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Volvo XC90 Maintenance and Repair

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Comments

  • donnadodonnado Member Posts: 1
    My 2006 XC-90 AWD has died 7 times on the highway in exactly the same situations you describe. I have brought it to the dealership 3 times and the complete fuel system has been replaced as well. It happened again this weekend! This failure is not some small-time aggravation. It is life-threatening. I am frustrated as well.
  • edbarnewedbarnew Member Posts: 1
    My 04 Volvo XC 90 has a transmission problem. The car has @70,000 miles on it. After dropping the kids at school the car would not go into gear. I was fortunate enough to be near the Volvo repair shop in town and coasted a few blocks to the shop. After running some diagnostics they have informed me this is a common problem cropping up in XC 90's. I may have to replace the transmission. Can someone enlighten me as to how many others are having this problem and some resolutions?
  • onawhimonawhim Member Posts: 9
    Hi! I have a 2005 V8 which I have loved owning every minute I've had it. The first year I owned it, it spent most nights in my garage. For the last year, it has stayed outside. I have noticed that when it rains and the car has been sitting a while, when I open my door, rain water splashes from the floor of the door jam where the "Volvo" is printed, out onto the pavement. This does not happen in any of the other doors. Also, when this happens, the car feels very damp and musty inside.

    It is at the dealer right now and they say they cannot replicate the problem, although they just have to wait for it to rain! But they are replacing some software that has to do with the air conditioning system that is supposed to take care of the musty smell.

    Does anyone out there have any experience with this problem? It seems that some door frame gasket is not sealing. I told them to run a hose over the door, but I can't believe that they can't see the problem. Any advice is much appreciated.
  • bryangmdbryangmd Member Posts: 27
    I posted a few months ago that my 07 V8 XC90 had a horrible musty/BO smell from the vents when you started the car with the AC on. It went away after a few minutes, but caused enough ugly faces at ignition. Tell me more about the software fix. I have notices some water out of the door jam, but not enough to make me double take. I will check it out again. It seems that they way it is designed is poor for rain. I can't get in the car when it's raining without soaking everything.
  • skeeter03skeeter03 Member Posts: 8
    xc90's have several problems wiith water. 1) do the door jams have holes in the black moldings around the doors? THEY ARE CALLED WEEP HOLES AND NEED TO BE THERE.
    2) sun roof drains? they might be clogged. pull away part of the front carpet and feel down in there. There is 2 to3 inches of foam under your carpet, so by lifting up your floor mats you might nit see it.
    3) there is software for the "afterblow feature" which will turn on the a/c blower.when the vehicle is not in use.this will keep your vents dry for that initial smell. see when the pollin filter was last changed in the vehicle also.
    ---more to come got to go back to work. :shades:
  • ththompsonththompson Member Posts: 1
    Hope to gain some insight but this car is going is strange! It stayed in the shop last November for a month only after I took 4 mechanics and the service manager for a ride because "they couldn't duplicate the problem"! Why is it I can do it every time but the dealer can't? Parts from Sweden most of the delay, to include new transmission, drive train! This car only had 40K miles on it and now at 48K won't reverse periodically. Dealer says "cannot duplicate the problem" as this is our moto now. We've been experiencing this for well over a month now as it only acts this way when first cranked. At church, it literally took pushing the gas peddle to the floor and up to 4000 rpms to get it to move and it was not eager to do it then. The car acts like the emergency brake is engaged when it isn't? Forward gears no problem except for shifting. This problem occurs when taking off like first to third then to second to fourth back to third, all in about 5-7 seconds, which "they cannot duplicate" as well and this have been a problem before and after new transmission and drive train. Any help or insight would be appreciated.
    And like the rest of you, gas mileage sucks big time.
  • barberfamilybarberfamily Member Posts: 11
    My 03 Volvo XC 90 just came up with a serious transmission problem with 30,400 miles on it. Please share more info cause i paid over 200 dollars to have it towed to the volvo dealer. it is out of warranty of course. curious to see if they are going to help at all a 40 thousand plus vehicle should not need transmission replacement at this few a miles. it is our weekend, church , family car obviously we have babied it and now it may need a new transmission. i am very furious.
    mary
  • onawhimonawhim Member Posts: 9
    The technicians said that they couldn't replicate the problem with the water in the door jam, but I have intentionally left it there all week during which it rained pretty heavily. When I pick it up, I'm going to make sure that the service manager opens the door with me so we can see what is there.

