Hey gang!

New to the forum, buying a 2011 XC90 3.2 AWD this week, looking for recommendations on maintenance items for one with 133k miles.

Just to clarify; I'm a gearhead, do most of the repair/maintenance on my vehicles, and know my way around cars. That said - I'm new to Volvos so I would appreciate any input. In my XC90 research I found the earlier models (pre-2010) were plagued with transmission issues but it seems 2010+ are ok. I drove it Saturday and was pleasantly surprised to find the engine and transmission were solid; good power and shifts seemed normal. The brakes will need some work though; pedal was very soft and the stopping power was poor, so I'm planning at the very least a fluid flush and possibly new pads/ rotors all the way around. If I find the calipers are questionable I'll do those too.

Any other major issues I should look / listen for?

 

Most of the transmission issues were in the pre 2006 models but even the 2010-2013s can have some issues. Buying used always has some risk so I'd stay first thing is to see if the car comes with a maintenance history. If the car was dealer maintained, it should show up on a Carfax report. If its a big ticket purchase, it may be worth a $150 professional inspection with the car on a lift/wheels off etc. If you check fluids, what's the color/smell of the tranny fluid? How do the axle boots look? any clunks over bumps to suggest issues with strut mounts, suspension bushings etc? Brakes are maintenance items so even a cared for car may need a freshening up but check for caliper leaks etc. You noted the shifting is good so that's about it. Also things like plugs are due every 60K miles, coils may fail once they get over 100K miles but its a break/fix thing, not a new coils work better deal. Any signs of water leaks in the cabin / musty smells etc?

 

Thanks for the reply…

Yep - all standard stuff when looking at a 11 year old car with 133k miles.

No odd/ musty smells in the car, no water leakage that I could see. As far as I’m concerned, if the engine and transmission are OK, those are the biggest issues to check off the list. I can fix pretty much anything else except for electrical stuff.

I’ll give the transmission fluid a check when I get it home. I did check the engine oil and it had been changed recently. It didn’t have any shifting issues so I didn’t think it was critical to check the fluid. I have a four post lift at home, so I’ll get it up and do a thorough underside check of the transfer case, boots, suspension components, brakes/etc..

Just wanted to see if there were any other major issues I should be looking for. As an example; the cooling system on E46 BMWs is a known failure item which most enthusiasts recommended a complete overhaul before 100k miles.

Thanks again.

-Chris