Unreliable XC90

[Familyman 90]

Well, after owning 3 x XC90's, currently still owning two, and having clocked up North of 500,000 miles between them without so much as a blown bulb, I am aftaid to say my 185 has suffered a nasty and potentially very expensive breakdown today.

Yes, it's true, my 100% XC90 reliability record is now ended.

Filling up with fuel this morning and the little plasticy tether that holds the filler cap to the car broke. It has been a bit perished looking for a while, but having it break like that was still a nasty shock.

I managed to nurse the old bus home without having to call the AA, and went shopping online. Volvo branded items are in the 15 to 20 quid range for a new one, but a bit of parts number juggery pokery shows the Freelander 2 uses an identical item and is available for £7.99 with delivery, so duly ordered.

I sat down to smoke my pipe and have a cuppa while I recovered from my stress. I think I'll manage not to throw my teddies and sell up and move to another brand, but I have to say that I'm jolly disappointed with Volvo build quality!

[XJSDriver]

LoL!

Don't buy new or you will need specialist help - I have a newish XC60 as well as my MK1 Xc90 and took some panels off the 'new' Xc60 to fit a dash cam, breaking some plastic clips. Very disappointed and some choice words uttered.
Definite cost cutting going on.

[gmonag]

I'm surprised you went with aftermarket parts, but I understand that you probably feel that the genuine article has let you down.

[Fika]

Glad you were able to fix it so promptly, that could have failed an MOT and you don't want that blot on your record :/

[Fitzy73]

Love it!

Best you never buy a Discovery……

[ltec]

The xc90 forum is massive due to so many problems and yours is that good it wouldn't even blow a bulb.🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
If you told that to a donkey he'd kick the dung out of you.

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by ltec

The xc90 forum is massive due to so many problems and yours is that good it wouldn't even blow a bulb.🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
If you told that to a donkey he'd kick the dung out of you.

Well... I did tell one of my donkeys (I have five) exactly that this morning and there was really no reaction at all...

So I can genuinely and honestly say I have researched your statement and found it to be wholly inaccurate.

[ltec]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

Well... I did tell one of my donkeys (I have five) exactly that this morning and there was really no reaction at all...

So I can genuinely and honestly say I have researched your statement and found it to be wholly inaccurate.

They mustn't be genuine donkeys then, probably ole cheap aftermarket ones.🤣🤣

[Familyman 90]

Originally Posted by ltec

The xc90 forum is massive due to so many problems and yours is that good it wouldn't even blow a bulb.🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
If you told that to a donkey he'd kick the dung out of you.

Hhhmmm, roughly 70,000 mk1's sold in the UK and while Im not mathematician im pretty sure there aren't 70,000 tale of woe threads in the XC90 forum. So, numerically speaking those with problem cars seem to be very under represented here, particularly so as this is where people come only when they're deperate and want to avoid paying a dealer, not when things are tickedy boo. Indeed, I only found this place myself as a friend told me about the high mileage register.

I did once have an 'anti skid service' message pop up, but that dissapeared before I could get an appointment at the dealer and in 3 years or so its never returned, so I don't count that as a fault as it never actually required a repair.

I also had the external door mirror glass come loose in the hot weather issue, but the glass never actually detached and was a free repair with Sikaflex from work, so I'm loathe to count that either. I'm only counting rhe fuel cap tether because it cost money to rectify.

The important factor, I suspect, is that all have been owned from new, unlike most of the oroken ones that wash up on these shores. So I know for certain that none have been thrashed, none have missed a service, none run low on oil, none been made to soldier on with something broken, they've always had the correct oil, never had cheap pattern parts or Nang Tang Woosung bakelite tyres. Always dealer serviced, and if something needed doing it simply got done straight away, with no putting it off or trying to do it on the cheap.

I'm not paying the price for a previous owners lack of dilligence, which is half the cars on here with problems.

Now, that may or may not be responsible for their robust good health, but the proof of the pudding is in the driving. How many 13 year old XC90s have a 1 1/2 inch think folder of approved dealer invoices? Not the broken ones, I suspect.

My Dad's Mk1 was the same. His survived quite a bad smash and was rebuilt, but the only above and beyond repair he had in 200 odd K miles was front wishbomes. They hadn't failed the MOT but some play was being reported, so he had new Volvo items fitted. Indeed, it was his good experience that prompted me not to get another X5.

If anyone is ever in the MK area and fancies a cuppa then let me know, and they can come and inspect them for themselves. The 185 in particular still looks superb (unlike the 163 its never had a bale of hay on board!) and could pass for 3 years old, not 13. The manner in which it has been maintained and cherished is reflected by the trustworthy service it contunues to deliver. If yours is a bit of a snotter Itec then you should either look after it better or have bought more wisely in the first place.

[Tannaton]

I do think that the majority or "problem cars" that we see on here, usually with frustrated new owners, are actually the result of problem owners and/or problem garages.

Trying to run these cars as a cheap banger rarely ends well, but with the right approach and the right use case they can be very good value...