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2005 Volvo XC90 transmission complaints

Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 62, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 2005 Volvo XC90 transmission problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed Feb 15, 2013 · Engine, Transmission · 111,000 miles · MA

At 111,000 thousand miles the counter balance shaft bearing went inside the motor. I did a little research on line and found out that it is a design problem, that volvo knows about. It could cost any where from $5000.00 to $15000.00. I believe that they should be forced to do a recall for this known problem, and help there customers with the repairs. Thank you for your help in this matter.

Filed Jan 19, 2013 · Transmission · 84,500 miles · NY

The transmission failed at less than 85,000 miles. Then the second transmission's out-put shaft began leaking with less than 40,000 miles on it, because according to the dealer it is "out-of-round/true". The transmission needs to be replaced. This transmission fluid leak is also a fire hazard.

Filed Jan 3, 2013 · Transmission · 85,812 miles · CA

While driving on a gentle incline the transmission started slipping & shifting back & forth between gears. It lost power when trying to accelerate.

Filed Dec 18, 2012 · Engine, Transmission · 115,000 miles · VA

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.

Filed Sep 25, 2012 · Transmission · 96,005 miles · AR

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.

Filed Jul 17, 2012 · Transmission · 64,000 miles · WA

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).

Filed May 11, 2012 · Suspension, Transmission · 67,000 miles · GA

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.

Filed Mar 27, 2012 · Engine, Transmission · 68,723 miles · KY

Transmission service urgent light came out. Transmission was stuck in 3rd gear. Had hard up shifts.

Filed Feb 11, 2012 · Transmission · 66,000 miles · OH

The trains has gone and it only has 66,000 miles on it cost to fix $ 5500.00.

Filed Dec 6, 2011 · Transmission · 39,000 miles · AK

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 volvo xc90. While stopped at a traffic stop, the vehicle began to shake back and forth uncontrollably. The contact applied pressure to the brake pedal in order for the vehicle to stop shaking. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing where the technician advised that the four wheel drive motor was not engaging and would have to be replaced. The four wheel drive warning light was not indicating that there was a failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 39,000.

Filed Aug 12, 2011 · Transmission · 60,000 miles · CT

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 volvo xc90. While driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where the technicians stated that the transmission had to be replaced. After the replacement, the failure recurred approximately 40,000 miles after the transmission was replaced. The vehicle was not further repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.

Filed Jun 24, 2011 · Transmission · 124,000 miles · CA

Transmission problem on 2005 xc90 t6. Slipping and shifting problems. Found metal chunks in transmission oil pan. Reported to volvo na for "goodwill" repair or replacement. Denied because vehicle has over 100k miles. Vehicle is only used on weekends an long trips. Not being driven hard. Volvo not living up to expectations or reputation.

Filed Jun 21, 2011 · Transmission · 92,000 miles · KY

Transmission complete failure at 92,000 miles. Appears to be a material manufacturing defect. Volvo tech spec describes defective part, yet volvo dealership requiring complete replacement of transmission.

Filed Apr 29, 2011 · Transmission · 53,000 miles · CA

I have an 2005 volvo xc90 with only 53,000 miles and the transmission has already gone out leaving my family stranded on the side of the freeway.

Filed Mar 22, 2011 · Transmission · 72,000 miles · AZ

I purchased a 2005 xc90 v8 awd with 65000, after a month or so I noticed hard shifting, yesterday we took a trip up the mountain and I actually lost my transmission for a min, it slipped out of place while passing a vehichle, RPM shot up to 5-6k, it kicked back in again once we slowed and we pulled to the side to make sure it would stay in gear before going again. Now it has gone back to hard shifting occasionally. I feel very unsafe and found lots of reports of similar incidents. Contacting volvo has not been helpful at all they want 7k for a new crappy built transmission. New veh 45k and new transmission every 50k mi, what a deal this car is. I dont want to wait till me or my family is hurt or killed to report it.

Filed Nov 1, 2010 · Transmission · 60,000 miles · CA

60,000 miles on a 1995 volvo xc90 and the transmission just failed for the fourth time. The transmission was already replaced three times. Failure results in car stopping without warning. Anytime, anyplace, it just loses power.

