We own a 2004 s80 AWD. It's my wife's daily driver. I love driving it, especially wintertime. She gets the nice car.

Lately it's been in the teens and single digits. Really cold. She says the car never warms up inside. I drove it for about five miles and the dash gauge never got to the center and there was no heat in the passenger compartment. It did get to the quarter mark. But not center.

Our v70, same year, would have centered and had heat in the passenger compartment after five miles. I have a trustworthy mechanic who suggests heater core. I think it sounds like a thermostat. IMHO car is not getting to operating temperature.

The thermostat is part of an assembly. Expensive, for a thermostat. It appears removing the drive belt and moving the steering pump are required for access. Is it difficult?

Does it make sense to replace the heater core. The car has 156k miles. Maintained by dealer according to volvo schedule.
--
I'm stuck on Volvo and Volvo's stuck on me....when it comes to FWD I always listen to the "Oracle of Minnesota'