2005 VOLVO XC90 Complaints

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 VOLVO XC90. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A MECHANIC FOR INSPECTION WHERE THEY ADVISED THAT THE FUEL PUMP MODULE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CONTACT NOTIFIED THE DEALER THREE TIMES BUT THEY DID NOT COMPLETE THE REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN. UPDATED 9/4/13 *CN

VOLVO KNOWS THE V8 ENGINE ON THE 2005 XC90 IS FAULTY. SPECIFICALLY, THE COUNTERBALANCE SHAFT BEARING FAILING DUE TO WATER INTRUSION. FORTUNATELY MINE FAILED WHILE AT IDLE. UNFORTUNATELY THE ENTIRE ENGINE IS NOW SEIZED UP AND MY OTHERWISE CLEAN CAR IS A LARGE AND USELESS PAPERWEIGHT. IF THIS WERE TO HAPPEN WHILE THE CAR IS MOVING AT SPEED, IT COULD CAUSE A HORRIBLE ACCIDENT. UNLESS VOLVO ACTIVELY FINDS THE REMAINING ENGINES IN SERVICE AND FIXES THIS PROBLEM, IT REMAINS A RISK REGARDLESS OF THE MILEAGE. APPROPRIATELY, THEY SHOULD ALSO REIMBURSE ANYONE WHO WAS AFFECTED BY THIS PROBLEM SINCE THEY LEARNED OF IT BACK IN 2005. *TR

THE LEFT HEADLIGHT WILL SUDDENLY GO OUT, SOMETIMES WHILE DRIVING AND OTHER TIMES THE HEADLIGHT WILL NOT LIGHT WHEN THE VEHICLE IS STARTED. AT TIMES IT REMAINED OFF FOR ONLY A FEW MINUTES AND OTHER TIMES IT WILL BE FOR DAYS. I'D TAKEN THE VEHICLE IN FOR SERVICE, BUT EACH TIME I DID, THE LEFT HEADLAMP WAS AGAIN WORKING. I'D ALSO REPLACED THE HEADLAMP IN QUESTION, BUT STILL THE HEADLAMP WORKED ONLY INTERMITTENTLY. I JUST RETURNED FROM MY 4TH VISIT TO THE DEALER, AT WHICH TIME THEY REPLACED THE LEFT FRONT LIGHT BALLAST ($440.00). THE HEADLAMP IS CURRENTLY WORKING. MY WIFE HAS BEEN RELUCTANT TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE AT NIGHT, FOR FEAR THAT BOTH HEADLAMPS WOULD GO OUT. IN RESEARCHING ONLINE, I'M FINDING THAT THIS HAS BEEN A RECURRENT PROBLEM WITH 2004 AND 2005 VOLVO XC-90'S. I UNDERSTAND THAT THE NHTSA HAS BEEN INVESTIGATING THIS PROBLEM WITH THE VOLVO XC-90 AND A RECALL IS BEING CONSIDERED. WE PURCHASED THE VEHICLE PRIMARILY DUE TO IT'S 5-STAR SAFETY RATING, BUT WE ARE NOT CONVINCED THAT VOLVO HAS ADEQUATELY ADDRESSED A KNOWN PROBLEM. *TR

