My husband bought me a 2006 AWD XC90 yesterday and we've already had problems. We were trying to get up a snow covered hill and the car was just not having it. The wheels spun, we got stuck, and I had to help push the car out of the snow. Is it even possible that the AWD could go out!? The car is a 2.5 V6 with 95,000 miles on it.

 

did you push the "W" next to the shifter? puts it into awd. normally it is a front wheel drive.

 

I did do that. So the W puts it into AWD? I noticed it was a lot more stable when I pushed the W. I thought that the button was only for wet conditions and not AWD.

 

Nice. I dont think I would consider that a problem. You couldn't tell it was only spinning the front wheels?

 

Yes, only the front wheels were spinning. The only reason I know that is because the husband was in the drivers' seat and I was screaming at him to get the damn thing up the hill!! Needless to say we are taking it to Superior Volvo in KC and getting a 132 point check. Cross your fingers nothing else is wrong!

 

Well, good luck. Superior is a great dealership...their shop is state of the art!

 

AOC failure. my bet is on the hydralic pressure sensor DEM 0007 code, $95 part, 20 minutes to replace and $20 for the AOC fluid.

At the dealer... $120 for the part, $25 for the fluid and $125-200 for the "service" :/

in 2006 you have a v8 or its a 2.5L Inline 5, the 6 cylinder option thankfully was discontinued.

 

Thanks for all of the info guys!! We know for SURE that the AWD does NOT work. I was under the impression that it did when I pushed the W button...WRONG! We spent an hour in bfe Missouri trying to get her out of the snow....

Moving on, the sunroof is indeed leaky (I've been reading on here that there are a lot of problems with leaky sunroofs), is there something we can do instead of having the dealership fix it? I LOVE this vehicle (it's got the entertainment/dvd system in it..great for the boys) I'm just fiscally concerned with going to the "stealerships".

What questions should we ask when we take her in tomorrow? Anything in particular?

 

They are wonderful vehicles to be sure. The issue is you can never get completely away from the dealer because it is a rare independent shop that will invest the money to not just scan codes but correct the codes. Aftermarket scanners will generally only pick up certain generic codes and completely miss Volvo specific ones. And, they can't reset things so lights go off. The key is to minimize the reliance on the dealership; you'll never remove them completely from the equation with the newer Volvos. I don't know about your car specifically but with earlier Volvos and most other cars too, the sunroof leaking usualy means clogged drains. The physical seals around sunroofs is only to keep gross amounts of water out; water is designed to come in, land in a tray and then travel to drains down to the floor pan.

 

Do a search on google for "sunroof repair xc90" you will find alot of threads with a how to. hopefully your antiskid box is not wet yet. thats a $1000 repair. the shop you going to had a DEALER level scan tool? not a generic ob2 tool. something that will scan volvo specific codes. you dont have to goto the stealership,unless no one else has one of these scan tools. many independent shops will not have one. like me i have a few cars i "look over" from my friends and family since i did invest in these scan tools.

 

Wow...so you purchased the VIDA scanner that replaces DICE used with VADIS? I'm impressed but not sure I'd call it an investment. By the time it's paid for it will be superseded. Nothing but VIDA can access and reset al of Volvo's proprietorial codes. Resetting codes on modern cars is a lot like rebooting a home computer; often there is nothing wrong or failed..it just acts that way. A code may say the BCM failed to communicate w/ the ECM. Maybe you need a new BCM...but most likely not. One resets the codes first; if they come back...then you start digging. Aftermarket scanners would just tell you they weren't communicating. Even a $2500 Snap-On Solarus w/ the latest updates can't reset Volvo codes. Just sayin'...
As to the dealership, Superior...I toured the place in June of 2007 as it was a major sponsor of the 2007 VCOA MidSommar meet in nearby Parkville. The dealership is one of the top ten in the nation in customer satisfaction with service.

 

The AWD system engages automatically, you do not have the press the "W" button for it.

Within 1/8 of a revolution from the front wheels spinning, the AWD system will direct power to the rear wheels, if functioning properly. No operator involvement is needed.

 

Exactly! The AWD XC90's are full time all wheel drive! The "W" button is for WET/Winter driving and is an enhanced traction mode ( great for snow or mud, loose sand ect)

 

Just curious - are you sure you have an AWD XC90? They did make a 2.5T with front wheel drive. One of my friends in Dallas has one. Does it say AWD on the tailgate?

 

The W setting starts the transmission in 2nd gear. That's a cheap version of traction control but works well enough as long as you can get enough traction to overcome gravity.

 

Okay guys, YES the XC90 it is an AWD!!! Remember when I said we spoke to the Superior and they said that the AWD could possibly be out? Well....turns out it was and there was a ton of other things wrong with it. (I could strangle the douche bag that sold it to my husband....greezy, scumy, used car dealer).

When we took it in for the 132 point check, Superior found that the AWD was out, our back wiper blade was broken, our front brake pads were shot, so we had to get new ones, because of said brake pads the rotors had to be replaced, the sun-roof had to be redone because whoever put in the aftermarket DVD player didn't put the motor in right, and the driver's side window had to be reprogramed! The good news was that all the fluids were topped off and we got the "Car Gallery Imports" sticker removed.

So we had to make a hard decision on what to get repaired. We decided to let Superior fix everything. Nick told us we did have the option to put a canister on the AWD buuut it could go out. We didn't want to risk the canister going out because we plan on having this car until it can't run anymore.

