2016 Volvo XC90
Complaints about this year name oil far more often than the other years of this generation — 24% of them, about 61× the usual rate of 0.4%.
First year of a new generation. The Volvo XC90 was redesigned for 2016. A first year carries problems nobody has found yet, and they are found by the people who buy it — which is worth knowing before you become one of them.
| Complaints filed | 588 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 51 |
| Involving a crash | 15 |
| Involving a fire | 30 |
| Recalls | 8 |
| EPA combined | 23.5 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- drove — 14.8% of this year's complaints, against 4.3% across the other years of this generation (3.5×). Owners wrote it as: drove, figure, figure out, popped.
- city — 6.1% of this year's complaints, against 0% across the other years of this generation (30.6×). Owners wrote it as: city, streets, car going, braked.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- oil consumption — 14% of complaints, 34× usual
- engine — 33% of complaints, 3× usual
- coolant — 11% of complaints, 28× usual
What owners wrote
Engine oil consumption issue. Engine is consuming a quart of oil every 1,500 miles.
Oil consumption issue every 1500 miles engine requires top off oil 1 qt other wise piston rings can ignite damage engine result in loss of power.
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 19V308000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING Fixed free of charge.
- 21V273000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 16V690000 EQUIPMENT Fixed free of charge.
- 16V798000 SEAT BELTS Fixed free of charge.
- 16V268000 VISIBILITY Fixed free of charge.
- 15V497000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 15V342000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 23V827000 SEAT BELTS Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Volvo XC90 was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2016 Volvo XC90? What happened to yours?
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