Well, my 01 V70 T5 alternator died about a year ago and the part was indeed no less than $350 (though very similar ones are being sold for about $100 but not exactly the same part). The job was about 4 hrs, I believe.

The problem is that when alternator dies it takes battery with it most of the time which is also about $180 (it's a goddamn rocket science solid state battery ;-) ). But even so, it seems like a no-brainer to me to just wait for it to die of natural causes rather than trying to do preventive maintenance.

Just wait for that battery icon to light up on the console. If you stop real soon then you may be able to save the battery, only lose the alternator. ;-)

Stay away from that garage! Do not go back, unless you don't like money.

Your car is too new for these kind of problems. Yes, you can easily check the alternater output with a multimeter. The alternator should be putting out 14-14.7V depending on active systems.

The diode board is piggy backed on the alternator and can be replaced, but it is also not that cheap.

Klaus
--
Proud owner of a 220S. If I had more room, I would have more Volvos.

If you have a multimeter, I got a cheapy from Harbor Freight, you can check the battery. If the battery is holding a charge then the alternator is doing its job. If the battery is low that's another story.

I'd certainly want a 2nd opinion before dropping $500 on the info they gave you. I have this cheap radio shack thing that has 3 LEDs to tell you the voltage on the system. Plugs into the cigarette lighter. Newer styles have digital read out of the voltage. For less than $30 you can do this, or run some wires to hook up a volt meter to see what's happening as you drive around.

Personally, unless you are a good sustomer, sounds like the shop needs business, Ha Ha!!!

Jerry
01 V70 T5a
104000