We purchased an 03 XC90 and had nothing but problems with it. A number of friends with volvo station wagons warned us about getting one since they were all having problems but we didn't listen. The XC90 does look good and has a nice interior and rides well, but.... My XC90 needed to have the sunroof mechanism, rear passenger door handle, front center console, rear windshield wiper, and the speaker covers (the little triangle units) on the front doors replaced within the first year. The door handle stopped working correctly a second time and those stupid speaker covers kept falling off. The console between the seats had to be replaced because the cup holder cover spring broke. The dealer ordered the new console and it broke when they were installing it, so I had to bring it back again. In the back, the power outlet cover broke off as did one of the little black squares that cover screws on the door. I hadn't touched or used the outlet.

On vacation in Utah, my engine lite came on and I couldn't find a mechanic that could diagnose the problem. They suggested driving to Las Vegas on the Firday before Easter. That problem coincided with my warranty running out and cost us our vacation and about $1800 for an oil pressure problem that took more than a week to fix. That problem was described as unusual. We never went off road.

The last straw was losing acceleration while in the fast lane of a major freeway in downtown LA at rush hour. I was able to coast over the four lanes and get off the freeway. The problems for this included broken shifter cable, broken engine mounts, needed a new transmission, arm bushings and more. Of course, I was just miles away from my 60,000 major service. Volvo called the problems unusual and the VIP warranty paid for all of the transmission work. I paid a ton of money for the scheduled service plus rental costs for car for two weeks.

When we bought the car, we figured it would cost a bit more to maintain than our Fords and Toyotas but the costs of the Volvo were just not worth it. Tires were $250 each plust installation, etc. It's not a sports car or a luxury car.

Are Volvos just expensive sissy cars that can't handle city and suburban streets or major highways? Did I just end up with a lemon? Who cares, I'll never buy another volvo.

 

You either abused the car, or ... working for Land Rover? Lexus?

I can't see how broken engine mounts can cause fault in the transmission or the other way around. Or how the shifter cable goes w/ transmission at the same time?

I can understand that tranny went out at 60 K miles, but can't see how the engine mounts got bad (all at the same time?)

Or you are a really good person and had the work done at the shop that ripped you off, and never did most of what they told you they did - it happens..

 

Has this car ever been wrecked or flooded? I've seen plenty of xc90's w/ problems, but none like that. Of course, none of that is unheard of either. It all depends on what's been done to the car, and what has been neglected.

 

I just can't see how all those things go bad at once...

I broke the cover on the 12V outlet, and it was fixed by the dealer (under warranty).

I can understand that sails on the front doors kept falling off, and the rear door handle broke, but none of these would affect drivability of the car.

On the other hand, it is unacceptable (and dangerous) if the car loses power on the major freeway.

My first reply has to do w/ the fact that most of the people who post here are looking for help/advise, or they offer help/advise to others. The original poster seems to be just trashing the Volvo cars in general, and is not interested in geting any help or advise.

Also, no one else replied with similar problems -I think that it's just too many problems at the same time to result from normal use, not abuse.

It could have been flooded, but then I would expect to see more electrical problems, not broken handle or sails falling...

 

I have an 03 XC90 T6 that I purchased in July 06 with just over 64K miles and within 3000 miles and 6 months I have had the rack replaced, power assist repaired, cv joint and shaft replaced, rear shock(broken) replaced, engine or torque mount replaced, turbo system repaired due to turbos not staying spooled up, parking brake adjusted, bushing for driver side rear door handle replace, and something in the front suspension replaced. The vehicle has 68K miles right now and I expect some parts to need replacement but I too am a little disappointed with the vehicle. After my last repair visit, I have come to the determination that the check that was done when the vehicle was Certified was not done thorough enough. Don't get me wrong, I am not trashing Volvo or the XC90 but I have been to the dealer 5 times for repairs and 1 time for the 67500 service and I too understand that I purchased a used CPO with the extended warranty(thank goodness for that). I do not abuse the vehicle either and always take the vehicle to the dealer, Keystone Volvo, for service. As you can see by the mileage that the XC90 is not driven very often as we do most of our driving in either our 02 S60 or 84 Accord. We are going to stick with Volvo and the XC90 because the vehicle is awesome when it is not in for service and we are looking to get into the 07 XC90 some time this summer simply because we would like something a little newer and also the option of the auxillary inputs for iPod and In Car DVD Entertainment. Chalk it us as a learning experience, thank goodness not a costly one due to the warranty upon purchase.