    He did tell me that they were upgrading software for the afterblow feature mentioned above that should dry out the air conditioning system after it is used. I believe this was done once before and improved the smell coming out of the vents for a while.

    If I get any more info about the door jam, I will let you know. I'll also check those weep holes. Thanks for the info.
  • chiefstonerchiefstoner Member Posts: 14
    Hello,

    Unfortunate situation with trans. I would think you are under warranty still (50k).
    Volvo was extremely hard to deal with, and offered us 3k off. We were past the warranty at 61k miles. They have a bad problem and probably do not want to admit it by handling it correctly. Let me know how things go.

    Good luck with everything.
  • rajnacrajnac Member Posts: 1
    Hello all, Looking at a 2005 2.5T XC90 at a reliable dealer. Car is immaculate, 36k, Carfax reports no issues. Based on everyone's reliability experience out there, is this model and year a good idea? We currently own a 4-runner and an Accord, so we are used to great reliability, but with a growing family, we are looking for the safety, convenience, and decent gas mileage that this Volvo seems to promise. Any and all advise appreciated. Thanks in advance - Mark
  • dmedmondsdmedmonds Member Posts: 4
    Yes, we had a transmission problem at only 50K miles and out of warranty. This came after also having to have the electrical system AND a new chassis replaced (while under warranty). We negotiated heavily with the dealer (where all the repairs have taken place). First we showed them all the service issues with our particular car. Second we showed valuable inputs and data from forums like such has this and Consumer Reports. Last when they called to say the car was ready, we flat out said we didn't want the car, we didn't have ANY faith in Volvo and had absolutely no faith in our car. They finally acknowledged the 03 and 04 years have had horrible records and basically waived the parts and labor charges. Had we not had all the prior problems, I don't know what action the dealer would have taken.
    Dianne
  • volvomaxvolvomax Member Posts: 5,238
    Nothing wrong with that car.
  • barberfamilybarberfamily Member Posts: 11
    Not under warranty and now they are trying to say our tread wear is different from front to back and the bevel gear is bad too.
    I am extremely furious.
    mary
  • hypnosis44hypnosis44 Member Posts: 483
    Consumer Reports rates it as average reliability which is not at all bad these days - it shows better reliability than the '04 or the '06 2.5's. In any event I would get an extended bumper to bumper warranty on any used car I bought.
  • barberfamilybarberfamily Member Posts: 11
    It appears our transmission problem turned out to be the bevel gear for sure. This alone was a $3200.00 dollar repair. volvo has made good on this minus the $250.00 towing and $250.00 out of our pocket plus no rental. We also apparently had a bad pvc valve that is a another $740.00. So we are still out of pocet $1240.00 but I am grateful they made good on the $2950.00 for the bevel gear even if they would not on the pvc valve or any extra. Good Luck to all thought I would share my 9 day nightmare with any others that may have issues. Call volvo customer care and keep pushing until you get them to help you.
  • xc91xc91 Member Posts: 2
    how much is warranty for 2008 volvo XC90 for 7yrs/100K? dealer versus internet and which is cheaper or better? i have the extended 4 yr/100K for 1800 dollars; seems steep?

