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?

Faults:

Like virtually every other XC90 on the road, at 73,000 miles, its transmission began to slip. $7000 to repair except that it was a Volvo Certified Pre Owned so I have warranty to 100,000 miles. And I'm sure gonna need it based on my experience with the car. Volvo Certified? Volvo Certifiably Bad Transmissions!

General Comments:

Too expensive to buy.

Lousy resale value.

Too expensive to repair.

Needs lots of repairs.

Faults:

My tires wear out about every 30,000 miles; cost about $250.00 each to replace + labor.

My transmission just went at 88,900 miles. Transmission failure light went on and the car got sluggish. Do all my services at Volvo, never miss a recommended service interval. Only cost me $200.00 deductible because I had purchased an extended warranty offered by Volvo that gets me out to 1000,000; purchased it about the second year I owned car, for about $1,800 dollars, otherwise the transmission would have cost me $5,200 at the Volvo dealership, but I really question why this happened at what I consider a low mileage??

Got a Volvo factory new transmission, waited 6 days for it to come in. The extended warranty covered the loaner. Then I had to pay for the loaner for 3 days for the job to complete.

I have never had to replace a transmission on any car I've owned, and I hold onto cars for at least 125,000-150,000 miles! I think there may be a problem with this car.

General Comments:

Very comfortable for long distances, great heated seats, very versatile for flattening seats and cargo.

Purchased a third row, rarely used as my kids outgrew it and very cramped, don't buy.

Like the retractable side mirrors, since I know with other cars I would have damaged them by now getting in/out of the garage.

Decent highway mileage, fair city mileage. Spent at least $600-800/year on just basic services.

Oh, when the car drives in heavy rain, you will hear a "grating type of sound from the wheels". I noted this from the beginning and took it back to the dealer to address, but they "couldn't reproduce the sound", but it definitely happens when driving in torrential rain conditions. The car works, but the sound is rather alarming, but stops as heavy rain diminishes or stops.???

I will probably go back to purchasing a Mercedes, Lexus, or maybe a more reliable less expensive Japanese car.

I think since Ford took over Volvo, its quality/reliability have decreased.

Faults:

Two transmissions in 88,000 miles, rear wheel bearing, lots of expensive brake jobs compared to my Chevy Suburban.

General Comments:

Don't get too comfortable if you have a transmission replaced in your XC-90. We had one go out at 62,000 miles 14 months ago, and it just happened again at 88,000. We were told that the warranty is only for 12 months, so we are out of luck. We love the Volvo's, but they are just too expensive to maintain, and will be buying a Chevy or Toyota next time. Too bad they can't step up and fix the problem.