 

First of all you bought the first year xc90. Come on what did you expect. Any first year vehicle has problems.I have seen worn out suspensions,racks,not to many turbo's.I have seen a couple of transmisions.Left side drive shaft.If the turbo was replaced it was from lack of oil changes.Sounds as if you didn't get the car checked out before you bought it.I have never seen any oil issues.(lack of oil changes). Did you buy it used? Maybe you should try a different VOLVO dealership.Well good luck.If you are ever in the area of Tucson,AZ stop by. P.S. I thought the vip covered rentals not 100% sure.

 

Good post. I appriciate it

 

have an XC90 2004 T-6 that has been serviced on regular intervals with dealer and it still has had:
broken tie rods
leaking wheel boots
bad tranny
bad electrical - goods dead w/o notice
leaking sun roof
flooded front floor boards due to clogged sun roof drains
broken motor mounts - needed to be replaced
bad thermostat - frozen open - cost $1000 to replace!
broken gear shifter, preventing shifting out of drive!
and radio that has never gotten clear stations!

As stated this car has never gone off road, was bought new from dealer, has had regular maintenance. So it is not the user, IT IS THE CAR! I have had 10 other cars in my family and none have been this bad! This XC90 is JUNK and Volvo does not stand behind it! They now claim the CEM (cost $1200), the DIM (cost $1300) and the wiring need to be checked ($2000) all at my expense!

If someone knew why this was happening, let me know, I am open for advice that I can share with Volvo of America, since now they claim they are "researching" the issues!

 

Hey Buckeyecal....
I am in the same boat. I bought a new XC90 T-6...and never took the car to get services anywhere BUT the vovlo dealer...like clock work. And I too have had all the issues that you have had...only I just paid to have them fixed...no questions asked! I LOVED my volvo...until without warning (transmission light did not even come on) it died....DIED. Had to be towed to the dealer and that car has NEVER been towed anywhere. I am the typical volvo market....Mom w/ 2 kids, wants a safe car, took care of it like you can not believe. I did my part,,,paid volvo 42K for a new car, another 10k to maintain it....and them on a fluke someone said "Oh...that car has had a lot of Transmission issues...it has a bad GM transmission"....Well let me tell you I felt deceived. Volvo of NA admits that the transmissions is faulty ....my dealer admits the transmission is faulty...YET volvo will not step up to the plate to fix it. I BOUGHT A VOLVO.....I DID NOT BUY A GM! So...not only has volvo lost a "customer for life" they have also bought themselves a law suit and in my circle of mom"s a bad name. I can't BELIEVE volvo is not recalling this transmission....it is a SAFETY ISSUE.

 

I am concerned with the posts reference to the XC90 transmissions. Have all the T6 owners had their transmissions replaced? I have had some wear and tear repairs on my XC90; some would not expect with a car with only 65k miles. However, having to replace a transmission with so few miles is faulty engineering. I have checked throughout the sight and even wikipedia has comments about the transmission problems in the XC90 T6. I even asked a service rep about the transmission and they were leary of responding to my question. So does Volvo have a plan to correct the problem with the faulty transmissions in the XC90 T6?

 

I have to say that if your transmission does go...and most likely it will even if the car has been well maintained...volvo will most likely replace it. You might have to be persistant and come armed with the information about the well publized transmission failure problems. I think that volvo will step-up to the plate and fix the transmission if they know that you know that the transmission is faulty. We are getting our replaced and I have to say...it took a bit of a fight but in the end...Volvo did the right thing and I am very thankful for that.

 

I am copying this post from a tire wear thread and leaving everything in, so I apologize if parts are off topic. The second paragraph gets into what I think the solution is.