    thanks.
  • hypnosis44hypnosis44 Member Posts: 483
    I have no info on the cost, but I would consider comparing the cost of buying it now vs the cost of buying it when the car comes off factory warranty, otherwise you are overlapping similar coverages. Don't forget to include the opportunity cost of the money during the intervening period. Shop around for cost and varieties of deductables and coverages - the market is very competitive. Also, Consumer Union ran something on extended warranties some time back that could be useful.
  • gambiamangambiaman Member Posts: 131
    I no longer have a Volvo. I have a V lvo. The "O" fell off when I closed the rear hatch today. I picked it up and it is just a silver piece of plastic. It is still under warranty so at the 30K service I will see if the dealer can glue it back on. Any body else have this problem? Other than that no problems at 29K.
    Em
  • anilpunjabianilpunjabi Member Posts: 61
    Write to:
    Ann Belec and Management Staff
    Chief Executive Officer
    Volvo of North America LLC
    1 Volvo Drive
    Rockleigh, New Jersey 07647

    CC: Better Business Bureau
    BCC: Attorney General’s Office - Tom Corbett
    Dear Ann Belec:
    I am writing to you regarding my 2003 Burgundy Red Volvo XC90 T6(VIN: ). I am writing to you to express my extreme dissatisfaction with this car and the service Volvo has provided me. I have been meaning to write this letter for many months now, but with the lack of time provided for me due to my important responsibility of taking care of others, I have not had the chance to express my dissatisfactions. As I noted, I am a Doctor, and reliability is the core of my occupation. This Volvo under many circumstances(which I will note below) has been less than stellar. To further worsen the problem, the Volvo Dealer’s have made these instances even worse. It makes me begin to think that Volvo has no pride or self respect in their products that they manufacture. We had similar problems with a 1983 Mercedes. We wrote many letters to the manufacture and they did not respond. We vowed to never come back to Mercedes and we switched to Lexus. In the last 11 years we have purchased 4 Lexus’s because we were extremely satisfied with not only the products but the service as well. If you take a look at the Luxury Car market in the last decade, you can see that Lexus’s strategy has been more than successful. Please read a list of my complaints and please don’t allow the Volvo Experience to become similar to the Mercedes one.
    Ann here is a list of problems:
    1. Our first instance occurred last year at Burdumy Volvo. We had given the car in for inspection and it had returned without any problems. At 8:30am the following week the car would not go past 15 mph. I called Burdumy Volvo of Huntingdon Valley, and told them I was bringing in the car. As I entered the dealership the first thing they told me was that we do not have a loaner car available. Our Lexus Dealer would bend over backwards for us. After a very heated argument with the dealer, they finally gave me a loaner car. The computer had malfunctioned and needed to be replaced. I want to stress the importance of my occupation. I am a Doctor, and I need to be on time at work. The dealership was irresponsible in their actions, which made this computer failure much worse. This is the start in the string of instances which showed the lack of reliability of the vehicle and the lack of customer satisfaction training of the network of dealerships.
    2. The most severe malfunction occurred In March of 2007, 3 months after the car had outrun its warranty period: the transmission of the car failed. Luckily I had the extended warranty. But I have purchased over 15 cars in the last 30 years and never once have I had a transmission failure. We have a 1990 Chevy van that still runs smoothly. This is a four year old car and its transmission failed. The car was in the shop for two weeks, and I was given a econobox rental car from Hertz. When I pay over fifty thousand dollars for a car, I expect it to deliver, along with the dealership. Just recently over the long weekend(Nov 22nd 2007), the transmission began to jerk and shake the car violently while switching between 1st and 2nd gear. The next day a message lit up – “Urgent Transmission Service Needed”. Mind you this is the second transmission