New to Volvo…2016 out of warranty

Bullhorn · Aug 16, 2021

I’m a car enthusiast and consider myself pretty handy with cars with many BMWs in the past including a few M cars all out of warranty. I usually do all the work unless it involves transmission or engine out service. I currently own a RS5 and wanted a 3 row SUV to get me around in the winter time. I know..RS5 is AWD. But honestly, I wanted something with higher seating position and this Volvo opens up the opportunity to trade my RS5 whenever I get the allocation for the new CT5 blackwing.

At any rate, I never owned a Volvo and must say I fell in love with the interior. My budget for a used car was $35k in this market since I wasn’t financing. Looked at gx460, Range rovers. Gx 460 would’ve been the more sensible choice but if I did that all my life, I would’ve just stuck with Honda’s and Toyota’s. Plus, the moment I sat in the xc90, I fell in love immediately.

Long first post…so, this car is out of warranty as a 2016 with 62k miles. Looks new inside out. It drives great. Brakes are toast, however. Sadly, I’ve own the car for less than a week and I hear crazy screeching sound despite the outer pads looking ok. I read a lot of posts on brakes DIY. Looks pretty easy to do on my quickjack rather than to have the used car folks do it. I have trust issues anyhow. This way, I know it’s done right, wheels torqued properly and I get to know this car a bit more.

Are the brakes the weak point on these cars? Looks like the inner pads wore much quicker than the outer pads. I’m thinking of getting Zimmerman rotors and textar pads for the front from FCPeuro. Am I crazy to have this car out of warranty? Lol. I do have plenty of rainy day fund for all things car related. Another thought is to trade this for a certified xc90 after I save up a bit more. Any suggestions appreciated!

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FusionRedXC60 · Aug 16, 2021

Yeh, brake maintenance is needed sooner than other cars. It is not hard to DIY though. And keep an eye on engine oil level every 1k or 2k miles to have some idea. In case it burns oil apparently, you need to think of trading in for a CPO one. There is report of oil burning issue here but really not sure how much percent of old cars will hit it. Nothing much other than this, I think.

omnimax · Aug 16, 2021

MY16 owner here - IMO, I would not own this car without a warranty. My extended warranty AFTER factory warranty already paid out ~5k in repairs and I'm at 65k right now. Combined with an engine rebuild, MY16 has a high tendency for issues. With brakes, I do notice they wear faster, especially the rears if one uses pilotassist a lot so I usually have my brakes checked out every time I'm in the shop.

The consistent theme in this forum is that MY16/17 are to be avoided due to a number of issues. My suggesting is to buy CPO or have some kind of warranty. The add'l coverage has paid for itself in my case, unfortunately.

Garfunkgrin · Aug 16, 2021

You and I came from a similar background - my other car is an 06 BMW M6 and I do all my own service.

I have a '17 XC90 and so far my biggest issue has been trying to get decent diagnostics software.

You can use a product called VDASH which is "acceptable" - you can read module codes etc but no active monitoring of PIDs etc.

Parts directly from Volvo are reasonably easy to get and surprisingly competitive price wise. FCP Euro has filled in some gaps with good kits (haldex service, transmission fluid change etc.)

Given that Volvo's SPA architecture seems to be 1 modular drivetrain with a bunch of chassis combinations, I'm not too scared of the drivetrain. Would be really nice to have better diagnostics than "take it to the dealer" though.

BMW ISTA/DIS and the VAGCOM options that you might be used to in the VW/Audi world are comparatively accessible.

What really stinks is that it seems like anything pre-SPA is fairly easy to get Volvo diagnostics for.

Bullhorn · Aug 17, 2021

FusionRedXC60 said:
Yeh, brake maintenance is needed sooner than other cars. It is not hard to DIY though. And keep an eye on engine oil level every 1k or 2k miles to have some idea. In case it burns oil apparently, you need to think of trading in for a CPO one. There is report of oil burning issue here but really not sure how much percent of old cars will hit it. Nothing much other than this, I think.

Doing the brakes tonight. Hope my 5000TL can lift the xc90 without issues. I'll keep an eye on the oil level. I'm used to doing that for rod bearing issues with all the M cars. Lol. No dip stick in that car either.

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Bullhorn · Aug 17, 2021

omnimax said:
MY16 owner here - IMO, I would not own this car without a warranty. My extended warranty AFTER factory warranty already paid out ~5k in repairs and I'm at 65k right now. Combined with an engine rebuild, MY16 has a high tendency for issues. With brakes, I do notice they wear faster, especially the rears if one uses pilotassist a lot so I usually have my brakes checked out every time I'm in the shop.

