Did You Know...

That there are three different kinds of maintenance?

Repair Work (also know as “Reactive Maintenance”)

This is what we do when something wears out, leaks, or breaks and needs to be repaired immediately for the safe operation of your car. Usually Reactive Maintenance may take you by surprise and may happen because you have put off some needed Scheduled or Preventive Maintenance.

Scheduled Maintenance
Scheduled Maintenance is maintenance recommended by the vehicle  manufacturer and includes tune-ups and replacing parts that have a known useful life, such as oil filters, fuel filters, and rubber belts. Scheduled Maintenance is generally recommended for different parts or systems either by time (i.e. every 6 months) or by mileage.   

Preventative Maintenance

This kind of maintenance could also be called pro-active maintenance. This includes replacing parts that have no factory  scheduled replacement time or mileage interval, but of course can't last  forever. Although the manufacturer has no requirement for replacing  electric fuel pumps, for example, our experience shows that they often fail over 150,000. Certain other electrical parts are also prone to  failure without warning, which could leave you in the lurch. 

This is  tricky. Because we know about these tendencies, we might recommend smart  preventive maintenance based on our “real world” experience with your particular year and model Volvo. In the long  run, this could save you a bigger headache and punch to the pocket book  down the road. But some people question the need for replacing a part  that still works if the manufacturer doesn't recommend it. That's when  you must trust Popular Mechanix' wisdom and not believe we are trying to  oversell you on unnecessary work! The recommendations are ours but the  decision is always yours.

That your car's "Check Engine Light" (CEL) can be triggered by one of over 50 causes, many of them for minor reasons?

This light can be activated by a failing oxygen sensor or air injection pump, engine vacuum leaks, the gas cap not sealing properly, and many other reasons. When the CEL comes on, one or more fault codes are stored in the car's computer with specific diagnostic procedures that we follow to determine the cause of the problem. Check Engine Lights are mandated by federal emission control laws and will cause a car to fail a smog check even if the vehicle is running well. From a customer's point of view, the return of the CEL soon after repairs may signal a faulty repair. From a technician's point of view, it usually means a different problem has triggered the CEL system. Our policy is to charge you for both diagnostic and approved repairs the first time we work on your car for a CEL. If the engine light comes on again within the next 30 days, we will perform further diagnostic work free including multiple city and freeway test-drives.

That most late model Volvos are equipped with interference fit motors?

An interference fit motor is one in which the pistons and valves will collide if the timing belt breaks, resulting in serious engine damage, costing thousands of dollars to repair. The following Volvo models all use interference fit motors: 850, 960, S70, V&0, S80, S90 (and very rarely, 700s with B234F engines). The best way to avoid a broken timing belt is to replace the timing belt at factory recommended intervals, usually from 50,000 to 105,000 miles depending on the year and model of your car. We also advise replacing the timing belt tensioning device with every other belt change regardless of mileage.