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XC90 '02–'15 General Forum for the P2-platform XC90 model

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New to the XC90 fold, bye XC70

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Old Dec 15th, 2019, 00:53   #1
AlainBrighton
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Default New to the XC90 fold, bye XC70

Hi all,

due to the extremely valuable forum I have finally made the switch from a 55 plate XC70 to a 12 plate XC90 (won it on eBay of all places, bought from trader in Essex who specialises in 4x4s)
The XC70 was due a new 4C and rear pads/discs and with a mileage of 175K sadly only worth the value of a good Mac although much more valuable to me.

I am now the proud owner of a Caspian Blue (black interior) D5 200 SE G/T, ideally would have liked at least the SE Lux since missing Xenon but you have to start somewhere.

4th owner, in the first year (registered march 2012) it was a Volvo Rental which sounds ominous. Then a 2nd owner in the first year and he must have passed it on to his dad as their address and surnames were similar other than their first names and this chap owned it from December 2012 until last wednesday) Ideally it would have had less owners but the last one running it for 7 years must be good. Came with semi-full history (nothing before 2015 and 42K) since 42K it has been serviced through Marshalls in Bishops Stortford. Have requested Volvo UK if there is prior history available and since there is no service book (but all original invoices since 2015 including cam belt in January 2018 at 84K) I hope Marshalls is willing to stamp a replacement service book based on their own history.

Omissions from my perspective:
- no Bi-Xenon or Adaptive Xenon: could a Xenon conversion kit or buying complete Xenon headlight units solve this or would it require more than just that ? Driving a lot in rural West Sussex and on the continent in the forest and Alps so it is quite essential to me and miss it already
- no front parking sensors: is the XC90 SE pre wired already ?
- Can the RTI be connected to front and rear parking camera's ? Living in downtown Brighton where parking is at a premium
- Are there iPad holders/tablet holders available for the headrests ? I have 5 family members coming over from SE Asia and like all orientals they are hooked on all things electronic :-)
- Should I or should I not have the transmission flushed ? Seems to work excellent yet not sure with contradicting views here what I should do ?
- Castrol Edge Titanium 0W-30 the oil to keep in the boot ?
- What tyres do you all use ? Currently it has Continental Eco Contacts yet thinking about Michelin Cross Climate SUV, Goodyear All Seasons or Continental All Seasons as I regularly do some gallivanting to Germany and Switzerland and winter tyres being mandatory .....

I have ordered side steps, tracked a load cover, spare seat covers around the driver memory seat as broken (was the same with my XC70)

Was thinking about doing some research about VIDA (and what software I have to download to my lappie) assuming I can program a few functions on the car itself ?

Finally want to bring the car to either Dinnages in Worthing or Doves Horsham or Gatwick to keep it main dealer serviced during my keep (except for engine oil changes/transmission oil changes) to offset the 3 previous owner car.

Thank you in advance and a thank you to Odysseus and Tannaton for their valuable advice during the pre-purchase period !

ps Pictures from my iphone will probably be too large to upload ?
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Old Dec 15th, 2019, 07:16   #2
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Congratulations on your purchase Alain and the car sounds great.

I’ve no idea on retrofitting xenon lights but sounds potentially complicated. Another cheaper option might be to upgrade the bulbs and/polish the headlight lenses.

I don’t have front parking sensors either and it annoys me. Why do I have massaging seats but no parking sensors?! I’ll be interested to hear if there’s a good/cheap/easy solution to this.

Gearbox oil change question is tricky. My firm instinct was to have mine changed but two trusted Volvo independents have cautioned against this, so who knows? High mileage not withstanding I think my XC90 has led a pretty easy life - no towing or drag racing - so maybe that’s a factor? Like I said, instinct said change, experts (who would make money off the oil change) said don’t. For now I haven’t touched it.

What side steps did you order?

I’m thinking Michelin Cross Climates for my next tyres.

You’ll pay a lot to keep that Volvo main dealer history intact. If I were you I’d find a good independent and use them instead. Anyone in the know will see their stamp as being just as good as a Volvo one and you’ll save hundreds of pounds, definitely offsetting any additional depreciation.

