I recently bought an S70 and have had good service. But lately I had a strange problem. When I turn the key to start the car the key will turn 180 degrees before engaging. Is this common? do I worry, what do I do? Please help. Bill

For what it's worth, when I recently bought a used S70, the shop told me that the problem was so common that he advised against hanging my big ring of keys from the ignition for fear of wearing out the switch prematurely.

Bill, I had the same problem with my 98 V70. The key would actually turn 360 degrees and not engage. Sounds like you are in the early stages of mechanical ignition lock cylinder failure. Common, and not to tough to remedy.

Call the dealership, tell them your problem, and they will ask for your VIN. With this info, they will order you a new unit that will be keyed to your car so you will not have two different keys for door and igntion. the part should be around $110 US dollars. If you're inclined to make the repair yourself, I can describe in further detail how I accomplished this. Dealer would probably charge 1.5 hours labor for the job, so still not too bad.

I've had to replace my ignition switch once.... paying dearly. Next time I'dc like to do it myself. Will you email me your "play by play" instructions?

Thanks

Yeah,
you can email me at hellcatdad@excite.com and I will send you some documentation.

Ah yes. Another fine Volvo engineering feat. Join the ranks of many other late '90s owners who have had to replace their ignition switch assemblies at the cost of about $300. Mine had to be sawzalled out by the dealer and have a whole new column lock/ignition lock assembly installed. You may be luckier. Fix it now before you get stranded.