Moving on, Chris (my husband) had never bought a car from a small dealership. The guy who sold the car to us didn't know anything about it and told us lie after life when we called him on his bull****. (Actually I did because I don't deal well with people who don't take responsibility for their actions). He had the nerve to tell us the Audi that we traded in was pretty much junk (we had a 2002 Audi A6 that was in great shape and we purchased it at Shawnee Mission Ford), to say that the car had NO oil in it and he had to put in 4 quarts of oil (we had the it changed with full synthetic oil at Springfield Audi in November, AND they put up to 8 quarts) and that our ABS was going out!!! Excuse me, but we've only taken it to the Audi dealership (Molle Audi and Springfield Audi) to have any work on it. Needless to say he basically called me a liar (we had the the bill and proof of what the work preformed AND we only owned the car since August of 2010), pissed me off and both my husband and I are thankful to be rid of him.

$3600 is a high price to pay for a life lesson, but we WILL never buy from anybody unless they are certified pre-owned.

And Superior is AMAZING, we know now how they got their name.

Oh and NEVER buy a vehicle from Terry at Car Gallery Imports in KC, MO. He's scum who will try and screw you over.

 

No dice, no vadis. BSR PPC Diagnostic and Launxh X431

Why would the dealer tell you the motor was not put back correctly for the overhead dvd? It does not need to be removed. I do this all the time on new and used cars. I have a 10.2" in my car right now, had one in my xc70.

Windows out of "sync" is a common thing.

What is a canister for the AWD? Pressure sensor?

$3600 for what? Thats alot of money. I didnt spend that much yet and i changed the following since Aug 2010 - Feb 2011

• both lower control arms
• both inner tie rods
• both outer tie rods
• both sway bar end links
• all 4 springs with HR lowering springs $600
• Rear Shocks(tossed the nimvomats)
• Brake Booster
• Alternator
• Brake Vacuum Sensor
• Two New Hatch Struts
• Serpentine belt
• Both Headlights
• IPD Rear Camber Bushings $200
• Front Rotors
• Front Pads
• Rear Rotors
• Rear Pads
• Stainless Steel brake lines
• Both ball joints
• Upper IPD Trans Mount
• Lower IPD Trans Torque mount
• Rear Wiper Arm
• DEM/AOC Pressure Switch
• DEM/AOC Pump Motor
• BSR PPC Diagnostic scan tool $200
• DEM/AOC Haldex Fluid
• All three Oxygen Sensors Bosch $325

My car has over 150k, all this in the last 8000 miles. Most of it replacement because things were worn out, almost needing replacement some were broken.

I wonder what you are getting for $3600.
Two wrongs dont make a right, but in NJ three rights make a left

 

They replaced the whole AWD thing. That was the bulk of the money spent. ($2500 to be exact.) Unfortunately we don't know much about Volvo's and are slowly learning. Most of the things you had replaced I don't know anything about. (Thats's why I joined this forum.) Did you have them done by a mechanic or did you do them yourself? I'm scared to do anything myself because I don't want to break anything and have it cost more in the long run. I don't know if Superior charges more because of their name or what but that is what it cost. Maybe I didn't understand what he was talking about with the sunroof because I"m not familiar with a sunroof that had problems.

Speaking of a cost, when we did take the XC in the front windshield washer fluid was working but now it's not. The plastic casings (I think that is what they are) are not cracked but now no washer fluid is coming out. And the motor is working just fine. Nick said it could be because it's so cold here but I'm not sure if that is correct. The washer fluid comes out in the rear window just fine sooo something is not adding up. Can you help us learn more about the vehicle because I really don't want to be spending money when I can (sorta) figure it out myself?

Also, do 06 XC's have a history of their transmission going out...I've read a lot about them going out in years below mine?

 

$2500 to replace the WHOLE AWD system is a foolish thing to do. Local dealer here told me the same thing when i went in to have a duplicate key made. They gave me a courtesy scan of the car. with that i googled the codes and found out about the pressure sensor. Not knowing and wholelly(sp?) trusting the dealer is also another foolish thing to do. dealer=parts changers= $$$ i would have chosen NOT to have them replace it and "think" about it and get back to them.

Honestly, think about it...If it was too cold the fluid will not come out the back either plus the fluid is formulated to have a very low freezing temp.

I do my own work and i am a far cry from a mechanic, just a cheap SOB that doesnt trust the dealer. It is a real darn shame that the dealer would just change things out on your dime. The thing that sucks is they/dealer are the precieved experts. many are just plain theives.

I can help as well as other users on this forum. I am no expert, i learn from others here and i also use the xc90 forums on mathewsvolvosite.com swedespeed.com volvoxc.com and volvospeed.com ....our xc90's are close kissing cousins of the xc70/v70/s80/s60 cars, many things from those cars can apply to us. they are only slightly different.

I would find out what codes were present and how did they come to the conclusion that the WHOLE AWD needed replacement. i suspect that they only changed out the DEM module. thats the unit that controls the awd. since you did not say that you had a anti-slip service message on the dash. that would mean the Angle gear sleeve is stripped out. DEM unit can be bought from a recycler for $850 with a lifetime replaacement warranty. But then again diagnosing a vehicle over the internet is kinda tough.

 

There, I fixed it for you. I know you had no intention of calling a brand new member a fool twice in one post. Expressing opinions, and differing opinions, is all well and good but in the final analysis, they got the car fixed. Perhaps they did not go about it the way you would, but they got there just the same...and that's a good thing.