I've got a '98 S90. About 17 months ago the plastic liners on the sunroof retraction rails failed. Had the dealer replace them under
warranty. The units have again failed. Since I rarely use
the sunroof to put it mildly I am perturbed.

Dealer was no help as it has been over 12 months/12,000 miles.

Aside from the design being the pits have other had similar
problems. I do not consider this a routine maintenance item
but evidently Volvo did. I had the same failure on my '97 960.

I am thinking of replacing myself.

How much of a challenge is it. Specifically how much of the
inside panels/liners do you have to take out.

Also is there an alternative to the plastic rail liners which
should have never been considered for the application by a
competent manufacturer.

Thanks.

Gregg

i removed plastic for good, never bother again.

Our 1998 V90's plastic inserts started falling apart. I chipped out the gray plastic part and it seems to function fine. No leaks...yet.
--
1998 V90 and 1990 744Ti

My experience with the S90 sun roof is similar. It failed twice under warranty and was repaired by the dealer. It failed again after warranty expiration and instead of making the incompetent dealer fix it I took it to an independent shop and paid $200 but it never failed again. I used the roof quite a bit. The independent mechanic told me that the rails were definitely replaced but not correctly. I had no trouble believing that since the sun roof was just one minor problem with this car, the worst car I've ever owned.
--
Roy Olson

I'd be perturbed, too. Plastics have plagued Volvo for years, regardless of what it is. While I am a firm believer in Volvo cars for lots of reasons, I'd like to have information about other cars of comparable price to see what failures befall them. I must say, as I look ahead (OK, far ahead) in the kind of car I will buy next, I'm leaving all my options open. Since, I don't normaly purchase new cars, the car I will be driving next isn't that far away....
--
John Shatzer, '97 V90 @ 94K

I'm having second thoughts too. Maybe the 960 will go for something else, not that there is anything wrong with it. I was told there was no A/T filter to replace and that it was a sealed unit.

I also needed to replace a small spring in the inside door handle. It was not available but I could buy a new unit for $55.00. I went to the hardware store and bought a spring for $1.00 and bent it so it would work.
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Warren Bain - '99 V70GLT G-Valve > 70K mi, '96 965 >110Kmi Wifemobile near Manassas Va.. Check the 700/900 FAQ via the 'features' pull down menu.

Well since you asked. I will give a plug for my other car/suv (dont shoot me). I have owned two Mitsubishi Montero's. I had a '90 that I bought with 20k mi on it. I sold it with 89k mi. Nothing ever broke on that car. Not one thing. Because of my excellent experience with that car I purchased a '95 Montero with 20k on it. I still own it an it has 123k miles on it. It has had two failures. 1. the Idle air control motor failed at 85k mi(I believe because the throttle body got too dirty) 2. the rear cam seal plugs failed at 122k(oil leak). Although the cam plug seal irks me a bit, It is truly amazing to me that nothing ever breaks on these cars. The only maintenance is oil and fluid changes, timing and other belts. Never had to service the AC. No electrical problems at all. In fact I only change the brake pads, the rotors are original and perfectly smooth with no grooves. Never had them turned.

The same thing happened to my 1998 V-90, something just broke off, and the moonroof failed. Luckily it was replaced under warranty, but it still sucked. Now I have a moonroof leaking problem, fixed three times, but now the dealer quoted $1,000 to replace it. I refused. Am looking for an alternative method.

Greg,

Our 98 S90 has had those *&@)$(* plastic sunroof guides replaced twice (under warranty) by the dealer. The ones in our 95 960 look original. The second time the dealer replaced them, I asked him to use the same ones that are in the 960 since they seem to last, he said he replaced them with "new and improved" guides.....yeah right!. I don't use the sunroof much, and in fact, I am affraid to use it for fear of them shattering again.

(The manual does list a replacement procedure for these and I can scam them for you if you like.)

One observation : the sunroof sits differently in our 98 S90 than it does in our 95 960 (we park them side by side). The difference is obvious. I am wondering if, for some reason Volvo adjusted the newer sunroofs differently than the older ones. I have been tempted to adjust the 98 the same as the 95. The 98's also makes noise at speed, the 95 does not.

DEWFPO
--
1998 S90 062,925 1995 964 145,750

I think I have the same problem. I was trying to open sunroof in my S90 one day and I heard a sound of cracking/breaking plastic. I quickly closed the sunroof and have not tried opening it since (3+ months). I did not even inspect this area closely. This is on my "To-Do" list for this summer. Would be very interested if somebody here tried fixing this without going to a Volvo shop.