Used 2016 Volvo XC90 T6 Inscription 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Twincharger 8A) Consumer Reviews
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90K Long Term Review
Matt H., Greeley, CO, 10/09/2017
updated 10/17/2022
Volvo XC90 T6 Inscription 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Twincharger 8A)
90 of 91 people found this review helpful
I've decided to completely rewrite my original review and update the rating from 5 stars to 2. The only reason I'm not giving it a 1 is for the excellent customer service from Volvo/Dealerships, and the design is still top-notch. We currently sit just over 110K miles on our 2016 Volvo XC90. It's fully loaded with everything available when purchased except the air suspension. We drove off the lot with 3 miles on the odometer in 2015. Here's the good: - We still love the design. It's beautiful, inside and out. - The safety tech has saved us from multiple accidents. - Drives spectacularly in snow and rain. All-wheel-drive, skid control, and everything are some of the best. - Volvo's dealership and customer service are among the best in the industry. They always gave us loaner cars (sometimes for weeks), and Volvo went out of their way to cover us even when our warranty expired for minor and major issues. Up until the last problem we had with the turbocharger. They're unwilling to give us any discounts as we've run up a large tab at this point (more on that below). Customer service is one of the reasons we would buy another Volvo, but only after 2-3 years after a new model has been released. - Volvo on-call and emergency services are excellent. Here are the problems we've been dealing with since we purchased the vehicle. - The instrument cluster failed when driving down the road. Meaning we had no visual indication of what was happening in the vehicle. We immediately took it to the dealership. Dealership fixed under warranty. (2018) - The blinker assembly (sticks) stopped working while driving. Again, immediately took it to the dealership. Fixed under warranty. (2018) - The brakes constantly squeal with no way of fixing them. Just a bad design in general. You can't hear them inside the vehicle, but the dealership has done many pads and even rotor adjustments under warranty to try and fix it. I still have had the same issue since I bought it. (2015-2022) - The instrument cluster failed (yes...again) only this time it didn't render it inoperable, just malfunctioned. Fixed under warranty (2019) - We had a major coolant leak which rendered the vehicle inoperable. Towed to the dealership, covered under warranty. (2020) - Oxygen sensor went out (twice) Covered under warranty (2018, and 2020) - A major oil leak caused them to pull the entire engine out to fix it. It wasn't supposed to be covered under warranty (Our warranty has long expired) Volvo made a deal for us to only pay for the labor involved ($1500). The normal cost of the fix was in the thousands. (2020) - A control box at the top of the engine made the vehicle squeal like a bad engine belt. Out of Warranty. $120 to fix. (2021) - A supercharger seal went out and caused a check engine light. Out of Warranty. $1500 to fix. (2021) - The touch screen has just gotten slower over time, like a dying windows computer. It's now just super slow to boot up and sometimes lags when doing any commands. - Tires for this vehicle are EXPENSIVE. Only two manufacturers make the tires that fit the 21" wheels. Scorpion and Goodyear. Volvo techs admit that the tires suck and that due to a design issue, the back tires with Scorpions run down faster than the fronts. We've had two flats due to nails and replaced all 4 three times due to wear and tear. We'll be switching from Scorpion to Goodyear to try them out. - The keyless entry and other features are locked behind a $250 a year app. For the cost of the vehicle and maintenance, while the service has been worth it to us, it's too expensive. We only use it for the keyless entry in hot and extreme cold weather to warm or cool the vehicle. If you use the vehicle for business, it does include a built-in mileage tracker, which is nice. We have one of the earliest VIN numbers for the US models, and honestly, the thing has been nothing but trouble mechanically. Of course, the later vehicles have all been fixed. We felt like an early adopter of the new model and we definitely paid the price for that. Even Volvo and their techs admit that the first 2016 models with low VINs have constant problems and have told us to always wait two years before buying a new model (lesson learned). The cost of ownership for the 2016 model has not been worth it. We paid almost $80K for this vehicle, costing thousands more to service it and maintain it and went sometimes weeks and even. months without our car and a loaner vehicle while we waited on parts to fix it. A typical service costs $200-$300 for this vehicle after the initial warranty and free services run out. On top of that, it takes premium gas only, which means the cost to operate, and the cost to maintain it is super high all around. Do I love my Volvo? Yes. Is it a big piece of crap? Mechanically, yes. Unfortunately, I think I'd be writing a different review if I had bought one today. We just bought way too early on a vehicle that was built from scratch from the previous gens. My tip is to never buy a new model until two years after the vehicle has been out when the kinks have been worked out.