Do you have OneDrive? I link to my phone photos from OneDrive and you can choose the size to display.

Congratulations again on the car and hope it serves you and your family well.
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Old Dec 15th, 2019, 09:21   #3
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I fitted CrossClimate tyres to one of my cars a couple of years ago. I can't say I was impressed with them and certainly wouldn't buy them again. I found that at motorway speeds on more than one occasion when hitting standing water it felt like the car was starting to aquaplane. Not a nice feeling and didn't inspire confidence
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Old Dec 15th, 2019, 10:13   #4
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You can’t fit Xenon headlights unfortunately, the guts are missing to operate the alignment systems (post 2007 MY had active bending lights) and the electrical switching method which is programmed into the CEM at manufacture is different so at best will generate dashboard messages and error codes, if they work at all without flickering.

Some of the better H7 retro fit HID kits do work well but they are not legal and an MOT fail.

Your best option is upgraded halogen bulbs such as Osram Nightbreaker Umlimited. Keep spares in the car though as they only last about 50% of the life of a normal lamp.

You should aim to change the gearbox oil around every 50-70k for normal driving, every 36k if you do heavy towing. There is no doubt about that, you will notice smoother changes and other improvements, it prolongs the life of the gearbox in most cases. It’s easy to do at home as a series of sump dumps, plenty of info on here as to how to do that and where to get the oil at reasonable cost (not Halfords.....). Other manufacturers that use the same gearbox schedule fluid changes - it’s used in some Jaguar, Land Rover, Vauxhall, Saab and even the BMW I8.

With regards to an all season tyre, I would say the Cross Climates are probably the highest regarded all season tyre by members on hear and you will notice improvements on the EcoContacts which last a long time but few other positives.

Welcome and enjoy!
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Old Dec 15th, 2019, 12:34   #5
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I would also think about changing the transmission oil, especially if it has under 80K miles on it so it's about the right moment. Yes, garages have this old mentality to never change the fluid, but they also don't own the car and will not care if the transmission will start shifting poorly at 150K miles. I'm pretty sure the original fluid would be good for 100K-150K miles but these cars are often times driven much longer. What if the car gets to 150K miles, and the owner feels he could keep it for another 100K miles, but now the transmission started shifting weirdly ? By 150K miles on the original fluid it's already too late, fresh fluid won't clean those clogged solenoids and worn valve body components.

By the way, as mentioned, towing requires fluid flush every 30K miles or so (towing has the fluid heat up more, which degrades the fluid faster)

Use the exact type of oil specified, perhaps search on forums for your transmission model. But I would rather only change some 3 liters then repeat repeat the same after 10K miles or so. This should keep the fluid fresh enough. I'm a little nervous about replacing all fluid at once, especially if it was never replaced before for a long time. In particular if the car is seeing mostly motorway (this doesn't allow the transmission to do multiple gear changes, which is needed in order to 'adjust' it to new fluid)
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Old Dec 15th, 2019, 13:19   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oragex View Post
I would also think about changing the transmission oil, especially if it has under 80K miles on it so it's about the right moment. Yes, garages have this old mentality to never change the fluid, but they also don't own the car and will not care if the transmission will start shifting poorly at 150K miles. I'm pretty sure the original fluid would be good for 100K-150K miles but these cars are often times driven much longer. What if the car gets to 150K miles, and the owner feels he could keep it for another 100K miles, but now the transmission started shifting weirdly ? By 150K miles on the original fluid it's already too late, fresh fluid won't clean those clogged solenoids and worn valve body components.

By the way, as mentioned, towing requires fluid flush every 30K miles or so (towing has the fluid heat up more, which degrades the fluid faster)

Use the exact type of oil specified, perhaps search on forums for your transmission model. But I would rather only change some 3 liters then repeat repeat the same after 10K miles or so. This should keep the fluid fresh enough. I'm a little nervous about replacing all fluid at once, especially if it was never replaced before for a long time. In particular if the car is seeing mostly motorway (this doesn't allow the transmission to do multiple gear changes, which is needed in order to 'adjust' it to new fluid)
Thank you kindly for sharing your knowledge, to me it just does not make sense that you will expect technical components to look after themselves. And as Tannaton mentioned above, your suggestion of the sump dumps over time make more sense to clean the box bit by bit although I wonder how much oil I would need to purchase to undertake this task. Apart from needing to find an expert on here who is wiling to look over my shoulder !

