Xc90 T6 problems
 

I love my xc90 so much but am incredibly fed up with it and with Volvo I'm sorry to say. My car went back to the garage I bought it from as the brakes SUDDENLY stopped working so I had to get it back on a flat bed! It turned out that both front calipers had melted!?!? They were changed under warranty and I got the car back a week later. When driving back from the garage I then got a blow out on the motor way. The car was not feeling right after the garage visit!! The car if driven in any form of traffic for 10-20 minutes would make banging and pinking noises from the brakes and would audioably stick when stopping and pulling away (not really felt though ). They were still getting so hot that I burnt my finger touching the alloy wheel!! The car since the first garage visit is surging slightly back and forth when driving. The Car has since been to Volvo they have had it for two weeks as they didn't know why and have since but more callipers on it (clearly not gonna solve the issue as happened once already) was due to get the car back yesterday and was told that the awd isn't working!!!!! So they are looking into it today :-( fortunately its under warranty from the garage I bought it from!! Have physically had the car with me for 24 days and today it had been with the garage for 26 days and going up! anybody suffered anything similar. Also info display on left side of dash is not working. I love this car so much but so far nothing but trouble

Xc90 T6 03 75k with a few mods

I hate to tell you that you have bought the most problematic model of the XC90s line of models (2003 T6). You should have done some research before. I also hate to tell you that what you have gone through is just the begining,
T6s have a premature and an early transmission failure due to the excess torque stresses from their twin turbo engine on their 4 speed General Motors transmission. I am sorry but this is the sad reality.
What I would do is to simply have it fixed and sold even if you have to lose some money. Instead you should buy a Diesel engine XC90 (the fact that you reside in England) or if you opt for petrol, buy a 2.5T light pressure 5 cylinder turbo engine or a 3.2 6 cylinder normally aspirated engine. Both cars have rock solid reliability. No it is not Volvo that you should be mad about, they are still one of the best cars in the market today. It is simply the doomed model that you have chosen which was terminated 9 years ago.
Good Luck.

Rubbish. The brakes on a T6 are identical to the brakes on a D5. The failure of the AWD system is likely to be around the Haldex unit which is the same as the D5 (probably just need to check the electrical connections and reset the codes to get it working). The good news is the transfer box on the T6 doesn't fail like it does on the D5.

Yes you may have a problem with the gearbox at some point, but if you buy a D5 you may have problems with the transfer box or fueling so it cuts out on you at some point putting you and your passengers at risk (or more recently core plug failure leading to gearbox removal).

Best bet is to keep the gearbox fluid fresh by annual change, ensure your passenger side driveshaft is in good condition and the cap hasn't fallen off the internal splines and you should be fine.

Get the braking system sorted and enjoy the power and smoothness of your T6 (but not the fuel economy unless you run it on LPG!).

Rob.

Total non sense posted here again.

The t6 gearbox is renowned for internal failure at very low mileages as I have had to change a few over the years.

Just checking the electrical connections will achieve nothing.

so theres no good news.

Thank you,
we hope that nothing happens to your 2005 T6! ( I did not know that there is such a thing , to my knowledge they were discontinued in 2004). However should you be skeptical about what I have said, please read the article below from wikipedia or simply go through the many threads on this subject here on this forum or volvo forum U.S there are a lot of horror stories on the GM transmission of the T6.
Reliability
Many owners of the T6 variant reported very early transmission failures, many before 60,000 miles (97,000 km).[11][12][13] Some owners reportedly went through two transmissions in that time.[14] The GM-sourced 4T65EV/GT transmissions usually show symptoms of failure by suddenly slipping while in gear. There was not a recall for this issue, but the faults are widely known and documented. Various causes have been said, ranging from engine coolant entering the transmission fluid to problems arising from Volvo's modification of the original GM valve body[15] unit inside the transmission, but none have been substantiated. Non-GM sourced transmissions have not suffered unusual failings of this type.

So let me get this right. The guy has a problem with his brakes and you decide to tell him he bought a car with a bad gearbox?

The brakes on D5 and T6 are identical.

Already had a gearbox in mine, the old box was fine but the driveshaft failed at 80k miles and filled the box with grease. The fault wasn't with the box, it was poor manufacture of the driveshaft.

The electrical connections I refer to are on the Haldex and its common to find no 4WD is down to a bad connection on the unit. Unlike the D5 there is no pline sleeve to fail on the T6.

Rob.

That's right, all I wanted was to help him out not to fall in the endless expenses of fixing a set of brakes first and then end up with rebuilding the transmission, which eventually is going to happen on his newly acquired used vehicle. I thought we are all here at the forum to help, right ?
I always wanted a T6, loved their sweet 272 horsepower, but believe me even the mechanics at Volvo talked me out of it, I am so grateful they did. I ended up with an 2008 3.2 6 cylinder petrol engine with all the bells and whistles, 3 years now, the car's reliability is rock solid did not have to spend on it a single penny other than routine maintenance.

So your suggesting he shouldn't bother fixing his brakes because his gearbox is going to fail?

Rob.

Well obviously not, all I've said is to have it fixed and sold because the T6 maintenance is a money pit.

I don't think he has said whether the gearbox has already been replaced or not... I like my T6 (2005 :) ). All XC90's are expensive cars to own and run over their lifetime. They are complex cars, maybe too complex at times. Like all cars, it's being happy with balancing the pros and cons.

Anyhow, I don't recall seeing any general issues with the brakes on XC90's, so maybe this is a one-off issue specific to your car, which I understand is mighty frustrating. Let's hope you get it sorted so you can get back to enjoying driving.

Kevin