Filed Oct 29, 2010 · Electrical, Transmission · 90,000 miles · TX

I have a 2005 volvo xc90 t6. Bought this car brand new. Had so many problems including transmission out; the blinkers do not work. The quality and safety of this vehicle is misleading and this is a horrible safety issue since blinker don't work. Looking into it, seems like this is an ongoing issue with many owner of volvo xc90 2005. They really need to recall this before it's too late and cause fatalities.

Filed Oct 3, 2010 · Electrical, Transmission · 42,000 miles · CA

2005 volvo xc 90 t6 transmission failure and turn signal not operating.

Filed Sep 15, 2010 · Transmission · 102,201 miles · PA

Me and my wife just bought our first volvo 4 days ago!!! And my wife was on the high way with our 7 month old son when the transmission failed on her and they almost got into a car accident. Thank god she was able to pull over on the side of the high way and call aaa and we had the car towed to the volvo dealer were we bought it from because they gave us a 3 month/ 3000 mile warranty. And now it's been 3 days and we have no car and the dealer is saying that they are trying to reprogram the transmission. I wish that I would have read some of these reviews on this model car. Because they all seem to have transmission problems and they should have recalled that problem. What should we do? [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Sep 12, 2010 · Transmission · 63,000 miles · CA

I own a 2005 volvo xc 90 model t6 with about 60,000 miles on it. Recently, the car failed and I got the "urgent transmission service" warning. Volvo initially wanted to charge me nearly $7000 to replace the transmission but finally agreed to cover the cost (minus a $160 "diagnosis plus my towing costs). After some internet research I saw that this has been a common problem in model year 2003-2005 t6 models; all catastrophic transmission failures with low mileage, in some cases multiple transmissions involved. See attached link: http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f18a651 talking to the service representative, they claimed it was because they used a gm transmission that was not able to handle the power of the engine (or perhaps the weight of the car). They installed a "remanufactured" transmission, they claim with "beefed up" clutch parts. There have been service bulletins since 2008 about leaks from the radiator contaminating the transmission fluid (leading to failures as well). It is my understanding that there have been hundreds of these failures. There is also a class action lawsuit underway as well. In my case, I was on a major highway, and it was a very dangerous situation. I don't understand why the government is not doing anything about this, as I was able to find a great deal of information after just a few simple internet searches. I would like to request an investigation, and if warranted, a recall and compensation (the used car value for this car have dropped because of the lack of reliability of the transmissions). I believe volvo is trying to deal with this on a case by case basis to cover it up and minimize their costs.

Filed Aug 1, 2010 · Engine, Transmission · 64,000 miles · VA

2005 volvo xc90 t6, transmission failed after 64k miles. Transmission failed at highway speeds nearly causing an accident as the vehicle slowed unexpectedly on i95 in heavy traffic. Transmission failed after a program upgrade 3 weeks earlier. Transmission was slipping and transmission service light appeared causing the vehicle to be towed to the dealer. Dealer unable to find any fault codes but upgraded the software, "hoping this fixes it..." after complete failure, vehicle taken on flatbed to don beyer volvo who diagnosed failure as a "transmission failure" the dealership offered to replace transmission and several other parts at no cost.

Filed Jul 7, 2010 · Transmission · 64,000 miles · TX

Transmission failure of volvo xc90 t6. Known problem that the transmission in this car is bad. Left stranded in the middle of an intersection and was almost rear-ended! "transmission service urgent" light came on and took to be checked out. Was told couldn't find problem and replaced fluid. To no avail and was left stranded! I have found countless complaints online from others with this same issue!!

Filed Jun 1, 2010 · Transmission · GA

My 2005 volvo xc90's transmission unexpectedly failed during acceleration while I was turning left across traffic causing a significant decrease in power which in turn required several cars to have to "slam" on their brakes to avoid hitting me. Their "slamming" on the brakes caused the cars behind them to have to brake hard to avoid rear-ending them. After taking the SUV to the dealership for diagnostic check and learning that our transmission needed to be replaced, I did a search on our car make and model and found that I was no where near the first person to experience a terrifying event like this due to volvo's transmission failures. I found page after page of accounts where peoples cars suddenly would not accelerate as usual due to transmission failure. This is a major safety issue that I think the ntsb needs to investigate due to volvo's refusal to either acknowledge or correct the problem. Please don't wait until an entire family is hurt or killed before taking action. Please do not repeat the toyota mistakes.

