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Refreshing the Volvo 200 - The interior

28.04.2023

The Volvo 200 series are very solid and durable cars that can achieve astronomical mileages. But even cars built to such a high standard do not remain unaffected by time, especially in the interior where use, age and sunlight leave their mark. Many of these details can be brought back to shape with little effort and available new parts.

Enclosed we have prepared some suggestions on how you can give your darling a new shine. Not all the damage mentioned in this chapter will ever occur on a car at the same time, we just want to point out what can be defective and what is available.

The supply of spare parts for many Volvo 240s is much better than for some younger cars from other manufacturers. From our own experience we know that some new parts are not searched for because it seems impossible that they are still available. If in doubt, just ask us!

• Doors
• Pillars and shelves
• Headliner
• Dashboard
• Seats
• Floormats, carpet and boot mats
• Pedals and gearshift

The doors

This often becomes apparent when opening the doors: the storage compartments with clips are often torn or whole parts broken out, sometimes missing altogether. Replacing the tray is quite simple.

The locking buttons are occasionally broken off, their position making the plastic suffer particularly well from sunlight.

The door opener and handle, on the other hand, are usually worn and unsightly from frequent use.

The same applies to the window cranks, on top of which the plastic, which has become brittle, eventually no longer resists use and the crank simply breaks off.

The coating of the armrests in the door eventually cracks due to age and the foam core then usually starts to crumble away massively. This is not only unsightly, the chunks of foam then fly all over the car.

The speaker grilles also often take unkindly to the touch when getting into the car if they are old, often they are only left in fragments.

Under the door panels there is a wax paper protector that prevents draughts and moisture getting to the back of the door panels. If this protective paper is missing, the backing material of the door panels will dissolve over time; it is not permanently waterproof.

Pillars and shelves

Very often the B-pillar trim and the front seatbelt covers and rear are damaged by careless handling of the retracting seatbelt, of course sunlight has also made the plastic brittle here. The older the material, the more sensitive it becomes, especially at cool temperatures.

Carelessness with the feet also often leads to damaged A-pillar interiors or covers of the fuse box.

Parts of the centre console are also not infrequently broken off quickly due to brittle plastic, sometimes all it takes is carelessness during a repair or a rudely moved seat.

Headliner

The vinyl headliner in the Volvo 200 is actually quite robust and insensitive, it is usually only defective due to bad handling during loading for example, sometimes the adhesive comes off. Water ingress can leave unsightly stains, smoking occupants too of course, this is especially true for the white headliner. A new addition to the range is a black headlining for the estate, which was originally only available in the saloon.

The handles on the roof frame in white or black are occasionally broken due to rough use, but usually only the covers of the screws have fallen off.

Dashboard

Cracked dashboards caused by sunlight are a common problem in older cars, but this even affects a whole generation of cars from different manufacturers, not just our Volvos.

For black dashboards, we have a repair solution that is as inexpensive as it is quick in the form of adhesive covers. Complete new dashboards have not been supplied by the vehicle manufacturer for a long time and the dashboard cover is a good alternative to a used part, which would usually also tear in the next few years.

Some replacement parts are available for the glove box, such as the occasional worn lock.

For more information about the engine's operating status, we have had the original additional instrument holder and cover remanufactured, and matching instruments are also available. More accurate information about oil temperature or pressure may well extend the life of the engine.

Seats

Seat cushions are naturally an issue especially at higher mileages, the foam cushion cores get tired and worn through, replacing them is not too difficult. The adjustment of the lumbar support is also more often defective, again repairing it is not particularly difficult, the necessary parts are available (e.g. the handle). Detailed instructions can be found here.

Defective seat heating happens from time to time, often due to incorrect handling. Seats with conventional wire heating mats like the one here should not be subjected to punctual loads, for example with a knee on the seat during car maintenance. Such loads cause the wires to break far sooner than necessary. The heating mats for the seat surfaces are still available as original parts.

Last but not least, the rotary knob of the backrest adjustment has often fallen off at some point, which is also often a result of careless handling.

Floormats, carpet and boot mats

The interior carpet of the 200 Volvo is made of quite robust material which, if treated well, has survived the decades without complaint.

To ensure that a good carpet stays beautiful for a long time, we have various sets of fitted floor mats in different types of carpeting. For winter, we also have the excellent Rensi shell mats, which do not let any moisture through to the car carpet.

The luggage compartment is subjected to completely different stresses depending on the vehicle, treatment and usage profile. If treated well, even an estate car luggage compartment carpet can still look good after thirty years, but certainly the complete opposite is often the case.

For some time now, a first-class wool felt carpet set including spare wheel cover and bag has been available for the boot of saloons. This set enhances any original boot.

Furthermore, we have practical rubber mats for the boot of the estate for tough everyday use.

Pedals and gearshift

Pedals and gear knob are usually the first things that the trained used car buyer notices in the interior. Wear and tear here, if in original condition, is usually an unmistakable sign of high mileage. This is certainly true of a Volvo 240, but well treated it is easily capable of wearing out several pedal rubbers in its lifetime. Worn or missing pedal rubbers are also a defect in the main inspection.

The shift knob also suffers from high mileage, of course, as does the top-inserted cover with printed gearshift gate, somewhat cryptically labelled "symbol row" by Volvo.

The gearshift boot also suffers from a lot of movement over the years. Whether there is only the rubber boot or the leather boot sits above it, eventually both will become cracked and unsightly. If the rubber boot is torn and possibly the foam insulation in the gimbal tunnel above the gearbox neck (the so-called "Lola") is torn and crumbly, then the car will draft uncomfortably and become noisy. These parts are all available, and replacing the "Lola" is a good idea, especially when replacing the clutch.

Finally, we want to mention that most of the clips, screws and fasteners for the interior of the 200 Volvo are still available. Especially such small parts can cause a lot of trouble during a light repair, if they are not available anywhere. To make it easier for you to find them, we have attached small parts in the shop, mostly as accessories, in the right quantity to the things you need to fix.

And should you not find something: Talk to us. Sometimes we also drive and screw 240 ourselves.

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