It’s Happened. I Had to Make a Repair on My Volvo

"Future Heap Owner" (aperiodic)
03/28/2019 at 16:55 • Filed to: and i haven't even owned the thing for a month, volvo, volvo v50, shift boot, interior

Because I have a crappy phone, it looks better to you in the rain than it does in the sun, since it’s not blowing out the sensor

One of my goals with this car is being completely transparent about what ownership is like, the ups and the downs. Well, recently some of the downside risk of buying a Volvo that’s well over a decade old struck, and I had to make a repair.

Fortunately the only thing that was broken was a piece of interior trim, specifically the shift boot:

You can really see the stain on the shift boot on this side. Thanks kids!

Before committing to P roject RAUX Box, I had to make sure as I could be that my stereo was the same (-ish) as what the SwedeSpeed posters used. I know my car has the base stereo, but apparently somewhere in 2005 or so — different people give different dates — Volvo switched from a separate amp in the back of the car to an integrated amp in the dash along with the head unit and CD player. I looked under the cargo area paneling where there’s the access hole for replacing the taillight bulb and was pretty sure there was no amp there, but I wanted to compare model numbers with some photos on the thread.

In order to do that, I had to take the whole dang center stack apart:

One of the things you have to do before you take the center stack fascia off is pop the shift boot out of it. I did this poorly, and ended up snapping one corner of the plastic frame, as you can see in the second pic above. This would cause the boot to pop back out after a few shifts, which just looks janky as all heck:

It would go back in when I fiddled with out (only to pop out again a bit later), so I think a little encouragement to hold its shape will go a long way here.

I took it up to my tiny work table in my office, and after a few short minutes with a little duct tape, it’s ready to test.

I took it out for about an hour’s drive of a few errands into a bit of fun on some calmer local twisties. Many shifts later, the boot is still in:

Success! The total cost of this repair was whatever few cents the bit of duct tape I used was worth.

DISCUSSION (13)

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Future Heap Owner
03/28/2019 at 17:00

that’s a good looking centre stack and stick area

Party-vi > Future Heap Owner
03/28/2019 at 17:03

Hmm. I bet there’s an “R” badge on it somewhere.

Future Heap Owner > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/28/2019 at 17:04

I’m a fan of it, too. Though it would look even better with a ( ridiculously expensive) Nordic oak fascia...

TysMagic > Future Heap Owner
03/28/2019 at 17:12

but is the radio/whatever unit the right one?

Future Heap Owner > TysMagic
03/28/2019 at 17:13

As far as I can tell, yes. Only the letter at the end of the model number is different, and even then it’s the difference between a ‘D’ on mine and an ‘E’ on theirs.

TysMagic > Future Heap Owner
03/28/2019 at 17:16

nice, good luck!
Are your headlights tinted or just a mind game with the overcast pic?

Future Heap Owner > TysMagic
03/28/2019 at 17:17

I think that’s mostly a bit of cloudiness on the exterior lens/covering, though maybe the lighting makes it look worse . I should give them a good wet polish.

TysMagic > Future Heap Owner
03/28/2019 at 17:19

I think the black housing is making it look tinted.

AestheticsInMotion > Future Heap Owner
03/28/2019 at 17:34

It begins.

RIP

Nick Has an Exocet > Future Heap Owner
03/28/2019 at 18:22

If the tape doesn’t hold, go with epoxy. Also, your car looks nice and clean for having kids.

Future Heap Owner > Nick Has an Exocet
03/28/2019 at 18:25

Yeah, that is my backup plan. I was impatient, though, so I’m gonna see how well the tape works first.

The kids aren’t mine; the previous owner had four. They’ve left a few marks (I think mostly on the headliner) but nothing bad at all. The guy clearly took care of the interior.

facw > Future Heap Owner
03/28/2019 at 18:57

I had to do a similar removal operation to pull the head unit and install a Grom unit on my S60. I was extremely pleased that I managed to do it without cracking any dozen- year- old plastic while prying things apart. There is a crack (or maybe a scratch?) on the front of the fake wood that surrounds the shifter boot, but that was there previously, and doesn’t seem to go all the way through .

functionoverfashion > Future Heap Owner
03/28/2019 at 21:19

I really like that center stack design, and how there’s a cubby behind it. Even our 2012 XC70 has it, and it’s great. Example: I keep the roof box key back there, so it’s easy to find and also easy to put back in the right place. Can’t open box without key, can’t close box without key, so making sure it’s always there is something I do a lot.