Try waiting a couple of seconds after you turn the ignition switch on before you start your car when cold. This will allow your electric fuel pump time to reach full pressure in the system.

I live in Ann Arbor and have found an independent Volvo shop, Swedish Engineering, that I've been very happy with. They seem to be very knowledgeable and are customer service oriented. You can find their information at http://www.swedishengineering.com/. I have a 1998 S70 that had a power steering leak at 51,000 miles. The dealer wasn't able identify the source, but the independent shop determined that it was a faulty steering rack. Ann Arbor is about 70 miles from Lansing, I believe. The dealer in Ann Arbor is O.K., but I am glad that I switched to the independent shop.

The dealership I'm currently going to is Crippen Volvo in Lansing, Michigan. They're also a GMC dealership. Talk about backwards. The Volvo dealership I bought the vehicle from had loaner cars, was clean, nice, they treated you like you just bought a $40,000 car. This one feels like I just bought a Geo :) I asked about a loaner vehicle and the woman behind the desk just grinned at me like I was joking. To top it off she was missing some teeth.

Yeah if anyone is around Mid-michigan and can suggest a good dealership or tech that can do service work let me know. I'll drive 50 or 60 miles, I don't mind.

And thanks for the information guys. I'll be checking the suggested spots for Power Steering leaks this evening and let you know what I find.

#1 Mine also leaked fluid slowly. Every time I went to the dealer, I mentioned it. Every time, they wrote up that they replaced the reservoir. Every time, it appeared to be leaking again within a week. I'm convinced that they didn't replace a thing, but only processed warranty paperwork so they could get reimbursed.

#2 I tend to get about 15 to 20k miles out of a set of plugs before I start noticing minor performance problems, including slightly rough idle after cold starts. Try replacing the plugs. Do it yourself, so that you know that it's actually being done.

#3 I just answered this question on another forum:

http://forums.swedespeed.com/zerothread?id=8676


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Jim Rothe, '99 S70 T5M,
http://www.jimrothe.com/volvo/index.html

I'd tell the mechanic goodbye and go find another dealership or certified Volvo indy. Keep in mind that any warranty work for which you've sought a diagnosis and/or a remedy before the warranty has expired will still be covered under warranty even after the warranty has expired.

So if you insist on staying with the present dealership, make sure you have documentation of your visits. You might even go to the service manager and demand to file a warranty claim. You want it written up ahead of time. However, it's been noted on this board that there are some dealerships that simply play dumb when it comes to anything beyond routine service interval work and will stall forever in an attempt (often successful) to evade responsibility. I think you've found one of these dealerships. Warn us who it is so we know to stay away.

And tell us where you are - maybe one of us knows somebody reputable in your area and can get you hooked up with a good Volvo tech.
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David
1998 S70 T5SE // misc mods (mostly lighting) // red calipers
1992 940 GLE // Hella Micro DE foglights and 170K