general problems of the 2003 Volvo XC90

I was not aware of the design defect in sun roof & the water damages that result in electrical issues. I had always parked my vehicle in covered parking until moving this year in January. I had taken my car in to have a tune up in Nov 2012 at which time I was given an estimate of repairs needed in my car. My car remained parked for most of 2013 due to having moved I wasn't able to afford repairs. The repairs where inner&outer tie rods,ball joints, mounts, arm bushings, rotors & break pads. The above aforementioned where made. Following repairs I washed my car and drove out of town 4th July weekend from los angeles to jamestown California. Once I arrived my car remained parked until returning home July 7th. Shortly after starting my car the dash gauges started to flash on/off and eventually went out. At the time I had my portable gps, a/c was working & I had use of windows (rolling up & down). I knew I had a full tank of gas cause I had fueled up prior to arriving at destination. Being I was in the middle of know where without cell phone service I drove as far as I could before I thought I may need gas. When I stopped to get fuel I was not able to open the door to refuel with gas. I broke the clips on the door allowing me to access and fuel tank and refill with gas. It was Sunday after a major holiday and there was a lot of traffic, the only Volvo dealership I passed was closed and I just wanted to get home. So I continued to drive and was just getting onto the grapevine and traffic really backed up. There was a fire that had been burning on the mountain to the right and helicopters where dumping water on this ongoing fire. Around this time I noticed the a/c had quit working and was blowing hot air. I tried to roll my windows down and they where inoperable. Traffic was at a crawl and there was no place to pull over. Worst nightmare ever.

I own a Volvo Xc90 t6 awd. This car has had problems with the twin turbo-chargers, the warning lights, a tire blowout, vibrations in the steering wheel, alignment issues, short circuit in the driver's side control panel, poor fit and finish of the driver side door panel and a host of other fit and finish problems. The momentum Volvo dealership in houston, texas and Volvo north America service representative denied any problems being a serious or recurring problem. This all took place in a span of less than 10 months for a brand new vehicle. The car spent more time in the shop than in our possession initially. The dealership continued to fix the recurring problems and denied any chronic issues existed. I wish to alert NHTSA in the event any other owner of Volvo xc 1990 has similar complaints or a tragedy occurs as a result of the problems I have listed.

The consumer purchased new tires because of extreme wear at low mileage. The 2003 Volvo Xc90 had numerous problems that had to be corrected on a regular basis. The lug nuts were replaced twice due to rust when the vehicle was delivered, unable to turn the ignition, radio was inoperative and the left door could not be opened due to the problem with the seat molding. After 15k plus miles, the tires had worn smooth to the cord. (tire-perrilli scorpion).