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What year did Volvo ditch the GM tranny in the T6 XC90

A mid-size luxury crossover SUV, the Volvo XC90 made its debut in 2002 at the Detroit Motor Show. Recognized for its safety, practicality, and comfort, the XC90 is a popular vehicle around the world. The XC90 proved to be very popular, and very good for Volvo's sales numbers, since its introduction in model year 2003 (North America). P2 platform.
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boosted5cyl
Posts: 1100
Joined: 29 January 2010
Year and Model: '98 V70 T5, '99 S80
Location: St. Paul, MN
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What year did Volvo ditch the GM tranny in the T6 XC90

Post by boosted5cyl »

Considering and XC90 but would like to avoid the GM, unless they have a recipt for a recent replacement or it's damn cheap. Appears the AW is a 6speed auto? When was this first offered?
'04 XC90 2.5T AWD (Angus) 134K.
'99 S80 T6 (Medusa) 214k. On borrowed time LOL
'98 V70 T5 (Vivienne). RIP @ 228K. Spun rod bearings.

outrigger777
Posts: 73
Joined: 1 November 2010
Year and Model: 2006 xc90 1998 v70xc
Location: Evergreen, Colorado, USA
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Post by outrigger777 »

boosted5cyl wrote:Considering and XC90 but would like to avoid the GM, unless they have a recipt for a recent replacement or it's damn cheap. Appears the AW is a 6speed auto? When was this first offered?
T6 with the GM tranny MY2003-2004-2005. Gone for MY2006. And the GM tranny was an auto 4-speed.

boosted5cyl
Posts: 1100
Joined: 29 January 2010
Year and Model: '98 V70 T5, '99 S80
Location: St. Paul, MN
Been thanked: 1 time

Post by boosted5cyl »

Thanks outrigger. 06 onwards it is then
'04 XC90 2.5T AWD (Angus) 134K.
'99 S80 T6 (Medusa) 214k. On borrowed time LOL
'98 V70 T5 (Vivienne). RIP @ 228K. Spun rod bearings.

outrigger777
Posts: 73
Joined: 1 November 2010
Year and Model: 2006 xc90 1998 v70xc
Location: Evergreen, Colorado, USA
Been thanked: 1 time

Post by outrigger777 »

boosted5cyl wrote:Thanks outrigger. 06 onwards it is then
You can still get the 2.5T, with it's bullet-proof tranny, from 2003 to 2006, with 2006 being the first year that "all" the kinks of the XC90 were worked-out.

And I enjoyed seeing your info about the racing kart 0-60 time of 5 secs, with 50 BHP.

boosted5cyl
Posts: 1100
Joined: 29 January 2010
Year and Model: '98 V70 T5, '99 S80
Location: St. Paul, MN
Been thanked: 1 time

Post by boosted5cyl »

Yeah I guess we could try a T5 too. I really like the broad torque band of the T6. Really nice motor.

It's not just 0-60 in under 5. It's 0-60 then back to 0 in <5 :-0
Here's a video of an older kart, the one in my signature actually with a different motor...


Quick enough to keep you awake.
'04 XC90 2.5T AWD (Angus) 134K.
'99 S80 T6 (Medusa) 214k. On borrowed time LOL
'98 V70 T5 (Vivienne). RIP @ 228K. Spun rod bearings.

outrigger777
Posts: 73
Joined: 1 November 2010
Year and Model: 2006 xc90 1998 v70xc
Location: Evergreen, Colorado, USA
Been thanked: 1 time

Post by outrigger777 »

boosted5cyl wrote:Yeah I guess we could try a T5 too. I really like the broad torque band of the T6. Really nice motor.

It's not just 0-60 in under 5. It's 0-60 then back to 0 in <5 :-0
Here's a video of an older kart, the one in my signature actually with a different motor...


Quick enough to keep you awake.
Technically the 5 cyl is called a 2.5T, because it has a low pressure turbo. If it had a high pressure turbo, Volvo would have designated it as a T5. And don't write this little engine off--most reliable of all the XC90 engines, with a near bullet proof transmission. And it's maximum torque of 236 ft lbs comes in at a low 1500 rpm. It can give you a good yank off the line.

Agree that the T6 is a great engine for the XC90. Too bad it was mated with a crappy GM 4-speed transmission.

And I see your cart is even faster that I thought!! Enjoyed your video too. I had a VW Bug in college in the early 70s with 50HP, and it would do 0-60 in 30 secs. LOL!

boosted5cyl
Posts: 1100
Joined: 29 January 2010
Year and Model: '98 V70 T5, '99 S80
Location: St. Paul, MN
Been thanked: 1 time

Post by boosted5cyl »

Yeah the karts move pretty quick. Not so great on aero though tops out about 120-130 with a REALLY good draft.

Good point on the motor, I'm so used to owning a T5 that I'd forgotten about the LPT offering and assumed the XC90 5 pot was a T5. Silly me. We'll try em all out and see how it goes. I told wifey that we can go T6 if she really wants to, but she needs to be prepared for me to have to put a transmission in it at some point.
'04 XC90 2.5T AWD (Angus) 134K.
'99 S80 T6 (Medusa) 214k. On borrowed time LOL
'98 V70 T5 (Vivienne). RIP @ 228K. Spun rod bearings.

JasonVolvoMan
Posts: 22
Joined: 25 November 2012
Year and Model: xc70 1998
Location: berlin ct

Post by JasonVolvoMan »

I have a 2004 xc90 t6 with only 69,000 miles on it. I am currently on my 3rd transmission. I wish I had known of the problems before I bought the car. My next purchase will be 2006 and up.
1998 xc70 170,000miles
1983 240 turbo one owner and 120,000 miles


Previous cars
1983 240dl 235,000 miles 5 speed. Should of never sold!!
1990.240dl 280,000 miles 5 speed. Should of never sold!!
2004 xc90 60,000 miles 3rd tranny

outrigger777
Posts: 73
Joined: 1 November 2010
Year and Model: 2006 xc90 1998 v70xc
Location: Evergreen, Colorado, USA
Been thanked: 1 time

Post by outrigger777 »

What Jason said is something to seriously consider. But I know there is some evidence that maybe as many as half of the T6 GM trannies make it well past 100,000miles. One factor to consider is safety. I've read of several failures that have occurred on the freeway, where suddenly, without warning, top speed is 20mph. As you can imagine, this has caused several near collisions with cars doing 70mph or more. Also, there are some shops that are overhauling and making these transmissions stronger, and if you search around on some of the XC90 forums, you'll probably find one.

Here's an interesting thread on the topic;

http://forums.swedespeed.com/showthread ... nsmissions

Good luck with your search.

JasonVolvoMan
Posts: 22
Joined: 25 November 2012
Year and Model: xc70 1998
Location: berlin ct

Post by JasonVolvoMan »

Outrigger that was a great article find on swedespeed . Kind of makes me feel better reading it. I still have a 2yr warranty from volvo on the 3rd transmission. But am going to check out the stronger rebuild.
1998 xc70 170,000miles
1983 240 turbo one owner and 120,000 miles


Previous cars
1983 240dl 235,000 miles 5 speed. Should of never sold!!
1990.240dl 280,000 miles 5 speed. Should of never sold!!
2004 xc90 60,000 miles 3rd tranny

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