SUNDAY MORNING (10.14.12) CAR MAKING A HORRIBLE NOISE FROM ENGINE BLOCK. SOUNDS LIKE LOOSE BOLTS RATTLING AROUND INSIDE ENGINE BLOCK. CHECKED TRUSTED VOLVO FORUMS ON WEB. I HAVE HAD FOUR VOLVOS BETWEEN MYSELF AND MY WIFE: 2000 S40 (WIFE), 2001 S80 AND NOW 2005 S40 (WIFE) AND MY XC90 - USED THESE FORUMS TO STAY UP ON LATEST ISSUES/MAINTENANCE. THERE WERE SEVERAL POSTS WITH IDENTICAL ISSUE WITH THIS MODEL, YEAR AND V8 ENGINE. APPARENTLY, ONGOING ISSUE WITH COUNTER BALANCE SHAFT BEARING. DESIGN FLAW ALLOWS RUST TO OCCUR AT BEARING AND THEN THEN CB-SHAFT FAILS. WILL CAUSE INCREDIBLE DAMAGE TO ENGINE - MAYBE EVEN DEATH IF OCCURS AT HIGH SPEEDS. CALLED DEALER THIS MORNING, THEY ARE FAMILIAR WITH ISSUE, WANTED ME TO DRIVE IN OR TOW. COST IS PROHIBITIVE AND BASED ON LEGIONS OF SIMILAR CONSUMER REPORTS, AM ALREADY CERTAIN OF DIAGNOSIS. VOLVO NA EVEN DISTRIBUTED TECHNICAL BULLETIN TO SERVICE DEPTS TO DRILL MOISTURE RELIEF HOLE IN BEARING AREA AS FIX FOR THOSE UNDER WARRANTY!!! THAT'S INSANE!!! LINKS TO POSTS ABOUT ISSUE (ONE OWNER EVEN POSTED VIDEO OF HIS ENGINE NOISE): HTTP://FORUMS.SWEDESPEED.COM/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?123707-INTERMITTENT-CLATTERING-NOISE-FORM-HEAD-OF-BLOCK-WITH-ROUGH-RUNNING ALSO HTTP://S298.PHOTOBUCKET.COM/ALBUMS/MM262/DLRNORDIC/VEHICLE20PICTURES202010/ACTION=VIEW&CURRENT=IMG_0385.MP4 AND HTTP://WWWODI.NHTSA.DOT.GOV/COMPLAINTS/RESULTS.CFMODI_IDS=10313311&SEARCHTYPE=QUICKSEARCH&SUMMARY=TRUE&REFURL=EMAIL NEED VOLVO NA TO STEP UP AND HELP, HELP, HELP! HARDWORKING FAMILY MAN WITHOUT ESTIMATED 10-15K TO FIX THIS!!! ALSO, ISSUE WITH INTERNAL RAIN LEAKS ON 2005 S40 BUT NEVER RAISED FUSS. LOVE OUR VOLVOS BUT IN A REAL SPOT HERE. COME ON VOLVO NA, DO THE RIGHT THING!! WILL ACKNOWLEDGE VOLVO'S COMMITTMENT TO CONSUMER ALL ACROSS WEB!!! *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 VOLVO XC90. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE INTERIOR OF THE VEHICLE SMELLED OF GASOLINE AND HAD STALLED ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO DIAGNOSE THAT THE FUEL PUMP NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE DEALER NOTIFIED THE CONTACT THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 09V483000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE: DELIVERY: FUEL PUMP). THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 105,000.

MY CAR WAS AT TRAFFIC LIGHT, ON GREEN LIGHT, I TRIED TO ACCELERATE , I HEARD A BIG NOISE FROM SOMEWHERE IN ENGINE AREA. AFTER THAT NOISE, A LIGHT COME ON WITH A MESSAGE " TRANSMISSION SERVICE URGENT". THE CAR HAS REAL HARD TIME TO ACCELERATE. EVEN AT 4000 RPM, IT DID NOT ACCELERATE. BROWSE ON INTERNET FOR 3 HOURS AND FINALLY COME TO KNOW THAT THIS PARTICULAR MODEL HAS TRANSMISSION PROBLEM. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 VOLVO XC90. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, THE ENGINE STALLED WITHOUT ANY WARNING. THE VEHICLE FAILED TO RESTART AND WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT AUTO SHOP FOR DIAGNOSIS. THE TECHNICIAN STATED THE COUNTER BALANCE SHAFT BEARING WAS FROZEN AND THE ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. IN ADDITION, THE HEADLIGHTS WOULD INTERMITTENTLY OPERATE AND HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 88,000. UPDATED 10/3/12 *CN UPDATED 10/09/2012 *JS

