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Volvo XC90 Air Conditioner Problems

sxnutsxnut Member Posts: 2
edited October 2017 in Volvo
We've had our XC90 ONLY two weeks and @ highway speeds (70-80 mph) our Air Conditioning is intermittent. But in town, it was fine. Anyone else had/has this problem. Memorial day weekend was in the 90s, and we were really PO'd.
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  • tidestertidester Member Posts: 10,059
    You may want to give Volvo XC 90: Problems and Solutions or Volvo XC90 SUV a try.

    tidester, host
  • stav56stav56 Member Posts: 2
    Exact same problem with my 2003 xc90 t6 ...any fixes?
  • sxnutsxnut Member Posts: 2
    Yes. The dealer treated us like royalty. I mean ROYALTY!! Gave us a gorgeous loaner S60R and found the problem - bad sensor downstream from the compressor. Replaced it, and the car has been great ever since. Hope your issues work out.
  • stav56stav56 Member Posts: 2
    Thanks so much for the tip... our 2nd dealer in town was as nice as the first, but also failed to find the problem. Now with this info in hand, the next visit should be a little more productive.
  • condolawyercondolawyer Member Posts: 5
    I have an 05 xc90 2.5 and the a/c always seems to smell like mildew; I live in FL so I run it on recirc a lot; do you think this can be avoided by running fresh air more? If so, this is not the vehicle to own here in June-Sept.
  • mhackettmhackett Member Posts: 2
    My wife and I just bought a 2007 XC90 3.2 with 35K miles on it. We love the vehicle but when the A/C is on it makes a whine similar to a worn power steering pump. This is the second 2007 XC90 we have driven for a couple of days and both of them had this same issue. I was just wondering if this is A) Normal and if not then B) is it a common fix others have made.

    Any help would be greatly appreciated!
  • bpm4bpm4 Member Posts: 2
    I have the same problem to date with my new 2006 XC90 , Car spend two weeks at the Volvo garage twice and they did see it as a problem , said it was normal feature of the car, I also contacted Volvo - HQ in Sweden the Customer Services and they said the same. :lemon:
    I will not buy another Volvo or recommend one to anyone .
    I lad a tough time with the dealers and Sweden

    The Car had 15 annoying problems from new,(from day one) and still many to date.
    ie. Car will nor start in the morning , Leaking pumps, noisy seat belts.ect....

    Good Luck

    :sick: :sick: :sick: :sick:
  • bigt79bigt79 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2006 XC90 and the A/C has stopped blowing on high. It is blowing cold air at probably it's normal operating speed but it is not fast enough to cool the vehicle in 90 degree tempartures.
  • mortonkmmortonkm Member Posts: 3
    edited August 2010
    Our '06 XC90 air is blowing cold on the passenger side and in the rear, but not cooling on the driver side. I know it has a leak, but I have added refrigerant but that doesn't seem to be the only problem- any ideas what might be wrong?
  • siegfried1siegfried1 Member Posts: 1
    My XC90 is 2008 with 28k miles, the a/c works well in town but my last 2 trips after 21/2 to 3 hours in the road the a/c stops blowing cold air, turn off the car 1/2 hour...works again for 1/2 hr....it is a nightmare. Took to the dealear twice for a week each time and the answer is...."we can't reproduce the problem....it is a joke!
  • virginia8virginia8 Member Posts: 1
    I have an 08 XC70 and have had the same problem since I got the car. One mechanic has acknowledged that there is an issue with the ACs in Volvos that causes this problem. So far, all the customer relations folks high up will not acknowledge and continue to waste my time and money replacing cabin filters before their time, flushing out things, etc. I'm very frustrated with having such and expensive car with a pretty intolerable problem. The smell was so horrible one day it burned my throat and made my eyes water. I had to run the AC full blast for an hour with the windows open before I could go on vacation with my friend with asthma.
    Others: please respond with further insight/help.
  • acphotoacphoto Member Posts: 1
    I just noticed this post. I also have a 2006 XC90 and passenger side and rear are cold but driver side is not.
    Did this ever get resolved for you? Been frustrating trying to find the right answer. Thanks in advance.
  • mortonkmmortonkm Member Posts: 3
    It ended up being that the condenser had crumbled inside and thrown little metal pieces all through the air lines in the car. The dealership had to remove all the panels inside the car and put in new lines everywhere. They do not know what caused this, but it cost about $2500 and took a week to fix.
  • army03wifearmy03wife Member Posts: 2
    Just found this forum. I have a '09 XC90 and sometimes the fan keeps running when the car is turned off. I will turn the car off off get out and come back a few hours later and the fan is on. Doesn't happen all the time and long intervals between episodes. Dealer can't find the problem
  • smellyxc90smellyxc90 Member Posts: 1
    I have an 04 XC90, and I have been fighting this mildew smell from my a/c for YEARS! I live in FL, so it is constantly moist and frequently rainy. The smell is absolutely horrid after a good rain. When the afterblow feature activates, after even a dry and less humid day, the air coming through the vents smells like ammonia.

    I ruled out all other potential causes - sunroof, weather stripping, cabin filter. I have been in and out of multiple dealers, trying to locate the source of the wet dog stench, but it went nowhere. All they would keep saying is that I needed to not use the recirc (which I don't), and that I just need to clean the car more often (I keep my cars very clean). They would flush the system with some type of disinfectant, which would help for about 2 weeks. The evaporator casing was replaced, condenser cleaned, and cabin filter changed out many times. The smell is obviously coming from the a/c, but no one can figure out from where.

    I hired an odor detection/removal company to look at the car, and they determined that it was what we know already - an a/c smell. They performed another flush of the system, but the smell inevitably returned.

    Then, it was a lawyer's turn. Even though the problem had been documented within 6 months of my ownership of the car, and continued through nearly 20 visits for the same problem, it wasn't a lemon law case. He did put pressure on Volvo, but all they wanted to do was settle, and not for enough money to get out of the car. I forced them to look deeper into the a/c to find the problem, instead of paying me the money. About 6 weeks of the dealer replacing different parts of the a/c, Volvo told them to stop. I gave up fighting and settled for a small payment (for years of time lost going to/from the dealer).

    So, here I am, extremely frustrated, with a car that still smells like a used gym sock. I have found MANY others with this same problem, but NONE with a solution to it. I will listen to any suggestions, but the only one that sounds reasonable is to not buy another Volvo.
  • wwetzlerwwetzler Member Posts: 1
    This happened in my 2006 Volvo xc90. We added freon and it cooled off on my side but makes a really loud noise when the ac cycles on and off in idle positions. Did you solve your issue??
  • mortonkmmortonkm Member Posts: 3
    My issue was that the passenger side was not cooling, I don't remember a noise. They took off the condenser and it rattled from thousands of pieces where it had crumbled inside. The dealership mechanic said it shot those small pieces all through the lines and tripped off sensors and blocked lines. After replacing the condenser and putting in new lines, the air works great. Like I said it was 2500 and took 5 days, a lot of that was researching the issue.
  • rmcdavittrmcdavitt Member Posts: 1
    I am buying a new volvo SC90. We shut off the care in garage, no fan running, came back 30 minutes later and the fan was running, blowing air out vents in the car, not the fan that cools the radiator. Has anyone had this too? Has the dealer been able to fix it? If so what was wrong? Don't want a dead battery!
  • marciarmarciar Member Posts: 3
    I have the same problem,,so i took out the fuse on the side panel by the door. But, I forgot to do it last night and now have a dead battery. Did you get this fixed?
  • rsr1960rsr1960 Member Posts: 1
    We just got a new 2011 XC90 (yes, there was still one on the lot) and found the same thing. The dealer is telling me that "The Interior Air Quality System runs at random times, and will not drain the battery". I hope he knows what he is talking about.
  • momofgirlsmomofgirls Member Posts: 1
    I own a 2009 xc90, and the battery has died twice in summer time and I have had to call a tow truck to jump start the car. I have talked to the dealer but they just simply will not acknowledge the problem. Needless to say they have also have the nerve to blame ME for the problem. The only good thing is that the problem only appears to happen during hot days, so most of the year I'm ok.
    I love my car but my husband is ready to change it. The question is what to buy, all cars have their issues.
  • taxman12taxman12 Member Posts: 1
    For the last couple of years we had to have the AC charged up as it had a slow leak. We were just told the condenser is cracked and they want to install a new compressor, receiver/dryer and condenser unit for about $2,000. Is it necessary to install a whole new system vs. just a new condenser unit?
  • buckeyemama2buckeyemama2 Member Posts: 1
    My 2009 xc90 has been having AC issues for about 6 months. On hot days it takes FOREVER for my car to cool down to where it's even bearable. Sometimes once the AC finally kicks in and starts cooling, it shuts off. Took it into the shop today, and they're telling me the air compressor needs replaced for $1450 !!!!!! And if I don't fix it soon, it could cause even more costly problems. Has anyone dealt with this?
  • bravedaf416bravedaf416 Member Posts: 1
    sxnut said:

    We've had our XC90 ONLY two weeks and @ highway speeds (70-80 mph) our Air Conditioning is intermittent. But in town, it was fine. Anyone else had/has this problem. Memorial day weekend was in the 90s, and we were really PO'd.

    Doing full throttle the ECM turn off the a/c on the highway it is not a problem ur car is fine don't worry about it
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