General: Ownership Thread - 2012 XC90 Executive

[Odysseus]

Note to readers, this post was made in early April 2020, during the coronavirus lockdown. Very weird times.

Anyway, disclaimers out of the way. As the weather started to improve and the end of winter approached I thought I'd reward the XC90 for passing its MOT with no advisories and handling a stormy week's holiday in Devon by giving it a blast over with the pressure washer. This revealed some annoying niggles.

The Volvo badge on the front had come off, leaving the grille somewhat empty looking.



Also, the near side front mud flap had broken off, possibly as a result of the huge quantities of water we splashed through in Devon.



Given that I'm someone that doesn't like the cars looking shabby, I had to do something about this, so I went on eBay looking for spares.

I was able to find a sticker for about £7, and having looked at various used front left mudflaps from breakers for £25+, I actually ended up buying a brand new set of four, shipped from Switzerland, for only £22. Bargain.

Given it was spruce up time I also thought I'd really splash out and buy a replacement gear shift gaiter, as mine was worn in places. This was about a tenner. I chose the one with contrasting stitching so it would match the stitching on the seats.

When it came to fitting, the badge was easy peasy. I thoroughly washed and cleaned and dried the space on the grille, then applied the sticker.

Before:


After:


The mud flap was a bit more involved. I had to remove the front wheel, which meant using bits of wood under my trusty trolley jack to allow it to go high enough to actually get the wheel off the ground, then carefully drilling out the rivets holding what was left of the old mud flap in place.



The mud flaps came with a fixing kit of screws, and these little metal clips (can you tell part knowledge is not my forte?) for the screws to screw in to, but they were too small for the front and the holes left by the rivets were too large for the screws. Rather than bodge it with giant wood screws or similar I rifled through my limited parts supply and eventually found some plastic rivets originally bought for my Lexus GS. These are currently holding the mud flap on very securely, though I'd welcome suggestions on an improved solution from the learned people on here.



Once all done I reattached the wheel and lowered the car back to the ground, much to the relief of my trolley jack I'm sure.

The gear gaiter was on some levels easier but on other levels harder. Below is a picture of how it looked before. You can see a bit of wear from where it's spent a long time creased in drive (car has covered 190,000+ miles remember).



To remove this you have to ease the leather gaiter away from the top of the gear knob. This is much easier with the car in neutral. You then basically pull the gear knob out, straight up, with as much power as you can muster.

You can then ease up the gear shift surround - it only clips in - and start to dismantle the necessary areas. I also took the opportunity to give it a good clean down there.

Once I had the frame out I could retreat indoors for the tricky bit. The Volvo leather stretches over the frame and has handy cut outs in the leather to ensure a good fit. The eBay special I had purchased had no such cut outs so I had to make them.

This is the genuine one, still in the frame.



This is the eBay one.


Employing the usual approach of thinly veiled threats and fairly colourful language I was able to stretch the new leather over the frame, using my self cut holes.



I was then able to reattach everything in the car, and here's a picture of the end result.



I'm kind of pleased with the result but I think a repair to the original gaiter may have been easier. While there's nothing wrong with the quality of the leather in the new part, the fact it doesn't have the holes cut and there's no 'collar' for it to sit against the gear knob means I'll reserve judgement for now. I have kept the old one so I still have the repair option if want to pursue it.

With the repairs and fixes done all that was left was to clean it, so over the past 10 days it's had a proper, thorough clean and decontamination, and I'm working my way round it with the polish and wax, so as a driveway ornament it will look snazzy. I've been able to broaden the lessons of home school to include car maintenance.



That said, it hasn't moved in about three weeks so I think a run round the block later might be useful - cars need exercise too right?





Thanks for looking and the very best to you all in these unusual times.

[Dastardly Diesel]

One of my front mudflats had started to split in much the same place as yours. Luckily, I caught it early. I was able to rivet it back together using an alloy plate I cut to size from piece of scrap and as the crack was on the underside the repair is invisible (unless I run you over, in which case you could admire my handywork).

I do like those later grilles with the big Volvo logo, bure not enough to spend the money o. One.

[Chunk11]

Odysseus - found this funny as I’ve just had to replace the Volvo badge on mine after it fell off and I got mine from eBay for £7 aswell.

Re the mudflaps there is a chance I also purchased the same mudflaps from eBay for the same price the other week and fitted the set the other day.
The thread is currently about 10 below yours (edit: now added the link on my next reply below) and details how I did mine. I have cut and paste a small section...


Fitted the mudflaps today and they look great I am surprised that these weren’t standard fit.

