned out to be a radiator leak. Radiator replaced. Leaks from vacuum lines and oil leaks from separator near PCV and related lines. |
| 189000 mi US $150 |
Lower oil cooler line leaking at connection to engine block. Replaced. |
| 197000 mi US $220 |
Oil leak from turbo oil return line due to worn out gasket at engine block. |
| 198000 mi US $500 |
Mass airflow sensor failed, causing the car to lose idle and stall at low speeds and hesitate/lose power at highway speeds. |
| 153000 mi US $240 |
Volvo 850 Turbo (96) had a "slow reporting" O2 sensor. It needed to be replaced. Part is ~150 and an hour of labor to install is ~75. Need to get car inspected, otherwise I might not have fixed this. |
| 154000 mi US $800 |
Fuel pump died and the car would not start.Towed the car to the dealer and was at thier mercy.$800 dollars(~400 part ~400 labor) to replace the pump. Car runs again and hopfully I will get another year or two out of it. |
| 163000 mi | The check engine light was on. Codes indicated a need for new O2 sensors. Plus I needed new tires soon. I didn't want to spend a lot of cash on this car. |
1996 Volvo 850 4-door
turbocharged 4-cylinder automatic 2WD
| 177320 mi C $50000 |
CRANK SEAL - LEAK |
1996 Volvo 850 4-door
5-cylinder manual 2WD
| 154380 mi €40 |
Car 'shut down' totally whilst en-route. I traced the fault to be a dead fuel pump. £278 from Volvo. Got one from a scrap yard for £50. Fitted myself & all, os far is good! Took a code 2-1-2 = faulty o2 sensor (Lambda) replaced old o2 with new. |
| 157480 mi | Engine top mount worn out. Diagnosed by a mechanic, but parts on order to self-fit. |
| 169760 mi €700 |
PCV oil trap and pipes replaced as a kit . Symptoms, smoke puffing through dip stick tube. |
| 175460 mi €22 |
Expansion chamber cap (Grey) split causing coolant to spray out. Replaced with the later (green) style cap. |
| 98000 mi US $1495 |
Catalytic converter cracked, noisy exhaust and O2 sensor code on check engine light. Converter replaced with aftermarket unit. |
| 98000 mi US $380 |
Heavy black smoke from exhaust. Shop diagnosed faulty air mass meter and replaced. |
| 98000 mi | Car needed piston rings and smoked so much it would not pass inspection. Decided repair cost was much more than value of car. Replaced with 2005 Honda Accord. |
| 96100 mi C $1000 |
Cracked exhaust manifold. Replaced. |
| 107880 mi C $500 |
Leak in the exhaust system fixed just before we sold it. |
1996 Volvo 850 4-door
5-cylinder automatic 2WD
| 140000 mi US $500 |
replace muffler and pipes |
| 212700 mi US $3100 |
Oil leak, exhaust system, |
| 192000 mi | Serious engine misfires in all cylinders, unknown cause. Car has not reproduced this. |
| 192000 mi | Major oil leak from engine. |
| 162000 mi US $1750 |
Installed used header. Replaced exhaust and flange gaskets. |
| 109740 mi A $588 |
Radiator leak. I had an oil leak caused by driving over a gutter a year ago. I don't know if that could have had something to do with it. |
| 117800 mi A $60 |
Car overheating while driving. Put water in radiator. Still overheating. Called repair guy to come over (RACV in Melbourne Australia). Said it was thermostat. Ok to drive home. Drove to mechanic to have thermostat replaced. |
| 124000 mi A $450 |
Car making slight noise. Told the catalytic converter needs to be replaced. Told 4-5 months left maximum. Used after market version instead of $100 Volvo version. My decision to replace it now. |
1996 Volvo 850 4-door
4-cylinder manual 2WD
| 214000 mi £40 |
Car would not get warm anymore, replaced both thermostat and heater sensor (engine). |
| 215000 mi £230 |
PCV replaced, Oil changed |
1996 Volvo 850 4-door
4-cylinder automatic 2WD
| 152000 mi | Fuel intake valve had to be replaced & engine making noise. Repair shop manager purchased car and paid for repairs - not worth it for owner to have repairs made. |
1995 Volvo 850
Engine not specified
| 220100 mi | Airbox thermostat was seized due to accumulated dirt. Could have cleaned and fixed but decided to remove assembly and modify intake system. |
| 221000 mi | new fuel o rings |
| 221000 mi | complete engine and exhaust failure |
| 150000 mi US $500 |
Rear Main Seal |
| 103000 mi | Replaced turbo return line gasket in an attempt to to fix oil leak. Problem persists. Need to also replace O-Ring, possibly RMS |
| 241000 mi US $150 |
Car cut out while doing 80 mph on freeway. Changed dist. cap and rotor. Drove car home. Next day car died after 1 mile. Replaced coil pack mass flow sensor checked fuel system relays and then replaced fuel pump. |
| 252000 mi | Welded up holes in exhaust. |
| 270000 mi | Engine blown. |
| 331500 mi US $80 |
Oil cooler line was leaking slightly where it connected to the radiator on the passenger side. I have watched both connections leak before so I replaced the O-rings on both lines a quick fix. |
| 199020 mi C $70 |
thermostat |
1995 Volvo 850 4-door
turbocharged 5-cylinder automatic 2WD
| 175000 mi US $149 |
Exhaust smell in cabin. It is reduced, but still present. Haven't had time to take back in. |
| 173000 mi US $200 |
Muffler rusted out. |
| 285000 mi US $400 |
Ignition switch and battery failure. |
1995 Volvo 850 4-door
5-cylinder manual 2WD
| 196000 mi US $1000 |
Busted fuel lines were replaced, $731 |
1995 Volvo 850 4-door
5-cylinder automatic 2WD
| 170000 mi US $100 |
catalytic converter piece rusted, welded back |
| 172000 mi US $100 |
check engine light was on for code 154, cleaned EGR valve |
| 157480 mi | Some main computer issues as well as a requirement to change timing belt |
| 185000 mi US $700 |
repair leaking exhaust pipe joint |
| 186000 mi US $50 |
trouble shoot and repaired various intake vacuum leaks that i have been chasing for a while |
| 201000 mi US $759 |
EGR valve plugged, replaced with OEM unit. Then had the trans flushed as PM |
| 208000 mi US $2500 |
Front engine mount broken, valve stem leaking in front tire. ECT Sensor replaced. Thermostat replaced, Radiator flushed. |
| 210000 mi US $350 |
An other "hydralic" front engine mount |
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