XC90 AWD Repair

[eddie.grice]

Hi Guys, just to close things down, I had Squires (Midlands Volvo Specialists) replace the spline sleeve yesterday. Great job, done fast and saved me hundreds of pounds. A little heat was required, and the failure was at the Angle gear end. The sleeve looks not man enough to me, also there is only about 10-15mm of interlock. Volvo quoting clients for changing the Angle Gear is a FRAUD!!!!!

The car feels great, no tyre squeal when pulling out of uphill T junctions.
If your front's squeal at junctions get your AWD checked out.

Volvo after sales support really are the pits. I'll never use Volvo main agents again and I'll never buy another Volvo. Not because of the car, but because of the people and their attitude. My father once read a Volvo head of marketing interview, where he reckond that it cost Volvo tens of thousands to gain new customers which is why they did their utmost not to lose clients. How things change.

Thanks to those on the forum who saw me as a genuine bloke with a car problem that shouldn't be there and should've been fixed by Volvo with some percentage of financial concession. I'm off to tinker with my Triumph Daytona T595.

Thanks

[RoyMacDonald]

Originally Posted by eddie.grice

Hi Guys, just to close things down, I had Squires (Midlands Volvo Specialists) replace the spline sleeve yesterday. Great job, done fast and saved me hundreds of pounds. A little heat was required, and the failure was at the Angle gear end. The sleeve looks not man enough to me, also there is only about 10-15mm of interlock. Volvo quoting clients for changing the Angle Gear is a FRAUD!!!!!

The car feels great, no tyre squeal when pulling out of uphill T junctions.
If your front's squeal at junctions get your AWD checked out.

Volvo after sales support really are the pits. I'll never use Volvo main agents again and I'll never buy another Volvo. Not because of the car, but because of the people and their attitude. My father once read a Volvo head of marketing interview, where he reckond that it cost Volvo tens of thousands to gain new customers which is why they did their utmost not to lose clients. How things change.

Thanks to those on the forum who saw me as a genuine bloke with a car problem that shouldn't be there and should've been fixed by Volvo with some percentage of financial concession. I'm off to tinker with my Triumph Daytona T595.

Thanks

Thanks for the update. As a matter of interest do you know which version sleeve was used for the repacement? If it's the latest one it's a much stronger metal.

There was a lot of discussion on the sweedspeed forum about the fit of the splined sleeve, but no conclusion was come to as it was felt that with the fit Volvo were using it alowed the sleeve to be removed if it failed, whereas if the club made close fitting parts, which was easy enough to do, you probably wouldn't be able to get the splines apart which would necessitate replacing the angel gear.

Glad it's sorted.

All the best.

Roy

[stevieb_143]

Just as an update on this thread the splines are damage on my car but not damaged to the enxtent that the angle gear needs replacing.

[Finbo]

I am now a member of the NO AWD CLUB.

I recently had the ATF changed on my car for preventative maintenance. When I picked it up, my local dealer (MRG) said the rear wheel bearings were making a slight noise.

I bought the car (54 plate, but 05 model with 50k) not through Volvo, but a VW main dealers with various franchises nationwide in January. Anyway it came with a 12 month warranty. After a week or so the bearings were becoming noticeably noisier. So I rang the warranty company and they said it would be covered. Luckily for me, the warranty I have is administered by the same company as Volvo's (Car Care Plan) and the guy I spoke to knew all about the wheel bearing problems and even knew the guys at MRG - so it was booked in.

Whilst at MRG, they found the engine top mount also needed replacing and said they had already spoken to the warranty company and that was covered as well and would change it at the same time as the wheel bearings.

During the snow earlier this year, I thought my XC90 performed OK. I didn't have any wheel spinning and managed to get where I needed to, etc

But, after all the comments on here about no AWD and broken spine sleeves, angle gears, etc I said to Simon, the service manager, could he check mine was all OK whilst it was on the ramp for my peace of mind. No problem he said.

When I picked the car up I was told it was only operating on 2WD not 4WD. The car's booked in again with MRG for 4 days next week so they can examine exactly what the problem is, etc and also it needs to be looked at by an engineer from the warranty company before any work can go ahead.

I was surprised and a bit shocked, especially as I didn't think I had a problem following the snow this year. And, even more so when the VW dealers I bought it from supposedly carried out a multi-point inspection and a service.

All I can say is thank God I have a warranty. The bill for the bearings and the top mount was £500. I don't want to think what it could be for fixing the AWD. Luckily the warranty I have has cover to the value of the car and no limit on the number of claims. But this has certainly made me thankful I didn't buy the XC90 privately or from a garage with a short or limited warranty. It does make me wonder what may be in store regarding running costs/repairs after the 12 months are up.

Whilst I was researching the XC90 a lot of these issues weren't being raised. It seems the last few months have brought more problems to the fore.

Also, for information, I had a loan XC90 for the day whilst mine was having the bearings and top mount done (not the normal loan car I should add - it was only because I'd asked for an auto and they only have 1 auto loan car and it was already out). It was a brand new R Design D5 model.

