in my opinion the idle is louder and a bit rumbling for a luxury car than I think it should be.

Hm, my dad's wife has remarked on how smooth our car is both times they've come up from Texas and visited, and she usually drives around in a Cadillac something-or-other. Whatever else Caddys may be, smooth is what they strive for. I like the exhaust note...kinda sporty-sounding to my ears. I don't have a turbo stifling it, though...

You're not going to believe this, but in the early 850's there is a design flaw that was fixed later (unsure when). Under the driver and passenger seats are vents that blow air back towards the rear passenger's feet. Its a wide opening about 1.5 inches tall. Golf balls, kids toys, marbles and other crap and corruption fall under there and under certain vehicle motions roll about making a hollow noise.

Later models have a screen over this. I haven't gotten around to making something something myself so I suffer this noise once in a while.

Stop with the vehicle facing up hill, move the seat all the way backwards and reach under and around. I've also found putting double sided tape on the end of a stick handy for retrieving the foreign objects.

Cheers and I hope this is all it is (highly likely).

Paul N.

>>There are some squeaks and in my opinion the idle is louder and a bit rumbling for a luxury

car than I think it should be.>>

That's what I though too. But yesreday I read and article about the new Lexus 430 (in the new York Times). I realised that Volvo is not a luxury car. There is no massage option on the back seats and the seats are only heated, not heated and cooled!

Might I suggest a look at your CV joints. The problem sometimes starts the way you describe it. Try turning your wheels as far as possible and accelerating. If you hear the marble sound or it is more pronounced, that's a good indication that you are on your way to replacing your CV joint. You should be able to go for many more miles without any real issues.

I am not sure about a Volvo, but if you mechanically inclined you can purchase a half shaft and install it with relative ease.

Well, first congrats on owning a Volvo, and second congrats on finding this board. It's a good source of finding info and asking opinions from folks who are very experienced and knowledgable about Volvos. Given that, most posts here are about problems. Why post about having a normal drive to work? I read this list so that when I come across something while driving I will hopefully remember whether it was something significant or not. If you come here thinking this board is a representation of every Volvo on the road, then I can agree with you, I would be worried, but dont fret, you shouldnt be worried.

Use this board as a knowledge base to learn more about your car. Maintain it to the book. When you have a problem, or think you have a problem, I have found people here to be very generous with their wisdom, just post your question. Until that time, JUST ENJOY YOUR CAR, it's one of the safest cars on the road, plus it's fun!

KC

I wouldn't lose too much sleep over this--all cars need regular service and as time passes, parts will detoriorate and need replacing. This rule applies to all cars and Volvos are no exception. You can spend hours and days reading posts about problems on this board but remember why people come here in the first place: to solve the problems they're having with their own cars. The people who post here with problems are just a fraction of all Volvo owners out on the road. Oh, and by the way, I have never heard of the "marble rolling around" problem so I can't help you with that, sorry.