Simple to fit I didn’t bother to remove the front wheels just turned the wheels but took off the back wheels to enable me to get the drill in.
Drilling off the rivets with a 6mm drill bit was simple quite a few started spinning in the plastic but the rivets must be quite soft metal as the head came off easily even with the rivets spinning. I did think about trying to use some mole grips to stop them spinning but it didn’t seem necessary.

I then used a punch just to push the back of the rivet through the plastic and they dropped onto the floor.

The mudflaps came with some self tapping screws but I didn’t want to use these so ordered 20 rivets off eBay (just search for Volvo mudflap rivets) they cost £10
so it’s another 50% on top of the £20 spent on the mudflaps. I am sure you could find them cheaper, you actually only need 14 rivets, but for ease I just used eBay.
Used my Stanley pop riveter and they went in a treat very sturdy and hey presto job done.

Compared to previous cars where you can just unscrew the plastic trim screw, put the mudflap on and then re screw in again it is a bit of a faf but guess it’s the only way.

The rivets are pretty much identical and leave a nice tidy finish although if you don’t have a riveter a cheap one from Screwfix is about £16 or £30 for a Stanley one.

Hope that helps

[Chunk11]

Mudflap thread
https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=304565

The only thing that worries me slightly is that yours has snapped off?! Would have thought you would have to hit something fairly substantial for it to shear off but obviously not.

Great thread by the way looking forward to the next instalment.

Thanks,

Chunk

[Harley Dave]

Agreed, great thread and, as I have the same year (well, 2011+1/2) and model car I'm specially interested.

I also have ordered the mudflaps from Switzerland - not here yet though but I do have the plastic rivets to mount them - pity they come in packs of 10 rather than 14...

I'm looking forward to fitting them but I'll need to give the car a thorough clean first of course.

One thing I can feel really good about is the grille badge.

Mine was a bit chipped when I got the car (didn't notice until I had signed it off) and the dealer in Gerards Cross refused to put it right saying the deal was done.

This was a Volvo Selekt car, so I had paid over the odds anyway, so I was a bit miffed at the time.

The badge gradually got worse until the blue was all gone and it really needed fixing.

I read somewhere (perhaps on here) that there was a code for dealers to use to replace the blue section of the big grille badge as there had been a batch of faulty adhesive or whatever and obv Volvo didn't like the look of all these untidy cars running around.

So Snows, my local dealer in Basingstoke, with some prompting from me, replaced it for nothing.

Result!!

Cheers

Dave

Edit - here's where I saw about the dealer code https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showt...l+badge&page=2

[Odysseus]

Originally Posted by Chunk11

Mudflap thread
https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=304565

The only thing that worries me slightly is that yours has snapped off?! Would have thought you would have to hit something fairly substantial for it to shear off but obviously not.

Great thread by the way looking forward to the next instalment.

Thanks,

Chunk

Thanks for the kind words Chunk and Dastardly Diesel. I've had a good look through your threads and your idea of using some sheet metal behind the mudflap is a good one. I think I'll get some thin aluminium so I can do this if the plastic rivets don't hold.

You're probably right about about the damage Chunk. I was driving around lanes in Devon during storm Dennis in February and there were loads of reasonably large sticks and rocks in the water flowing out of fields and hedges, so that could be what broke the mud flap. After all, the front left is going to be the mud flap that bears the brunt so to speak.

Thanks once again.

[S60D5-185]

I've got a lot of tools and equipment in the garage built up over the years but the first things that I bought when I got the XC90 were a high lift 3 ton trolley jack and a set of high, heavy duty 3 .5 ton ramps.

I wouldn't want a 90 resting on my chest.

[Odysseus]

I promised to update this thread to include the costs incurred during my first year of XC90 ownership, plus a review of sorts. Hopefully this will prove useful to others, both current and prospective owners.

Car recap
Mine is late 2012 (registered December 2012 on a 62 plate), 2013 Model Year Executive. I purchased it from a trader in March 2019 to accommodate my growing family - two young children and one on the way, who was safely delivered on June 1st. It was a one owner car, and had covered 182,000 miles(!). The previous owner was the building firm Sir Robert McAlpine and it had been a chauffeur driven director's car with the plate '9 MCA'. It came with a full main dealer service history and a reassuringly large pile of old invoices.

It has Bluetooth for calls and audio streaming, BLIS, reverse camera, heated, ventilated massaging front seats, heated middle row seats, and audio controls in the rear, as well as all the usual XC90 stuff of this era like LED running and rear lights, and swivelling headlights.