My thoughts:
The 185bhp engine is certainly quieter and smoother than the 163bhp, and the 6 speed gearbox is definately better than the 5. It always seemed to be in the right gear.
The car seemed better screwed together - my centre console and storage box will creek if I push/touch them, for example.
The leather on the R Design is much, much better quality then my SE. It feels thicker, tougher and has reinforced parts on the bolster areas and I'm pretty sure it won't crease and crack as much.
The R Design goes around corners much, much better - hardly any roll, etc. The sports seats help with this as well as they support you better.
The car had 20 inch wheels and with the beefed up suspension it's quite a lot firmer than an SE.
Fuel consumption wasn't as good - averaging around 30-31 on the trip to and from work, compared to 36+ with the 163bhp engine, but I probably pushed it bit more than normal - what with having a new toy to play with for the day!!

Overall I was impressed, but I'm not sure I could live with the firm suspension all the time. After a long day, I like a more comfortable ride home. Plus, if the 185 is better than the 163, then if I had the money for a new model now I think I'd wait for the new 205bhp D5 which I'm sure will be better again.

I'll post next week when I have more info regarding the lack of AWD.

Cheers,

Finbo

[stevieb_xc90]

My Car has been at the dealer now for 4 days, and i will not be getting the car back until next thursday.

The Engineer from the warrenty company came and had a look earlier today and authorised the repair.

But i am worried after the 12months are up what else may go wrong, but saying that i have had all oil seals done, injectors, fuel pipes, AWD system.

Which from reading seems to be the biggest problems

[Finbo]

There has been mention of a new and improved sleeve design. Can anyone clarify if this is the case and if Volvo are fitting it when repairing the AWD system??

Thanks

Finbo

[Glen0506]

I have now had the transfer box replaced on my XC90 at a cost of £1200. Given it is 2003 with 46000 miles and a full Volvo service history I wasn't impressed. I asked a few answers from Volvo in relation to the problem and the parts fitted and the following is the reply received:

I write with reference to my e-mail below. I have now had the opportunity to review your case and I'm sorry that your XC90 required a new angle gear.

I will try to address your 3 questions in turn:

1. I have checked against your registration number and can confirm that there are no open actions regarding this. In addition our Technical Department have confirmed that an improved part has been fitted to your vehicle. They advise that the input shaft for the angle gear has been induction hardened. Please note that it is not uncommon for our suppliers to improve their products throughout their lifetime. This is because they will be constantly researching and making improvements based on feedback, testing and technological advancements.

2. As mentioned in point 2, the part has now been improved and we have no reason to suspect that this failure will re-occur. Nevertheless, I understand your concern and can confirm that all parts are supplied with a 12 months parts warranty. Should a failure occur once the parts warranty has expired, we will be pleased to consider a goodwill contribution.

3. I am sorry that your confidence in your XC90 has been marred however I trust that the dealer's swift rectification along with the information contained in this e-mail will help. I can only hope that over time, your confidence will be restored.

Kind regards

Jo Howard

[RoyMacDonald]

Originally Posted by Glen0506

1. I have checked against your registration number and can confirm that there are no open actions regarding this. In addition our Technical Department have confirmed that an improved part has been fitted to your vehicle. They advise that the input shaft for the angle gear has been induction hardened. Please note that it is not uncommon for our suppliers to improve their products throughout their lifetime. This is because they will be constantly researching and making improvements based on feedback, testing and technological advancements.

.

Kind regards

Jo Howard

That's interesting as it sounds like the input shaft is a Haldax component, about which, some people on the forum have asked who makes the shaft.

Thanks for the info.

Roy

[stevieb_xc90]

Originally Posted by Glen0506

1. I have checked against your registration number and can confirm that there are no open actions regarding this. In addition our Technical Department have confirmed that an improved part has been fitted to your vehicle. They advise that the input shaft for the angle gear has been induction hardened. Please note that it is not uncommon for our suppliers to improve their products throughout their lifetime. This is because they will be constantly researching and making improvements based on feedback, testing and technological advancements.

Ok i dont know why i have 2 usernames on this forum (stevieb_143 & Stevieb_xc90)

The key thing here is the wording they have used. They say and i quote "there are no open actions regarding this."

I went thorugh the actions with my XC90 with the service guy as i have had a lot of trouble with my car recently. And all of the actions are closed but not reosolved. I had a old action for the AWD system which covered the ar up until December 2007 (3 years after data of first registry) but once the vehicle was 3 years old the action was closed.

Check to see if any closed actions against your vehicle for this and other items.

So far i hae had Injectors, Fuel lines, Crank Case oil Seal, Rear Drive shaft, and possible 2 front draveshafts all replaced in the last 2 weeks.

One problem opened another can of worms.

In bot cases, there was a closed action for the injectors, and for the AWD system. These were closed without being fixed.

Steve

[4wheeldriver]

That'll be there way of getting them off the system without having to actually geting round to doing anything. They tried to close my case twice without doing anything till I got Vosa involved on the grounds of safety then they were reopened. Whether theyve been closed now I dont know even though my rejection of the car is still on file.