Recently, my wife and I took my V70 on a trip to Canada. The Brick did well on the trip, hauling two bikes plus luggage internally, and making it from Cincinnati to Syracuse on one tank of gas (and doing so in style).

My wife took her shift driving, and thus got the right to one of my favorite features: the in-dash cup holder. Though it wasn't what made me buy the car, it is discovering the feature that made me say aloud, "this is my car." Naturally, other features have taken priority (heated seats, hidden compartments, the ability to carry two bikes internally).

She wanted to swap from her drink-from-lunch to a soda we picked up. The latter was in a bigger cup. She wasn't aware that to "expand" the holder, you needed to push it in then back out again--she pulled the arms apart instead. Crack.

I've read allusions to repairing this on the board, but can't find the details. So;

1. How difficult is a repair/replacement? Which is needed?
2. How much does the part run? Where can one find it?
3. What references/instructions are needed?

Thanks for the help--and listening to my sad, sad tale.

I have a 2002 V70 and mine just broke as well! It wouldn't get smaller no matter what you did. Volvo Service in Oklahoma City said they'd had lots of trouble with it and they fixed it for free, and fast, too. But I believe the part was listed @$4.12 or something. I'll check my paperwork later and see if I can find out the part number or something else more specific.

I don't know about repairing it, but the in-dash cup holder is basically poorly designed. The ratchet that keeps the arms together is very fragile. IIRC, when it broke on our 2002 V70, the dealer said that although Volvo would not cover it under warranty ("user abuse") the dealer had established a practice of replacing it free as a matter of good customer relations. I live in Fairfield county, Connecticut, where practically every other vehicle is a Volvo, and the dealer said they had replaced a LOT of these cup holders. Although you could have ordered the in-dash cupholder with a new car, it is also a dealer-installable after-purchase option, and thus the whole unit pops out and can be replaced fairly easily. I don't know the cost.