2008 Volvo XC90 116k FWD 3.2L N/A

[fantastic]

Good day to my fellow BITOG'ers,
I've had one vehicle for about 1 year now & that was fine by me. However, I got to talking with my wife & I said that if I bite the dust she'll not have anything to drive comfortably. Anything but my F-350 LOL. I've been looking online to learn about a vehicle I'd buy if the opportunity was necessary so I had developed a plan for this over the last few years. Once we agreed to get another vehicle I knew we needed a Volvo XC90. This vehicle passed safety test's well before the others eventually caught up. This keeps the price reasonable as that was mandatory. I'm only going to put liability only to keep costs down.

I scoured the internet to learn all I could in detail about these vehicles. I even sent @Astro14 a message to pick their knowledge. I learned that 03-06 T6 & V8 had transmission issues so avoiding those was my goal. Also the all wheel drive system can be some maintenaince but was still willing to buy one if needed. In 2007 Volvo came out with a new Ford manufactured 3.2L naturally aspirated engine replacing the existing 2.5L inline 5 turbo. Great, I could get one of these & eliminate the turbo as a potential repair component.

Off to FB marketplace & lined up a few years with under 125k miles located in Texas. Ultimately I found a clean looking 2008 Volvo XC90 FWD (Front Wheel Drive), 3.2L N/A one located in Houston, TX. Perfect, Let's go 800 miles to pick it up! I live in MO so wanted to get something out of the rust belt.

This is mainly for my wife to get her license back. She forfeited her license a few years back (only 2 yrs experience). However, I took her to test for a permit & She passed. I'm working with her in the XC90 to get some practice now before the driver test.

Went through the fuses boxes & seen an issue where they used a jumper wire for the A/C Clutch relay location so I bought a used A/C Clutch Relay that's on it's way in the mail. First thing when back to the house was to get the slight dog smell out! There was short white hair everywhere & this was after the dealer vacuumed it. I Used a box of disinfectant wipes to wipe everything down. Still need to clean the inside of the windows w/windex today. It appears the prior 3rd owner replaced the right CV axle, PCV oil trap on top of the engine, Lower control arms, 2021 Tires w/Alignment, one of the rear tail lenses, & bled the brakes w/new DOT 4 fluid. I'm going to need new headlight lenses since these are cloudy looking.

Paid $5,000, Willow Green, 116k Miles, Sunroof, etc.

Things I love so far are that I can turn the key to the start position for a split second, let go, & it'll start by itself from there. Glow in the dark ignition switch, If I turn the fan off while the A/C is running it'll shut off the A/C & the opposite when turning the fan back on...Neat! Here's some pics!

 

[Trav]

I like it! Good deal.

 

[Escape08]

Engine is tried & true. Expect another 150K miles or more with proper maintenance

 

[KCJeep]

I have always liked the look of those.

 

[sloinker]

Don't be surprised when a new relay doesn't allow the AC to work like the jumper did. Hope I am wrong.

 

[fantastic]

Don't be surprised when a new relay doesn't allow the AC to work like the jumper did. Hope I am wrong.

I'm potentially expecting some issues. I actually bought x3 used 20A relays of ebay so if I have some issue's I'll plow through them if needed until I figure out what the issue is or go with a slightly higher amperage. Is it possibly just low battery coupled with low freon causing high amperage load or something? Have you seen this before?

 

[sloinker]

I would check to see if the coil of the relay is getting 12+ volts when you turn the system on. If the switched side is jumpered and it blows cold you need to troubleshoot and see where the coil circuit is open. Fuse, Low pressure, high pressure,high temperature, controller etc.

 

[brages]

https://blog.fcpeuro.com/the-definitive-guide-to-the-volvo-si6-engine

 

[fantastic]

https://blog.fcpeuro.com/the-definitive-guide-to-the-volvo-si6-engine

Very good read & I couldn't help myself but to use the pic of this engine as my avatar. Great link!

 

[Marcozi]

Change ALL of the fluids.

 

[fantastic]

Change ALL of the fluids.

Very wise words for a vehicle w/ unknown history. The brake fluid has been changed to DOT4 w/bleeding the calipers, I'm currently Looking into Mobil 3309 fluid to replace the transmission fluid, The power steering fluid looks darn near black, & I just changed the original fuel filter yesterday which Volvo recommends every 120k . I don't understand that last one since it's so easy to replace that filter. According to a receipt I found the oil was just replaced w/ "Synthetic 5w30" about 1300 miles ago so I'll run it out a bit first before changing it.

 

[We're Metals]

Random response but I love where they put the heater core in these vehicles.

Enjoy! - Looks sharp in green.

If I could find a Clean S80 I'd consider one as a DD.

 

[fantastic]

Random response but I love where they put the heater core in these vehicles.

Enjoy! - Looks sharp in green.

If I could find a Clean S80 I'd consider one as a DD.

Thanks! The S80 was a second choice but since the wife will be driving this I wanted some more bumper protection. How this XC90 was optioned puts it about 700 lbs heavier than an S80. I've not yet found out where the heater core lies on these yet? The typical spot I'm used to is under the passenger side dash but that's where the cabin filter goes. I did locate a funny rattling noise to a bad engine torque mount on the passenger side of the engine so I've ordered a $32 new cheep ebay replacement. This was a Facebook marketplace buy & it appears to have been well worth the money. Go see what you can find that might pass your inspection & if you're willing to travel it could be a great deal just get something out of the rust belt if you can. It's one thing that will just trash a car & make it not worth putting money into especially at these older ages.

 

[Astro14]

Thanks! The S80 was a second choice but since the wife will be driving this I wanted some more bumper protection. How this XC90 was optioned puts it about 700 lbs heavier than an S80. I've not yet found out where the heater core lies on these yet? The typical spot I'm used to is under the passenger side dash but that's where the cabin filter goes. I did locate a funny rattling noise to a bad engine torque mount on the passenger side of the engine so I've ordered a $32 new cheep ebay replacement. This was a Facebook marketplace buy & it appears to have been well worth the money. Go see what you can find that might pass your inspection & if you're willing to travel it could be a great deal just get something out of the rust belt if you can. It's one thing that will just trash a car & make it not worth putting money into especially at these older ages.

The heater core is accessible from the driver side. You have to remove the trim under the dash then you have to remove the trim that’s on the right side, next to the accelerator pedal. Then you’ll need to move the tilt steering wheel all the way, although I can’t remember if it’s up or down. But you have to get the steering shaft out of the way. You’ll see the heater core above the accelerator pedal.

The heater core is held in place with one screw. There are two aluminum pipes going into the heater, core, that are sealed by O-rings. The pipes are held in place by little soft aluminum clips. Pull the clips out with a pair of needle nose, wiggle the two pipes out of the end of the heater core, and then gently bend them out-of-the-way, then the heater core slides out.

i’m sure there’s plenty of stuff online, it’s really tight in there. So it’s hard to get the core out without damaging it. It’s equally hard to get the new core in without damaging it. The fins are quite soft. Use new O-rings, and get new clips. Just a dab of silicone grease on those O-rings will help a lot and getting them seated so that the clips can be installed.

 

[GR_CoB]

I had a 2010 Volvo XC70 with that 3.2L engine. Sold it at over 270k miles, zero oil consumption still. Ours was AWD, but no issues there. Hopefully you won't have to deal with anything connected to the serpentine belt. On the XC70 it's quite a time consuming headache, assuming XC90 is similar. Did have to replace the alternator, requires removal of the intake manifold. Alternator is connected through a shaft and couple pulleys to the drive belt. Good idea to replace the 6 green gaskets in that intake manifold too.
Anyways, we loved ours. Had many successful family trips all over the East Coast. Good power, and got up to 31MPG on highway with the AWD.

 

[fantastic]

The heater core is accessible from the driver side. You have to remove the trim under the dash then you have to remove the trim that’s on the right side, next to the accelerator pedal. Then you’ll need to move the tilt, steering wheel all the way, although I can’t remember if it’s up or down. But you have to get the steering shaft out of the way. You’ll see the heater core above the accelerator pedal.

The heater core is held in place with one screw. There are two aluminum pipes going into the heater, core, that are sealed by O-rings. The pipes are held in place by little soft aluminum clips. Pull the clips out with a perineal nose, wiggle the two pipes out of the end of the heater core, and then gently bend them out-of-the-way, then the heater core slides out.

i’m sure there’s plenty of stuff online, it’s really tight in there. So it’s hard to get the core out without damaging it. It’s equally hard to get the new core in without damaging it. The fins are quite soft. Use new O-rings, and get new clips. Just a dab of silicone grease on those O-rings will help a lot and getting them seated so that the clips can be installed.

Very good information! Didn't expect it to be on the drivers side. That does sound quite tight but if it ends up clogging & blowing out I'll know what to do. Plan on keeping it for as long as we can. I think these are suppose to use a "Teal" colored antifreeze but there is a reddish/orange color in their now that looks exactly like a dex-cool color but it appears nice & clean at least no sludge appearance or anything so that's good. If it was teal then someone was wise enough to at least replace it. Anyways, Thanks for the details.

