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Saw this question and just HAVE to reply! How are the XC90's doing so far? Well, I have no experience with the 'normal' XC90 - only the fancier, higher priced, limited edition Ocean Race XC90s. Plural. Perhaps enuf said already, but I'll continue......
The first one (only 800 were made) I purchased on March 21, 2006. A few days later I went out to my garage to start it up - no luck - dead battery. Jump started, tested at Volvo, returned to me.... dead battery, jump start, etc... For the full report, check out NHTSA complaint, ODI ID Number: 10157037.
By mid-May, Volvo was ready to return the car to me - except the day they were planning to, they couldn't get it started there! No-start number 4 - the max allowed under Maryland Lemon Law - and they still had no clue what was causing the problem. Days later, they gave me another (new) Ocean Race XC90 - luckily they had another one there.
This vehicle started and ran fine.... for almost 7,000 miles! Quite an improvement over the first one - however, once again, dead battery while car was sitting unlocked in my garage.
I am a 49-year-old female who knows very little about cars. Yet I've suffered through this XC90 nightmare long enough to have a real good clue what the problem is. You see, this happens ONLY in my garage - no where else... and it's a slow drain, taking close to 24 hours to get to a no-start stage. Why? Because of ONE difference between parking in my garage, as opposed to anywhere else...... I DON'T lock the vehicle! I now maintain that the electrical problem I have encountered in TWO (overpriced) 2006 XC90's is the result of the automatic re-lock system trying, and trying, and trying, to lock the vehicle after I have parked it, turned it off, got out, and left it UNLOCKED. This should not be happening, but I believe it is.
Volvo's "top-notch techs" from New Jersey spent many, many hours with my 1st car and couldn't find the problem. Now I am trying to convince my dealership to let the car sit inside, unlocked, for at least 24-48 hours to re-create the dead battery issue. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?????
Even if they do fix this problem, the fact remains that I'd be the one who finally figured it out. Geeez - next time, what if the steering or braking goes out? IF I live through it, I can tell them specifically what the problem is THEN?? SCARY, SCARY thought! What REALLY annoys me is the Volvo sales manager - AND service manager - telling me now that "I must have left something on in the car", causing the battery to drain. Thanks, Volvo - try to blame the idiot driver/owner for something that is an OBVIOUS Volvo defect! (especially after they knew of the first 'lemon'!) VERY shady, unprofessional, and unimpressive, if you ask me.
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