Hi all, I'm at my wits end with an issue I've been trying to trace for the last 6 months with my 2015 XC60 T6 AWD so hoping you might be able to provide some direction. I've searched the depths of the internet including this forum, and have some other suspects, but nothing is matching my issue exactly.

About the car:
-Bought used in Oct 2017 with about 18k miles on it
-Mostly driven around town + a couple road trips - now has 26k miles on it
-Dealer service history shows regular maintenance intervals completed yearly
-Wheels are factory 20" 255/45R20 with Pirelli tires at time issue started

Issue:
-Vibration / wobble appeared suddenly in the 32-45mph range - follows a rotational pattern so I've been focused on wheels and tires mainly
-Felt in gas pedal and in seat - steering wheel has no vibration
-Felt mostly when trying to maintain speed in that range under light acceleration, coasting, and braking
-Under heavy acceleration through that range, very minor vibration felt if any
-Easiest to isolate on freshly paved roads
-When coasting (with foot on gas) or when lightly accelerating after coasting, sometimes it feels like the start of a stall where it's like something is resisting the car's movement in pulses
-Smooths out after 45mph and then you can start to feel a lighter version above 60-65mph
-Some times feels like it gets better the longer I drive

What I've done:
-July 2018 - took car to dealer for 4 year/40k service also complaining of brake vibration and vibration around 70mph in steering wheel. Front rotors were warped so they were replaced, but pads were in fine shape. For vibration, they road force balanced all 4 tires and said 2 were out of spec.
-July 2018 - took car back to dealer a few weeks later with the 32-45mph wobble/vibration*. Again, road force balanced tires (at their cost) and said 3 were out of spec.
-Oct 2018 - Issue was still present since July so took to local mechanic for help. Told me that 2 wheels were bent and told me to have them repaired.
-Nov 2018 - Took car to local wheel shop and they straightened 2 rear wheels + road force balanced tires. Confirmed other wheels were fine.
-Dec 2018 - Took car back to dealer to look at issue. Could not replicate issue despite having car for 2 days. I test drove with them and it wasn't very present (maybe due to a lot of driving prior to test run).
-Dec 2018 - After 12 hour road trip, problem seemed worse so took to Firestone and replaced all 4 tires to Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ All Season + balance + alignment.

Issue still persists after all this and I've ruled out the wheels and tires given the work I've completed. Can't recall now if the issue was present immediately following my first dealer appt in July 2018 where they balanced tires and replaced front rotors or if it just popped up around the same time. I do recall hitting a really nasty pothole around this time too, but may have been in my wife's car.

From everything I've been reading, here are other possible culprits...
-trans/engine mounts, spark plugs, out of balance/bent driveshaft, bad u-joint(s), bent axle, failing CV joint(s), torque converter

Thanks in advance for any advice or help!

 

Add worn wheel bearing to your list and you pretty much have a complete list of things that can vibrate at road speed. I'd probably rule out thinkgs like the mounts and the torque converter since you reported that the vibration persists while coasting. Same for spark plugs - if you had a misfire, you'd feel it under power not light throttle. So I'd probably focus on axles, suspension components and wheel bearings. Do you notice any change in vibration when turning left or right vs going straight? Does the handling seem normal? any odd sounds or feel going over speed bumps? I'm guessing that your car has about 50K miles now - did they also work on the rear brakes? One time I thought I had warped front rotors and after some testing and inspection work, it turned out to be the rears...

 

I am very skeptical, usually, of sources of vibration posted on the internet. When a car shakes at 55 mph, it's always a tire. Your car doesn't do that. It's not a tire. The speed is all wrong.

I think I might be tempted to take the AWD driveshaft out of it. If you want to look for something mounted to the floor that would shake the pedals and seat, I sure think that's it. It doesn't need to be out of balance to shake (and it's not). Rather, the central u-joint is bad and the resistance in that joint causes reactions each revolution.

 

Appreciate the reply and have wheel bearings added to the list.

To answer your questions: vibration seems consistent going straight or turning. Handling and acceleration seems normal otherwise. No sounds or strangeness going over bumps besides the typical roughness of 20" wheels. Car only has 26k miles on it so still a baby. The brake vibration I was getting was corrected by replacing the front rotors and have been solid since.

Have an appt with a reputable shop this Friday (Jan 4th) to help in the hunt so will update the thread with any findings.

 

Thanks for the thoughts here. I've got a appt in 2 days with a shop here and will be asking for them to take a look at the driveshaft and joints. Fingers crossed I come away with a path to make this go away.

 

Did you find the cause of the problem? I have a virtually identical fault with my car and its driving me mad. I get a pulsing vibration/ drone from 35mph through 45 mph after which it is smooth as silk. It is at its worst at 45mph. Auto trans specialist says its not the gearbox, Volvo dealer agrees but want £400 to investigate by removing the prop shaft and driving it to confirm if it is front or rear. Local garage tried to remove the prop shaft but couldn’t due to it being corroded at the bolted flange. One suggestion is a Haldex AWD reset. Any ideas? Really need to sort this. Thanks.

