I have had an intermittent problem since mid-1998 with the SRS. To backtrack, I had to perform an emergency stop which caused the driver's seat belt to no longer work properly. This was due to the fact that its charge (pyrotechnics) was used during the stop. No problem there, it was doing what it was designed to do. I paid for the repair, which of course I should have. Months later, the 2-3-2 error code returned. Volvo paid to replace the belt on this occasion although it appeared to be functioning normally. After about a year and a half and 15,000 miles (July 2000), the 2-3-2 error code returned. As my wife was undergoing daily radiation treatments for cancer and both of us caring for our newborn twin boys, we could not be without the car at that time. The belt was once again replaced in March of 2001, scheduled for a time when my wife was not undergoing chemotherapy treatments. The error code returned once again in August or September of last year. Daily visits to see my wife at the hospital and later on at a hospice care center (where she eventually died) did not allow me time to have the car repaired at that time. So in early March of 2002, the dealer found a short in the seat belt assembly that was apparently causing the error code. This repair only lasted for a couple of weeks before the 2-3-2 code reappeared. As Volvo had been without a Western zone factory rep since the beginning of this year, the dealer asked that I wait until a new rep was servicing the area. By mid-April, the dealer had me bring the car by to verify the error code even though there was no rep for the area. On the day that I was scheduled to finally take the car in for service, the fuel pump died and the wiring harness for same evidently fried itself. So the car was towed to the dealer on June 20th. And that's where the car remains to this day (8/15/2002). I have been told for the last month and a half that the wiring harness inside the dash that is part of the SRS system has a short somewhere. So instead of trying to find the short, they are going to replace the harness. With all of the foot-dragging on the part of the dealer and Volvo USA, I have very little faith in them and even less in the car. Apparently there is a discussion of a three-way split in the cost of the repair of the harness although I have no idea what the cost might be. I'm into more than a thousand dollars for the repairs to the fuel system alone from what the dealer tells me.

Does anyone have any experience with the SRS system and its related components that they would be willing to share? Are there inherent wiring problems with early 850's? Should Volvo and the dealer be required to give me some sort of warranty on the repair if they are able to fix it? Any suggestions and/or comments would be greatly appreciated.

As to the history of the car, I am the second owner having purchased the car in early 1998. The previous owner took superb care of the car which led me to believe that my ownership experience would be as good as his was. It has never been wrecked--and yes, I could tell if it was.

Thanks for any and all assistance.

DrJazz