And noooo ... no towing, I understood that if a car is used for towing, Volvo does advise to change the gearbox oil ....
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Old Dec 15th, 2019, 13:15   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tannaton View Post
You can’t fit Xenon headlights unfortunately, the guts are missing to operate the alignment systems (post 2007 MY had active bending lights) and the electrical switching method which is programmed into the CEM at manufacture is different so at best will generate dashboard messages and error codes, if they work at all without flickering.

Some of the better H7 retro fit HID kits do work well but they are not legal and an MOT fail.

Your best option is upgraded halogen bulbs such as Osram Nightbreaker Umlimited. Keep spares in the car though as they only last about 50% of the life of a normal lamp.

You should aim to change the gearbox oil around every 50-70k for normal driving, every 36k if you do heavy towing. There is no doubt about that, you will notice smoother changes and other improvements, it prolongs the life of the gearbox in most cases. It’s easy to do at home as a series of sump dumps, plenty of info on here as to how to do that and where to get the oil at reasonable cost (not Halfords.....). Other manufacturers that use the same gearbox schedule fluid changes - it’s used in some Jaguar, Land Rover, Vauxhall, Saab and even the BMW I8.

With regards to an all season tyre, I would say the Cross Climates are probably the highest regarded all season tyre by members on hear and you will notice improvements on the EcoContacts which last a long time but few other positives.

Welcome and enjoy!
Thank you again for sharing all your knowledge, also during my quest !

Although I had hoped just retrofitting a pair of adaptive Xenon headlights from another XC90 would have solved the trick, experiences like yours make this forum so valuable as it appears the solution of someone as ignorant as me could only result in money wasted. What is a CEM ?

I will never do any towing but even then I feel changing the oil would be just a precaution. I read in a thread somewhere to get the Aisin Warner oil (is it a Aisin Warner or ZF gearbox ? ) and your suggestion about the sump dumps sounds like the best solution yet I live near to the seaside in the city center of Brighton so location is not ideal and besides, I need someone to give me directions on how to do this. Purchasing the right oil through eBay is easy, knowing how to do this under supervision is essential. My knowledge stretches only to financial governance and compliance :-(

Will check the thread on the EcoContacts and might use them as summer tyres if they have got enough life in them but still need the AllSeasons or winter tyres for my gallivanting in Germany and the Alps where winter tyres are mandatory ...... As above mentioned, I have mixed experiences with my 1st gen Michelin Cross Climates on my XC70 .... I read somewhere on Odysseus thread that someone had a good experience with Yokohama. Pirellis were not performing well in terms of endurance and economy and I am leaning towards either Michelin, Goodyear or Continental for their all seasons tyres ...

Was just wondering, are you able to tell me what the VIDA has in terms of functions and if someone as ignorant as me who wants to know more about the diagnostics of its car, has any use to own one ?
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Old Dec 15th, 2019, 23:22   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AlainBrighton View Post
Thank you again for sharing all your knowledge, also during my quest !

Although I had hoped just retrofitting a pair of adaptive Xenon headlights from another XC90 would have solved the trick, experiences like yours make this forum so valuable as it appears the solution of someone as ignorant as me could only result in money wasted. What is a CEM ?

I will never do any towing but even then I feel changing the oil would be just a precaution. I read in a thread somewhere to get the Aisin Warner oil (is it a Aisin Warner or ZF gearbox ? ) and your suggestion about the sump dumps sounds like the best solution yet I live near to the seaside in the city center of Brighton so location is not ideal and besides, I need someone to give me directions on how to do this. Purchasing the right oil through eBay is easy, knowing how to do this under supervision is essential. My knowledge stretches only to financial governance and compliance :-(

Will check the thread on the EcoContacts and might use them as summer tyres if they have got enough life in them but still need the AllSeasons or winter tyres for my gallivanting in Germany and the Alps where winter tyres are mandatory ...... As above mentioned, I have mixed experiences with my 1st gen Michelin Cross Climates on my XC70 .... I read somewhere on Odysseus thread that someone had a good experience with Yokohama. Pirellis were not performing well in terms of endurance and economy and I am leaning towards either Michelin, Goodyear or Continental for their all seasons tyres ...

