Overview & Reviews

Volvo throws in its hat into the luxury SUV ring with the XC90, a vehicle that offers an impressive list of safety and comfort features.

• Uncompromised safety features, lots of standard options, SUV ride height.

User Reviews:

Showing 1 through 10 of 157.00

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  What Volvo is not telling you about this car. - 2003 Volvo XC90
  By marigold1 - February 24 - 6:09 pm

  I would stay far away from buying another Volvo after everything my family has been through with our 2003 XC90. The engines are not built to work with the transmissions. We have replaced the transmission every 30,000 miles. It has now become a safety issue. It has broken down on me too many times to count. I have dumped almost $12,000 into it. Go look at the service center at your local Volvo dealership. The lot is full of cars needing repairs. We have replaced the transmission 3 times, radiator, shocks, struts, axles, arm bushings...even down to the door handles. Do not make the same mistake we did. It is not a reliable car and I consider it a safety risk to drive.

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  Volvo is Swedish for Unreliable Money-Pit - 2003 Volvo XC90
  By rogerb41 - June 29 - 10:06 pm

  Be careful of what you wish for. We liked the design of the Volvo XC90, but after we bought it..... Lets see: 30k miles, the ENTIRE front end had to be replaced (after about 4 shots by the dealer to fix it). At 80k miles, Transmission failed. Wow! $5,000 for a transmission!! Around 110k miles, the CD changer and radio stopped working. Would come on and go off randomly; sometimes staying on after the car was turned off. The roof liner on both sides of the windhshield came off. The At 113k miles, Transmission failed AGAIN! Said Good-bye this morning to the Money-pit. Will never own another Volvo (my wifes 2002 S40 was the same story)

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  VOLVO XC90 - 2003 Volvo XC90
  By SLMCPA - December 2 - 2:00 am

  NICE SOLID DRIVING CAR, BUT DISSAPPOINTING OVERALL. I HAVE HAD TO TAKE THE CAR BACK FOR WARRANTY WORK NEARLY EVERY OTHER WEEK. TIRES WERE WORN OUT AT 10,000 MILES. SEATS DROP ALL MEMORY IF MORE THAN ONE DRIVER USES THE SAME KEYLESS ENTRY. FIELD OF VISION ON THE SIDE AND SIDE VIEW MIRRORS IS VERY BAD. I HAVE HAD SEVERAL NEAR MISSES. WE HAVE THE THIRD ROW SEATING OPTION AND THE INTERIOR FEELS VERY CRAMPED IN ALL THREE ROWS. RUBBER GASKET UNDER ROOF RACK IN THE FRONT MADE A TERRIBLE HUMMING NOISE AND HAD TO BE REPLACED.

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  Gas Guzzler and Computer Problems - 2003 Volvo XC90
  By alex - February 28 - 2:23 pm

  Bought this used/certified car with only 20,000 miles. After 1 1/2 months, the system computer breaks down with a message that the braking system and SRS had conked out. Had the car towed to dealership. Service people said its a minor computer glitch. OK. Guess what, same problem happened again 8 times for the next 18 months, everytime had the car towed and all the inconveniences. Had the car for only 18 months and have already replaced tires, steering rod and lots of other things. Had it serviced for 30,000 miles and cost was $1,100. Overall city mileage was 11 mpg, highway about 16. With premium gas prices at $3.30/gal, this car is more expensive than sending a child to college.

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  Worst Car I Ever Owned - 2003 Volvo XC90
  By Tom - November 29 - 9:13 am

  This was my first and will be my last Volvo. This thing needs new tires every 20,000 miles, grinds through brake pads, needed a new transmission at 80,000 miles and now at 100,000 miles the turbo is blown. Probably had this car in the shop 2 to 3x per year for various electrical and mechanical problems. Volvo was gracious enough to replace the transmission for only the cost of labor (I am convinced they have a silent recall going on) but it still cost me $1,600. Now to fix the turbo will cost another $5,000. It is time to trade in this albatross....I should have done it 30,000 miles ago. Volvo should just recall this vehicle and give everybody their money back.

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  Too many troubles - 2003 Volvo XC90
  By Renee Blei - September 25 - 6:26 pm

  I have not been satisfied with this vehicles workmanship at all. I have had a wheel hub replaced, rear shocks, front sway bar, 2 rear sway bars, turbo boost valve, front cupholder has been repaired 3 times, floor mat tensioners replaced twice, 2 sets of front brakes, and the worst tire performance of any car I have ever had. I really was in love with this car until recently. It is behaving worse than an American car. Hate to give it up but I will not be able to afford this car much longer

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  Nice Car, Costs a small fortune to maint - 2003 Volvo XC90
  By Dennis - August 5 - 6:23 pm

  I have owned a lot of cars over the years, this one is buy far the most expensive to maintain. Im on my third set of tires with only 56,000 miles. The first two sets from the dealership got less than 20K each. The tires generally recommended are too light for this car. The third set was Michelins but they arent up to the task either. For my next set of tires Im going to try the GoodYear Assurance ComforTred tires. It took the service department about 3 years to finally fix the leak in my power steering. And the funny noise the front end suspension made every time I made a right turn. Now let me count how many suspension parts and brake pads Ive had to replace... The gas mileage sucks.

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  Leaky Volvo XC-90 - 2003 Volvo XC90
  By MammaDean - January 2 - 11:50 am

  We recently had a series of problems and are very unhappy with both the local dealer and Volvo Customer Service. We had the car towed in 3 times for electrical problems before they found the problem and at the same time it was leaking. We had seen leaking around the sun roof but the car was flooding into the passenger floor - which was blamed on the sunroof drain. Again, we took it in 3 times - were accused of parking it outside! and even dumping a bucket of water in it. We paid over $1500 dollars to clean up the mess and Volvo refused to cover it under warranty. Our car was either dead or in the shop for 42 days out of the past 2 months. I will sell it and NEVER buy another Volvo

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  Disappointed - 2003 Volvo XC90
  By California Mom - May 13 - 10:00 am

  We bought this car planning to take long road trips. The seat back has real problems. It is very stiff leather, not conforming to the body like leathers weve owned before, Further, it is poorly configured for a shorter person...breaks in the wrong places and is unforgiving. Additionally, the headrest does not adjust. Small foot well(no room for purse and sit straight). Dual air conditioning is usual in many car of this price range. Navigation hard to use and hard to see v. in dash ones weve had before. Clock is unreadable by passenger.

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  First Year XC90...Gremlins - 2003 Volvo XC90
  By hpark - October 25 - 10:13 pm

  Bought the T6 as a certified used car from a local dealership in 2004 with 24K on it...thank goodness for warranty as this vehicle was in the shop too often..during our first year of ownership approx 4 visits and about 1.5 months of non-use as they finally determined the engine block was cracked which caused a perpetual coolant bleed into the cylinders...plus since then sunroof drain blockage caused water to leak into the vehicle and soak all of the electrical in front. Tires burn through in about 20k miles and a window switch that sank into the door panel. Guess this is part of the First year gremlins that came out...long story short...I think the Japanese earned their quality reputation.