General: Ownership Thread - 2012 XC90 Executive

[AlainBrighton]

Originally Posted by Odysseus

Well, the Volvo is back on my driveway with ONE new engine mount.

I suppose to their credit they called me half way through the job this morning and said replacing the rear engine mount looks like a very complicated task which may necessitate dropping the subframe, and they wanted my permission to continue. They also stated the rear engine mount looked in far better shape than the (very obviously knackered) front mount.

At this point I figured discretion is the better part of valour when it comes to preserving my wallet, so I let them go ahead and change the front mount only.

Once the car was home I removed the oil filler cap and I can still here a slight popping, but it's significantly quieter than it was before replacement. Is this normal?

I haven't had a chance to take the car out yet (they did a collection and drop off) to see if it's smoother, but it can't have hurt to have replaced an non-functional engine mount, so I'm going to chalk this up as a win.

Shiny new front mount in situ.



Eventual bill = £213.



Once the kids go back to school and I regain control of how I spend my day Ii think I'll get it booked in with IVS to get things looked at properly.

Has your problem been solved now ? I had a problem with my engine mounts ages ago when I had the XC70 D5 and it went into limp mode. Volvo dealer in UK and independent looked everywhere for a month or so. Finally brought it to the Dutch Volvo dealer who were adamant my issue with the limp mode was due to malfunctioning engine mounts and they replaced them (not sure if they were just front left and right or the back ones too for EUR 1000+ including labour. More or less the same if they charge you £213 for the front one ? In all honesty I never heard the oil making any noises at the time but then again, perhaps the XC70 was designed differently ?
Hope it is a thing of the past now, including the restriction on your movements due to your beloved family ;-)

[AB-UK]

Forgive my possible ignorance here, but isn't the engine mount simply a physical component?
How does it cause the car to go into limp mode, or cause the engine oil to "pop"?

I could understand if they were so worn that the engine was thrashing around under the bonnet, but is the tollerance so low that any additional vibration allowed by a worn mount can disturb various sensors, causing the limp mode to kick in?

[SwissXC90]

Originally Posted by AB-UK

Forgive my possible ignorance here, but isn't the engine mount simply a physical component?
How does it cause the car to go into limp mode, or cause the engine oil to "pop"?

The engine mount is vacuum activated, and has a vacuum line going to it.

This is the same vacuum that controls the turbocharger.

A mount not holding vacuum means loss of vacuum which means loss of turbo charger performance which means loss of engine performance,

[Odysseus]

Well, it's been months since my last update. Life has been busy and I haven't had time to come on here and record what's been going on.

I'm also conscious that my most recent updates have all been negative in tone, reporting issues and problems, rather than highlighting where the car has been well behaved or brilliant.

Therefore, I'm going to try and balance the scales with this post. Much more of a life-with-XC90 update than just problems.

The weirdness of lockdown, travel restrictions, home schooling, home working, etc meant as a family we tried to do whatever we could to have a fun summer under the circumstances, and we ended up going away on mini-breaks quite often. The Volvo was an excellent companion on these journeys, mostly loaded to the gunwales with what a family of five needs for time away.

One of our (many) trips to the Norfolk coast back in June.


Loaded up for camping.




Who knew a XC90 doubles as a washing line anchor?


We're also flirting with the idea of buying a campervan, and to that end hired one in August to try it out. The Volvo acting as support vehicle.


Oh I do like to be beside the seaside...




During one of our many trips we were not blessed by good weather. As I splashed round the M25 in the driving rain with my wife and three kids in the car I did think to myself it's probably time I got some new tyres.

I duly ordered four Michelin Cross Climates via Blackcircles and had them fitted the following week. All very easy and I'm happy enough with the deal, though not cheap at just over £700.







All in all the XC90 has been a superb family car over the summer, taking everything we threw at it.

As I write this I'm in a cafe in Baldock enjoying a bacon sandwich while IVS work their magic on changing the oil in the gearbox. Full report of this once it's done, but it's fair to say I'm very much looking forward to this having been done for peace of mind. 195,000 miles on the car and counting...

Thanks for looking!

[Moose Test]

I've just had the same tyres fitted but on 17" rims. Only time will tell with regards to wear and performance this winter season but I'm already very impressed with the reduction in road noise over the previous Uniroyal Rainsports (which I already thought were pretty quiet). They seem to live up to their claims in that respect, at least for now.

I'm not sure when you purchased yours but in case it should help you or anyone else, if you do so between 1st Oct and 30th Nov then Michelin are offering a £100 rebate (19" or larger) on them when you buy four, via pre-paid credit card. You need to apply online, quoting the fitting dealer's invoice number. It's a £50 rebate on four 17" or 18" tyres.

www.point-s.co.uk/michelinoffer

[Odysseus]

Thanks Moose Test, very decent of you to provide that info. I bought mine last month so I can’t make use of the offer but hopefully someone else can. Thanks again. 👍

[foeism]

Fair play. It’s good to see a positive update and the xc90 in its natural surroundings!
Always good to see the positive sides of owning one!

[AB-UK]

Originally Posted by foeism

Fair play. It’s good to see a positive update and the xc90 in its natural surroundings!
Always good to see the positive sides of owning one!

Yes indeed it is

[Odysseus]

As stated on the previous post, last Friday I had the gearbox oil changed.

The report from IVS was that it was definitely black and needed doing, but was not completely disgusting, so in their view it had definitely been changed before.

This is great news, as it tells me that my car with 196,000 miles on the clock had not been running the same oil in the gearbox all that time, and also that my getting it done should keep the gearbox running well.

They also gave the car a cursory once over and adjusted the driver's door hinge as in my view the door was dropping slightly when you opened it.

All in, £130.20, plus another £15 or so on coffees and snacks while the work was being done.

[XJSDriver]

Wow - seems very reasonable; from what I can see this was the dump method used versus a full flush but from previous conversations on this forum this is the safer way to change the oil.
Really useful to hear that you are close to 200k on the same box - result

I did a full flush at 95k and as now close to 130k I will be doing a dump change soon; hoping my oil still has a red tinge rather than brown; will be interesting to see. When I changed mine at 95k it looked like this - before and after: