Faults:

This car has had many, many problems since the first year of ownership -mostly, but not entirely, of an electrical nature- that I have not bothered to keep track. So, I can't begin to list all of the problems here. Although I do remember the day the controls to the side rear windows stopped working and the car had to go back to the dealer, yet again. Just one of many visits to the dealer for problems I never had with previously owned Volvos.

By far the largest and most problematic is the blown transmission at 54,000 miles. The dealer has been wonderful and has offered to fix the transmission for free; however, I am through with this car and am trading it in for a 2008 cross country wagon.

General Comments:

I have never really loved this car as I loved my 940 Turbo wagon which I drove for 150,000 miles with very few problems.

But, I like the three forward-facing seats - very handy for driving a lot of kids around town although the third seat is really too tight for anyone over 6 year of age and the second seat is a little tight too.

The cargo space is adequate given the configuration of the seating.

The car drives like a truck, it's not terribly comfortable, and the gas mileage is terrible. I spend $100+ a week on gas -- am always at the gas station.

I like the rear sensor -- all cars should have this. It would prevent running over kids' bicycles in the driveway or worse, backing into another car.

Honestly, I can't say what else I really like about this car. My husband drives a 2006 XC70 which I love and am always angling to switch cars.

Faults:

Blown transmission at 55,000.

General Comments:

I bought this car in 2004 new straight form the dealership. At first i was very pleased with it. It is very comfortable and has great handling. However, it lacks performance as Volvo has limited acceleration in first and second gear to prevent extra stress for the fragile transmission. That is the main fault with this car, Volvo put in a cheap 4 speed automatic transmission that cant handle the engine its built for. My transmission blew just yesterday and Volvo refuses to cover it because it is not under warranty. This is not an isolated incident. The majority of xc90s before 06 have their transmission fail before 60,000 miles.

Faults:

I am the owner of a Volvo 2004 XC90. My transmission just went at 82,000 miles. No, I don't have the extended warranty. I took very good care of the car in the four years that I've been driving it. It received all maintenance at the Volvo dealership where I purchased the car.

I was having trouble believing that Volvo was uninterested in working with me until I searched the Internet this past weekend. It appears that the 2003 and 2004 XC90s have had high incident rates of transmission failure. Based on what I've read, I believe I will file a report with the Attorney General of PA and hope that they will investigate. I really feel like I've been short changed for the money I invested in this car - although I see that others have had it worse.

I spoke with the service manager at my dealership. He was very apologetic, but said that we'd get no concession from Volvo under "good will." I told him that Volvo may win the battle, but lose the war. I will never purchase another Volvo.

Faults:

AWD issues at 12K

Drivers lock failed 15K

Rear hatch lock failed 20K

Transmission failed 84K

Second transmission failed 50 miles later

Third transmission on it's way.

General Comments:

At 84K the transmission in my 04 XC90 started slipping and failed. After showing the dealer all of the comments posted at this site they agreed to replace the transmission for no charge, even though it was way out of warranty. The case I made was that it was a well known and documented problem and the Volvo should have recalled my vehicle a long time ago. Within 50 miles of use, the second transmission also started slipping (different gear) and failed. The dealer is again covering the new transmission. My local dealer has been the only good thing about my experience with Volvo. I'd be SOL without them.