i bought my 2000 XC used two years ago. it had some minor flaking of the covering of the steering wheel. this has continued and now most of the top half of the steering wheel has lost it's beige covering. in the summer the steering wheel gets sticky, but other than that its mostly cosmetic.

a while back in some volvo interest group i saw a thread where this was a common occurance. i have subsequently lost that reference.

my question is: Is this a well known problem? If so, has anyone had any luck in getting warranty repairs done?

thanks,

willie

i've searched the threads here and can't find previous references other than someone who appears to have refinished his.

If it's under an extended warranty, I don't know why a dealer wouldn't replace it. If it's not under warranty, I'm not sure why a delaer would be willing to replace it for free, unless you were a really good customer.

A cover of some sort is the cheapest solution, but a leather/upholstery repair place can fix it properly (more than likely, what's happening is the color coating is coming off the leather and the leather can probably be re-coated).

I haven't had a car yet where the leather color coating hasn't started to wear off after a few years (4 vehicles, US and European). Interiors are almost never dyed leather, but even on the car that was, the leather eventually cracked at high stress points. I don't expect my XC to be any different...

Very common...seen alot at my dealership.

if a customer complanes enough we often replace at no charge. it wont hurt to ask for replacement..

Hi,

If you are out of warrenty you are out of luck. I would recommend you buy a wheelskin leather cover. I covered my 1983 BMW 320i and it looks like new.

Here is the WEB page

http://www.wheelskins.com/index.html

Good Luck,

Steven---

I've seen this problem reported many times (here) for the 70
series. Some reported their dealers replaced the steering wheel
and others did not. So, it is kind of hit and miss.