problem in a 5 year old car. Furthermore the new transmission barely reached six months and gave us problems. The Volvo dealer responded back saying that the gear ratios need to be changed. Then on November 27th, we were told that the car would need a new transmission, AGAIN!!! We were then told the problem was that the second transmission was a remanufactured transmission. This is unbelievable, and the straw that broke the Camel’s back. It really makes me think that Volvo’s reliability is subpar and one of the worst on the market. As an update on November 30th the Volvo Dealer called to state that there was a radiator leak. To further complicate the problem they were adamant over a measly $100 for the deductible for the extended warranty. I have two qualms with this. First their technician had taken the car home the first day of service, and mysteriously a radiator leak was found after that. If you look at the past record, new problems occur right after a service is performed, every time. Once is a coincidence BUT 3 or 4 times is not. Secondly what kind of pride do you have in a dealer network that fights over a measly hundred bucks, especially with the poor experience we have had with the car. This dealership(Volvo of Langhorne) has made so much money off of us(bought the car from them, installed the aftermarket navigation, our normal services and the service repairs(the transmission service alone is a six thousand dollar service – now multiply that times two).
    3. Just last month we had given the car in to Volvo of Langhorne for a expensive $1000 service. One week later the car began to shake violently and would not accelerate. It turns out that a coil in one of the spark plugs was defective. Again I want to stress that, it is a coincidence that every time we bring our vehicle in for service that another problem appears one week later. We are very disappointed with the service and the quality of Volvo.
    4. We also had the Navigation System Installed aftermarket through Volvo, since there weren’t many cars available with the navigation system. After we drove the car home, we realized that the Langhorne Volvo had forgotten to replace the Center Console Properly. This is especially dissatisfying, because the first time they had taken in the car to install the Navigation, they had ordered the wrong parts.
    5. The tires that came stock in the car went bald after 15000 miles. The Volvo dealership was unwilling to help us with his problem. We had realized that they went bald, when on a slippery snowy winter day, the car slid backwards on a hill. We had to have police backup to help us up the hill.
    6. Last year the car began swerving to the left when I would brake. Not just a slight swerve, but one that made if very nerve-racking to drive the car. The service was performed under warranty at Volvo of Langhorne. In the process the dealership had broken the ball bearing of the front suspension. It only shows you the type of employees a dealership hires if they are inexperienced at working on these cars.
    7. We had preordered a Volvo XC90 that ended on the bottom of the English Channel. It was on the Tri-color. It is just fate I guess telling us not to buy the car. I knew that my Volvo was at the bottom once I heard the news. I called Burdumy Volvo to confirm this suspicion. He had told me, no it’s fine. Then a week later he calls us back to tell us something we already knew. This should have been a clear foreshadowing of what we expect from Volvo.
    I think you will
  • anilpunjabianilpunjabi Member Posts: 61
    BUY it or sell the car early - we have the 100 deductable but so far that is like 500 out of pocket - get no deductable
  • anilpunjabianilpunjabi Member Posts: 61
    Look at my post - transmission replaced twice within 5 yrs - its a gm transmission but the dealership are a$$holes to say the least. I strongly advice you to sell yoiur car before you have ti pay for any more repairs - i know alot aboiut cars - been selling and buyying them for 10 yrs. Go buy a nice acura mdx or lexus(still not sure about german cars).
  • tatilijatatilija Member Posts: 15
    I am responding to your post on December 1, 2007 where you included your letter to Anne Belec, did you get a response from her? I was thinking of writing to her myself, as I sit here writing this post our 2003 XC90 is in for repair.