I NOTICED A GRINDING NOISE WHILE DRIVING AT NORMAL HIGHWAY SPEED AS IT GOT WORSE OVER THE NEXT DAY OR SO I BROUGHT IT TO MY LOCAL VOLVO SPECIALIST. AFTER SOME RESEARCH I WAS TOLD THAT THE PROBLEM WAS WITH THE BALANCE SHAFT AND WAS SPECIFIC TO THE 2005 XC90 V8. I CONTACTED VOLVO NORTH AMERICA AND RECEIVED NO COMPENSATION OR EVEN SATISFACTORY CUSTOMER SERVICE. MY LOCAL VOLVO TECH RECOMMENDED I BRING THE CAR TO THE VOLVO DEALER, WHO WERE THE ONLY ONE'S AUTHORIZED TO DO THE REPAIR. THE ENGINE HEAD HAD TO BE REMOVED TO REPLACE THE BALANCE SHAFT AND THE BEARINGS NEEDED TO BE REASSEMBLED. IT'S AMAZING THAT THE SAME EXACT PROBLEM CAN BE REPORTED TO THIS EXTENT AND VOLVO STILL DOES NOTHING!! $4200 DOLLARS LATER, THE CAR WAS FIXED. I'M GLAD IT WAS CAUGHT PRIOR TO THE ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED.. *TR

THE TRANSMISSION IN THIS VEHICLE IS SLIPPING. TRYING TO PASS A CAR ON THE HIGHWAY AND COULD NOT GET THE CAR INTO GEAR. NOTE: THE VIN # [XXX] - BUT I CAN'T VALIDATE IT ON THIS FORM BUT IT IS THE CORRECT NUMBER. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

I ATTEMPTED TO PASS ANOTHER CAR AND THE ENGINE REVVED VERY HIGH WHILE THE TRANSMISSION WAS SLIPPING AND COULD NOT GO INTO GEAR. THIS PUT MY CHILDREN AND I IN A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION WITH ONCOMING TRAFFIC. ALTHOUGH I WAS ABLE TO SWERVE BACK INTO MY OWN LANE IN TIME, IT WAS A VERY SCARY 10 OR 15 SECONDS. I HAVE BEEN AFRAID TO DRIVE IT UNTIL I CAN GET IT INTO THE REPAIR SHOP, BUT HAVE DRIVEN IT ON SHORT TRIPS AROUND TOWN. THE TRANSMISSION CONTINUES TO SLIP SOME IN NORMAL DRIVING. I'M TAKING IT TO VOLVO SERVICE TOMORROW BUT SOME QUICK RESEARCH FOUND THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON ISSUE WITH THIS SUV, AND THAT VOLVO IS COMPLETELY AWARE OF IT. IN FACT, THE CUSTOMER SERVICE PERSON I SPOKE WITH FROM VOLVO N.AM SAID "IT'S AN EPIDEMIC", AND THE SERVICE WRITER FOR NORTHPOINT VOLVO HAS SEEN IT MANY, MANY TIMES. IT LOOKS LIKE I'M IN FOR AS MUCH AS $8500 FOR A TRANSMISSION, AND EVEN MORE FOR POSSIBLE DAMAGE TO THE AXLES AS WELL AS A NEW RADIATOR, WHICH SEEMS TO BE THE CAUSE OF THE WHOLE PROBLEM DUE TO FLUID CONTAMINATION (GLYCOL INTO THE TRANSMISSION FLUID). I WASN'T AWARE OF THE PROBLEM UNTIL NOW, BUT I HAD CERTAINLY WONDERED WHY MY $48,000 VEHICLE HAD PLUMMETED IN VALUE COMPARED TO OTHER CARS! THIS IS NOT ONLY A SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD BUT ALSO A FINANCIAL HARDSHIP ON THE MANY PEOPLE WHO PURCHASED THIS SUV BASED ON AN EXPECTATION OF QUALITY AT LEAST IN LINE WITH MINIMUM INDUSTRY STANDARDS. CLEARLY THIS COMPANY IS NOT STANDING BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT AND A RECALL IS IN ORDER. *TR