Hey everyone, I am looking to buy a XC90 for my wife and I need a little help. I have heard wonderful and no so wonderful things about the XC90. The model years I interested in are the 04 to 06 (this is what I can afford) and any info on these models would be appreciated.

 

Hi there,
2006 XC90 2.5T AWD, 5 cylinder turbo engine would be your best choice for the budget. Aoid the 03-04 T6, defected GM transmission. Spend a little more, and treat her with an 2008 3.2 AWD, The most reliable XC90 according to J.D.Power, Consumer Reports and myself. If she is into music, opt for the premium sound system, 12 Dynaudio speakers and enjoy a sound stage found only in amphitheaters.
Good Luck, wise choice.

 

ARchitects, Thanks for the info. But the 08 may be out of my range.

Is there anyone out there who has had the trans replaced (04 & 05 models)? How was your experience and did the replacement have the same problems?

 

northfork,
you don't have to worry about any transmission issues if you choose the 2.5T, The tranny on this vehicle is a trouble free 5 speed, Aisin Warner. As I have mentioned before, the transmission problem is the 4 speed GM transmission lnstalled on the 03-04 T6 model only.

 

Thanks again Architects. My problem is that I can find several T6s for sale and not so many 2.5ts. Owners of the T6s are telling me the tranny has been replaced/repaired and no more problems. What I was needing to know is this the truth did the replacement/repair take care of the problem?

 

northfork
No, the problem will resurface again according to most of the forum members who own T6s and Wikipedia. The reason you don't find 2.5T for sale, probably because people are happy with, they are keeping them.
what the hurry for ? if I were you, I would wait and keep looking for the right 2.5T, 3.2 and even a V8 but not a T6. you will buy peace of mind.

 

Architects,

After a little digging and direction from you I believe your advice is especially sound. I will defiantly take your advice and wait for the right 2.5T or 3.2.

 

all these bad t6 bashing...LOL

i have one of these t6's and it is on its third tranny.Last tranny was done at 137k I got it at 143k in Aug 2010 now Oct 2011 i have 162k. almost 25k of trouble free miles from the transmission for me. other things....now thats a different story

I see it like this, it is a common to see tranny failures in GM vehicles LOL so why is it any different to see them fail in a Volvo?

On another note, if the T6 trans was done recently and by Volvo with a Volvo remanufactured and updated trans. Get it if it is cheap enough. I see 04 2.5t with 145k go for $9500. I got mine for almost $4000 less than that $5800 to be exact. that was $800 more than the subaru dealer was offering the previous owner.

 

gshadow325
No offend please, the intention was to help a forum member to choose, it was not about putting down T6s, not at all. This is to clarify.

 

none taken!! thats why i put the LOL.

T6's are taking a bashing, they should. my 99 xc70 sold at 175k with the original trans. volvo trans are good, just this one in the T6 is NOT A VOLVO trans. thats why they fail

 

As my mechanic said when I was looking, the reason why there's much more T6 available is because of tranny reliability problems. The 2.5 Turbo is rare cause owners love them and keep them.

When you have a reliable 2.5T XC90, you just enjoy not having any car payments once it's paid for. Especially that the model remains basically unchanged and is carried over to 2012 !!!! A few minor changes from year to year, and the only people remarking those changes are 1/5th of other XC90 owners. The other 4/5th don't care and don't notice cause they bought the car for it's safety and are not car enthousiasts.

With this said, if you can find a 2005 2.5T with the lowest mileage possible, it will be in your family a long time

 

i have a 2004 T-6. Ive had no issues with it after 70,000 miles. from what i hear its a crap shoot with the transmissions on these cars.