You did not cause these problems by driving aggressively. I feel your pain, and I think it is so insulting when they tell us that. My new 05 T6 XC90 came with 235/60/R18 Michelins which were totally shot at 20K. People can justify it however they want, but this is totally unsatisfactory to me. I do not think Michelins are at all worth the difference in price. I then tried Kumho Road Ventures from Tire Rack, which wore out just about as fast and did not impress me. They were $100 each from Tire Rack, and I feel I got what I paid for. Now I have Yokohama Parada Spec-X tires from Tire Rack ($616.16 for 4 after shipping). I had my Chevy Dealer mount them since I know they balance 200 mph Corvette tires and use a a roller that puts a load on the tire to simulate road conditions whlle they balance it. I have 15K on them and love them. I desparately need to rotate them, but they are still not showing significant wear. My wife and I think they ride like a dream. BTW I try to avoid Goodyear tires because I have had a lot of bead leaks and the sidewalls seem to crack and dry rot sooner than other tires.

Here is the qualifier for the poor mileage statement about the Michelins and Kumhos. Just after I had the Yokohamas put on, I had to have the fifth tie rod end and the third hub bearing replaced. The hub was probably damaged by the Chevy dealer because the wheels seem to fuse themselves to the hubs on this vehicle, and they probably had to beat on them to get the wheels to release from the hub. Next time I have tires rotated, I am going to put anti-sieze between the hubs and wheels to see if it helps. For the tie rod and hub bearing replacements, I finally took it to Merrill Axle in Des Moines instead of Willis Volvo. I asked them to ignore Volvo's pigeon toed alignment spec, and align it with all 4 wheels pointing the same direction. Willis Volvo kept aligning my front wheels very pigeon toed which I now know was clearly contributing to this vehicle chewing through tires, tie rod ends, hub bearings, rotors and brakes, etc., etc., etc. Our XC90 is finally squared away and NEVER drove this good even brand new. I love these Yokohamas in this size on this vehicle. I take every tire purchase on a case by case basis, and start by putting my vehicle in Tire Rack's website and reading whatever articles and customer reviews are available. I have not found a cheaper way to buy tires, and I have usually been very satisfied with my choices, but I do a lot of research first. Sorry the post is so long, but if I can save somebody from the very expensive learning experience I went through with this very lemony vehicle, I think it is worth it. If everything on the front of your Volvo is wearing out prematurely, I highly recommend having a non-Volvo shop align your wheels straight regardless of what the Volvo spec is. My bottom line opinion is use reputable non-Volvo shops for everything you can, and have somebody align it straight, regardless of Volvo's spec.

BTW, I am just a retired pipeline tech and 05 T6 XC90 victim, not a mechanic or rep for competing fancy cars, so be kind.

 

It is horrible on what happened to Volvo in the early to mid 00's. They did the same thing Jeep had done in the 80's and 90's. Go with the cheapest supplier.

 

You can thank Ford for some of that.

That being said, we have not had one real issue with our 04 XC90 in 105k miles. Hopefully it will do as well as our other Volvos.

 

holy crap, thread ressurection from 2006.

does anyone ever read when the OP was made and not to reply to dead threads?

 

Better yet, the necromancer made an account just to resurrect the post and whine because his wife hits crubs.

 

No, I did not read every post ever before I responded. I used some of these forums to find procedures, info., etc., and I thought I should try to give back to the community based on what I have learned so far, so I picked some threads and posted some responses. I am done, hopefully for a long time. Moderator, put my posts wherever you think they belong. Sorry. I don't live for this stuff.

BTW, I will bet you big bucks that if my tranny goes, Willis Volvo in Des Moines will not stand up and do the right thing. Every failure is "normal" to them.

 

is it neccesary to do the same thing on 2 other forums too?

 

You have an XC90 with a T6 motor. Transmission failure IS normal.

 

Not necessarily. There are at least 5 XC90 T6s (weirdly enough, most are the same color of green as mine) within walking distance of my house. Based on my asking, not one of the owners has had the transmission replaced. So no, I don't believe it is normal, although it may be much more frequent than anybody would like.