    The original reason for the visit to the repair shop was the "urgent transmission service" message that popped up a week ago last Sunday. We did buy the extended warranty but unfortunately for us has expired by 8K miles. We drive 50 miles everyday to work and have grandkids that live in Washington so we wanted a good safe car to travel in. So now $4200 dollars later for a "new" transmission, the car is back in because it doesn't run properly...I must admit that we are receiving better customer service from the dealer that is trying to fix the problem than it seems you received.... however, its still a very hard pill to swallow on a car that we thought was built better than that. We, like you found out after they took out the old transmission and installed the "new" one that it really isn't new. I then proceeded to ask for compensation for my old transmission since I knew they were going to send it back and rebuild it.. . I didn't get anything for it.

    So basically I paid top dollar for a failed XC90 transmission that was in somebody else's car and now it's in mine! We, like you have had many problems with our XC90, broken motor mount, broken shock, problems with the climate control, rattles . . and like you with this latest incident with the transmission have had zero customer service from Volvo Customer Care. So I wondered if you got a better if any response from Anne.
    Thanks for Anne Belec's address!
    FROM ANOTHER DISAPPOINTED VOLVO OWNER
  • jmastersonjmasterson Member Posts: 2
    I am considering buying a 2004 XC90 T6 with 55k miles on it. I have a few family and friends who love and reccomend Volvo's, but I have heard a few nightmares. Are the nightmares the same as they would be with any other car? Or are they worse here?
  • dmedmondsdmedmonds Member Posts: 4
    I would seriously reconsider any XC 90 in the 2003 or 2004 range. The posts are numerous for transmission and other problems. When the transmission needed replacing on my XC90 (posted on this forum earlier this year), we finally got an answer from Volvo that after 2004, they changed manufacturers for the transmissions because of all the problems and more. I love my XC90 and am now considering trading my 2003 in for a 2006 or 2007 model. For 2003 and 2004: BUYER BEWARE!
  • volvomaxvolvomax Member Posts: 5,238
    Actually, that is completely untrue.
    Volvo did not change manufacturers for the transmissions.
    Aisin Warner, which makes the 5 speed now makes the 6 speed for Volvo
    GM made the 4 speed for the T6. That transmission was dropped when the T6 was replaced with the V8.
    If you geta 5cyl XC90, you shouldn't have any tranny issues.
  • tatilijatatilija Member Posts: 15
    Hah! You must work for Volvo! You just wait until you get some miles on that XC90 of yours, I didn't have any problems at 38K either, but 8K past the extended warranty I have to plunk down $4200 dollars for a new transmission which of course is not a "new transmission" at all just a rebuilt transmission from some other poor soul who had the misfortune to purchase one of these crappy cars. My advice to anyone out there that is even giving the slightest thought to buying one of these cars . . . DON'T DO IT! Buy a Honda!
    :lemon:
  • volvomaxvolvomax Member Posts: 5,238
    Actually, I have owned 5 Volvo's
    The vast majority of Volvo's are excellent cars with little or no troubles.
    I am sorry that yours isn't, but you can't paint all Volvo's as bad just becaise yours has had problems.
    FWIW, I know people who have had problems w/ their Honda's.
    Does that make Honda a bad car?
  • barberfamilybarberfamily Member Posts: 11
    How much are you paying? Depends on the price. I would surely make sure it has warranty and check with volvo dealer with vin to see what has been done. Hey if you want one my 03 does not have 31K on it yet and I had mine fixed from it's problem. Mine is going up for sale. In mint condition with brand new tires. I am going to the 5 cylinder front wheel drive model if I can find one for a decent deal and newer.
  • anilpunjabianilpunjabi Member Posts: 61
    HEy,

    Sorry for the delay - have not been on this board in a while. We are waiting for a response - my email is lexusap@gmail.com - you can contact me if you want to speak more about your transmission problems - we are totally fed up - and yes volvo's used to be reliable - but put an american part in it - ie a GM transmission and say goodbye to reliability - ie reason why GM and ford are like the titanic - sinking - will def stay with japanese cars.
  • tatilijatatilija Member Posts: 15
    Exactly, you have owned 5 Volvo's and I bet you started buying them years ago when they were still a good car, which is what I thought I was getting. I bet you have NEVER replaced a transmission in one of your older Volvo's, and I'll tell you why. The older Volvo's did not have a GM transmission. It was Volvo management that made the decision to use inferior components in their cars and now I'm paying the price, had I known it was a GM Transmission I NEVER would have purchased the car. If you read through this forum it's not JUST my car it's MANY of these cars. My car has 108K miles, I bought the extended warranty and 8K miles over the extended warranty I need a new transmission. I'm waiting for Volvo to do the right thing and stand behind their vehicle and replace that transmission at no charge to me.
    Yes, Honda's do have problems and I know somebody that had to replace a transmission on a Honda that she bought new, the transmission was out of warranty. . . and guess what, Honda replaced it for FREE! Honda stands behind their product!
    :lemon:
  • tatilijatatilija Member Posts: 15
    Run Forrest Run! Forrest Run!
  • hypnosis44hypnosis44 Member Posts: 483
    Consumer Reports has that particular model on their do not buy list. My independent Volvo mechanic tells me to avoid them.
  • chiefstonechiefstone Member Posts: 2
    this is exactly our story. Our 2000 Acura had a transmission failure at 78k - Honda paid for the tow,service and put in a brand new trans - apology accepted.

