By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
I upgrade to a slightly larger size, 235/75/16 Michilen LTX M/S with a heavier D rating on the sidewall. There is enough clearance, but I would not want to go any larger.The ride is fine and the road noise is the same.
I replaced the plastic underbody splash guard with a aluminum guard from IPD. Works great!
The original brake pads are fine in the rear, but the front pads will need replacing in the next 10,000 mile.
The only trouble I have had with the car is with the rear wheel bearings. The right rear wheel bearing started whining at 46,000 miles. The dealer said it was the tires. After 15,000 more miles, I changed each tire and put on the spare and drove with the service manager. The whine stayed and he discovered that it was the wheel bearing which he replaced under warranty when faced with my comments about incompetence for thinking it was a tire.
I just replaced the left rear wheel bearing at 81,000 miles on my nickel.
Volvomax, have you encountered this problem with the wheel bearings?
I use regular unleaded gas w/o problems. I suppose I give up a little HP at the top end, but I don't race it anyway. All in all, a very capable vehicle off the road.
yes I have had the side steps fitted - no problems. I repeat the problems I have had are :-
Massive premature tyre wear ( shouldering ) Volvo Australia have been useless
Front transmission noise - front Diff chain replaced
my tyres were shagged out on the shoulder in 20,00 Kms ( 12,000 miles !! )
I have 235 65 R17s (I think) on them
I live in the SF Bay Area, but I go to Tahoe (over a snowy pass) on the winter weekends, and I want a Snowflake/Mountain (severe service) rated tire.
I am not sure whether to go to a 16 or stay with the 17.
Volvo recommends going to a 16 (unless you have a 7-seat T6, which is heavier than the 7-seat 2.5T)
I've heard good things about the Nokian WR, which is an all-season but has snowflake/mountain on it, and a user recommends them on another site
thoughts?
also, what is a good source for wheels?
Going to 16" you will lower your ground clearance by almost 1". Your speedometer may need to be re-calibrated.
Car manufacturers are required to publish it, whether they like it or not. There was a big scandal about the gas mileage for the Toyota Prius.
There are many factors that effect the mileage. My personal advise - get off the gas pedal, utilize the defensive driving systems, like Smith, and you will see 20-25% increase immediately.
For instance, I always get 2-3 (10 - 15%) more miles per gallon driving the same car (S80 and XC90) under the same conditions than my wife. And I consider myself pretty heavy footed. Other people can do even better.
By the way, my wife is getting 17.5 (2.5T AWD)- city driving, short hops betweem her students (she is a piano teacher) or heavy traffic of LA freeways.
You assume much in your report and instruction of how I am driving.
There are testimonies of other people here on this board, who has exceeded the EPA numbers. I do believe that if you are far bellow of these numbers it is one of two
1. You drive aggressively
2. Your car is not tuned appropriately, or tire pressure is too low, etc. - some particular problem with your car.
I noticed when I was at the delaership last week that, in fact, for 2005, the XC90 2.5 AWD had its EPA estimate REDUCED from 18/24 to 17/22. My Volvo dealer (the owner) openly admitted that she had recived many complaints of the XC90 2.5 not achieving actual mileage "in proportion" to its previous EPA extimate. She also pointed out that the EPA estimate for the XC90 was higher than for the XC70, which essentially uses the same engine and drive train and weighs nearly 1,000 lbs less. She felt a mistake had been made in the EPA estimate back in 2003 based upon her own experience with her company car - an XC90 2.5 AWD.
If you go back in EPA mileage estimate history, you can count on one hand the number of vehicles in any given year that have had their EPA mileage reduced because of an error / customer reports. The XC90 2.5 AWD and FWD (highway down from 24 to 23) are the only two, so far for 2005.
Lest you think I'm dumping on Volvo, the XC90 V8 is still at or near the top of my list. With it's advanced engine and 6-speed transmission, I would hope it would do at least as well as the 2005 GX470 in gas mileage. But my Volvo dealer acknowledged that poor gas mileage is a more frequent complaint at their Volvo dealership than their other dealerships (VW, Acura, BMW).
If I was going to be presumptive, I would start with the assumption that anyone buying a $40k+ Volvo is already a pretty safety conscious "defensive" driver, not the opposite.
P.S. For what it's worth, my former Honda S2000 was EPA rated at 20/26 and over 2.5 years of ownership, I averaged 22-23 around town and 30-32 on the highway. And my average shift was at 5,000 rpm, my zesty ones at 8,500. In the case of my 1995 Nissan Maxima rated at 22/27, I have averaged 24.1 mpg in 154,000 miles and it still gets 28-30 mpg on the highway. So getting the EPA estimate shouldn't require one to drive like a granny and coast downhill. I support defensive driving for other reasons, but I don't accept that as an excuse for Volvo's EPA shortfalls.
What is happening with our world?
Giving a practical advice to someone (take it easy on a gas pedal or let the dealer check your car) is considered presupmtious (read rude, impolite).
But blaming an entire company - several thousand hard working people - for some kind of fraud (hoax, false advertisement) is considered expressing someone's personal opinion.
