Just brought my "new" '96 965 home (from Dallas to El Paso, TX). Can't believe how smooth this car drives. Normally I stop every three hrs (it's a 9-10 hr drive) but only stopped twice the entire route (one 15 minute stop for gas 5 hrs after start and one stop about 2 hrs later to eat). Got just under 24 mpg at a steady 80 mph(had to set the cruise control to keep from cruising at 90 mph). Air conditioning problem that led the dealer to sell the car for only $ 6500 (drive away price!) ended up being low R134. Can't believe the GM-VW dealer from which I obtained this jewel had not taken the car to the Volvo dealer to have the issue diagnosed, esp. since they are only about 3 miles apart! I took the car there for a pre-purchase check up where I talked to the mechanic that had serviced the car since it was new. The service manager pulled up the records and I could not believe that it did not need a single thing (minus of course the AC charge). Only two issues:

- passanger seat does not have an adjustable lumbar support (there is no knob).
I have never seen a modern Volvo w/o lumbar adjustments for both front seats. Anyone know if it was an option that year?

- Forgot to test the rear windshield washer prior to purchasing it. No fluid is
coming from the nozzle. Any suggestions where to start. Interestingly, had the same issue with the 745 that I purchased last Dec. Ended up being the pump.

Question (here we go again). The car is still on dino. Every dealer that I've taled to says as long as I change the oil (currently Mobile 10W30) every 5K miles and check the trans fluid every 10K miles things will be fine. They want $ 240 to flush and refill the trans (my indi would do it for $200). Should I bite the bullet and do it? Any longterm 95 on 960-S/V90 owners sitill using dino?

Thanks!

My 95 has lumbar support on both seats


James
95-965 151,000 miles

Dear Healedknee,

Good p.m. and may this find you well. Congratulations on your purchase: many, many happy miles. Were I you, I'd get a copy of the service records "for the file". As you spoke with the technician, who did the work, I'm sure they'll be happy to share the records with you, if you offer to cover copying and postage costs. That way, you won't have to go on "recollections".

I presume that the timing belt has been changed at the recommended intervals. If you do not have hard, i.e., documentary, proof, that this has been done, get the belt changed. As I'm sure you know, a timing belt breaking ruins the valves at the very least.

As to using synthetic oil, I think it best to err on the side of caution. West Texas is hot. Heat accelerates any oil's breakdown. Top notch oil is cheap preventive maintenance. You should get 200,000 miles from your car, possibly more.

I infer from your comments, that you're no penny-pincher, when it comes to spending on maintenance. Thus, I'm sure you'll think of the extra cost of synthetic oil (and trans fluid) as a small price to pay for "peace of mind".

As synthetic trans fluid is about $6-7/quart, and it takes about a dozen quarts for a complete flush, $200 seems only a tad high. Any automatic transmission shop can do this flush. They should allow you to supply your own fluid (ask for the empties to be returned, for rebate purposes). They should charge about $90 for the service, if you supply the fluid.

As to the lumbar seat adjustments, powered seats do have them, so far as I know. I replaced a manually-adjusted seat in a 940, with a powered passenger seat, which I'm 99% certain came out of a 960. The powered seat has a lumbar support adjustment knob (black plastic, about 1.75" / 40 mm in diameter). The powered driver's seat, also has this knob. On both seats, the lumbar adjustment knob is on the outer (door-side) edge of the seat, about 4" above the seat back pivot point.

Hope some of this is useful.

Again, many, many happy miles. You're driving a beautifully-appointed armored personnel carrier!

Yours faithfully,

spook

Spook,

Thanks. I have all the owner records and the original servicing dealership shared all the records. The T-belt was changed at 60K (records are stamped, and the sticker is on the T-belt cover). Car is really a good find. I guess the only reason I hessitate to switch from dino is that the car is doing so good on it. However, I will likely heed what seems to be the Brickboard concensus and go synthetic at the next oil change.

The lumbar support has me perplexed. The knob simply is not there. The driver's side has it, the original window sticker says both front seats should have adjustable lumbar support, and the owner's manual mentions it...my wife suggested that the seat cover was replaced and whoever did it simply did not bother (or forgot) to reattach the knob. However, both seats show the same amount of wear (which is consistent with the back seat) and the pass seatback cover does not even have a hole on it for the lumbar support. The car is truly one owner and has never been in an accident. I suppose I will contact the previous owner.

Last, I am curious as to why you say "should last 200K miles..." I am hoping for at least that much.

Take care!

M1 ATF is $4.99/qt at Autozone and similar stores, you can flush the ATF with 12-16 qts of ATF yourself in about 1 hour on this car.

DEWFPO
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1998 S90 071,245 and 1995 964 154,100