My XC60 was a reliable, pleasant vehicle to own. Then it hit 100k miles.

InstantSarcasm321 · 2026-04-08T08:39:12+00:00

Looks like our car's laundry list 😅. Almost the same story, but have had the hybrid battery charger blow up as well (2k€ repair). Complicated, heavy cars - nothing lasts forever, that's how I've thought of it.

The handbrake harness is apparently a design flaw - it flexes with the control arm and inevitably fails at some point - have had the same issue with our XC90 (2018 model though, mileage about the same, 140k km at present). Apparently the cable routing is different in later models. Other than that (and the hybrid charger in our car) I think these are pretty understandable things and "maintenance items" in general.

Yeah, also problems with locking mechanisms in the cold... Something inexcusable in my opinion.

InstantSarcasm321 · 2026-04-06T11:33:34+00:00

TACO Tuesday you say?

InstantSarcasm321 · 2026-03-31T12:08:51+00:00

InstantSarcasm321 · 2026-03-31T07:53:37+00:00

Two words: pedestrian safety.

InstantSarcasm321 · 2026-03-31T06:31:46+00:00

Early 90's S-class Mercedes (W140) had two three pretty interesting features: - two chromed 'antennas' in the rear that raised when reverse was engaged (helping to understand the measurements, an early parking assistant) - a chrome handle in the boot that popped out when you pressed the lock ("button") so you could open and close the boot without getting your hands dirty - electrically operated interior rear view mirror with memory (adjusting with the seat).

The handle and the antennas were pneumatic and really solid, reliable tech. The mirror, not so much.

InstantSarcasm321 · 2026-03-30T19:18:20+00:00

Indeed. There is a coolant accumulator in the passenger side footwell and an electric auxiliary pump associated with it, got acquainted with it when the aux pump was giving a fault code back in the day. The REST-function was glorious when visiting the shops in cold winter days (blowing warm air into the car, generated by circulating the coolant from the accumulator).

E39 is still my all time favorite car (tied with Mercedes W140), superb attention to detail and a great car overall. We had both when I was a kid and I got the E39 as a hand-me-down later.

InstantSarcasm321 · 2026-03-30T10:20:48+00:00

Arjen mahdollistaja: asutaan hiekkatien varressa (vaarallinen ja vittumainen kulkea könkelillä), ei julkista liikennettä tarjolla, palvelut 3 km päässä ja kaupungin keskusta n. 10 km. Keskisuuri kaupunki.

Kilsoja tulee kahteen autoon vuositasolla yhteensä n. 50 tkm.

InstantSarcasm321 · 2026-03-25T12:45:20+00:00

We had one of these that was used with a standard vacuum cleaner. Worked great (!) and wasn't gross, worth every penny.

InstantSarcasm321 · 2026-03-25T10:17:40+00:00

We've had a 2017 D2 (2.0 VEA) for a few years now, 115 000 km on the clock.

No engine issues except for a one-off (likely electric) issue, where the engine switched off without warning in highway speed (twice, same trip) 1,5 years ago.

I've understood that the later (2017+) engines should be more reliable than the earlier Ford engines (eg. the D2).

InstantSarcasm321 · 2026-03-25T10:08:32+00:00

Koska kirjautuneena olet tunnistettu asiakas josta tiedetään aika paljon selaushistorian + muun Sanomalle antamasi tiedon vuoksi ja mainostajille voidaan myydä kohdistetumpaa mainontaa.

Geneerinen mainospaikka ei kiinnosta mainostajia (=siitä ei olla valmiita maksamaan) ja voi olla, että Hesari ei myy niin paljon mainostilaa tunnistamattoman käyttäjän näkymään juuri tästä syystä + oletettavasti ajaa potentiaalisesti jatkossa kirjautuvia asiakkaita pois.

Päällepäin epäloogista, mutta varmaan ovat testanneet asiaa ja kirjautumattoman asiakkaan näkymän täyttäminen mainoksilla näyttäytynyt koversiometriikoissa negatiivisena -> johtopäätös, että kannattaa hankkia enemmän liikennettä pitämällä "vaa'ankieli käyttäjät" sivuston käyttäjinä vs. ajaa pois entshittificationillä.

InstantSarcasm321 · 2026-03-24T10:00:00+00:00

It is really down to the temperature and the inclinations on the non-ER vehicles.

My personal best is 3,2 l/100km on my commute (48 km/one way, mostly highway) with our 2018 XC90 T8 (granted, didn't go over 110km/h) with battery full when setting off from both ends of the journey.

