I have a rattle coming from the front struts when I drive over bumps. Are the S70 front struts known for being noisy, or should I be worried?

It's most likely that your problem is worn anti-sway bar links as the newer types found on ALL newer Volvos have been very problematic,one or more ball sockets wears prematurely and becomes loose. Most dealers have plenty in stock too.

Struts or upper strut mount bushings are possible but rare compared to the worn links we see daily.

On the 850s and S70s, the front struts tend to make noise due to cracked or torn spring retainer cups located at the top of the strut (you can see them when you open the hood). It may not be easy to spot, it all depends on how badly damaged they are. I just made the discovery on my own car last week--on one side, it was as small as a hairline. Another common suspension problem on this model, are the sway-bar endlinks. They too fail and cause a clunking noise--had the passenger side endlink replaced on my own car about a month ago. Take a good look at the spring retainer cups first and go from there. Good luck with it.

A friend of mine has a 99 V70 AWD and has some noises coming from the front. He had it looked at by the dealer twice and they couldn't figure out what was wrong. They took apart some of the suspension, and tighened everything back down in case something was loose, but they don't know what the problem is. The "Volvo Rep" came into the dealer to look at it today. He was theorising that it was some sort of spacer that had cracked (above the strut or something). I'll post the outcome if I hear anything different.

-Kyle