Filed May 15, 2010 · Transmission · 67,680 miles · WI

I have a 2005 volvo xc90 t6. The transmission failed on the highway today,and I was nearly rear ended with two small children in the truck. The light came on now that said transmission service urgent. I complained to the volvo dealer 7 months ago. They did a software upgrade and said all was fine.volvo is well aware of this problem with many many 2005 xc 90 t6 vehicles.

Filed Apr 14, 2010 · Transmission · 88,000 miles · FL

My 2005 volvo xc90 with only 88000 miles is having transmission problems just this morning a message reads urgent transmission problem and I research and notice that many customers have had this same problem with the same vehicle model and year yet volvo has not done a recall on it.

Filed Mar 31, 2010 · Transmission · 58,000 miles · CA

I own a volvo 2005 xc90 and only 58,000 miles need to replace the transmission. I search in the internet for volvo xc90 transmission and it seems alot of people having the same problem with this model.

Filed Mar 26, 2010 · Transmission · 95,000 miles · AL

My 2005 volvo xc90 t6 transmission has failed for a second time at 95,000 miles. This is the second defective transmission for the vehicle, which was originally replaced at 35,000 miles. While driving on the interstate and attempting to accelerate into traffic, the vehicle suddenly went into high rpms as if in "neutral", failed to properly accelerate, and the "service transmission warning" light came on. This dealer says the transmission must be replaced a second time. Volvo is aware of the chronic problem with the 2003-2005 t6 version of the xc90 but thus far has not issued a recall. It is not unheard of for the vehicles to require 2 or three transmissions by 100,000 miles. There are hundreds if not thousands of similar reports available on internet websites. This is a dangerous situation because the vehicle suddenly stalls without warning while the driver is attempting to accelerate, such as when merging into interstate traffic.

Filed Feb 16, 2010 · Transmission · 95,000 miles · NJ

We have a 2005 volvo xc90 t6 we had complained to volvo of a slipping transmission. They said it had no problems. Now the transmission failed. We almost had an accident with our 3 small children. These cars need to be investigated. Many have experienced problems and volvo is just replacing them with the same defective units.

Filed Jan 16, 2010 · Engine, Transmission · 79,000 miles · HI

I am the owner of a 2005 xc90 volvo with 79,000 miles on it and the transmission has failed and needs to be replaced. My car broke down on a busy interstate and I barely evaded a catastrophic accident when the trans failed and my vehicle came to an abrupt stop (endangering the life of my family of 7 traveling in the car). This common problem in the 2005 xc90's automatic transmissions are well documented throughout the internet by volvo owners. Additionally, shredded metal reached the radiator and other coolant departments that also now need to be replaced. The total cost of repairing the damage caused is $6,700.00. I bought this car to provide my family a secure vehicle while I am deployed. I expected the vehicle to last at least to 100,000 miles. The car is only 4 years old and already needs the transmission replaced.. I contacted volvo and it is taking them a long time to get back to me. My car is sitting at a repair shop while I wait for a phone call to see if they will help cover the costs or not. A volvo technical support representative admitted to me that they are aware that this is a common problem with the 2005 model but are not saying that they would cover the expenses or initiate a recall, rather she said that they would "see" if they could assist me in some way. Again, I have not heard from them and continue to call but have not made any progress with them. After doing some research it is obvious that many volvo owners of the xc90 2005 are having the same problem and this needs to be addressed by the federal safety agency so that volvo is held accountable for a faulty product that has been clearly documented. There are thousands of posts on various forums detailing similar experiences. Volvo has done nothing to address this irrefutable problem. What is the federal safety agency doing to force volvo to initiate a recall?

Filed Jan 11, 2010 · Transmission · 59,700 miles · OK

We have recently had transmission failure on 2005 volvo xc90 t6 awd at 59,700 miles. We are 2nd owner and bought 12/31/09 with 59,074 and carfax check was stellar. The vehicle is just 9,700 miles out of warranty. We have contacted volvo USA concerning 'goodwill policy' and vehicle is at tulsa dealer who are also working from their end.

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