General: Ownership Thread - 2012 XC90 Executive

[CondorXC90]

My big Swedish tank is ready for collection from the Volvo indy where it has been relaxing since Wednesday.......my mpg was just awful - around the 24 mark, and when I had it in there for them to take a look, they found the intercooler in quite a state. Luckily the selling small dealership has covered the costs of replacement - with Volvo parts, not pattern.

At the same visit, asked them to change transmission and torque convertor fluids which were apparently absolutely black, so I am very pleased I did as clearly no previous owner has........

Plus she has been treated to a shiny new towbar with Volvo electrics all coded correctly.

They loaned me a venerable old S80 for a few days while they were busy, it managed to navigate all the flooding last night in our area for which I was grateful........saw a brand new Merc which had expired in a rather large mini lake which had been a road.......

Also pleased not to have to pay the costs of the intercooler replacement as the gearbox flush and towbar will be quite enough.........will get some pics of the intercooler, apparently leaking in more than one place and in a bad way.

My SE Sport 2008 is just under 140k miles at the moment.


Pleased I asked them to re-service and change filters and oil and flush gearbox......selling dealer had had a "service" done before I collected the car, but the oil and filters looked a bit older than September......he farms his work out to a local (cheap no doubt) workshop and I think they cut corners where they can.......at least he has been good enough to pay for all the issues i have identified to date, including a brand new parking brake refurb - shoes, adjusters everything. I covered the re-servicing and fluid changes though.

Hoping the MPG improves substantially now..........the swirl flaps seemed ok strangely enough, perhaps they had been done at some stage.

[Odysseus]

As the nights have grown darker I've started to notice that I may have some bulbs out on my radio.

Here is my radio illuminated by my phone flash.



And here's the same shot with the flash off.



It seems the 'Menu' up and down, 'Selector Sound' knob, and track forward and back buttons are dim/not illuminated.

Is this a case of extracting the radio, taking it to pieces and soldering in some new LEDs? If so, I can see this being a job some way down the priority list...

Other than dim buttons, the XC90 is running pretty well. On a fast drive (M25 notwithstanding) back from Surrey to Cambridgeshire the other day it performed admirably and seemed to get more responsive the more I drove it. Fuel economy has stayed around 29 mpg showing my swirl flaps are still swirling how they're supposed to and I'm perversely looking forward to the tyres wearing down a bit more so I can replace them with something better.

As ever, any tips regarding my radio illumination will be gratefully received.

[S60D5-185]

I'm sure that I have read somewhere that the bulbs can be replaced but as you say, priority wise I would save that for a few months time.

Tyres, I recently fitted a full set of Yokohama Geolander G015 All Terrain tyres and I've been very happy with them. Certainly not noisy , look good and should give the car a bit more all wheel drive ability when needed.

£520 fitted for 235/60/18

[Odysseus]

Originally Posted by S60D5-185

£520 fitted for 235/60/18

That's very good! I've been looking at the all seasons Michelins and Pirellis, but I think it's going to be north of £650 for the four 255/50/19s I'd need.

[S60D5-185]

Originally Posted by Odysseus

That's very good! I've been looking at the all seasons Michelins and Pirellis, but I think it's going to be north of £650 for the four 255/50/19s I'd need.

I forgot that you were on 19's.

[AlainBrighton]

Originally Posted by Odysseus

The unexpected breakthrough with the navigation disc suddenly becoming readable gave me the impetus to sort out another omission... The missing trim piece from under the right rear light.

Armed with the part number I phoned my local Volvo main dealer - Marshalls of Cambridge - and was told the part was £24. Bargain.

I swung by the dealership this morning on my way to work and enjoyed a thoroughly decent cup of coffee courtesy of Volvo while waiting for the parts guy. £29.52 later (obviously they quote the price without VAT, how helpful), the part is mine.



This evening I fitted it. The process being thus.

1. Take your newly acquired part and lay it out on your working area.



Note the red tape which covers the sticky pads that hold it to the light.



2. Prepare the light by cleaning off any residual grime to ensure a good quality stick. Use your specialist automotive grade cleaning wipe, just as I have as you can see.



3. Remove the tape and stick the thing on, ensuring it matches the one on the other side.



Marvel at your hard work and undeniable skills as a Volvo expert (maybe).

Before:


After:




As ever, thanks for reading.

Odysseus, are your rear lights exclusive to the Executive ? My 12 plate has the old layout without LED strips inside the units......

p.s. The swirl arms are the same issue as what was the case with the E60/E61 BMWs ? I remember they used to break off in the 530Ds, could you remind me how you knew they were on their way out ?

[Bashy]

Hi, when ive ever had disc issues, i have copied them at a slower rate and resolved read issues, this was on a rault system, i would hedge a bet that this is the same issue, you should be able to copy the files from the disc and then burn yourself new ones making sure you burn them at the slowest rate

[Odysseus]

Originally Posted by AlainBrighton

Odysseus, are your rear lights exclusive to the Executive ? My 12 plate has the old layout without LED strips inside the units......

p.s. The swirl arms are the same issue as what was the case with the E60/E61 BMWs ? I remember they used to break off in the 530Ds, could you remind me how you knew they were on their way out ?

I’ve no idea about the rear lights being Executive only but they are certainly different to other XC90s I’ve seen, but I’m unsure if that’s age or specification linked. I do know that my car was the last facelift before the new model XC90 was released and has wide arches and colour coded bumpers etc. LED rear lights could possibly be part of that? Mine’s a 62 plate, December 2012 model.

The swirl flaps gone bad symptoms are reduced mpg and mildly reduced performance. The mpg went down to 25/26 from 28/29 for the journeys we do.

It’s easy to check if the swirl arm has become disconnected, just remove the engine cover and have a look, it takes 30 seconds. I posted some pictures earlier in the thread. Thanks again to S60D5-185 for his assistance on that one.

[AlainBrighton]

I hope I will be spared the swirl arm issues for now, is that something one should have replaced as a precaution or is that too expensive given what you paid ?

As for the lights, I really like them, they look much more contemporary, had a quick look on eBay yet at around £400 per unit, it seems a bit too much of nice. I rather work out how I can get park sensors at the front fitted and if there is existing pre-wiring behind the front bumper. Once I know I will let you know.

Think I am going to change my title of my thread and use the same style you did, you know how good we Chinese are in copying that was has proven to be working well ? :-)

[Odysseus]

I was thinking about your rear light question earlier today, and based on an entirely unscientific survey (of Cambridge Rugby Club car park) all XC90s of my car’s age and newer have the LED rear lights, not just Executive models.

Hope that helps!