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Volvo XC90 SUV

5080 messages,  Last post on Dec 05, 2012 at 4:04 PM

You are in the Volvo XC90 Forum.

What is this discussion about? Volvo XC90, SUV

Messages Page 458 of 509

#4568 of 5080 Greetings, about to move into the XC90 by kd2md

Mar 22, 2006 (9:06 am)

Hey all, new guy on the block about to pick up a 2003 XC90 T6. The wife and I have driven Volvos for the last 15 years, from the 700 series through the current 960. I am not so keen on losing the 960 (shoulda kept the 940 too) but the wife is seriously drooling over the prospects of that XC90. The question of the day is, having seen a great deal of input regarding Volvos apparent loss of quality over these XC's and tempering it with my mechanical knowledge, which says things do wear out and things do go wrong, does anyone know the following. I am also a diehard Ford fan, and one thing Ford did several years ago that also had a negative effect on its transmissions / differentials was to lube everything with Dexron. In Arizona Dexron barely cuts the grade in a full automatic transmission. Not knowing the specifics on the XC's (and excluding the obvious transmission itself) transfer case or rear end, is there any reason either of those could not be lubed with full synthetic gear lube, or like we did in the Fords, synthetic 20-50 motor oil? Doing this in the Fords dramatically improved their longevity and durability.
All this talk on transmission failure leads me to wonder how many of those folks did not REGULARLY change the fluid. Most owners are notorious on believing transmissions and rearends are 'lifetime' lubed. Mileage alone is not acceptable for scheduling, temperature extremes do more to break down oil than the number of miles traveled. If you only drove 10k miles a year, that would put your oil at 3 years of summer to winter exposure, and overdue for change.

#4569 of 5080 Re: iPod adapter coming soon for XC90! [simonmason] by soxfan

Mar 22, 2006 (11:14 am)

Replying to: simonmason (Mar 13, 2006 6:14 pm)
i'd also be intrigued about the amplifier modification. volvomax - how much to replace an amplifier if you mess it up trying to attach an ipod?

#4570 of 5080 Re: Greetings, about to move into the XC90 [kd2md] by bigeddy

Mar 22, 2006 (3:49 pm)

Replying to: kd2md (Mar 22, 2006 9:06 am)
The '03 T6 was the most troublesome XC90 because it was the first one off the assembly line and had a mismatched transmission. Could be a good deal if you check it out carefully and verify that all applicable TSBs and recalls were made by Volvo dealers. The GM--yes, GM!--transmission is a weak link and no amount of replacing fluids will change that. If it hasn't been flogged it may be fine, or not--check it out with a critical eye.
 
Volvo has no scheduled transmission fluid replacement in normal driving up to 150,000 miles, although they recommend changing the fluid every 50,000 when towing. I don't know what fluid is specified for the T6's 4-speed but the 2.5T's Asin-Warner 5-speed uses Mobil 3309 and does not like substitutes, especially Dexron.

#4571 of 5080 Re: Greetings, about to move into the XC90 [bigeddy] by kd2md

Mar 23, 2006 (7:35 am)

Replying to: bigeddy (Mar 22, 2006 3:49 pm)
Thanks for the info, one added question. Is there a way to tell from the VIN # what the production date was for these cars? I have seen where the early ones were more prone to issue than the later builds. This car has one very wild thing with it. It had 45,000 miles put on it in 16 months (according to CarFax's info). This is either a condemnation of CarFax's accuracy, or someone flat out drove every day of the year in it!

#4572 of 5080 Re: Greetings, about to move into the XC90 [kd2md] by bigeddy

Mar 23, 2006 (10:29 am)

Replying to: kd2md (Mar 23, 2006 7:35 am)
Wow, that's like 90 miles a day! I have heard of people who commute over a hundred miles every work day but I'm not sure I would want their used car. With that kind of mileage I would have it thoroughly inspected, including things like the bevel gears, bushings and joints. And get an extended warranty, for sure.
 
Volvo's website has VIN and VIC decoders under Owner's Info, Search Library. AFAIK you would need to know how to correlate the chassis serial number to the date of manufacture to get the week it came off the assembly line. However, you can find the month & year of manufacturer from a label on the back of the left B-pillar (open the rear door on the driver's side).
 
Unless the price was really good I would look for ones built March 2003 and later. The XC90 had an unusual early MY 2004 release in mid 2003 where many of the initial glitches were corrected.

#4573 of 5080 Audio Question by dougj

Mar 26, 2006 (5:34 pm)

The CD player in the Volvo XC90 does not play MP3's or WMA's right?

#4574 of 5080 Re: Audio Question [dougj] by lev_berkovich

Mar 26, 2006 (6:48 pm)

Replying to: dougj (Mar 26, 2006 5:34 pm)
No, it does not. The new generation that starts with the S80 2007 will, though.

#4575 of 5080 Re: Audio Question [lev_berkovich] by dougj

Mar 26, 2006 (8:18 pm)

Replying to: lev_berkovich (Mar 26, 2006 6:48 pm)
Does that include the 2007 XC90 as well??

#4576 of 5080 Re: Audio Question [dougj] by lev_berkovich

Mar 27, 2006 (12:15 pm)

Replying to: dougj (Mar 26, 2006 8:18 pm)
I do not think so. It will retain the existing head units, but this is a good question for volvomax...

#4577 of 5080 2005 XC90 Dual Screen Rear Entertainment Ctr by cpike1

Mar 27, 2006 (6:54 pm)

I'm looking at buying a DVD burner for my home so that I don't have to keep buying DVDs for my 2 year old for all the road trips.
 
Does anyone know if the RES will play DVD-R or other 'burned' discs?

Messages Page 458 of 509

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