    Volvo 2004 xc90 61k, trans goes- Volvo will not do a thing, we continue to b and moan and they pay for half - which still comes to 3200.00 on our end. The problem is that we had around 4 other major repair issues with the Volvo before the trans went, so they felt they had done enough. Bad business, bad car.
  • jmastersonjmasterson Member Posts: 2
    I found an 04 still under warranty with 25,000 miles on it and I am going to go with the extended warranty. The car will only be driven 5-10k miles so I am going to take my chances. Thank you all for your advice.

    Has anyone had any experience with a starter in the XC90?
  • poppybeachgirlpoppybeachgirl Member Posts: 1
    Hi- I am new to this board but I am very frustrated and in the midst of waging a battle w/ my dealership- My XC 90 has an extended service plan, I have always changed the oil and pretty much kept it dealer maintained barring occasion oil changes. Well I had it serviced in NOv. and stated that the car was "skipping" I mentioned that it had no pick up and thought something might be wrong w. my transmission. Well the turbo's blew this past week- I needed to document every oil change ( I did) - they now need to take my engine apart $450.00 to look at the Turbo's and see if there is any sludge and they will determine if I am covered under the service plan.. if the insurance person determines that there is sludge then I will pay $ 4100.00 I have never had to fight for my service plan - and from what I have read this car seems to have some serious issues- any suggestions or help on this- It does not make sense to have a service plan, and matain your car and then still fight to have a very major and costly repair- I need help ?
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    While you are waiting to hear from the dealer and other members here, check to see if your state has a consumer protection office (often they are run through the state's attorney general). They should be able to give you some suggestions too.
  • hypnosis44hypnosis44 Member Posts: 483
    If the service plan is affiliated with Volvo and they create a problem for you then you can start moving up the management chain with your issue. Additionally; if you have met all the requirements of the service plan, then you may have a small claims case - most states have provisions for these and they are relatively easy to proceed with - I have brought a few cases.
  • barberfamilybarberfamily Member Posts: 11
    I posted a message last month about my transmission. Well the local dealer told me it was the bevel gear and some other parts. I picked it up on nov 29th with 30,600 miles on it. On Dec 26th with 31,800 miles on it I returned it. When I told them it was skipping last time they did over $4000 thousand dollars worth of work to it. I paid about $1100. out of pocket and Volvo did the rest. When I returned it the day after Christmas it has now been discovered the transmission is gone. This time volvo is paying for it all so I can not complain I even have an 08 Volvo XC90 as a loaner car. I did not get a loaner car last time. Call Volvo customer care when you have major issues especially when the miles are not that high. This website helped me fight a lot of battles early on cause my vehicle was 3 months out of warranty and I was able to show that so many people are having problems with this vehicle. They are taking good care of me this time but I hope to not have to own this vehicle much longer. On a good note I have a Volvo S60 car and it has been problem free but it is a different motor and transmission all together. Hope this info helps anyone else. Remember do not let them treat you like you are stupid. When the vehicle broke the first time a friend of mine diagnosed it first at his shop and told me the transmission was bad. They worked around that issue on the last repairs and gave me another story but in less than a month the transmission failed. It does not hurt to get second opinions on you vehicle as long as they do not dig in it too much and risk losing your warranty or any help you can get from volvo.
  • peppergurlpeppergurl Member Posts: 14
    I purchased a new 2004 XC 90 T6 AWD in September of 2003. I purchased this car with the hope I would have it for several years to come. By buying a brand new car I thought :lemon: that I wouldn't have to deal with any major problems for awhile. LOL!!! While driving home one evening my car wouldn't go out of third gear. At the same time the warning light and message came on that the transmission needs urgent service. The next day, I took it to the dealership to have it looked at. My car has just under 50K miles. The dealer informed me that the transmission needs replacing for a cost of $5300. I was outraged!!! They talked to Volvo and Volvo agreed to pay for the parts since it has such low mileage. I am still stuck with a $1500 labor bill from the dealership. After driving the car several days now waiting for the parts to come in, the message and warning lights have gone off and the car has not shown me any signs that the transmission is bad. I am debating if I should wait longer to repair the transmission. In the mean time I am car shopping for anything other than a volvo.
  • tidestertidester Member Posts: 10,059
    Consider writing a report in Dealer Ratings and Reviews.

