Greetings to all you Volvoites. I've owned and driven Volvos for over 30 years. My latest, a 1998 S70 has again proven that Volvos are safe, we hit a deer a couple of years ago on the right side of the car. It broke the front door mirror which I replaced. Now we notice the interior lights won't go out unless the door is slamed. Is there a door ajar sensor in the door that is causing this? Next my wife was broadsided in her parking lot to the tune of $12,600 for repairs. The shop, supposedly one of the premier in the Kansas City area, ignores my complaint that there's a rattle in the undercarriage whenever driving slowly over bumps, and it's driving me crazy. What should I look for underneath the car? Lastly, my son in law has a 1995 850 that the door open alarm will intermitently go off even though the door is closed. Please help.

Thanks Mark Taylor

Mark,

The light and warning are triggered by a micro-switch integral with the lock mechanism. Look at it carefully and you will see that it is activated by latch movement.

I had the exact same problem after my car was repaired following an accident. Apparently paint overspray was fouling the micro-switch.

Get some "PB'laster" and saturate the micro-switch/plunger. Then, work the latch to activate the switch 20-30 times.

I did this a couple years ago and the problem has not returned.

As for the rattle--check the archives. At that age it could be the spring seat, connecting links (most likely), strut tower bearing, etc.

Good luck,

Bryan

Thanks Bryan. I was beginning to worry that my questions wouldn't get any hits. I had guessed that there was some sort of mechanism in the door that was causing the problem. The rattle, it is very irratating and has only been there since the collision. The point of impact was the right rear wheel, and a lot of the $12.6K repair cost was replacement suspension parts, so much for getting a "return to predamaged condition" repair. I feel very comfortable around the 4 cylinder RWD cars, the FWD stymies me, but I'll get over it. Esp. now that my kids are starting to drive them too. The 700s we have are getting too long in the tooth.

Rattle is probably the sway bar end links. Bad struts make the same rattle noise but louder.