2005 Volvo XC90 engine problems
29 owner complaints filed with NHTSA name the engine on the 2005 Volvo XC90 — 13% of all complaints for this model year.
What owners report
“When cranking it stalls and cuts off and after doing it around 10 times it finally cranks then I have to hurry to put in drive to get the motor going in order to keep her crunk and couple weeks ago because this problem she stalled out and I hit a hole in the road and busted the oil pan so she has…”
filed Jul 18, 2020
“The known volvo balance shaft failure in the 05 xc90 v8 b8444s engines sn up to 6833.volvo has known the v8 engine on the 2005 xc90 is faulty since 2005.specifically, the counterbalance shaft bearing failing due to water intrusion & humidity.mine has not failed yet.I will be lucky if it fails while…”
filed Jul 1, 2019
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Related service bulletins
This is a Technical Journal: Text plus 2 PDFs and 1 .PNG Oil Consumption test. Perform the test. Follow service procedure Description and Service sections updated to clarify that vehicle reports are not…
35526.1.8 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 23, 2026
Engine problems in other XC90 years
| Year | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 XC90 | 1 | 4% |
| 2024 XC90 | 4 | 12% |
| 2023 XC90 | 1 | 3% |
| 2022 XC90 | 6 | 21% |
| 2021 XC90 | 7 | 22% |
| 2020 XC90 | 6 | 21% |
| 2019 XC90 | 9 | 24% |
| 2018 XC90 | 5 | 11% |
| 2017 XC90 | 24 | 32% |
| 2016 XC90 | 85 | 43% |
| 2008 XC90 | 6 | 21% |
| 2007 XC90 | 4 | 11% |
Other reported problem areas on the 2005 Volvo XC90
Counts are unique NHTSA complaints naming this component group. Complaints are unverified owner reports; mileage is computed only from complaints that included a usable odometer reading.