The consistent theme in this forum is that MY16/17 are to be avoided due to a number of issues. My suggesting is to buy CPO or have some kind of warranty. The add'l coverage has paid for itself in my case, unfortunately.

I'm going to roll the dice for now. I have two cars with warranty remaining. I guess eventually all the XC90s will run out of warranty. Maybe my insanity gives future owners hope? I've said that about my BMWs too. Then had some regret. Lol.

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Bullhorn · Aug 17, 2021

Garfunkgrin said:
You and I came from a similar background - my other car is an 06 BMW M6 and I do all my own service.

I have a '17 XC90 and so far my biggest issue has been trying to get decent diagnostics software.

You can use a product called VDASH which is "acceptable" - you can read module codes etc but no active monitoring of PIDs etc.

Parts directly from Volvo are reasonably easy to get and surprisingly competitive price wise. FCP Euro has filled in some gaps with good kits (haldex service, transmission fluid change etc.)

Given that Volvo's SPA architecture seems to be 1 modular drivetrain with a bunch of chassis combinations, I'm not too scared of the drivetrain. Would be really nice to have better diagnostics than "take it to the dealer" though.

BMW ISTA/DIS and the VAGCOM options that you might be used to in the VW/Audi world are comparatively accessible.

What really stinks is that it seems like anything pre-SPA is fairly easy to get Volvo diagnostics for.

I know. I did some coding with my previous BMWs and my current Audi. Those softwares are definitely stout with a lot of flexibility and support. I may just have to get a generic code reader for now. I find this platform isn't all that enthusiast driven being that it's a luxury SUV. I don't see many XC90 drivers wrenching as much as say my old M3.

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Garfunkgrin · Aug 17, 2021

Yeah, if you want access to at least codes on modules, VDASH will do that (software is "free to use" but some functions are paywalled). All you need is either a DICE (expensive option) or recently they've opened it up to VOE adapters - Volvo genuine are like $40.

For example I had an SRS code with annoying dash "go to the shop immediately" - I was able to read the code and found "pretensioner second row center, resistance above threshold". What you can't do, is dig in beyond that and monitor voltage at the connector or any of that kind of thing.

Still, at $40 for the adapter with the ability to do some minor coding capability, VDASH is OK.

Oil changes, brakes etc. should be totally fine. Beware though, you need a specific size of filter housing adapter for the oil filter housing - I want to say 86mm.

XC90-Will · Aug 17, 2021

Bullhorn said:
I'm going to roll the dice for now. I have two cars with warranty remaining. I guess eventually all the XC90s will run out of warranty. Maybe my insanity gives future owners hope? I've said that about my BMWs too. Then had some regret. Lol.

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Just wanted to let you know I have a 2016 R-Design with 47000 miles and no major issues and I still enjoy the car!

Bullhorn · Aug 17, 2021

Garfunkgrin said:
Yeah, if you want access to at least codes on modules, VDASH will do that (software is "free to use" but some functions are paywalled). All you need is either a DICE (expensive option) or recently they've opened it up to VOE adapters - Volvo genuine are like $40.

For example I had an SRS code with annoying dash "go to the shop immediately" - I was able to read the code and found "pretensioner second row center, resistance above threshold". What you can't do, is dig in beyond that and monitor voltage at the connector or any of that kind of thing.

Still, at $40 for the adapter with the ability to do some minor coding capability, VDASH is OK.

Oil changes, brakes etc. should be totally fine. Beware though, you need a specific size of filter housing adapter for the oil filter housing - I want to say 86mm.

That's great info there! I honestly can't say I've done complex coding but that VDASH seems like something right up my alley. Lucky me, I've owned so many first year cars in the past. My eclipse GSX, 330ci, VR4, e46 M3, e92 M3. They all were sort of bastard children of the platform. Most models did update small things in the engine bay, different pullies, steering pump rotation change etc. it doesn't seem like xc90 t6 engine has changed much mechanically from what I'm reading but a few software tweaks. As long as the engine is reliable enough…this one will be a cruiser not a racer. Lol.

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Bullhorn · Aug 17, 2021

XC90-Will said:
Just wanted to let you know I have a 2016 R-Design with 47000 miles and no major issues and I still enjoy the car!

Cool deal! I'm hoping it's a matter of age vs particular model year. Seems like software updates took care of 16/17 early issues. I haven't seen too many threads on mechanical issues per se. and I'm sure if there's a general issue, even 18/19s will get them…eventually.

But then I'm out of warranty. Lol.

New to Volvo…2016 out of warranty

Bullhorn

FusionRedXC60

omnimax

Garfunkgrin

Bullhorn

Bullhorn

Bullhorn

Garfunkgrin

XC90-Will

Bullhorn

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