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In the shop over 80 days in the first 3 mos
David Zuech, Norman, OK, 12/04/2015
Volvo XC90 T6 Inscription 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Twincharger 8A)
79 of 85 people found this review helpful
I receive my inscription on 17 July 2015. After owning it for nine days I received a suspension error code followed by a safety restraint error code and promptly sent it in for service. It was in the Volvo dealership in Tulsa for over 30 days. After I received my car back I had it for less than one week before more electronic error codes again began popping up in addition to my virtual speedometer going black on rainy night. Despite dispatching numerous Volvo engineers who attempted to service my car, Volvo was unable to repair it and didn't give me a refund after four months of ownership. I would tread extremely carefully with this first model year car as it seems Volvo has no idea how to have the various modules interact with each other. I would visit various Volvo forums to better understand the gravity of this problem and Volvo's pompous attitude to their new customers of the 2016 "car of the year"
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Parking brake needs service
Jo, Colorado Springs, CO, 12/23/2015
Volvo XC90 T6 Inscription 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Twincharger 8A)
56 of 60 people found this review helpful
I have owned my 2016 XC 90 for a month and it is already in the shop. When I came out of the store my car wouldn't start due to a warning light that indicated the parking brake needed service. I called the Volvo dealer and they had me try putting my key in the slot on the console to see if that would work, nothing happened. I was told that the car would indeed have to be towed into the dealership. Also, since my phone was connected to the Volvo it wiped out my contacts due to a computer glitch in the car! Since the car was in park the tow truck driver had to call the dealership to see how to override the transmission so he could get the car to move. I watched as they dragged my car up the tow truck ramp. I traded in my 2010 XC90 with over 100,000 miles on it and the only time it was ever in the shop was for service. I would wait to purchase the 2016 until all the bugs have been worked out and people know how to work on them. This is so disappointing and frustrating.
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Hold off buying this car !
SweetOldBill, Fredericksburg, VA, 08/26/2016
Volvo XC90 T6 Inscription 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Twincharger 8A)
44 of 47 people found this review helpful
Love my new Volvo XC90 when it starts. Beautiful inside and out, lots of great safety features, and a pleasure to drive. However, there have been severe software issues and most recently battery draining for no apparent reason when it sits. Each trip to shop has been 2 - 3 days, because their technicians are not fully up to speed and/or the software is too screwed up. They generally have to do a remote consult with Volvo engineers.. As I write this I am about to jump start it to take it back to the shop again, just a month after the last battery episode (they did a battery reset and then installed a new battery last time, but never did find the cause). Do a Google search and you will find dozens of other people with the same problem. Another issue is quirky navigation system. Usually reliable, but occasionally totally screws up destination city. My recommendation. Do not buy this car yet. Perhaps wait a year until Volvo gets their act together.
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This car was NOT ready for prime time
MrMan, Keller, TX, 08/24/2016
Volvo XC90 T6 Inscription 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Twincharger 8A)
22 of 23 people found this review helpful
I was one of the first to take delivery of the 2016 model (non-first edition). The car is great if you are just taking it for a short test drive. All of those glowing reviews.... Were from reviewers that took it on a few hour test drive. Actually owning the car was a different story. Mine leaked twice, and after a long, drawn out, months and months long story, it was lemon'd and I got into a Q7, which is far and away a better vehicle. It's not even close. And the leaking wasn't the only problem that I had. For the first several months that I owned the vehicle, my car spent more than 30 days in the shop. The support from VCNA and the dealers is just awful. I could literally go on and on for pages about my experience, but I'll just leave it at that.
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