Volvo North America 2003 Volvo XC90 FACTORY DEFECTIVE BAD TRANSMISSION - Volvo Refuses to fix Rockleigh, New Jersey
My experience owning a Volvo XC90 has been nothing short of eventful, with numerous trips to the dealer with complaints, car out of service and virtually no support whatsoever from Volvo North Americas Consumer Affairs division. I purchased a 2003 Volvo XC90 in April of 2005 from Gwinnett Place Volvo owned by Dyer & Dyer Volvo in Duluth, GA. The car had 36K miles on it at purchase. Upon receipt, I was granted a pre-owned bumper to bumper 100K mile warranty. For the last 3 years, I have complained of various issues with the car's performance related to the vehicle's transmission. Pulling and jerking of the car when I proceed to accelerate, slow acceleration from stop, not being able to put the car in reverse, car only wanting to drive in 3rd gear, high pitch noise the list goes on and on. From Oct 2005 (just 6 months after I bought the car) to March 2008 I made several visits to the dealer regarding these issues for which I was blown off and told that unless the "Service Transmission URGENT" light appeared they could not replace my transmission. Unbeknownst to me, these issues were never documented by the service manager in a comprehensive manner, other than stating that I reported issues that they could not duplicate or warding the issues on reasons unrelated. At 87K miles I had had it and took the car right to the Service Mgr at my dealership who in turn told me that "Volvo is aware of this factory defect on the 03 Volvo XC90 and regardless of whether I am in or out of my warranty, they would replace my transmission once the light comes on. A few months later, the dealership that I bought the car from (Gwinnett Place Volvo in Duluth, GA) went out of business. On Wednesday, Oct 7, 2009, the "Service Transmission Urgent" light came on with the car now at 116K miles. I immediately took the car to the nearest Volvo dealer, Dyer & Dyer Volvo of Chamblee, GA (owned by the same dealer for which I originally bought the car) who in turn told me that not only do I need to have my transmission replaced, the defect had ruined the radiator and fuel lines with costs totaling $7,500. The car is virtually useless at this point. Not to mention, I just paid $3K just 3 weeks prior to replace the Turbos. They've kept the car for 2 weeks sighting that they needed to request clearance to fix the car gratis from Volvo North America. On October 19th, Volvo North America REFUSED to fix the car sighting merely that it is now out of warranty with no consideration for my countless complaints. I escalated this issue to the Executive office at Volvo North America who told me that unless the car is RECALLED they will not fix my car. I feel that Volvo has offered no remorse whatsoever on this issue. You pride yourselves on Customer Satisfaction and to say the least, this is by far, the worst experience Ive ever encountered with a car to date as I have provided every opportunity to resolve the issue both prior to and after my warranty expired. I was told by 2 Service Managers that this issue is a factory defect however Volvo refuses to fix it. Volvo markets its cars as dependable, safe vehicles for families especially "kid-friendly and safe for kids." This is why I bought the XC90. It's a hard pill to swallow when you purchase a car for $40K to only be able to drive it 75K miles to it now being useless with countless issues and trips to the dealer for service. I was offered no loaner or any other alternate form of transportation while my car was in the dealers possession. I have filed complaints with Volvo Consumer Affairs both personally and through the dealer. I have filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdues Office of Consumer Affairs, the NHTSA, the Center for Auto Safety and the Federal Trade Commission. I know that I am not alone. Yesterday I found approximately 1,973 complaints regarding this same issue on this make/model for years 2003-2006 on various forum sites around the web including Edmunds, Car & Driver, and yes even Volvo's forum site.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/volvo.htm
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints/results.cfm
http://volvoforums.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-11373.html
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f18a651/79
http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/2009/03/04/transmission-problems/
Since this morning, I discovered 28 unique complaints currently filed on the NHTSA website and 4 on the Center for Auto Safety website all sighting the same with the transmission. If youd asked me 5 years ago my thoughts on Volvo, I would have sworn by Volvo as both my parents drove Volvos throughout my childhood. When I became a parent, there was no other option in my mind. Now I realize, things arent what they used to be.
This car needs to be recalled immediately!
2 Updates & Rebuttals
GINA KIDA
Los Angeles,California,
Not That Easy-- Volvo Transmissions
#3Consumer Comment
Thu, May 16, 2013
I am one of the thousands of owners who have experienced multiple transmission failures on my V70T wagon. One at 40k miles and another at 60k. My dealer also spoke to Dealer Management at corporate and while my car was also maintained on schedule exclusively at a volvo dealership I was merely offered a reduction in cost not a new transmission at their cost. So you see, not so simple.
While this may not be recall proportions there is obviously a problem with these transmissions. An extensive one. Should I really be expected to buy a Volvo and then replace the transmission every 20-40k miles? So Volvo sells you a car and then you're expected to pay thousands of dollars to their dealers to replace transmissions? Does that really strike you as ethical?
Anonymous
United States of AmericaXC90
#3Consumer Comment
Wed, February 24, 2010
A few things about your post.
1. You claim to have had a 100,000 mile "bumper to bumper" warranty. This is simply not true. A Volvo Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle is not a "bumper to bumper" warranty, it is a exclusionary warranty valid for 100,000 miles OR 6 years from date of original purchase, whichever comes first (The day the first owner drove it off the showroom floor). In fact, the ONLY "bumper to bumper" warranty on ANY car is during the first 12 months OR 12,000 miles, whichever comes first.
2. You paid 3k 3 weeks prior to have the turbos replaced. Turbochargers do not fail. Period. End of story. UNLESS - the vehicle has not been properly maintained. Do not want to hear excuses on this one. They simply do not fail unless the services have not been done. Entirely your fault.
3. The "service transmission urgent" light came on at 116k miles. Great. Now the technician can pinpoint the concern with your car. Guess what??? Your warranty, as you stated, only lasted 100,000 miles. Not to mention, no record of your concern was documented in the past. No leg to stand on, not even a stub.
4. Loaner cars are owned by the dealership, not Volvo corporate. The dealer buys these cars from corporate to sell as new, then takes the stickers off the windows and slaps license plates on them. They are provided by the dealership for customer use. They make the rules for handing them out, not corporate.
5. Recalls are issued by corporate. You say there are 1,973 complaints on the internet for this failure. Wonderful. Super. Great. Question. How many XC90's are on the road? 2,000? Um, no. 100,000? Sounds better. So that would mean that less than 2% of these vehicles have this problem. Not nearly enough to issue a recall.
6. Can corporate authorize a repair to fix your car at no cost to you? Sure they can. The same thing happened to my XC90. Radiator, cooler, lines, transmission. And I maintained my Volvo ONLY at the dealership. Please note that one word, ONLY. I had 125,000 on my car before this happened to me. The dealer called and stated I needed these things for around the same price, 7500 bucks, but since I have been a lifelong customer of Volvo, AND do every one of my services at that dealership, I don't have to pay a cent. Not one cent. Because the dealer called someone at corporate and told them my problem (without my consent, but that's ok). They explained how I have been a Volvo customer for years and had everything done there. They approved it. Done. Simple.
Next time you want something from the dealer, get all of your services done there. Your brakes, your tires, your alignments. The 30 and 60k's are expensive (600 bucks a shot), but in the long run, it's money in the bank.