Third set of brakes and rotors in 40,000 miles on my 97 850 Wagon. I am beginning to feel like I am having a drive shaft placed in my tailpipe! Is this a typical tale or am I just the victim of the dealership?

This is my 5th Volvo and doubt I will ever own another. My wife doesn't even remember where she takes her Toyota for repairs.

We have a volvo 855 wagon with an automatic transmission and front brake
pads last about 30 to 35K (so far, two sets). I have an S70 with a manual
transmission and front pads went to 60K (you use the brakes less with the
manual transmission).

You should be getting about 30K on front pads and will need new rotors every
2 sets of pads (at 60K). Rear pads go at least 60K.

The brake parts are easy to inspect and measure yourself. Read the
note here on how to eyeball the pads:

http://volvospeed.com/850fbrake1.htm

I'd also ask for the old parts back and check them, too.

By any chance does anyone drive with the left foot on the brake pedal?

Has anyone inspected for a correlated problem other than the brakes? I experienced these same symptoms in my 740 a few years ago, and it turned out that I needed to replace a couple cheap suspension parts (strut rod bushings). This, and a switch to softer pads, got me from 11K per brake job to 45K.

Volvo OEM rotors and pads are fine, as the new pads are soft (and dusty). Wheels should be hand-torqued to 70 lb ft. But first, consider having your suspension inspected for parts wear that could be placing additional stress on your brakes.
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David
1998 S70 T5SE // misc mods (mostly lighting) // red calipers
1992 940 GLE // Hella Micro DE foglights and 170K

The proper torque for 850 wheels is 81 ft/lbs

David brings up an important point here: the 850/70-series rotors are well known to have warping problems when lug bolts are improperly or unevenly torqued. (Cos -- is that why you're having all of these brake jobs done?)

With this in mind, I always re-torque my lug bolts by myself after the car sees the tire man. As for brake and suspension work, I generally do these things by myself, but if I were to have those jobs done by a shop, I'd still re-torque the bolts when I got the car back. I can't tell you how many times I've found that "Joe the Tire Guy" has reinstalled my wheels with 150 lbs of torque on the bolts or nuts. That's asking for trouble on these cars, besides the fact that you'll never get the wheel off if you have to change a flat.

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

You should be able to get at least 50k out of a set of brakes, unless you race it every weekend. I think you're just getting ripped off by the dealer. Find a good independent shop in your area next time. I know what you mean about Toyotas, I wish Volvo could follow their lead.

Mike