And I never thought that suggesting that someone drives aggressively can be considered as the personal offence...
And lastly - my wife gets 17.5 MPG under extremely unfavorable driving conditions, and I get 19-20 on those days, when I am lucky to drive our new XC90. This, plus all other posting above makes me believe that EPA figures are achievable.
Also, what does Volvo have to do with the EPA making errors testing their cars?
I suggest reading the manual again
in my experience, most problems like this are caused by reading the manual poorly
and I've been guilty of that many times, so I don't mean to imply that you are lame or anything. Sometime, people just don't read things correctly.
I am in the low mileage category, however, as I just got the car on Labor Day
in addition, I need to check the tire pressure - my wife drives it and I keep forgetting to check it
unrelated question: what octane are you 2.5T guys running?
Tire pressure, load can play its role too. My wife drives alone 90% of time.
Also, the geography - the Bay area is not the best place to be frugal - all those hills and traffic...
Once again, I would like to remind that the EPA numbers are obtain under very specific and well controlled conditions - even the city numbers does not correspond to the LA city drive, where you can stay in front of the stop light for 3-4 cycles, before you will be able to cross it.
"EPA city" is similar to what we are shown on our Smith driving refreshers every year - pretty consistent 35 miles per hour with mild acceleration, nice coasting to a full stop at the stop light, etc.
Way different from what we have in LA or in SF.
on the octane question, I fill it with Premium, but I'm sure my wife fills it with regular
I wonder how the car likes that.....
Our XC90 has had a host of problems. We are at about 23K miles and so far have had the following problems: replaced rear shocks, replaced tires twice because of excessive wear, twice had emergency brake repaired because it was not fully disengaging, fixed loud noise that was occuring when we drove in the rain because the muffler was rubbing against the drive shaft, etc. (You would think I am an aggressive driver or off-roader, but I am your average suburuban mom!) All of these problems are in addition to two recalls because of problems with the seat belts and a bunch of other problems that the service people at the dealership can't replicate (lights coming on in the foot wells, musty odor, etc.). I did not have this many problems with my very first car -- a 20 year old Rambler.
At this point, the dealer just chalks all of these woes up to being the kind of "glitches" you should expect to find in the first year of a new model. The Service Manager has taken to laughing nervously with every new complaint and claiming that other drivers are not having the same problems or, conversely, that every make and model car has an equivalent number of problems. There are two dealers in our area, and both are equally useless in addressing my concerns.
I am paying a small fortune to lease and insure a car that has to go the shop on average once a month. I can't afford to keep renting cars to use while this one is in the shop nor can I afford new tires every 6-9 months. (We also get very poor mileage, so add on ridiculous fuel costs).
No one at Volvo will do anything to address my customer satisfaction concerns. Is there anywhere I can go for help within Volvo?
And, was that first car a 20 year old Rambler, or a Rambler 20 years ago?
Just kidding. You have had a lot of serious probems. Reading reports such as yours is what caused me to keep the XC90 off my list until recently. However, from what I can tell the 2004 models have been pretty good in terms of reliability and build quality. Maybe I should research that issue a little further. Have either of your useless dealers indicated these to be problems / recalls specific to the 2003 model? Do you have a T6 or 2.5? (not that it would matter much, except for the drive shaft rubbing or gas mileage).
I would note that I have heard lots of complaints from other Volvo drivers who have had very poor experiences with the service departments (especially women). Several people (including me) have been Volvo drivers before and used to get great service and attention from the manufacturer. That seems to have deteriorated significantly. The other drivers, like me, do not feel they are treated well, especially given how much they have invested in their cars.
Our other car is a BMW and we never have problems with the car or the dealer. (Every day I curse the fact that we did not go with BMW when we bought my car.) Other drivers I know have switched to Lexus where they also feel they get high quality service and attention. Frankly, even if the 2004 XC 90 was "better," I still would not go with Volvo again simply because of the poor service and overall lack of concern about customer satisfaction.
You indicate that this is not your first Volvo and that in the past you got great service and attention form the manufacturer. Is that to say that the same dealership is now treating you differently? How recent is this occurance? Since Ford bought Volvo? (although the dealers are independent, so I wouldn't have thought that would have mattered).
We are also considering the Lexus GX470, MDX and a couple of others. Not sure what BMW you are cursing for not buying, but I found the X5 to be useless in terms of the "U" part of the SUV for our needs. And if I only cared about the "S" part, the Cayenne is a few notches up (and equally as "U"seless). Unfortunately, comparing the drive of the GX470 to the XC90, I can't deny that Lexus just doesn't get "driving dynamics". The steering is looser and it just doesn't feel as precise to drive as the Volvo. This isn't as important to me in an SUV as a sedan or sports car, but it still counts. Also, none of the Japanese manufacturers match Volvo in seat design, support and comfort.
No easy choices out there. Back 3 years ago, when I was shopping for a "fun car", the Honda S2000 at $32k matched or beat the Porsche Boxster S at $60k. That made for an easy decision. Now I'm willing to go to $50k+ on an SUV and there are no choices that don't have at least one or two significant issues or problem areas.
