XC 90, love to hate you

[DrivenMATTMAN001]

Hello people, I'm new to this group and have recently purchased an XC90 T6 2004. There is six of us in my little clan so this vehicle seemed ideal.
I caught a train and travelled the 150 miles to view the car (which I instantly fell in love with) I had a good look around it and had a test drive and everything seemed fine, so I parted with my hard earned cash and began the long drive home. Now on this particular day the weather was extremely hot and I got stuck in traffic on the motorway, the next thing I know the engine temp gauge has gone off the chart and there is steam coming from under the hood (not good) however luckily for me and the car the traffic starts flowing again and the airflow around the radiator brings the gauge back into the safe zone, so I'm thinking its got to be the radiator cooling fan right?. And I was right but my local garage managed to convince me it was the coolant temp sensor on the thermostat, to which I replied can we test the fan first to rule it out before we move on to other options but no they ordered a new coolant sensor and whilst fitting it snapped the small plastic pipe on the thermostat which resulted in a new thermostat as well as a sensor, and still no working fan, so I ordered a used one fitted it myself and it works just fine. Iv also just fitted a new front caliper, front discs and pads, iv only had her a month and she's cost me a lot of money already not just in parts but in fuel too!!! But when I get behind the wheel all that goes to the back of my mind because she is a true drivers car with such a smooth ride, handling and so much power for such a lump of a car. We all love her

[precopster]

Firstly welcome to MVS & Congrats on the new ride. The XC90 is one of Volvo's classic designs and has survived a whole decade with hardly a panel change. Personally I'm a huge fan of the design.

The awesome power of the T6 is unfortunately not well mated with the GM sourced 4 speed auto and most transmissions are replaced early in their lives. After that the drivers end up driving them like a 5 cylinder to avoid placing strain on the fragile driveline.

Be very diligent in monitoring transmission fluid levels and keeping the fluid fresh and clean. Using the motor's full torque and towing heavy trailers is not going to give a long life.

There are many reports of owners getting a long life out of their T6 transmission with a conservative economy minded driving style. Would love to see a pic of her if you can post one up.