Not long after we found our house, we came in well under what we thought we were going to have to spend on a new house. Even with repairs, and popup expenses with a house, I had some leftover car money to play with. I also was selling some furniture that I had in the “Volvo room” (basically a room that was off of our garage that was not connected to the rest of the house. People would always come over and ask to see “the room”) from our old house. We were not lucky enough to find a house with a shop, so one would have to be built later.
The infamous Volvo Room
I went on the hunt for a Volvo that I had always wanted, but never was able to find one. As the title gave it away, the XC70. I have always found these models very attractive. I can remember my mom got one as a service loaner when she took her Volvo into the dealer one time. I thought it was very unique looking at the time. Not many manufactures have this design of AWD SUV look with the ride of a car. I knew that I wanted a 2005+ because the kinks had been worked out by then. Earlier ones suffered from transmission issues. The 2.5t motor is rock solid as long as its maintained.
As luck would have it, after a month or so of searching, I finally found it – a 1-owner 2006 XC70. It was being offered for sale in Kansas City, and came with a plethora of service records. I called the seller up, who informed me it was his parents’ car. They had used it to travel back and forth between Sedona and KC. The car had not been driven much other than the back and forth in the spring and fall. It had decently low miles, and updated service. The seller replaced the timing belt due to age, and replaced the AWD angle gear. I was on the hook right then. The only issue was, he was firm on the price.
To begin with, he wasn’t asking too much over what the car was worth, but I was a little hesitant to pay asking. For a while we went back and forth on the price. He just was not budging. Finally he agreed to take $100 off, and seeing as I was exhausted of going back and forth, I agreed. I left and went up to KC in one day and came back. The trip was uneventful except for the nice blanket of snow KC had gotten the day before. Thankfully, they got all the roads cleared by the morning, something Arkansas has yet to learn.
The car was ruby red with a tan interior. It was fairly loaded for an 06. I think it had just about every option at the time. The 70’s have really cool baseball stitching on the seats which give it a more rugged look. The XC70 was introduced in 1996 as the V70 with the XC coming along as the AWD variant. With the XC you basically got AWD and some cladding on the side. It was still a popular choice for soccer moms who had to be at practice at 5, and off road rally at 6.
When I got the car, I did a few things to it like add some cross bars, and some Volvo all weather mats. I also added some rear splash guards, as mud is hard to get off the lower cladding the XC has. I had one issue during my ownership of the car. I noticed that under a load right before it would downshift there would be a vibration. Fearing the transmission was on its way out, I started to research it and go to the forums. The consensus was not transmission related, but a possible coil pack going out. Well the very next day on my way into work the car started to misfire badly and shake. I knew that I needed to get to a shop. I was close enough to work to pull in, and later that day I took it a few miles away to my usual mechanic. He was able to get it fixed up, but not before 3 of the 5 coil packs had to be replaced. Oh well, that is the price you pay for not changing the spark plugs. That is something to this day I always do at Volvo’s recommended interval.
After this, it was a trouble free car. I drove it a ton, racking up the miles. It was a really handy car to have. The trunk space was great, and it was low enough to the ground to load with ease. This is something that I will love later on. In the end I listed it for sale, and it took a bit, but I sold it to the first person to look at it. He loved the wagon look, and the safety of the AWD. I still to this day see it roaming around. It looks a little dirty, but I am glad that he is enjoying it.
I’m really not versed on the the issues of modern car ignition systems, but why would not changing the spark plug regularly affect the longevity of the coil packs?
The resistance increases with fouled plugs and the coils overheat.
OK. But when is the last time you saw a “fouled” plug in a modern car? Plugs fouled from burning lots of oil.
I suppose if they just eroded than the gap would slowly get bigger and that would presumably cause the same thing?
Yup it is all about the gap erosion and it isn’t really a modern ignition system thing. Worn spark plugs taking out other components goes back decades.
It used to be that the insulation on plug wires had lower dielectric strength and that would end up being the path of least resistance when the increasing plug gap caused the voltage required to climb. Then once the wires got better the path of least resistance moved.
For GM cars with the HEI system that had the coil in the cap that path could be through the rotor, if a cheap one was used.
Nipondesno distributors used on many Japanese makes from the late 80’s-early 90’s would also burn through the rotor. Twin plug Nissans also liked to burn through their rotors.
If you used a quality rotor on those HEIs and early 90’s Hondas the path of least resistance ended up being back through the primary circuit and through the ignition control module frying it in the process.
Toyotas with the coil mounted in the distributor and permanently attached wires would burn through the cap.
Fouling reduces the resistance. Electrode wear increases resistance, requires higher firing voltage. The increased firing voltage is hard on the insulation of the entire secondary circuit, from the coils to the plug boots, and the wires in between (if used.)
Thus the trend to Platinum and Iridium plugs. The electrode life is enormously longer than “plain” spark plugs. The Iridium plugs in my ’03 Trailblazer went 90K miles before I pulled them out–and they looked so perfect that I tightened the gaps back to spec (they were a couple thousandths too wide) and screwed them right back in. I didn’t change plugs until 165K miles. Those plugs just came out at 250K. I’ve never had “misfire” codes on this vehicle.
For that matter, Champion plugs tended to have soft, fast-wearing electrodes while Autolite and others had harder, longer-lasting electrodes.
Why would anyone replace three of the five coils? The other two can’t be far from failing.
Usually you just replace the ones that are bad. I guess it could depend on the spark plugs in that chamber. I have seen one coil go out and the rest be fine, and continue to be fine. It just really depends. Why throw money at it if its not broken at the time? Preventative maintenance I guess you could call it.
The rear seat interior photo reminds me: I have a standard FWD V70, non-turbo. The little detail which delighted me, after buying it, is the rear headrest loop: No motor. One little tug on a strap, and they pivot down for visibility.
This car looks nice, red or VOR blue would be my choice for XC70. But Connor, I know about something to improve in your Volvo room (which is really impressive, by the way)!
This summer I worked as a coffee and vending machine operator. One of the company’s clients was a small place (only one small coffee machine) called VolvoDiely.sk (VolvoParts.sk), an independent Volvo mechanic and parts shop. Their office and waiting room were connected, but what really ‘tied the room together’, was a couch made of an XC70 (I asked) black leather rear seat, and the legs were made from pistons! Shame I didn’t take any photo, but it was really comfortable and stylish, too.
Very cool! I am jealous! Maybe I need to go make my own. I have a 850 seat that is my office chair. It has a nice base that I recovered to match the chair leather.
It’s been some time, but the shop shared a photo with the rear-seat couch on its FB page, so here it is for inspiration.
Nice write up. I always admired the V70/XC70 lineup. My uncle had leased a White 2005 V70 when it was new. I was 18 at the time, but I could picture myself with that car even then. Interior was very well appointed and I liked the overall look and feel of the car. Plus I’ve always been a wagon fan. It sounds like you had a wonderful experience with yours. I’ve always wanted one but I’ve always been iffy about the possible repair costs. Maybe one day when I decide to part with my current Avalon….