2005 Volvo XC90 V8 - engine number 6163 - counter balance shaft failure due to engine design defect. No recall by Volvo despite very high volume of incidents and the safety risk to drivers and passengers of their vehicles. No check engine lights. Volvo knows about this issue and chooses to ignore it, authorities are a aware of it and chose not to enforce safety standards on Volvo- "Volvo for life"...I think not.

- Norwalk, CT, USA

I own a 2005 V8 XC90. Like so many others I am a recent member to the cb failure club. Yep. It's a club. The counter balance shaft failure club. This is a design defect that Volvo is aware of and does nothing to remedy the poor saps who own a 2005 with the first 6883 engines produced by yamaha for Volvo. After 6883 Volvo made changes to the design of the counter balance shaft, by drilling a weep hole to let moisture out. Unfortunately, my engine was in the 4000S. I live in southern California. About the driest climate you can get, but yet rust has destroyed my counter balance and thus destroyed my engine with only 80000 miles on it.btw, I have had my engine serviced regularly. But the counter balance shaft is something that can not be serviced without tearing the engine apart. It lies in the valley of the V8. In my case, and in all the other cases I am reading about, the bearings rusted and the shaft rusted and it tore apart my engine block. Had I been driving on a freeway with my children and lost power it could have been fatal. How is it that this design flaw which causes catastrophic engine failure can be allowed not to be recalled" in fact, thanks to a overcharged alternator, I had just put a new $1400 computer in the car. Yet, the computer never read check engine. Why" because the computer is not monitoring the lubrication in a sealed bearing. And it is impossible without tearing the engine down for 10 hours (1200.00 in labor) to get to the counter balance shaft to see the condition of it. Please, for the sake of others who might be unfortunate enough to drive this car and find themselves on a freeway when the engine blows due to cheap rusted bearings -- issue a recall!!!

- Glendale, CA, USA

I purchased a 2005 Volvo XC90 for $16,000. 6 months later the engine freezes up. That cost $10,000 to replace the engine. Looked on google, very common for these V8 engines to freeze up. Now the headlights are acting up. Looked on google and found the headlight issue is very common. This will cost $3,000 to repair. This car is going to cost me almost as much to repair it as I paid for it!! Volvo is loosing control. I would like you to issue a recall for these engine issues and issue a recall for these headlight issues. Please google 2005 Volvo XC90 V8 engine and google the same year and model about the headlight issue. You will be astounded by all the pages of complaints about what is supposed to be a great car. These cars where $62,000 brand new, what a joke they can sell this car with so many problems. Please issue a recall. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Glenview, IL, USA

Counter balance shaft bearing failure and complete destruction of engine while traveling down a crowded I-95 going into NY city with two children in car. This is such a common problem with the vehicle, that it's criminal to not hold Volvo accountable to fix this.

- La Grange Park, IL, USA

At 97000 miles the counterbalance shaft broke resulting in engine failure. Service at Volvo says I need a new engine. 7000-10000 for a used engine. Contacted manufacturer, waiting for response.

- North Ridgeville, OH, USA

Volvo knows the V8 engine on the 2005 XC90 is faulty. Specifically, the counterbalance shaft bearing failing due to water intrusion. Fortunately mine failed while at idle. Unfortunately the entire engine is now seized up and my otherwise clean car is a large and useless paperweight. If this were to happen while the car is moving at speed, it could cause a horrible accident. Unless Volvo actively finds the remaining engines in service and fixes this problem, it remains a risk regardless of the mileage. Appropriately, they should also reimburse anyone who was affected by this problem since they learned of it back in 2005.

- Oakton, VA, USA

Sunday morning (10.14.12) car making a horrible noise from engine block. Sounds like loose bolts rattling around inside engine block. Checked trusted Volvo forums on web. I have had four Volvo between myself and my wife: 2000 S40 (wife), 2001 S80 and now 2005 S40 (wife) and my XC90 - used these forums to stay up on latest issues/maintenance. There were several posts with identical issue with this model, year and V8 engine. Apparently, ongoing issue with counter balance shaft bearing. Design flaw allows rust to occur at bearing and then then cb-shaft fails. Will cause incredible damage to engine - maybe even death if occurs at high speeds. Called dealer this morning, they are familiar with issue, wanted me to drive in or tow. Cost is prohibitive and based on legions of similar consumer reports, am already certain of diagnosis. Volvo na even distributed technical bulletin to service depts to drill moisture relief hole in bearing area as fix for those under warranty!!! that's insane!!! links to posts about issue (one owner even posted video of his engine noise): forums.swedespeed.com/showthread.php?123707-intermittent-clattering-noise-form-head-of-block-with-rough-running also S298.photobucket.com/albums/MM262/dlrnordic/vehicle20pictures202010/action=view¤t=img_0385.MP4 and wwwodi.NHTSA.dot.gov/complaints/results.cfmodi_ids=10313311&searchtype=quicksearch&summary=true&refurl=email need Volvo na to step up and help, help, help! hardworking family man without estimated 10-15K to fix this!!! also, issue with internal rain leaks on 2005 S40 but never raised fuss. Love our Volvo but in a real spot here. Come on Volvo na, do the right thing!! will acknowledge Volvo's committment to consumer all across web!!!

- Williamstown, NJ, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Volvo XC90. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 mph, the engine stalled without any warning. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to an independent auto shop for diagnosis. The technician stated the counter balance shaft bearing was frozen and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. In addition, the headlights would intermittently operate and had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 88,000. Updated 10/3/12 updated 10/09/2012

- Glenview, IL, USA

I noticed a grinding noise while driving at normal highway speed as it got worse over the next day or so I brought it to my local Volvo specialist. After some research I was told that the problem was with the balance shaft and was specific to the 2005 XC90 V8. I contacted Volvo North America and received no compensation or even satisfactory customer service. My local Volvo tech recommended I bring the car to the Volvo dealer, who were the only one's authorized to do the repair. The engine head had to be removed to replace the balance shaft and the bearings needed to be reassembled. It's amazing that the same exact problem can be reported to this extent and Volvo still does nothing!! $4200 dollars later, the car was fixed. I'm glad it was caught prior to the engine needed to be replaced..

- Powder Springs, GA, USA