    tidester, host
    SUVs and Smart Shopper
  • hammersixhammersix Member Posts: 9
    I had this same problem, the last week of October! I was out of town and my wife called and said she was having the same problem with our 2003 XC90 T6 AWD. We had about 60,000 miles on it. We took it to our local dealer that day, and were told that the transmission would need to be replaced for $5,500 parts and labor. Volvo only agreed to pay for 60% of the parts and we had to suck up the labor. Also Volvo wouldnt even cover a rental car, even though the dealer told us that this was a complete mechanical failure and was not our fault. The dealer gave us a rental car, since Volvo wouldn't. It took a week to get the car back. It is driving fine since, but we are nervous about it, expecially since I travel a lot and my wife visits family while I am away. We are now shopping for a new SUV. We are very disappointed, not only of the mechanical failure, but the fact that Volvo, a company known for customer service and loyal owners wouldnt even pay for the repairs. Until this point we were looking to trade our XC90 in on a new one. Not now. I am looking at the Mazda CX-9 now.
  • eliaselias Member Posts: 2,209
    hamma6 that is awesome that Volvo picked up 60% of parts cost. they did something similar for me when an out-of-warranty $400 part failed at 51k miles.
    i have total respect for volvo because of stuff like this. also sounds like you have a great volvo dealer!

    i think it somehow feels better to pay thousands for an extended-warranty up front than it does to pay thousands for an out-of-warranty failure. (only if something big does fail, of course!)

    if absolute reliability and avoidance of big-failures is your top goal, driving a 5 year old european vehicle is possibly a nonoptimal choice - so shopping/trade-in for a newer vehicle is probably a wise idea for you. best wishes!

    peppagirl, your vehicle still runs even though the trans needs urgent service? i say drive it until it fails, and be sure to have a cellphone and maybe AAA or whatever. maybe consider trading it - obviously it will bring $5k less on the trade-in, but considering a newer/more-reliable/non-european vehicle may be a good idea for you too. cheers!
  • obxdocobxdoc Member Posts: 1
    Typically I service my own cars routine maintenance such as engine oil/filter air filter etc,
    I am at a loss on the XC90 2.5 turbo AWD.
    wheredoes the oil filter live? drain plug? do you have to remove a skid plate?s it worth it? Any troubule getting parts from non volvo sources?
    Many thanks!
  • jim314jim314 Member Posts: 491
    I used to change the oil on on 1996 850 (855) wagon, and I bought the filters and the crushable aluminum drain plug washer from the Volvo dealer. I got out of the habit on my 2004 V70 because this was been done by the dealer at no extra charge for the first 4 years.

