2004 Volvo XC90 T6 Here goes nothing

electricguitarist · Post by **electricguitarist** » 19 Feb 2015, 13:22

So two days ago I bought a 2004 XC90 T6 with pretty much every package. It has 108,000 miles on it. I did plenty of research and found out about how horrible of a car this is, but I ended up buying it anyway. I haven't done much work on cars, I don't have tons of money to put into this car since I am a college student and I'm planning to get married soon, but I'm a fast learner and I've got a thing for DIY, so here goes nothing!

The car has never had a transmission problem and the only interesting things reported in the CARFAX were a brake pad replacement (normal) and a fuel pump repair (boring). The car is in great condition with only a little wear on the interior. The only warranty the dealer offered was crazy expensive and really had poor coverage, so I opted to go without the warranty and spend some money on transmission upgrades to try and keep it from failing. I plan on changing the transmission fluid often as well as adding friction modifier to it, and I also want to see if I can put a cooler line filter in to keep the transmission clean, and an auxiliary cooler to keep it cool.

Literally less than 20 miles after purchase the "check engine" light came on. I took it to an O'Reilly's and they diagnosed an oxygen sensor failure. I was prepared to try and DIY fix it myself since it looked pretty easy, but I called the dealer and they said they would take care of it for me. While we were there I noticed the top engine mount was busted (looks to be a common problem) so I am going to see if they will fix that or at least pay for it as well. The car also says it's time for an oil change (which the dealer may have done and forgot to reset the oil change alert) and I also noticed that the jack and spare tire tool (and anything else that should be in that little compartment in the back) is gone.

I also filled the windshield wiper fluid, rainexed all the windows, and bought a few accessories for the car. I plan on checking the infamous sunroof drains, although it's pretty dry where I live. I plan on getting the transmission fluid changed fairly soon (I might do it myself if I'm feeling up to it... I'm not sure what I will need yet.) and I will add the friction modifier after I do that. If the oil needs changing, I'm probably going to use Royal Purple 5W-30.

All in all, my goal is to get as much life out of this transmission as possible. I like this car and by golly I'm gonna make this thing work.

Post by **FLXC90** » 19 Feb 2015, 14:42

Good find for you, good attitude if you're gonna do it. I suggest a savings account for the trans. I bought mine in '13 with 136k and a great documented maint. history. On the second day, the trans fail message came up. (that is when I found, and joined this forum) I got to start driving it in Feb of '14 after spending 4 grand to have trans replaced.
It has some of the typical XC90 issues, but it's a great, safe SUV for my wife and kids.So, I got a replacement from a vendor and tried to DIY the change, but time wasn't on my side. If you've read the threads here, It CAN be done DIY, and I got the top-side work done, and the angle-gear out, but had to concede due to time constraints. All I'm really saying is, love your Volvo, but know it is when, not if.

jaces_dad · Post by **jaces_dad** » 27 Feb 2015, 09:10

I couldn't agree more with FLXC90, it's not a matter of if, it's when. Although I haven't had sun roof drain issues, my flood issues were the a/c condenser drain in front of the gas pedal. I've had mine since Sept 2012, it had 139,xxx miles on it when i got it, I have almost 240,000 now. So far I've replaced the front right axle shaft, yaw rate sensor, cd player, DIM (insrtument cluster), battery, oil/filter, air and cabin filters, and my brake pads should be here today so they'll be getting done today. Also I'm on my 3rd set of tires. I really can't complain except for having to find out the hard way about some of the car's quirks. Oh, I learned in the big blizzard of 2013 that my AWD does't work either. I'm going to check the sleeve as soon as I build up the desire to pull everything apart. They are certainly not "horrible" cars, I think most on here would tell you the opposite, they'd also tell you to avoid the 03/04 T6 at all costs too but you knew about the issues going in. I applaud your attitude and will to learn, and trust me, you will learn a few things with your car. I'll finish with this, not a horrible carm just a quirky car. Enjoy and welcome to the family.

Stravlr · Post by **Stravlr** » 06 Mar 2015, 17:23

I bought my 04 T6 With 126K on it last year, and knowing it just had it's second trans replacement. 1st by an indie shop, second by a dealer. I too knew of the trans issues before jumping in. For the trans I would recommend installing a large external trans cooler and external magnetic trans filter - cooler is better and an extra filter never hurts. Like everyone else they have their quirks, but no more than any other 50K dollar car of this vintage. Good Luck.