The more and more I comb through these Internet sites as well as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sites, it is blatantly apparent to me that Volvo 850's are plagued with ABS and Rear Main Seal failures.

I contacted Volvo of America and even provided them with information I found on webistes regarding these two issues. Their response was that they are not aware of either of these problems. I find it very ironic considering that my own dealer as well as my independent mechanic replace these components constantly.

I'm aware of other problems with the weather stripping around the windshield, bad thermostats, cooling fans,alternators,engine mounts, heater blower motors, A/C problems, etc. But to me ABS failures are unacceptable and not synonomous for what Volvo is known for... safety. I live in the Northeast, where today we are having our fourth snow storm of the year already and I'm driving around in a car with an ABS system that decides on its own when to work and when not to. I've already replaced this module once at my expense and now it is shot again.

How many of you have had either one of these problems? The rear main is another issue, where I have heard of fires starting due to oil getting on the exhaust due to these leaks.

To say the least, I'm not so happy anymore with my 850 and with Volvo. $30K for a car that requires repairs that cost $450 plus that are common and known (oh Volvo doesn't seem to know about them) is beyond ridiculous.

I'd like to see how common this is as I am seriously considering filing suit against Volvo due to their negligence on this one. I totally understand I am out of warranty, but I've already replaced my engine mounts, alternator, rear main seal, cooling fan and heater blower motor is about to go. Seat heaters are shot, my door panels are peeling, etc. etc. I've already blown about $2.5K in out of warranty repairs and now I get some BS about Volvo not knowing about the problem.