XC90 Reliability

[stevej69]

Hi Everyone,

I'd like to canvas people's opinion on XC90 reliability. As i've posted before, my MY18 XC90 failed back in January, with the main issue being the Nav not knowing where it was and random errors like Hybrid Failure, Headlight Failure etc etc. After being in the dealer for 3 months, the dealer decided they couldn't fix it and it would be replaced.

Volvo UK have been great, the dealer not so much. Volvo UK have kept me mobile in 5 (yes 5), XC90 T8s since Jan as i was only able to 8k per vehicle.

Anyway because of this, i've been lucky enough to drive 5 different cars of different ages from 18-68 plates but all MY19 (with larger fuel tanks). All have had slightly different faults, from noisy wipers (more of an annoyance), to randomly rebooting Sensus and Dash and gearboxes which randomly refuse to go in any gear on startup.

There hasnt been 1 vehicle which i have had on loan which hasnt had a niggle of some sort, keep in mind that all bar 1 of these vehicles had a max of 200 mines on the clock when they were delivered to me. The one with the gearbox issue has 4k on the clock (hardly starship mileage).

I'm not moaning in the slightest, but it did make me question, how reliable Volvo really is. I'd be interested to know peoples thoughts.

Anyway my new MY20 Thunder Grey R-Design T8 is being collected today! yay!

[MaDProFF]

My XC 60 T8 with near 20k miles, and is just over a year old has been pretty well fine, had one nav crash I think it rebooted it self no problem, the sat nav in the speedo dash decides to wander off to Norway or somewhere similar sometimes, but always resets it self after a while, or turning off and back on again.

The only times I have had problems is after software updates, 1st time they messed up the Charging gauge and range, Software was modified just for that, and last service software update car would not start in garage due to a corrupt update which was rectified later that day / picked car up next day, Courtesy car given for a day or two on both occasions.

So all in all so far so good.

[James77]

Originally Posted by MaDProFF

My XC 60 T8 with near 20k miles, and is just over a year old has been pretty well fine, had one nav crash I think it rebooted it self no problem, the sat nav in the speedo dash decides to wander off to Norway or somewhere similar sometimes, but always resets it self after a while, or turning off and back on again.

The only times I have had problems is after software updates, 1st time they messed up the Charging gauge and range, Software was modified just for that, and last service software update car would not start in garage due to a corrupt update which was rectified later that day / picked car up next day, Courtesy car given for a day or two on both occasions.

So all in all so far so good.

Software updates are what worry me most, mine works fine so leave it alone! (sadly not an option).

Why do Volvo appear to not throughly test updates if they have aspirations to become a premium brand they need to ensure things work.

[MaDProFF]

The only good thing from my point of view, the updates have never caused a problem driving the car, the Battery gauge was not a problem, and took the car back for them to revert the software, I assumed on the last update that was rectified and updated as it is different now, the second they found in the garage after the update or failed update.

Updates are for improvement as well so it pays to have them.

It is also good that they are also updating Polestar as well if you had it installed.

From a Brand point of view Volvo are pretty good, where as Mercedes refused to update software on a service unless there was a fault, or a warranty claim relating to something that was software updatable, I was not happy with them for this I must admit, although that has probably changed over the last few years.

[jonnyu]

I have a XC60 with 15.000 km and no issues what so ever.

[Typolee]

On my 3rd XC90 now all been fine apart from squealing brakes and one had a split power pulse hose. Other than that superb car. Very comfy and powerful with the D5 engine. Also chuffed with economy. Get 38mpg on a long run not so good around town which is to be expected.

[uro1]

2 Years, >60.000km no real issues, aside from one app not connecting which was solved by a random dealer I stoppt at within 2min by disconnecting the battery...
3 other cars within the company with comparable km/year. No issues.

[docjd]

yep-issues;split intercooler hose -fixed
interior water leak -?sunroof exit hoses clear-adjusted sunroof clearance-hopefully fixed
odd creaks interior minor exterior trim misalignment
Relatively pleased but some how feel not quite the quality item I originally thought

[techwatcher]

To me a car's reliability is about the big things - has it ever failed to start and has it broken down and left me stranded and needing help? My MY18 XC60 has done neither over 40,000 miles of motoring.

I have experienced the odd glitch. Last summer I had an error saying something like 'Wiper problem - wiper service required' but that went away after a a few occurrences and one very odd event where the engine stalled whilst the transmission was in 'D' which isn't supposed to happen. It was a one-off.

I have not experienced any problems with Sensus. I know some have Sensus issues but the Sensus system is complex containing tens if not hundreds of thousands of lines of code and it is almost impossible to test for every scenario. Given the circumstances some glitches are inevitable.

Overall I am more than content with both my car and the quality of the Volvo brand.

[gmk666]

My XC90 is my first Volvo, and I'm yet to decide if it will be my only Volvo. Two years and 13,000 miles in and the reliability hasn't been great to be honest.

The air suspension compressor has failed.

The climate control has failed twice, once caused by a split hose and once by a faulty joint.

All three faults were sorted under warranty, but in each case, the dealer had the car for at least a week while they liaised with Volvo to diagnose and fix the problem.

The squeaky driver seat caused by bolts working themselves loose was a bit of an eye opener too.

As documented elsewhere, Spotify is now buggered, and the dealer is unable to fix the problem (while they again wait to hear from Volvo...)

Don't get me wrong, I do like the car, I just think it's a bit too advanced for its own good sometimes. And the dealer network seems a bit behind the technology curve.