I had a 2010 Volvo XC70 with that 3.2L engine. Sold it at over 270k miles, zero oil consumption still. Ours was AWD, but no issues there. Hopefully you won't have to deal with anything connected to the serpentine belt. On the XC70 it's quite a time consuming headache, assuming XC90 is similar. Did have to replace the alternator, requires removal of the intake manifold. Alternator is connected through a shaft and couple pulleys to the drive belt. Good idea to replace the 6 green gaskets in that intake manifold too.
Anyways, we loved ours. Had many successful family trips all over the East Coast. Good power, and got up to 31MPG on highway with the AWD.

wow, Great story! That is quite some distance. I've looked into the READ unit on these & it appears that to get into anything you must remove quite a bit of stuff like the A/C compressor. I'd probably have a shop do all the pulley's & or read replacement if I had to. Thought I read that Service is stated at 150k in that area. I've called around to local shops & some of them appeared to be willing to work on them but who knows what they know ha ha. Working on them & doing a job well done are two separate things. I've been looking into adding a Draw-tite tow hitch so I can at least tow my 5x10 trailer but that'll be in the spring time. We're getting ready to head down south for the winter lol. If I can get at least 75k out of this vehicle I'd be thrilled.

 

[fantastic]

I've been installing Sylvania Ultra's in my vehicles for over 15 years now. I know they've always claimed around 1 year lifespan but most of my vehicles lasted much longer than that simply because they didn't have daylight running lights on all the time like this XC90 does. That being said after a little over one year the right side Sylvania Ultra was going on & off intermittently while the other side worked after some investigating the light socket wires completely melted.

Those Ultra's aren't going to work for me in this application anymore! Lousy lifespan!

So, I went to Oreilly's & bought Sylvania H11 LED's. They were marked down to $79.99 with a 5 year warranty. Those Ultra's would cost me $25 a year replacement from eBay so this is a great price & comes with the benefit of brighter light. I installed the LED's but since the LED's are only a 1 amp draw now the "Bulb Out Low Beam" message remained. I got to looking around & seen I needed some resistors. Found "Xprite LED Headlight Canbus Decoder Anti Flicker Harness Error Free Resistor Decoder for LED Headlight Bulbs, Pack of 2" off Amazon.

Initially I ordered a pair.. That didn't remove the bulb out message. I thought well let's double them up for more resistance so I bought another pair & wired them together. That seemed to have fixed the bulb out message so far & am quite pleased with that. Having x2 of these on each headlight bulb does add some complexity & I have no idea how long they'll last. I'll try to get a dark early morning pic of the LED headlights to show.

 

[meep]

Great vehicle, great platform!

 

[fantastic]

Great vehicle, great platform!

Agree! Although we've only put 16,195 miles since Oct 2023, the miles are really adding up lately.

Just to add I did replace both light bulb socket wiring to some H11 Dorman "Ceramic" 16 Guage. That wiring was thicker than OEM but the little metal connectors inside flopped around like a fish out of water. Not great quality but I used them anyways to get the headlights back in order.

UPDATE: Change of plans on the "Xprite LED Headlight Resistors for LED Headlight Bulbs" I bought from Amazon. Although they are working well so far, I needed x4 of these to remove the error message on the dash (x2 for each side). I went back to ask the company about their wattage & requested a picture of the internals.

Xprite-USA​ ​

​

Hi,
Thank you for your patience. We apologize for any delays in correspondence.
Our technician replied that it is rated at 10 W. Please check the photo you requested below. Thank you.

To remove the low beam out error message two of these 10 watt resistors, per headlight bulb, would be 20 watts total needed. I actually went digging again online to see if I could find one with higher resistance. I did find & correspond to another company by the handle of BEVINSEE.

"Thanks for your message. Yes, each decoder has a total of 20 watts of resistance. This is the configured power distribution. This product is recommended to use no more than 35W per bulb wattage. Thanks with best regards, Kelly"

Fantastic! Since these are 20 watts a piece I just need x1 of these resistors per headlight bulb so a total of only x2 total instead of x4 needed of the other brand. HERE is the H11's I bought & here is the internals of those. I'll update once I get the other ones removed & these installed to verify they also remove the bulb out message. Also a night pic to show the LED's!

 

[fantastic]

I snapped the first picture at like 6:45 AM. It's not dark enough like it has been this early but my wife snapped the rest of them earlier this morning at 5:45 AM before complete sunrise. I don't have any previous pics of the Ultra's but these LED's are definitely brighter. First pic doesn't pic it up but there is a bluish tint to the lights in person. All in low beam.

From the drivers seat

From outside the Volvo on passenger side