It's very handy if you plan to transport dirty stuff.
On the issue of seats, Volvo does have a more comfortable seat, but no one with legs can comfortable ride in the last row of seats. Also, the booster seat in our vehichle has "popped up" and won't go back down, despite the fact that it has never been used. We also had problems with the last row of seats folding back down after use -- very stiff. I would give the XC90 positive marks for a spacious cargo area if you have to transport stuff.
Volvo Australia are crap, indifferent and arrogant, I'm still fighting though
I have a 2004 2.5 XC90 with 16000 miles. Just yesterday when I started the car the CD player began ejecting Disc 6 without any input from me. The disc never ejected, but I kept trying based on the mechanical noise I was hearing. The display then indicated the disc was unreadable. I tried to play another disc, the now the CD player alternates between Deck Error, and Disc unreadable over and over again. On its own at other times I can hear mechanical movement that I assume means it is trying again to either load or eject over and over, then it stops. I will bring this in for service, but wondered if anyone else had experienced this issue.
Aside from this item, and the lid for the cupholder not springing up on its own, I have had no problems with the vehicle and am a very happy XC 90 owner.
BTW, as for gas mileage goes, when my wife drives the car to work, she gets about 16.8mpg in bad LA traffic (10fwy around LA is the worst), but when I drive the car to work, less traffic, but still bad, I'm getting 20.5mpg.
Also, the wipers are horrible. They skip across the windshiels in both directions. I treated all of the exterior glass with Rain-X and wiped the blades with it as well. I have used Rain-X on all of my cars and this has not happened before. Anyone have any ideas?
I know for a fact the installation process is designed to stay on your car forever, it is not held only by tape but with multiple fasteners,(the ones that cause the dimples on my T6), they really have to be installed with precision.
Our T6 is perfect for what we hoped it would be,,,, lots of power to go, handling is a plus, looks great, and if I have another $45K to spare,, I'll get the V8 for myself.
I have a 2004 XC90 with 17,000 miles, and noticed a sizeable decline in Miles per Gallon in just a one week period. The Average was holding at 19.5 MPG to 20.5 MPG depending on how much highway driving I was doing, and in just one week declined to an average of 18.2 - 18.5. I did have the 15,000 mile service done just prior to this change. Also my dealer indicated the oxigination level of the fuel changes in the fall in the colder states (NH), which can be a contributing factor. Any thoughts or experience with this?
Ours is premium black metallic, with a dark grey plastic rear bumper. The problem is the bumpber after only 11 months is fading, and now looks very cheap - any ideas? Anyone else have this? The vehicle is not garaged, but I did pay for an additional "exterior paint" warranty???
Regards,
Craig
Has anyone out there experienced a problem with mildew/moldy smells coming from the A/C on a XC90? Does anyone have any ideas how to permanently get rid of the smell? My Volvo dealer's service writer is shrugging his shoulders.
If I can't get a resolution for this problem I'm going to go for the "Lemon Law". $48,000 is way too much to spend for a smelly "luxury" SUV.
Thanks for any ideas!
04 T6 here and absolutely no problems. Hold the line and once you get the car back, it the smell resurfaces, you take it back to them and tell them you want a replacement car.
I'm taking my c70 in tomorrow for regular maintenance. I'll ask the guys who you should contact if the dealership gives you any pushback. In reading many of these posts, I have come to the conclusion that I have the best Volvo dealership in the Universe. Look for my post on Friday night.
I got the XC90 back on Wednesday afternoon. My wife thinks it smells great, although it smells too "perfumy" for me. That will wear off in time, but I guess that the nice new car leather smell is history. At least my wife is riding with me again. I am still getting a slightly musty smell out of the A/C ducts on startup. Either my nose adjusts, or the odor goes away after a minute. I'll be watching (smelling) to see if it comes back stronger over the next few days. If so, it will go back to the dealer again.
I'll look for your post after you talk to your dealer for ideas. THANKS!
The radio problem is due to malfunction of radio control on the steering wheel. Take it back to your dealership. I experienced the same cannot-hold-station problem on my 2.5T, plus the speaker volume kept going down until no sound at all. The dealer changed an audio module and fixed the problem. Now it operates perfectly.
I do not know what other people's experience has been with them but I had one phenomenal experience with them. I had been waiting about 3 weeks for a small washer and bolt for my C70 Driver side window. The part was always on back order and we were getting no where with an estimated delivery date for the part. The parts department at my dealership were going nuts trying to get it so they had me call the group above knowing that heat would be put on the supplier. They called me back in one day and the part was delivered to the dealership within a week. Then got a follow up call from them once it was delivered and a week after it was installed.
Check if this function is operating correctly. If it isn't, take the car to the dealer and demand that they fix it. A few owners have reported that their cars were delivered with the "after-blower" function set to off, so that is a possibility. Finally, make sure that you do not leave the climate control system in recirculation mode for extended periods.
Thanks for the input. I am getting over to the dealer in the next couple of days.
What year is your 2.5T? So I can reference your similar problem with my dealer.
Rob