AWD failures, and pickin' on poor old Volvo.

Anytime anybody asks about awd Volvos, there is a chorus of "OMG the all wheel drive is junk!". As I was test driving the third Rav4 in the last few months with the coupler on the front of the diff piled up (a $2k repair) I got adding up the awd hardware failures I've dealt with over the last couple of years...3 Rav diff couplers, 4 Ford car transfer cases, a Hyundai transfer case of some sort, and several full size GM trucks with the awd option... And two Volvo angle drive spline failures.

Quit pickin on my Swedish friend, or I'll report you to the bully police.

Add Saab Haldex UNREPAIRABLE leaking transfer cases and failed eLSD units to your list. Never ever ever never buy an XWD Saab.

mo parts.. mo problems.

The Volvo rant needs some qualifications with regards to year, owner history and are we talking about the awd or the transmission.

In reply to foxtrapper:

Yeah, but the transmissions don't fail any more often than a Camry either...

What coupler is that with the RAV4? Is that the diff lock mechanism or something else that is failing? When it goes, is it catastrophic or do you just lose AWD?

Streetwiseguy wrote: In reply to foxtrapper: Yeah, but the transmissions don't fail any more often than a Camry either...

If it's the 5 speed, it's the same unit as a Maxima.

Volvo AWD uses the same Haldex tech as GM and Ford and VW and a brazillion other companies.

The AW55 was indeed used in many different vehicles, but it would be valved and programmed differently for each manufacturer that used it. Volvo's program and valving wins the award for extra bad. Saab gets second place. The others are distant also rans.

Huh? I love the way my Volvo drives. It's clearly tuned for drivers and not CAFE numbers. It shifts exactly when I would want it to and I can easily command a downshift with a quick jab of the throttle, mimicking a double-clutched downshift motion. If you brake hard after accelerating, it will hold the lower gear instead of upshifting mid-corner. If you downshift manually, it allows you to revmatch the shift and will engage the new gear at the appropriate time.

If anything, it's one of the really endearing parts of the car that I know I'd miss if I changed cars.

Dr. Hess wrote: What coupler is that with the RAV4? Is that the diff lock mechanism or something else that is failing? When it goes, is it catastrophic or do you just lose AWD?

The bearings pack up on the coupler that is in front of the diff. It turns into a statue eventually.

Knurled wrote:

Streetwiseguy wrote: In reply to foxtrapper: Yeah, but the transmissions don't fail any more often than a Camry either...

If it's the 5 speed, it's the same unit as a Maxima. Volvo AWD uses the same Haldex tech as GM and Ford and VW and a brazillion other companies.

The transfer cases are all different. Ford one is real junk. The diff is the same in Fords, I know. They have the same failure prone electric pump. (Which is not terribly expensive or hard to replace.)

Are there early warning signs on that bearing? I ask because I'm about to dump 300 HP through one. I have a trans from a ST215, but I'd have to pull both apart and make one from the two, plus source axles, etc., versus just run the original RAV4 trans. I plan on running Redline MTL or MT90 in it after the swap.

In reply to Dr. Hess:

Just noises. They are full of sealed bearings, no lube in the unit, unless the diffs pinion seal fails, then they get oil where they are not supposed to. No parts available, just assembly.

Well, I'll just run it till it blows, then swap it out to the bullet proof unit. Thanks.

Aspen wrote: Add Saab Haldex UNREPAIRABLE leaking transfer cases and failed eLSD units to your list. Never ever ever never buy an XWD Saab.

There goes that turbo x i've been day dreaming about.

In my personal experience with the Volvo AWD failure the stock splined sleeve from trans to transfer case is made out of hard playdough. Two hours later and a hardened sleeve now it does nice four wheel drifts in the snow. Now the Throttle Control System, that is Junk.