    The '04 V70 2.4L non-turbo has no skid plate, and the filter is a paper element which fits in a can accessed from below. The can is sealed with an O-ring. I think the can is unscrewed just like you would remove the old style filter, but the used paper element will remain in place when the can is removed. You then remove the used paper element by pulling down on it with something. Sounds messy! I will probably have it done at the dealer or at an oil change place I have used for my other cars. At that place I supplied the filter and oil and they charged $14 for labor. For the past several years I have used Mobile1 10W-30 Extended Performance (I would give the dealer 6 quarts) and had the dealer change it at 8000 mi which has been about 1 year for me.

    If the filter in your 2.5T 5-cyl is the same type and in the same location, then you may have to remove the skid plate to drain the oil and change the filter. But there may be access holes in the skid plate.

    My wife has an '07 XC90 3.2L 6-cyl and the oil filter is accessed from above. It is a paper element in a container which the lid unscrews from. I have seen this same arrangement on a BMW. I didn't get it exactly straight, but the Volvo service advisor told me that they change the filter first and then drain the crankcase. He said when they unscrew the lid on the filter housing, the check valve releases and allows the contents of the filter housing to drain into the crankcase.

    It seems to me that this arrangement is ideal for changing the oil using one of the commercially available suction devices which removes the oil through the dipstick tube. Then you wouldn't have to remove the skid plate or getunder the car at all.
  • jim314jim314 Member Posts: 491
    See this and this.

    "Hand Pump Oil Extractor
    No more crawling under the car to drain your oil.

    Changing your own oil saves time and money--plus, you know the job is done right. The Hand Pump Extractor is the easiest way to remove your old oil. The unit comes with two different tube sizes, to fit your car’s dipstick tube. After a few pumps to build a vacuum, oil flows from your crankcase into the canister. A safety float shuts off flow if the unit is full.
    And if you’re skeptical about extracting oil through the dipstick tube, consider the fact that this is how Mercedes-Benz factory technicians are trained to change oil.
    Great for lawn mowers and motorcycles, too!
    Capacity: 6.5 Liters (about 7 quarts)."

    This type of oil change pump would be worth it not having to get under the car. Every couple of years you could drain it out through the drain plug if build up of sediment in the bottom of the pan would conceivably be a problem.
  • hypnosis44hypnosis44 Member Posts: 483
    Volvo has had some sludge problems, so be very sure you have all of the oil out of the pan, which can be a little tricky because of the pan configuration. I have seen some attempts by Volvo to disallow Extended Warranty claims based on "sludge build up" (any excuse will do!)

    Has anyone here vetted the advertisers claims of MB officially doing it this way?
  • jim314jim314 Member Posts: 491
    I use only Mobile1 "full synthetic". For the 2004 V70 2.4L NA I use M1 10W-30 Extended Performance. Mt wife's 2007 XC90 3.2 just got its first oil change and I suppplied the dealer with 8 qt of Mobile1 0W-40 "European car Formula".

    I assume that this would preclude the formation of sludge so that I could use one of the oil change pumps. Do you agree?
  • hypnosis44hypnosis44 Member Posts: 483
    You may be right on about synthetics and sludge formation, however I am going to defer to others here who have more experience with Synthetic's than I do. I will be as interested as you in a definitive answer about synthetics and sludge build up.
  • charmainedavischarmainedavis Member Posts: 1
    I suggest getting rid of it now. I have a 2003 and my transmission just went out at 73,000. Volvo offered to pay for half the parts but they did not offer to pay for labor. I'm working with a friend of mine who sales cars to trade it in on a new car. This was my first volvo and I'm very disappointed!
  • jrynnjrynn Member Posts: 162
    Anyone have any experience getting Volvo to replace the brake fluid on a Volvo XC90 as part of the "free" 3 years of maintenance?

    The manual says the "typical" replacement is 37,500 miles OR every two years at owner request OR every one year at owner request if driven in a humid climate.

    I'd think that means they'd AT LEAST cover one brake fluid change, regardless of mileage within the 3 year "free" service window.

    What's been the experience of others on these boards?
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