I just purchased a new 2005 XC90 V8 in October of 2005. Upon taking delivery, I noticed the radio was constantly scanning and when a CD was played it would often stop and go back to track 1. The vehicle was in the dealership for a total of 7 days. They finally figured out that there was short in the steering wheel switch.
Now, I was in the first snow of the season on Friday and found out that the AWD is not working. Only the left front wheel was spinning. The vehicle was actually stuck in a parking lot. Passenger cars were going around me. It is scheduled to go back to the dealership tomorrow to have this problem looked at.
Is this normal for Volvo's to have such poor quality and workmanship. Do they test these cars before selling them to the public. I can tell you that this was my first Volvo and probably my last. I placed two calls to Volvo Customer Care. Each time they promised to look into the matter and call me back. Guess what? I'm still waiting.

Update: I was informed today that the rear differential unit is defective and needs to be replaced. This will take between two and three days depending on when the part arrives. In the meantime I contacted Volvo customer care and asked that the vehicle be replaced due to the amount of days it has been tied up at the dealership. I was informed that only the rear differential was a driveability problem and therefore no replacement would be made. Needless to say, I am going to seek legal counsel as this vehicle is no longer dependable and will have been out of service 10 days out of the 63 days I have owned it.

Update: They found that the rear differential unit was faulty. The U.S. parts depot for Volvo does not stock this item. It will have to be shipped from Sweden. Volvo did come through and they have agreed to replace the vehicle due to the problems associated with it.

 

Did you get any error message(s)? Someone else reported steering wheel contacts defective, no one reported problems w/ AWD.
If you were stuck on ice. you should have used "winter" mode.

I got V8 too,but no such problems -little things like cupholder cover...

 

I would approach the problem with Volvo from the Lemmon Law perspective. There is a possibility that state law covers the situation. Keep an objective attitude and sit down with the dealer and calmly discuss the problem. By the way, the dealer should be providing you with a car free of charge while your car is in the shop. My wife and I have owned a Volve XC 90 for over a year and a half and have only had minor problems such as wind noise on the passenger's window and have confidence in the car. I previously owned a 242DL and thought I would never own another Volvo. Here I am with the 2004 XC90.