Automatic Transmission problems of the 2003 Volvo XC90

I purchase a used Volvo Xc90 on 12/17/2010 for my son with a registered 104,555 miles. On 12/29/2010 the transmission went out. I got a couple different estimates from $5,000 to $7,000 to repair or replace. After discussing with the automotive technician, I found out that Volvo has had a slew of problems relating to the 03,04 & 05 Xc90 especially with transmission problems. I was totally disappointed because I purchase this vehicle based on Volvo reputation and the car reliability and due to the fact that I have a 2000 Volvo s80 and have had it since 2000 and have had few problems. Although, my son wanted to purchase another vehicle, I steered him towards the Volvo. Thinking that since a vehicle (especially a Volvo) shouldn't experience this type of transmission problem with relatively low mileage, I contacted Volvo north America and told them of my plight and requested that they pay for the repair or at least pay for a portion of the repair and they flatly denied my request. I am totally disappointed in Volvo for not honoring and standing behind their product, remember I bought this vehicle based on their reputation for building a sound reputable vehicle, although my son wanted to purchase another vehicle. My confidence in this company has been totally shattered. And to think that I was planning on replacing my 2000 s80 with another Volvo this summer.

Transmission service urgent light. The transmission had to be replace. This is a known problem with this type of SUV from Volvo the 2003 Xc90. The dealer are only replacing the trans at outrages price some as much as 8000. 00. If this is a know problem why will Volvo not have a recall. This is the third Volvo that I have own.

Operating vehicle since oct '08, since that time there has been a noise emanating from front pass-side wheel area. Purchasing dealer(hall chevy, chesapeake, va) performed wheel-alignment to "fix" the noise which did not remedy. Volvo dealer in arvada, CO diagnosed it as failed, or failing wheel hub, to be replaced at cost of $500. This vehicle also had trans failure at appx 76k miles, and throttle control module failure in oct '09. I believe there are many concerns about operating and having confidence in its ability to operate "safely and reliably" the vehicle has been in the shop nearly as much as on-the-road since it's I purchased it in oct '08.

2003 Volvo Xc90 - transmission is "stuck" in 3rd gear. I just found out the transmission is built by gm. No wonder there is a problem! the dealer said to "fix" the problem would br $6k+. He said the axle had leaked grease into the transmission and is causing the issue. Gm built the transmission and this is not the first time I have heard or read about the same problem. The car is sluggish from a dead stop which is dangerous and will cause an accident. The vehicle is not safe to drive. If Volvo cares about their reputation this must be addressed and of course gm should work out something with the drive train manufacture. Faith in Volvo has been damaged. None of the dealerships seem to understand what the issue is or how to fix the problem without replacing the whole transmission. There will be an accident due to lack of performance if not already. This is a serious issue. Also, one would think the transmission could seize up at freeway speeds. My complaint is this is a pure product quality control issue. Please address and/or advise how to resolve.

Received a transmission urgent service warning light. Took the car to dealer and they stated I need a new transmission. Car has 62,000 miles and has always been serviced at Volvo. I did a search online and found over 200 complaints of the same failures I stated. Volvo would not cover the repairs under warranty.

My 2003 Volvo Xc90's transmission went out just ten days after the warranty expired. Volvo customer service offered a good faith repair but still cost me several thousand out-of-pocket in repair costs. Six weeks after repair, I have a puddle on my garage floor. This problem, with the t6 transmission, is rather common and well-documented. If the problem is so prevalent, why is there not a full recall or better fix? I am not satisfied with this car.

The contact owns a 2003 Volvo Xc90. While driving less than 70 mph, the vehicle began surging on its own. The check engine warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel, as well as an error message stating, "transmission service urgent. " the dealer stated that there was excessive damage to the transmission along with shards of metal in the transmission. The dealer also stated that an alignment was needed, although one had just been performed on the vehicle. The dealer estimated that the repairs would cost over $6,000. The failure and current mileages were less than 93,000.

The contact owns a 2003 Volvo Xc90. When the contact started the vehicle, a warning indicator illuminated stating that the transmission needed to be checked. She took her vehicle to the dealer and they stated that a new transmission was needed. The contact wants to file a class action law suit. The failure mileage was 90,000.

No accident.

The contact owns a 2003 Volvo Xc90. When attempting to accelerate from a stop, the vehicle failed to move. However, the engine was still running. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who stated that a new transmission was needed. There were no warning indicators prior to the failure. The current and failure mileages were 42,000.

The contact owns a 2003 Volvo xc 90. The current mileage was 75000 and the failure mileage was 47000. The vehicle is having transmission problems. While driving 45 mph and trying to accelerate, the accelerations dies, making the vehicle unable to move as needed. This incident occured twice last year, and last week. The dealer stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. The contact does not have the VIN; however she will add it to the complaint when she receives the hard copy.

We bought a 2003 Volvo xc 90 in January 2003, the vehicle is less than a year old and has about 12,600 miles. In the last six weeks, we have had four system problems, brakes, cruise control, ac/ defroster and most recently automatic transmission. I believe that the transmission is the most serious problem since it failed to operate while my wife was driving on the highway. The dealer repaired the vehicle stating that a corrupt software was the cause. Volvo USA stated that the "new " software was a modification/upgrade which is being put in the 2004 vehicles. My question to Volvo USA as to whether this problem with the 2003 caused the design of the modification was not an adequately responded to. Volvo USA claimed that there were no figures available to advise myself on how many 2003 xc 90 have had this or other problems. I advised vovlo USA that we are very dissatisfied with the quality and safety of this vehicle.

For both our 2001 Volvo s60 2. 4t and our 2003 Volvo Xc90 2. 5t awd there have been unsuccessful attempts to repair a transmission defect (essentially same transmission in both vehicles per Volvo tech support). Between 2nd and 3rd there is intermittent/unpredictable failure to engage 3rd in timely fashion with resultant loss of acceleration as vehicle is functionally in neutral with engine racing for ~0. 5-2. 5 seconds. This can be extremely dangerous especially when pulling on to a highway. We have experienced 2 near collisions (almost being struck from behind). Volvo tech support acknowledges a flaw in engineering whereby servo fluid air lock occurs in the 2001. A new transmission is scheduled to be replaced for our s60, but if the problem is still occuring in our 2003, will this really correct the problem as the transmissions are basically identical? the 2003 Xc90 Volvo says can be repaired with "upgraded software" (which is scheduled for that vehicle) but this remedy failed when performed on our 2001 s60. We have let the dealer know we feel both vehicles are unsafe with this problem and we are now stuck with them trying to remedy both vehicles' glaring defects. We are not aware of a federally mandated recall to repair this Volvo acknowledged (safety) defect. Can NHTSA pursue this?.