2003 Volvo XC90 T6 from North America - Comments

I have a 03 XC90 T6 and I cannot believe how many posts there are about this problem. In the 80's I remember a commercial on tv showing a man with his Volvo that made it to 1 000 000 miles!!!

I think that since GM bought part of Volvo... the quality went to H3ll!!!.

I was quoted by a local transmission shop $2800.00 plus taxes and he told me that if there are any upgraded mods done by Volvo... he would add them to my car.

I also spoke to Volvo USA and they told me that the rebuilts are beefed up. From the posts I have been reading... Sound like a crock to me. Volvo dealer wants to charge me $4800.00 + taxes and chances are it will fail again. I rather pay $2800.00 and take my chances. At least I will not be out $4600.00 each time.

I purchased my 04 XC90 T6 AWD in May 09 - it has been in the shop for various fluid issues, hose repair, recall, key decoding - now noticing fluid underneath vehicle again, it is in the shop, 3 days today - I have been informed by my mechanic that I have a refurbished transmission, unbeknown to me, there will be future problems, apparently quoting my mechanic "a real sh*t job done by someone that did not know what they are doing."

I still owe 20k on the car and purchased it for safety reasons. I feel like it has been a nightmare and will continue to be. I will shortly contact my dealership that I made the purchase at and ask for a resolution. I am not wealthy and feel this is wrong for Volvo or any car manufacturers to put our safety at risk due to a faulty parts error on their end.

Thanx for the post about the lemon law/contact atty - I maybe doing that very soon.

I will never buy another Volvo! "Volvo for life!" ha!

Sophy Northern, California.

My 2005 XC90 T6 has a little over 65,700 miles and the Service Trans Urgent light came on. I spent $140 to tow it to the dealer. They have ran diagnostics on the vehicle and told me the transmission needs to be replaced. I asked the dealership about a factory warranty - this car is not old and the mileage is low... the representative at the dealership told me they were waiting to hear back from Volvo to see if the transmission can be covered under the "good will" warranty through the company since my car has fairly low mileage and the services are up to date with Volvo dealerships.

I am extremely concerned because this vehicle (T6) is notorious for having transmission problems at low mileage and owners must pay out of pocket for something that appears to me to be a flaw in the manufacturing. Volvo should recall these faulty transmissions and take responsibility for the trouble, safety and loss of money they are causing their customers.

“Volvo for Life” only if you want to purchase a new transmission every 50k miles!

I do plan to ask my dealership for more information because I have maintained the car at a Volvo certified mechanic; it has received every service suggested.

This should not have happened. I am dismayed that the dealer did not tell me of the transmission fault since it has been known for years, and recommended a service that would in no way correct the problem. They are either naive or dishonest, and they have lost my business for life. I viewed this vehicle as unreliable and unsafe. I will be sure to tell anyone who ask about my vehicle - do not buy. I bought this Volvo new on a reputation of safety and reliability. Both the dealer and the manufacturer have damaged their reputation beyond repair.

Thanks to everyone that participated in this blog. I was well informed. I am an owner of a 2003 XC90 and over 4 weeks ago was almost involved in a collision due to faulty transmission. The SUV seemed to jump into another gear and for a few seconds, I could not control the vehicle.

I had it towed to the dealership and was told that it would cost $5,417.34 to be fixed. I was floored! Long story short... I had the car towed back to my house and that is where it has been sitting for the past couple weeks.

After reading the blogs I see that I am not alone and that some ray of hope exists through the means of communicating with Volvo Cars of America. I called the Customer Care Center at 1800-458-1552 and spoke with a representative who was very cordial and understanding. She said they would contact within 24 to 48 hours to see if and how much they would cover for the repairs.

I am praying for a favorable response (full coverage for repairs). I'll let you all know what the outcome is.

Again, thanks for your blogs as it really pointed me in the right direction.

I have a 2005 Volvo XC-90 T6.

The dreaded service XMNS urgent message came at 60K. I had read about these problems and saw that the radiator and cooling lines along with the tranny has to be replaced. Well, much to my surprise Volvo is picking up the tab. They are stepping up to the plate to rectify this problem. There is new software upgrade with the new trannys that supposedly preclude future gear misshifts. That is what is happening with these GM trannys.

Anyhow, I'm glad I don't have to pay 7k for a new tranny. Thanks Volvo for at least stepping up for me.

That's good that Volvo is stepping up. It's a shame the the tranny issues are there given that the rest of the car is fantastic...I'm a long lived Volvo guy and will always be!

2005 XC90 T6

The transmission service urgent light came on while driving today. 80,200 km. Factory warranty just expired 2 1/2 months ago and 200 km ago. After the light came on it would stay in 3rd gear. As soon as I turned the car off then on again it drove fine, but the transmission message and red exclamation point stayed on. I read the posts and I am dreading taking it to the dealer tomorrow.

Concerned from Canada.

I just turned in my XC90 T6 for a 2006 Honda Pilot -- and I never looked back, even though I took a complete bath on the trade. Purchasing the XC90 was the absolute worst decision that I've ever made. I had just reached the 100K mark and I knew that if I didn't get rid of it, it was going to cost me dearly -- brakes, wheel bearings, springs, tires every year --and probably another transmission. What a piece of junk. Volvo should be ashamed for pricing that as a premium SUV. They should take a lesson from Toyota -- when they realized they had used inferior metal on the Tacoma trucks, they bought them back for 150% of the KBB condition. Maybe then, I would have actually been a 'Volvo for Life' customer. Never again.

P.s. Got $8,000 for my XC90 T6 with 99,000 miles.

