How important is a working awd system?

[jgjones095]

Considering an xc90 viewed one that ticks all the boxes however the awd isn't working (prop spinning). What to do..

[okedave]

If all youre going to be doing is normal road driving, then I wouldnt worry too much personally, but if you are likely to need AWD then it would need to be sorted. I would insist its supplied working for the price, or knock money off to take into account the cost of gettting it repaired (Then if you get it repaired or not is up to you)

[ianu]

It's supposed to be an AWD car, even normal road driving it plays an active part in the distribution of power and safety systems especially in the wet.
Things you'd take for granted can become an issue in the wet under acceleration. It will easily spin a lightly loaded front wheel as it tries to haul 2+ tonnes of car away.
Pulling out of junctions, onto roundabouts, off roundabouts, motorway slip roads are areas it will re balance drive without you realising.
When mine went first time, even on a slightly damp uphill bend onto a motorway slip road it would start to spin the n/s front wheel.
Yes it'll work without it - but it works a lot better with it - trust me.

Cheers
Ian.

[moleadrian]

As above, a working awd is desirable as you never know exactly what your going to encounter on your travels, mine was superb in the recent snow and ice conditions and got me everywhere I wanted to go when many others had given up and abandoned there cars, we sailed on by hardly noticing any difficulties.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by jgjones095

Considering an xc90 viewed one that ticks all the boxes however the awd isn't working (prop spinning). What to do..

walk away or allow up to £2000 to fix it . There will be insurance implications if you do not maintain your vehicle properly , ie knowingly use it with faulty safety systems ...

[Moose Test]

Originally Posted by ianu

It will easily spin a lightly loaded front wheel

This is a very good point. I test drove several examples last year whilst looking for my latest addition and one candidate stood out - with sensible driving, it sat and spun for a second or two whilst pulling out of junctions, despite having decent tyres fitted and it being a dry day.

Guess which one had defective AWD when I checked.

[ianu]

Originally Posted by Moose Test

This is a very good point. I test drove several examples last year whilst looking for my latest addition and one candidate stood out - with sensible driving, it sat and spun for a second or two whilst pulling out of junctions, despite having decent tyres fitted and it being a dry day.

Guess which one had defective AWD when I checked.

yep - that'll be the one!

[Shadeyman]

Originally Posted by jgjones095

Considering an xc90 viewed one that ticks all the boxes however the awd isn't working (prop spinning). What to do..

AWD is important, the car shouldn't be driven without it working 100%. Stability control relies on it working properly, the car will be very unstable in certain circumstances if the AWD is not functional. Due to the amount of torque the car produces the front wheels will spin very easily without AWD functioning, traction control will light up your dash almost every time you pull away.

The problem is usually a faulty spline sleeve, about £90 from Volvo. If your mechanically minded its a few hours work to replace it.