 

Update on the transmission vibration : Took the car to my local Volvo specialist and he suspected the Haldex system. A road test with the unit disconnected confirmed this. They suggested that I swap the front wheels to the back and try it. This took away 90% of the vibration to an acceptable level.
today they took the Haldex sump off and found the lubricant had turned to jelly and the filter was clogged also removed the pump and cleaned everything out. The mechanic showed me photos and it was horrendous, all clogged up with black slime.
The car is now smooth as silk.
P.S. Apparently Volvo recommend changing both tyres on an axle if one side is worn and always put the new tyres on the rear (on AWD cars only).
hope this helps.

 

2019 XC60 T5 Momentum and Continental 20in Tires. Same issue with the vibration. 30 k miles. Bought new. My experience is as follows; daily highway driver. No issues until returning from a dinner one night. Suddenly experiencing dramatic vibrating on the highway. I thought it was a flat tire. No tire pressure warning. Visual inspection fine. Tire pressure all normal. Took to Firestone for balance and alignment. Solved the problem. 4 weeks later same issue suddenly returned. Back to firestone. Courteously rebalance for no charge. (Great customer service). 2 weeks later same issue. scenario is always the same. 100% fine going somewhere and then abrupt vibration heading home but only at highway speeds at 50 Mph and above. Feel it in the steering wheel and seat mostly. Very noticeable and irritating. To make it worse, my wife has the exact same car. Bought them a month apart. Hers is perfect (made in Europe). Mine (unfortunately) was made in China. I was hoping it wouldn’t matter but I’m my case, it may be a co tribute from factor. Heading to dealer next.

 

My car a lot better now following a visit to my local Volvo specialist. Went out for a drive with a technician who luckily had seen this fault once before. On return he put the car on the ramp an disconnected the Haldex connector at the rear axle. We took the car out for a drive and miraculously the drone and vibration 90% gone. He said try swapping wheels from front to rear and vice versa as Volvos are susceptible to any slight mismatch in tyre condition. So with Haldex re connected and wheels swapped the car drove totally different. I had the Haldex oil changed and pump cleaned out later as the oil had turned to gel (again fairly common if AWD not kicking in due to motorway driving)
I have to say though, my previous Xc60 was as smooth as silk with twice the milage of this one. Good luck!

 

I have a very similar issue like you. I purchased the car in may 2018, xc90 T5. Noticed occasional vibration in the car. Service is not able to identify anything it never happens in their test drive. Kept complaining but it is useless. My observations are as follows:
- it never happens in first drive of the day
- in subsequent drives i feel the vibration in highway. Just as you described: in the pedal and seats, even steering wheel.
- it got better when they replaced brakepads, it is same now after 3 months.

anyone got a solution to this? I lost hope from service. Thanks in advance!

 

well if as you say it doesn't happen when you first drive the car but comes on after a while, I'd be inclined to think axle, brakes or possibly wheel bearing. My logic is that when the axle grease is cold, the parts stay in place. when the driving heats up the part, it loosens up and starts to vibrate. Similarly when the brake pads and rotors are cold, they are less grabby. As to getting the road test to get experience the problem, why not schedule the test drive for the afternoon after you've driven the car long enough to get the symptoms to appear. When they replaced the brake pads, did they also replace the rotors? How many miles on the car? Had something similar in my wife's Highlander and it turned out to be the rear rotors.

 

Thank you for your reply. I drove the car two hours with service manager and it didnt happen. I left the car 3 weeks to service for them to drive they couldnt recreate the issue. I started to feel like i am mad. But luckily even my wife who sits at the back with the kids feels the vibration, so i know it is real. They didnt replace the rotors but they rules out the tires, they ruled out awd, they are sure it is not brakes (although it disappeared when brakepads were replaced). They asked me to download an app to record the vibration and share the reports with them. I did all that but i really lost hope and gave up on them. So if anyone had a solution to similar problem, i will go to them with a specific request. Thank you

 

I recently replaced my rear brake pads and shortly afterwards, during my commute on the highway I realized that the car started to shake to the point where it vibrated both my seats and my steering wheels after I started to drive 60+ mph (~100 km/h). I've contacted the local Volvo service people (where I got my pad change) and their earliest service appointment available is second week of October. I tried to walk in to speak to a specialist, but they kind of brushed me off and told me to create an appointment. I'm young/college student so I think they weren't taking me too seriously... is my car still safe to drive on the highway? The vibration does not bother me personally, but it shakes to the point where I cannot have a proper conversation because it creates a vibrating sensation down my throat.

 

Perhaps the upper strut mounts need tightening?

This video is very good at showing all the regular things that the XC60 has issues with, but are easy to fix once you know what they are.


I hope this helps.

 

Our 2006 XC90 started bucking pretty bad out of the blue. Fortunately we were blocks away from our mechanic. It had never had a tune up. New plugs and one new coil later it's running great again. Whew! Thank you to everyone on this thread! Good luck.