2005 XC90 T6.

Just got back from the dealer in regards to my urgent transmission service light. $115.00 for the computer diagnosis. Code for an incorrect ratio at gear #3. The car drives fine, there are no unusual sounds or irregular shifts. Dealer suggested the new software upgrade $185.00 and a transmission flush $250.00. I guess $550.00 is better than a new transmission for now?

Canada.

Just paid deposit for XC90 T6 2004 in Australia. Wish I found this forum before doing so. Not sure if I should ring the dealership tomorrow and cancel the deal. I am still within the cooling off period. The vehicle has done 70,000 km and according to the records has been well maintained, but the transmission is bound to fail judging from the reports.. Should I cancel and go for the T5?

Thanks.

Alex.

P.s. I went this morning to the dealer with the intention of getting my deposit back. The manager included a 4 year (120,000 km) extended warranty free of charge. I accepted. Fingers crossed.

Hello from Canada.

I also am the unfortunate owner of an XC90 T6 AWD, 2004 (94000kms). Purchased it at a Toronto Auto Wholesaler for under $20k and thought I was doing well. A very "rocky road" since. Now at 126,000kms and since approx. 110,000kms many electrical/electronic issues:

* Ongoing intermittent battery drain.

* Numerous roadside tows to mechanic.

* Manual attempts to unlock vehicle when the battery low resulted in several alarm system triggers (couldn't use the auto keypad as the battery was too low to respond).

* One tow resulted in need for replacing tie rods, because when the battery became very low, attempts to manually unlock were perceived by the alarm system as a break-in, so car goes into "frozen mode" where wheels actually lock-up. Towing then becomes difficult and results in damage to tie rods.

* Key ignition cartridge "froze up", ie., became so stiff to turn and sometimes refused to turn on at all, leaving me stranded several times in parking lots and at friends' places unable to move for 10-30 minutes. A great concern to me when my daughter or wife were using the car!!

* Recent slippage of transmission between 3rd and 4th gears.

* Recent accelerator delays from a stopped position after depressing pedal. It would lurch into 1st after a split second delay.

* Hoped it would just require an electronic update, but worst case scenario just happened a week ago: daughter informs me from Caledon East (1hr away from my home location) that the Urgent transmission service required message has just come on!!! The car's at 126,000kms.

* Another lengthy tow to Volvo since there isn't one up in the Collingwood, Ontario area.

* Volvo informs me that I need to replace the transmission for an estimated cost of: $7950.00!!! Yikes Bikes!! What's next?!

Am presently waiting on Volvo Canada to respond to my long litany of complaints. Will keep you posted.

Oh how I wish I'd just repaired my foolproof 1993 Camry LE, which finally was laid to rest after 16 years of faithful service with 400,000kms and no history of any significant problems.

Wildwood

CDA.

2004 T6 Here - out of warranty.

Started experiencing slipping and clunking in the tranny at 51,000 M between 1-3 gears. Got the 180$ computer update which neutered the performance of the vehicle (actually felt like it completely disabled the turbo, and clearly changed the shift points). 3 weeks later -- dreaded Service transmission light & service engine light. Took it back to dealer -- Transmission is shot + radiator and lines are fouled too due to fluid intermix.

The light at the end of the tunnel after 3 days of waiting for diagnosis? Volvo is actually stepping up and paying for 100% of new transmission, lines and radiator.

Which is great!! Unfortunately, the black-book pricing of the T6 seems to have already taken the transmission failures into consideration so you end up with lower offers for a T6 compared to other engine types (even though the T6 was the top of the line) -- so in the end we're paying for it (just not twice)

I've been hit hard by the T6 XC90 "Urgent transmission Service". Mine is a 53 reg with 65K - all regular services maintained. Last service was done 1 month ago, and the next day a warning came up on dash - took it back to the dealer and they said it can be fixed with a computer update, and as we were going on holiday the next day, it would be fine to drive 200 miles round trip to the airport. Now took it back, and they are telling me it now needs a new gearbox, £4300, and that the fault is now permanent and 3rd gear is missing up and down. Don't have this kind of money to pay for repairs, we have 4 children and survive on one wage. Bought the XC90 for the space and thought it would have reliability - now very angry as this is obviously a manufacturer fault and Volvo should be taking care of it and their customers - certainly won't buy another Volvo!!!

p.s. dealer tired to contact Volvo for goodwill gesture and it has come back as ZERO. I am now contacting them myself and will keep on trying to rightfully get them to fund this - after all it is their fault!!! Please email me at kate.c@virgin.net if you have any information which can help?? Or a lawsuit I can join.

I am in the process of changing the tranny, but not with Volvo.

Volvo told me that I needed to replace the axle because fluid leaked into the transmission. How is that possible? I spoke to a friend of a friend who happens to work at Volvo. He told me that the axle is hollow and there is a seal in the hollow part the broke and axle fluid contaminated the transmission fluid. Another words... AN EXTREMELY poor design. I asked if the seal can be replaces... he said no, the whole axle assembly has to be replaced. Can someone confirm this? I think Volvo just want to rape us some more.

Thanks.

Dante1.

dvdmtl@yahoo.com

I to am a victim of the Volvo transmission problem. I purchased my 03 XC90 with 57K miles 6 months ago thinking 10 years of safety and enjoyable driving. Last week I heard a loud clunk and felt slipping in first gear. A Volvo dealership quoted $6,400 for a new transmission and it would not be covered under warranty. I took it to a local mechanic and got a quote of $3,700 with a 2 yr / 24k mile warranty. If there is any local/national campaign to protest, please let me know. Thank you!

Frustrated in Delaware!