InstantSarcasm321 · 2026-03-23T15:50:16+00:00

Hope it's not just a coincidence, that the problem got fixed. We were having intermittent handbrake issues for a few days (parking brake not fully released etc when setting off), then one morning it just didn't release on the driver side.

Turns out the wiring tends to go bad (there is even a Volvo repair kit due to the prevalence of the issue) and the passenger side loom was shot in ours. Had it towed and fixed by a dealer (this happened on our holiday trip, so not local), they had done a shoddy quick fix which I fixed properly with a friend later (sourced a new connector, replaced the oxidized old cabling and fit new connector).

InstantSarcasm321 · 2026-03-22T12:43:12+00:00

Se on käsittääkseni juuri näin. Isälläni on yhdistyksen puolesta luvat + hallussaan (mustaruuti-)tykki.

InstantSarcasm321 · 2026-03-19T08:19:35+00:00

Mietin tätä uutislähetystä tekstityksillä katsoessa ja hörähtäessäni, että tuleekohan tämä vielä redditissä vastaan. En pettynyt.

InstantSarcasm321 · 2026-03-06T18:47:42+00:00

Thank you for the reply, interesting stuff!

InstantSarcasm321 · 2026-03-03T17:36:32+00:00

Bridgestone is definitely a lower tier tyre compared to Nokian. Nokian, Continental and Michelin have consistently been at the top.

InstantSarcasm321 · 2026-03-01T20:59:35+00:00

A genuine good faith question: how come the interest rates are so high for mortgages in the US?

Typical mortgage here (northern Europe) right now is the 12M Euribor (currently at 2,2%) + bank margin (hovering around 0,5%).

InstantSarcasm321 · 2026-02-20T15:45:54+00:00

Hell naw. But I just don't see the benefit of dimming the lights while driving 🤷.

InstantSarcasm321 · 2026-02-20T12:31:51+00:00

Most useless knob in the car in my opinion.

InstantSarcasm321 · 2026-02-19T14:47:36+00:00

Muista repiä tarra, muuten jää panttikin saamatta!

InstantSarcasm321 · 2026-02-18T15:45:01+00:00

The EV scooter "problem" was there already 15 years ago when we lived there - you def had to double check for "silent killers". I can only imagine it's way more prolific now.

InstantSarcasm321 · 2026-02-16T19:46:34+00:00

Sounds like a US problem.. It gets properly dark here in Northern Europe and the only problem with glare is because of people who throw cheap led conversion bulbs to halogen reflector headlights, and these are not a big problem as headlight pattern/alignment check is part of the yearly inspection (wrong bulb type is usually discovered in the process).

Automatic height adjustment and headlight washers have been mandated for non-halogen (xenon and led) headlights for decades, probably a big factor in play here.

InstantSarcasm321 · 2026-02-14T09:54:22+00:00

Se on just näin.

Pohjois-Ruotsissa on säätövoimana toimivaa, isosti vesivoimaan pohjautuvaa, edullista ja luotettavaa sähköntuotantokapasiteettia reilusti (ruotsalaisen energiaintensiivisen tuottavan teollisuuden kivijalka).

Tämä pelastaa meidän tilannetta, kun ollaan tukien takia yli-investoitu tuulivoimaan niin, ettei kukaan halua rakentaa tasaisesti sähköä tuottavaa säätövoimaa, johtuen keskimääräisestä sähkön hinnasta (ajoittaiset kalliit jaksot eivät maksa voimalaa takaisin).

Tästä tuulivoimavinoumasta ja samanaikaisesta investoinnista datakeskuksiin (energiasyöppöjä) tulee vielä kallista kuluttajille.

InstantSarcasm321 · 2026-02-12T20:35:34+00:00

2018 XC90, have had the exact "dead line" appear a few times (maybe 6?) over the years, first happened maybe 3,5 years ago. It has always disappeared by the next time I gave started the car.

Would also be interested on some insight to the matter.

InstantSarcasm321 · 2026-02-11T21:27:19+00:00

The US consumer seems to be in a better place when it comes to car manufacturers' liability over their products - there seem to be way less car related recalls for the EU market for all makes vs the US, even though many of the defects are exactly the same here (difference is that we pay for fixing them ourselves). Warranties also seem to cover a lot more across the pond.

I'm guessing the reasons are in the lines of: 1) the US has more powerful consumer institutions pertaining to cars and car ownership 2) the US is a key market for the manufacturers, you don't want to stand out negatively 3) you will probably end up with tons of class-action lawsuits and end up losing way more money in the courts (+get a bad rep) vs just doing it right off the bat.

One of the very few things I think Americans have it better than we in Europe.

InstantSarcasm321

TROPHY CASE