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Comments
To read the XC90 boards is to learn that Volvo quality and more importantly lack of accountability is not confined to the XC70. This is revealing. Apparently, both early XC90s and late XC90s have major problems AND Volvo is doing little about them.
This behavior is self destructive and will ruin the brand. The Volvo dealer organization is a mixed lot, a dog's breakfast as they say, with seemingly little in the way of coordination or national standards. (Contrast this to a Porsche dealership: you could parachute blindfolded into any Porsche showroom in the US and know you were in a Porsche dealership).) The Volvo factory isn't at all responsive to consumer complaints from the posts that I read here. Volvo doesn't really monitor dealer behavior except "is he moving the iron". (Everytime we have service work done on the Porsche we get a blizzard of surveys from the factory about the performance of the dealer. Volvo could care less.) The car no longer can boast of its traditonial Swedish stoutness and longevity. Resale value is declining on the XC70 and the much-touted resale on the XC90 may be a thing of the past. So, what do you have left? A Swedish Taurus?
Where does this leave the Volvo customer? I see a lot of people in New England migrating into AWD Suburus. Others are looking at E350 Fourmatic or 530ix wagons for 58K or more. None are an attractive option for me. Maybe simply an Eddie Bauer F150 4x4 with four doors would do the trick? But then again, the same SOBs that are ruining Volvo, make the Eddie Bauer!!!
VolvoMax, as a counterbalance, I'd love to hear your response.
then transmission at 61k. The dealership was reasonable - it was Volvo Customer Assistance that was a joke. They put everything on the dealer to rectify. If your dealer doesn't want to assist (and after the warranty why would they) you are down the creek.
good luck.
Porsche makes a hell of alot more profit per car than Volvo does, both at the wholesale and retail levels.
However, the Porsche forums are full of people who are upset w/ the quality of their vehicles.
Really, on line forums are not the place for the most balanced view of any manufacturer as most people who are there have an axe to grind and they make sure they grind it the loudest.
Ford Motor has nothing to do with Volvo Cars products or marketing or business practices any more than Volkswagen AG does w/ Porsche. Both Volvo and Porsche are run as independent subsidiaries of their parent companies.
The difference is in the revenue streams. Volvo simply doesn't have the money to throw around that Porshce or BMW or Mercedes has. Even so, Volvo quality is on par, or better than those companies.
As for the surveys, Volvo does send out surveys, the only reason you probably don't get one is because your dealer prevents one from being sent to you. They probably feel you would be unduly critical of them. Volvo BTW, is hardly alone in this use of surveys, no motor co really wants your opinion, they all just want perfect surveys. Some dealers have an easier time getting good surveys then others. If you are truly unhappy with your dealer, I would suggest finding another.
Would you please tell me what was the cause and the solution to your problem?
I purchased a used 2004 XC90 two months ago and I am having the "urgent Transmission Service" come on. I have taken it in twice but they cannot duplicate the problem. Therefore, the warranty company will not authorize any kind of work. I had to pay (out of pocket) for a transmission service and still have the problem. I recognize that this is an intermitent problem but I bought this car because of reliability and dependebility because we have two small children. We have lost the peace of mind and are ready to throw the towel. Please help. Thank you.
David.
Sure, there is some axe grinding, but most people with issues are actually simply looking for help and some are expressing frustration. Another large segment is comprised of people who just like to talk about their cars. Axe grinders are really few and far between.
tidester, host
Maybe they had one years ago, or just think that the cars are bad.
There is alot of that going around.
Its not just here, its everywhere.
Stronger dealers. Even Chrysler and Ford have two tiers of dealerships. Chrysler has Five Star dealers and Ford has Blue Oval dealers. I believe that if a dealer qualifies as a Five Star or Blue Oval dealership there is more "hold back" money at the end of the year. Again, Chrysler and Ford, neither one of whom is very flush with money, want to raise the bar and have carrots to hold out to dealers who agree to upgrade.
Brand commitment. Volvo developed a strong brand over the years. It slipped a bit with the 850 series and now seems to be going down with the current lineup. Sure models can have glitches but strong factory support can keep the brand strong. The BMW 745 Series by all accounts was a problem ridden car when it first came out with horrendous electrical glitches and the much hated I Drive. The factory stepped up to the plate with lots of buy-backs, hidden extended warranties (I think even out to 150K miles), etc. etc. to help people. The factory did the right thing and today the resale on the '02's and '03s is fine.
I think Volvo is at a turning point. The cars aren't setting sales records, some models are getting long in the tooth, the brand equity is going down, and a lot of competing makes are picking up the slack. I'm old enough to remember when Saab was king of the winter market, Jaguar was the yuppie car to have, etc. Volvo doesn't have to go this way.
I took my car to the dealer and they put bunch of white greasy spray but never fixed. This makes me also crazy but when somebody sit on second row seat the it does not rattle. I did every possible way. Tighten all the bolt and but but still rattle.
I put some sponge stuffs between the metal plates and floor under the second row seat. Much silent. Seems like that rattling noise comes from that metal plates. Not sure...
As for more holdback money, that is not true. Ford dealers sued Ford about that clause in the Blue Oval program stressing that it promoted unfair competition and they won.
As for BMW, they went quite a while before addressing the 745i's hideous quality. Much worse than any Volvo model. Now, the average dealer profit on a 745 was something on the order of $5-7000 per copy. BMW Cars made alot more than that per copy. That kind of green will get you alot in "freebies" BTW, I wouldn't sale the resale in "fine" big BMW's have always had horrible resale.
