hey fellow xc owners! are any of you using your xc 90 for towing and how does it do? we just picked up our 05 xc90 awd and i'm having a tow pakage installed. i plan on towing my boat with it. the sales guy said i shouldn't have a problem because it has a 5000lb towing cap , but you know how those sales guys are, they'll tell you what you want to hear just to get a sale. the boat and trailer only weigh about 3500-3700lbs. any input would be greatlly appreciated.

 

I have never heard any complaints about towing with the XC90.I have seen many of them towing in my area. I used to work at the local dealer and no one ever complained about anything having to do with towing.

 

Check the specs direct with Volvo. From the information I have found, Volvo only rate their factory fitted tow hitch with a towing capacity of 2250lbs. I don't know is the rules are different over there but here in the EU there is a plate riveted to the tow hitch stating the capacity. Get your dealer to state how he claims a 5000lbs capacity.

 

I am looking to install a trailer hitch / toe hatch to my 2004 XC90, but my trailer is a dual axle that has brakes. Is there a plug that accomodates for braking, and would i have to install a brake control box in order to tap into the vehicles braking system? If anyone has a clue please let me know.

 

Could you explain what exactly the 'towing package' includes. Is it simply a tow hitch or does it involve extra duty cooling systems for the transmission and oil? I am looking to install a trailer hitch on my XC.

 

From the dealer they just install the trailer hitch and the wiring.I think they can acomidate for electric brakes.Check with the dealer to be sure.

 

Thats for your input Tech, I found out from the dealer that it is not recommended to install a electric brake box for the trailer because it could void the warranty if things malfunction on the vechicle. Therefore I am just going to by pass the trailer braking system altogether and use an adapter to hook up to my existing trailer cable. I would only tow with it in case my regular pick up truck should break down - for emergencies only.

 

Sounds like a plan Im glad you got the answer the first time you asked and didn't get the run around.When I worked at the dealer no one ever asked that quiestion thats why I couldn't answer it for you.I don't have access to the info anymore.

 

according to the manual the towing cap is 5000 lbs. w/ one person in the vehicle. ofcourse once you start adding more people and supplies the cap goes down like w/ any other vehicle. i'm extremely anxious to get my boat behind my x90 to see how well it does [8D]!! i'll keep you guess posted.

 

I will be waiting to here how it goes.

 

I have a 2004 XC90 5cyl which Volvo USA has offered to buy back because it is not safe to tow the reccommended 5000lb weight listed in the owner's manual. I discovered this by accident when I asked my service manager if towing a 3500lb trailer would be safely within tolerances for my vehicle. He said that he had just gotten back from a conference in Arizona on the XC90 and that for the 5cyl AWD with the third seat, towing should be limited to less than 3000lbs. Then I was shown the new 2005 XC90 owner's manual which has a new table, not in the 2003 or 2004 manuals, regarding towing. I contacted Volvo USA headquarters only one time to ask for an explanation of the apparant discrepancy between the 2004 and 2005 manuals. I said that if my car was not safe towing the reccommended weight in the 2004 owner's manual with my family in the car (4 people, 2 adults and 2 children) that I would like them to consider taking the vehicle back. I was shocked when I was called by a Vice-President of Volvo USA offering to buy my XC90 back over the "towing issue" as he put it. I asked if that meant that my 2004 owner's manual was wrong about the towing capicity? He said "No that is not what I said, just that the 2005 manual is correct." I asked if Volvo was going to contact all current owners of 2003 & 2004 XC90s and inform them of this issue. He said "No we are just going to deal with your unique situation." Read the 2005 XC90 owner's manual before towing anything with a 2003 or 2004 XC90 because a 2004 5cyl and a 2005 5cyl are basically the same vehicle as far as towing is concerned, but they are rated very differently in their respective owner's manuals. I think this is a significant safety issue for the XC90s. Any other thoughts out there? Please find additional information on this issue at www.volvoxc.com.

 

Sorry to hear that.I thought the would have planned ahead a little more.

Thank You fro passing along the Info.

 

That's why I posted the warning. The Volvo tow hitch supplied in the EU only has a 2250lbs (that's English pounds as well not US pounds) capacity whilst the vehicle has a greater towing capacilty it is limited by the hitch.
There was a similar problem with the Land Rover and Range Rover which could put out enough power to snap a standard 50mm tow hitch straight off. To take advantage of the full capability you had to use a NATO hitch which are good for up to about 10 Tonne. Damm ugly to be fitted on a stylish XC90 though.

Also in the UK we are limited to 50% of kerb weight for unbraked trailers and 85% for braked. So in theory an XC90 with kerb weight of 4900lbs could tow up to 4200lbs but this is usually derated by other factors such as the ability to stop and start on inclines up to 1 in 4. So without knowing how the law works over there I can't offer any more advice than do not attempt to tow more than that stated on the tow hitch.

Incidently what does the rating label affixed to the tow hitch state?

Popped in to my garage this morning and asked for the spec sheet on the XC90. It clearly states 2250kg not 2250lbs which the accessory website stated but for some strange reason the spec sheets are not available on the web site today! They are going to look up the details on their intranet and see what the recomendations are for UK spec models.

 

Does anyone have any pictures of hitches installed? I'm interested in knowing what the difference in looks from the rear of the XC 90 using a genuine volvo hitch to an aftermarket hitch like Hidden Hitch or something like that.