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EnginePart report

2004 Volvo XC90 Engine Problems

Complaints
28about this part
Share
6%of 462 total for the year
Median mileage
104,789miles
Trend
FallingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 28 complaints about the engine of the 2004 Volvo XC90, 6% of the 462 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 104,789 miles.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“My wife and I were driving to a friend's how's when suddenly the radio started acting up ,it would go on and off . After we noticed that I slowed down a bit then all of a sudden my hole dash board went out . I tried pulling over but the transmission would not respond ,then the dashboard came back on but I had all these warnings like brake failure ,srs airbag service urgent , engine system service urgent . …”

NHTSA complaint #10478919, filed 2012-10, 104,789 miles

“Car lost all power and message window read reduced engine performance . We were traveling in the left lane and had to coast through traffic to the shoulder. There was absolutely no throttle response, so we shut the car off. Upon restarting it, the message disappeared and we were able to continue our trip. It happened again, and we reset it once again. We stopped at the first Volvo repair facility we found and had them scan all the computers using the Volvo diagnostic equipment. The code they retrieved was ECM-981a. …”

NHTSA complaint #10680983, filed 2015-02, 133,514 miles

“I have a Volvo XC90 2004. I was driving and suddenly I heard a noise under the car. I stop the car and call my road service provider to send me a tow truck. We took the car to the auto center to have it inspected, they call me to give me bad news they said it was the transmission shaft, something coming out apart and that will be expensive to fix and that I needed to take it to Volvo dealer to get it fix . I was in shock. I didn't expected this so soon my Volvo car it has 87,000 miles and I feel this is a manufacturer malfunction problem . …”

NHTSA complaint #10704568, filed 2015-04, 87,400 miles

“I was driving on the highway at 60 miles an hour and the car completely shut off. No lights, no engine, no power steering, no dash lights. The car went completely dead. I pulled over and let the car rest and then it started up again. I noticed the second time it happened when I took my foot off the accelerator. I took it to arbormotion in ann arbor mi and they told me a code came up and some part had to be cleaned. When I took my foot off the accelerator there was not enough air going through the part to allow gas to flow. …”

NHTSA complaint #10512481, filed 2013-05, 79,000 miles

“I was driving my XC90 2004 and suddenly the unit just turned off completely. I had to continue driving with the vehicle without any kind of power. I parked the car beside the highway and tried to turned on the car again, the car started to function normally. I checked the pole of the battery but they were ok and the battery itself it's new. This is not the first time that happens, it is very unpredictable and sporadic.when I went to the Volvo dealer some months ago to fix a campaign that have the XC90, I told the mechanics what happened and told them to check that issue. …”

NHTSA complaint #10510657, filed 2013-05, 93,000 miles

Related service bulletins

Engine: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
202513%
2024411%
202312%
2022619%
2021820%
2020721%
20191024%
2018510%
20172531%
20168644%
2013218%
2011526%
201018%
2009114%
2008621%
2007411%
2006611%
20052913%
2004286%
200322%

Other parts of the 2004 Volvo XC90

Electrical system
158 complaints
Transmission and drivetrain
145 complaints
Fuel system
77 complaints
Exterior lighting
32 complaints
Air bags
31 complaints
Engine cooling
24 complaints
Suspension
23 complaints
Steering
20 complaints
Brakes
19 complaints
Other or unknown
17 complaints
Vehicle speed control
17 complaints
Body and structure
14 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2004 Volvo XC90

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology