Faults:

We bought our 2004 XC at 57k; we thought the car was great..

We would never think Volvo would have any problems, because they are known for being very strong cars.

Well we bought the car in 2008, and now it's 2010, almost 2 years, but the car only has 87k and the transmission blew out.. I was driving up a hill and the car was rolling backwards.. thank god there were no cars behind me.

Faults:

Car seemed almost new as I test drove it a few times with my eyes and ears on everything I can think of. I purchased car at 64000 miles.

At 68000 miles, the transmission started sputtering before getting into first gear. Minutes later and several sputtering instances had gone by, the engine needed to be revved high to redline in order to get into gears. Computer didn't give me warning messages. Happened all in one day.

Planning on towing it to the Volvo dealer or Volvo certified mechanic soon!

General Comments:

Despite reading threads, bulletin boards and blogs involving the transmission horror stories, it's quite comfortable and is a nice ride.

Faults:

Bought the Volvo '04 XC90 in '05 with 30,000 miles

I'm on my 3rd transmission.

Volvo hesitates for a critical 1st few seconds when flooring gas pedal to get out of possible dangerous situations.

Spring seat broke on front passenger side tire.

General Comments:

I'm on my 3rd transmission, have the extended warranty to 100K miles, but are you kidding me, the 3rd transmission - Ridiculous!!! Glad I found this blog, doing research it seems the Japanese transmission is considered the best, not (unfortunately for my USA brothers and sisters) the GM transmission they've put in my XC90 for the 3rd time... Absolute horror.

One good thing is the dealership where I bought it from has some of the best service and parts Customer Service I have ever experienced. Why don't we all do a Conference call with the regional rep for Volvo, forget that, the decision maker for Volvo Worldwide to get some well deserved answers.

Faults:

Where to start?

Gear shift broke.

Replaced brakes 2 times.

Required fan belt replacement 900.00.

Now has wheel drive problems, which will cost 2000.00.

General Comments:

This car is a constant money trap. I will NEVER have another Volvo and would strongly advise anyone considering one to really reconsider. There is always something wrong and it's never cheap.

In 1.5 years have spent over 5000.00 dollars -- wish I had bought the new Mountaineer instead of the used Volvo.

Faults:

I love Volvos. This is my second one.

I had the timing belt changed this year. A week ago the dealership changed the oil and replaced a bearing in the front. My car started leaking oil afterward. I brought it back up to the dealership and they said the cam and crank seals are leaking and need to be replaced. They also want to change the timing belt again because they said it's no good if oil leaks on it. Does this sound right? The cost-$715.00 plus tax.

General Comments:

My XC90 doesn't turn as sharp as my 240 wagon. However, it's runs well and I have over 148000 miles on it. I drive my car a lot.

I am having more repairs sooner than my wagon. The bulbs for the lights burn out faster too.

Faults:

The transmission failed at 48,000 miles in Dec. 2007. The car was not under warranty at the time.

The transmission failed again at 56,000 miles in August 2008. This time it was under a 12K/12 month warranty.

The starter failed in September 2008, the same day I got the car back after the new transmission was replaced.

General Comments:

Volvo should recall the '03 and '04 models. I have heard about and read on-line about hundreds of these models having transmission failure with less than 60,000 miles. This is ridiculous. Spending so much money for a car and having the transmission fail with so few miles definitely shows that there is a design defect. When will Volvo take responsibility for this?