Getting ready to purchase my 7th Volvo - and wondering which years/engine types to stay away from on XC90s. Any advice? Thanks!

Avoid ANYTHING T6. Transmission problems. Stay away from 03-04.


2006 is good, I've read actual consumer reviews. If you don't need AWD, I would get the 2.5T FWD.
Better gas mileage, AWD is a bit problematic and complicated.
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Jake

Look at Consumer Reports annual car issue (April). The XC90s get a pretty grim rating for reliability. I know many people don't trust the CR car ratings, but at least they do poll thousands of readers and compile the statistics. And these are typically ordinary people who use their cars to commute and use in their daily activities, so the statistics are probably a decent representation of how the cars stand up over time. I noticed that at Volvo dealers, used XC90s were sitting in the lots in greater number than any other models. Why?

In my brutally honest opinion, I would buy an 02-06 XC70. Its essentially the same vehicle, but on a much more manageable scale and with a more proven track record. The XC90 is a larger, heavier vehicle being supported and propelled by basically the same hardware as the XC70. All of that extra weight and volume puts unnecessary stress on moving parts. But if you've got to have an SUV...

I would only purchase model year 2005 and beyond. First year or two of any automotive model are spent working out the bugs.

I would opt for the 5 cylinder turbo engine. It has a solid, proven track record and will get better fuel economy. Avoid the twin-turbo six. More complication and expense of maintenance for not a whole bunch of extra "go." Don't know anything about very late model V8's.

Seek one with a known and good maintenance record. These vehicles are still new enough that I would expect to see complete and intact service records. Once a vehicle is neglected or abused, the next owner WILL pay for the repercussions for the rest of the life of the vehicle.

I can't speak with experience, but just by reputation I would be very confident in both the performance and durability and reliability of the Yamaha engine in the V8 models. I have no idea if the AWD system can handle the power of these engines...

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1998 V70 AWD Turbo 195k+

Exactly what Yamaha engines are you referring to? The reputation of the Yamaha V6 and V8 engines in the Ford Taurus is AWFUL. Lots of unhappy folks out there...
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In God We Trust. Everyone else, keep your hands where I can see them.

Smitty, perhaps I'm misinformed - I thought Ford's Yamaha implementations were generally considered to have been a success. It's funny how there can be two reputations for the same thing sometimes...

I know the initial SHO V8s had a bad rep with ripping their cam gears off, but I am pretty sure that was fixed a long time ago. I wouldn't have considered that a lasting problem... :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_SHO_V8_engine#Cam_trouble

If you have any more information we'd love to hear it.

My neighbor from back home years ago had a '02 or '03 T6 AWD XC90, my family had an '03 Acura MDX, and the neighbors next to us had an Explorer. The Volvo and Ford were seemingly ALWAYS in the shop; the XC90 went through 2 transmissions in less than 3 years (under warranty of course). We never had a SINGLE problem with the Acura in the 5 years my parents owned it. Not saying the XC90 is a bad car, but there are probably better/more reliable SUV's out there (the Honda Pilot is a VERY good SUV, even if it is a bit boring). If you like the Volvo, however, I'd definitely go for the T5 version as some people suggested...these engines are some of the best ever built IMO.

On another note relating to the V8 Yamaha, Taurus's Yamaha engines EAT head gaskets - my girlfriend has a '99 with just a tad over 100,000 miles on it, in good shape and well taken care of, and her car just up and blew a head gasket for no reason last month. Not to mention it's horribly grumpy and takes 2 or 3 tries to start if it's cold and raining outside. My S70 has almost 170,000 on it and runs much better.

Also, two transmissions in as many years is terrible. I wonder what the problem is there?

@jablackburn
I think only the SHO models had Yamaha engines - all the other models had regular Ford engines, and I was aware of the head gasket failures on those Ford V6s.

I don't know why I'm defending this Yamaha engine so much - I've never owned one or anything...

I would like to see some evidence that there is something amiss with these engines to go along with any negative opinions though.