XC90 No AWD Want to report this to BBC Watch Dog
 

Guys,

I have a 05 XC90 D5 SE I have no Power to the rear wheels. I want to report this to BBC Watch Dog. The problem is that there are no indication that there is any problem with the REAR Drive. The only time you find out is when you are stuck in Mud or Snow / ice and the Rear wheels don't turn independently.

I have had it in at volvo and they have changed a sensor, which is what they thought it was and it turns out that it was not the Sensor.

Therefore it is going to be something which is much more expensive! In the £1000s to be exact!

How many of you have found this out over the last few days when the snow came down? If you have been affected like I have but this mechanical Failure please add to this post and we can all contact Watch Dog together!

This is a hidden fault that Volvo are benefiting from due to the fact the majority of us will only ever need the 4x4 feature when we are stuck in snow or mud!

The only way the will react in a fair fashion is if we bring it to their attention using the medium of something like watch dog!

Please help!

Chris

When you contact em maybe you can bring up the hesitation prob that a lot of us seem to be suffering from. I've ben in touch with Volvo over it and all they say is dealer cant find the fault so its not there. they dont have to live with it though!!!

4WheelDriver,

Thanks for your response. If you have any Documentation from the Dealer, even if you have an inspection report dated. That will be good. Watch Dog will ask for an evidence that a Volvo dealer has seen your vehicle.

The states have had a lot more call backs on XC90's than what we have in the UK. This is the only way I feel we will get our voices heard!

Behave!! Paper work from Arnold Clark for warranty work!! Never happen. I had to phone Volvo just to get a full explanation of what they had checked and done to the car!!! And that was basically plug in a laptop and say its fine really. Volvo gave me the option to take it to next nearest dealer (at my own expense) for a second opinion and that was about it. 3 times in for same fault now and seriously beginning to regret coming back to Volvo!! This one has spent more time in the dealers in 4 months then the last 3 in the family had in 6 n a half years combined ownership time!!

Your post doesn't say what is actually wrong with your car, just that it is a "mechanical failure" so what has actually gone wrong and who has diagnosed that fault?

If you can say exactly what has gone wrong you are a lot more likely to find people with the same problem. At the moment I don't see how anyone can tell if they have the same problem as you or not as your post doesn't state what the cause of your problem is. The more information you give the more likely you are going to be to find people who can band together with you to raise the profile of the problem.

Have you tried contacting Volvo UK?

Cheers,
John

Hi John C

The fault that With My XC90 is that "It only has Front wheel Drive. Power isn't transferred to the rear wheels when needed" Hence this week I have been stuck in light Snow and Ice 3 times!

I thought it was clear from the first post I made. I have been in touch with Volvo UK and they said they have never heard of this. Very strange considering I have only been looking at the forums this weekend and several people both in the UK and in the USA have had the same issue!

Yes I understand that, but you said in your first post that you had a mechanical failure which was going to cost thousands to put right. I assumed the problem had been diagnosed and you'd been given a quote to have it fixed, is that not the case?

Do you know what sensor was replaced by the Volvo garage and have you been back to them to let them know the problem wasn't fixed?

Don't misunderstand me, I'm trying to help but there could be numerous reasons why a 4WD system may not work as expected and if you want Watchdog or similar to get involved you're going to need to know what is wrong and find other people with the same fault to prove it's a widespread problem.

If in a couple of cases it's sensor x and in another couple it's component y and in another couple it's something else they won't care, but if you can show that there are a significant number of cases where the same problem is happening with the same cause and Volvo won't admit there is an issue then you may be able to get them interested.

Cheers,
John

John

Look at the amount of folk on here with the hesitation prob and Volvo STILL refuse to acknowledge there's a prob. And thats just the ones we know about on here. How many others are there out there??

That's my point though, if you want a problem to be acknowledged against the manufacturer and they won't admit it then it takes numerous people with the problem to band together, get independant engineers reports, get the media involved if necessary.

That's why it's so important to get the facts straight and make sure you're not dealing with different causes for similar problems, as that just makes it easy for the manufacturer to say they are isolated failures.

Watchdog and Bevel Gear failure
 

Hi Speedbird800 and other 2 wheel drive XC70/90 owners.

My bevel gear or more likely the spline shaft sleeve has failed on my wifes XC90 D5 Auto S. I am at present finding out if Volvo will cover the repair. If they don't I'm up for highlighting this problem anywhere and everywhere.

WHY? This fault is caused by an extremely poorly designed component in the transmission. If it were a safety issue they would have done a full recall and re-designed the box/sleeve gear. This failure could have happened within a day of owning the car. There is NO disernible handling or drive difference unless you are on snow/ice/mud.

I remember an interview with the XC90 designer in the British auto press, who stated that the reason for the ECU not letting full torque to the transmission on pull away (the slow response to pulling away on large throttle openings from traffic lights etc) was a way of saving the transmission. I think his words were, "better the hesitation than a transmission failure" This would imply either the clutch/torque converter and or the the gearbox were not capable of carrying the huge torque from the diesel engine. The ECU effectively tries to protect it by not letting full torque to the transmission until under way.

Volvo have been fully aware of this problem since the early V70R AWD's etc just read the US forums.

Please keep us informed of any news on this item. I'll let everyone know how I get on.

Ed.