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05 2.4 Superchips? - espzetec
Right,

I am about to by an XC90 D5. I was going to purchase the 2005 model as it's a little cheaper. However I understand that from '06 onwards a better D5 engine was used (185bhp). I hear that this got rid of the delay through the engine/transmission that can sometimes develop under harsh acceleration.

I asked Volvo if this problem could be overcome by a reprogramme (as I have read this somewhere) and they told me no, I need to buy the newer car. Is it true, or are they just trying to make me spend more money on a newr model?

I was also going to superchip the car as it's now out of warrant so I am potentially looking at more power / economy than the later model anyway, but obviously it is wasted money of the car hesitates under acceleration?

Any info greatly appreciated
05 2.4 Superchips? - MikeTorque
A chip, remap and plug & play device often get rid of flat spots but a delay may occur as a result of turbo lag so it's worth ascertaining if that's the problem with this model before making a tuning decision.

Have a chat with a company who specialises in tuning and knows something about your engines characteristics and see what they suggest and can offer/recommend.
05 2.4 Superchips? - TheOilBurner
The lag on these cars is mostly down to the "shift into neutral" feature on auto models. Re-program that and all will be well. Of course, chipping it to 200bhp won't hurt either.

It's not an especially laggy diesel engine, despite what many people say. The issue stems from the huge bulk and AWD system on the XC90. In my S80 the same engine is a peach and pulls well from all speeds, including from the mark.

The newer engine is better still, but it does come with the dreaded DPF, which earlier D5s don't.
05 2.4 Superchips? - prm72
I didn't think the "shift into neutral" mode was on 05 auto's, didn't they get rid from 03 onwards?
05 2.4 Superchips? - TheOilBurner
Yep, the problem is that people have heard about this problem and still believe it occurs on all Euro III D5s. I haven't heard anyone claiming about slow starts in D5s on later cars, and yet the memory of the problem still persists...and causes potential buyers to fret for no reason...

That and the fact that the new 185 D5 will make the old one seem slow in comparison!
05 2.4 Superchips? - prm72
o OB, are you now saying that the 05 cars don't have the "slip into neutral " function