In the past year the car has covered about 12,000 miles, and the mileage is now approximately 194,000.

Driving experience
I find it's not a car you want to drive quickly. This could be because it was only bought with family transport in mind and clipping apexes and late braking tends not to be compatible with family car harmony, but that's ok - who wants to do that in a SUV anyway? The biggest thing to get used to in the car is the delay between pushing your foot on the throttle and the car moving away. Now it's second nature but the first few times joining busy roundabouts or pulling away in a brisk fashion were educational.

The ride quality is very good, with comfy seats and compliant suspension. It's a bit soft when cornering but that's fine given what the car is and was bought for. It's not super hushed when on the power, but once up to speed is a fairly serene place to be, and pleasingly subdued on a motorway cruise. I typically set the cruise control at about 2,500 rpm which equates to a motorway cruise speed optimised for arrival times balanced against mechanical sympathy rather than outright fuel efficiency.

As a family vehicle it's excellent. There are numerous cubby holes and storage areas for stuff, the boot is spacious, and the split tailgate is ideal for using as a bench while taking muddy rugby boots off six and seven year olds. This lower section of the tailgate also works as a mobile baby changing table - ask me how I know...

It's as expected on fuel. Not bad on a run and thirsty around town. By and large I use normal diesel but only fill up at BP or Shell. I'd say we're averaging around 28-29 MPG according to the trip computer. Fine given the car's performance, stature, and capacity.

Servicing and maintenance
All of this is detailed in the thread, but in summary it's not been plain sailing. About five weeks after I bought the car there was a problem with the boost pipe cracking, which led to the soot filter clogging up, which led to this needing attention. This was sorted by Kings of Witcham (prior to them unfortunately going out of business).

Last autumn I also suffered from swirl flap issues, and had the whole lot replaced and de-carboned by IVS of Letchworth.

Finally, back in February I had a full service and a MOT, also done by IVS of Letchworth.

The only other thing to report is I've had the AC re-gassed twice, and both times there were no leaks found. At the time of writing the car hasn't moved in three weeks so it will be interesting to see whether the AC has lost it's refrigerant again.

IVS have identified a few relatively minor things to look at over the next 12 months, and once they are done I should have a pretty sorted car.

It's due some tyres soon (within the next 5,000 miles), but wear seems to be pretty good despite the weight, maybe because it's driven fairly gently.

I found it interesting that most of the issues I've had in this past year relate to the diesel emissions and efficiency side of things.

Costs
Who doesn't love a spreadsheet? I've broken down the costs into 'necessary' expenditure - fixing broken things, and 'discretionary' expenditure - stuff I didn't technically need to buy but did anyway. I've not used Volvo main dealers for servicing and maintenance, but have used Volvo specialists who use genuine Volvo parts.



Total bill for the year: £2153

If I reduce it to essentials only: £1820

Non essential stuff: £333

Clearly this doesn't take into account cost of fuel, insurance, or road tax (£325 per annum the last time I bought it).

Would I recommend one?
Definitely. It's a great car and suits its family role perfectly, and doesn't have the same image challenges as something like an Audi Q7 on one hand or a Ford S Max on the other.

Here's to the next 12 months. Thanks for reading.

[Odysseus]

An inauspicious start to year two of XC90 ownership. On a late night run to Bedford to collect a bike for my eldest son’s birthday I became aware of a hissing noise under engine load, which only got worse the more I drove and eventually ping an Engine System Service warning on the dash. This felt very similar to the problem my wife had a year ago which turned out to be a cracked pipe and resulted in a £700 bill.

With lockdown in effect and many places shut plus the need to be at home to look after my kids limiting my garage options I went with a trusted local mechanic I’ve used before. He was able to diagnose the problem, get the correct part from Volvo and fit it within a few days. This time it turned out to be an intercooler pipe (part #31261366) and the total bill was a reasonable £141.84.



Let’s hope the next few months are trouble free!

[Odysseus]

I've become aware of a slight chuffing noise from the engine bay of my XC90, so this morning, following a bit of googling and youtubing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHLyubTrIQ8), I had a poke around under the bonnet.

Sure enough, the soft chuff chuff chuff becomes a pronounced POP POP POP noise when I take off the oil filler cap, confirming that my worn engine mounts are probably shot.

Given that family matters still preclude me from going very far, I'm planning to use the local garage who replaced my boost pipe a few months back to do the engine mounts.

Anyone know the approximate cost of replacing the engine mounts with genuine Volvo parts? Anything that should be done at the same time?

As ever, thanks in advance for any assistance!