Was just wondering, are you able to tell me what the VIDA has in terms of functions and if someone as ignorant as me who wants to know more about the diagnostics of its car, has any use to own one ?
OK....

I have seen and fitted some H7 HID conversions that have worked very well. However you should only convert the dipped beam, and leave the main beams as halogen - this is because HID's can take 4-5 seconds to strike up and reach full light output - which means they are not suitable for signalling (flashing your main beams). On cars with factory HID's - there is usually a halogen bulb to supplement the HID one for mean beam.

Many MOT testers at smaller garages will pass cars with HID conversions if the beam pattern is acceptable, but under the rules they should be failed.

The CEM is the Central Electronic Module which is the "master computer" for the car and controls many functions.

The gearbox is a Aisin Warner TF-80 (SC). Some people say it is sealed for life but the reality is the fluid does need changing every so often - but Volvo for some reason known only to them do not include a change in their service schedule ("arduous use" excepted when it is 36k). Everyone on here who has done it reports improvements, I think when SwissXC90 did it he had a clutch problem anyway. Changing the fluid will improve any gearbox, but it wont fix a broken one.

If you do a sump dump - the easiest method - just remove the drain plug and let the fluid come out into a bowl - when it's stopped coming out replace the drain plug and measure exactly what you have removed by pouring it into a measuring jug. Replace with exactly the same amount of new fluid. If you do this 3 times with a few hundred miles of driving between, you will have around 85-90% new fluid in the box. Each sump dump usually releases around 3.5 - 4 litres. You will need to buy the correct torx bits for the level plug and filler and a 17mm hex drive for the drain plug.

This video shows how to do it - though you don't need VIDA and you don't need to check the level if you replace exactly the quantity that you have removed. 99 times out of 100 you can reuse the washers as well.

With regard to tyres if you are prepared to run 2 sets then full winter tyres will be better than the Cross Contacts - Vredestein Wintrac and Nokian's are very popular on here, but I've just ordered a set of Cooper Discoverer Winter (235 60 18) from Tyreleader for just £335 - these will go on my XC60 but I have the tyre's predecessor (Cooper Discoverer MS2) on my XC90 and they have been absolutely brilliant - I've run them all year round for 5 years. If you go anywhere muddy then you might want to look at a winter tyre with a all terrain tread bias like the Cooper Weathermaster or General SnowGrabber.

Finally - VIDA - if you know what you are doing with a diagnostic tool then it is the must have software for a Volvo. It's what the dealers use and there is nothing you can't do at home apart from software upgrades and security related changes.
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Old Dec 15th, 2019, 12:52   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 4x4 View Post
I fitted CrossClimate tyres to one of my cars a couple of years ago. I can't say I was impressed with them and certainly wouldn't buy them again. I found that at motorway speeds on more than one occasion when hitting standing water it felt like the car was starting to aquaplane. Not a nice feeling and didn't inspire confidence
Thank you for sharing your experiences and I must admit that having had the first generation fitted under my XC70, MPG was great but like you, I experienced more aquaplaning that I would have liked. What brand did you choose, wonder what works best for you especially since I know from your post you have an extensive collection ? :-) ps I love the colour of your XC90 !
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Old Dec 15th, 2019, 13:16   #10
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I'm running winter tyres at the moment some nice Vredestein Wintrac which I had on last winter and they were great. Towed a caravan from Stornoway to Glasgow last January and passed loads of vehicles stuck in the snow. Summer tyres are Continental ContiSportContact 5 which were on the car when I bought it. Never had a problem with any of these...

Magic Blue Pearl, it's one of these colours that unless the sun shines on it then it just looks like another black car






Black or Blue???
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