Fact is, you cannot make such sweeping generalizations.
Volvo is actually doing fine. Our sales are only down about 7%, in a bad year for the industry where we don't have any new product to drive sales.
Does the factory's Presidents Program have more deal money for participants? In other words, could a consumer get a better price from a President's Program dealer because there is more hold back or whatever?
What tipped me off to this whole thing was that the alarm went off in the middle of the afternoon, and would not clear by pressing any of the buttons on the fob (no response at all) or inserting the key in the ignition once I got inside (battery too low to crank). I finally disconnected the battery, and it still completed the alarm cycle it was on, but thankfully stopped after that. Dealer was not familiar with this symptom and could only speculate on cause. I'm just grateful it occured at 3 pm rather than 3 am.
That type of program has been deemed illegal because it doesn't allow for a level playing field.
Buying from a Presidents dealer means that you are guarranteed a better buying and service experience.
J# 4 40V0Z "STEER/SUSP LVL A". I haven't had a chance to check to see if that fixed it.
#854 of 944 Sound when turning left by martyf Sep 16, 2006 (2:29 am)
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I have a 2004 XC90, 2.5. In my quiet garage at work I hear a low grinding noice when turning left. I can't hear it normally and I don't hear the noice when turning right. The dealer says that they could not find the noice; however, they also had 2 other customers complain about the same thing. Anybody experience this and know what it is or have any thoughts? Thanks.
I believe it has to be electrical but I am puzzled about how infrequently it occurs and it goes away. There is no pattern like only when its wet or anything like that. It also seems to be confined to the dashboard, but engine was running rough on first occassion.
Anyone experienced this and know the cause?
Fortunately I have not experienced any of the other problems I have read about on this board. Car runs great after 31000 miles.
Hello, where can one find a list of Volvo President dealers? I'm looking for one in Southern California.
Thank you.
I'm experiencing exactly the same problems with the heating system of my XC 90. My car is already more than 3 years old, has been numerous times to the dealer, and even the constructor in order to solve the problems: Big difference in temerature between left and right. Most of the times, the right side is working wrong: heat in summer, cold air in winter. They pretend to have replaced the whole heating system, but without positive result. Last week, during about 300 km of a 900 km drive, it was cold in the car, even with heat and fan on maximum level. I would be interested to know if finally they found a solution for your car, and what that solution was.
thanks
There were quite a few variations of the mirrors in the Volvo dealers inventory so be sure to get the right one. Note in my case the mirrors were electrically heated, retractable, and with down lighting and wide angle. Since you have a broken one, you might want to see how easily you can remove it. Although, I suspected that would require removing the inside of the door panel and that's why I opted simply to replace the glass and motor.
If you are not doing it yourself, I would be surprised if there was a big difference in price between the body shop and dealer, although this should simply be the difference in the hourly rate between those two sources. Good luck.
A lot of people have mentioned the clunking on the front tired when turning - I had the same problem and the dealer changed all the bolts in the front struts - the were getting stripped. The clunking disappeared. Try that.
I made an appointment to take it to the dealer, but wondering if anyone out there has any ideas of simple things I could check (e.g., plugs, fuses, some way to reset system, etc.) - I have to think it is something simple. If not, at least the car is under warranty...
Thanks
My 2004 2.5T AWD has 50K miles and 0 (zero) defects. Nothing to report.
I fully agree with him. My 2.5T is going strong at 45,000 miles. My lease is up at 50,000 miles but I am seriously considering buying it. I did have a couple rear wheel bearings change out but that was done under warranty. Nothing to worry about.
Nice to hear from you as well.
Leaving in California has a lot of benefits - not having snow, and very little rain makes it easy on a car - so our XC90 still with the original bearings, original brake rotors and original rear brake pads.
Average gas mileage is just a tad over 18 MPG, mostly city driving.
How do you like you Nokians?
I am very satisfied with the Conties CrossContact LX. The promised 65K warranty seems to be real. I have them for 18K miles and they just as good as new, especially on a back. And they are better on a snow than Michelin.
Now that I have access to X-Plan pricing I will most probably switch to an 07 at the end of my lease. :shades:
suspension, steering, tires, you name it - bad.
I'm trying to figure out down the line what my next car will be and I was curious if anyone had experience trading in lease vehicles with volvos. I had always bought previously and was curious, do I have any "equity" in the vehicle if my buyout is lower than the FMV of the vehicle? Or do you go in at the end of your lease just like a normal new customer walking in off teh street? Thanks in advance.
However, it is very rare on leases that that happens.
Esp subsidized leases like the one on the XC90.
Actually, I realize I probably misinterpreted your message. The door locks on mine have the behaviour you are stating. That is the locked position stops all doors except for the drivers door from being opened with the inside handle. The passenger doors only open when the doors are unlocked. Sorry for my erroneous initial interpretation.
I assume since it's free, that they're only going to do a basic oil change. Anything I should try to have them throw in that could be problematic in the future, i.e. preventative flushing/changing of other fluids? BTW it's a 2007 3.2 fwd.
thx in advanced, btw no problems so far, car has been FANTASTIC.
Has anyone installed the Navigation systems after the delivery. I am from boston area. Any portable good navigation system with 6 - 7 inch screens. Thanks in advance.
It was designed and is built in Sweden.