VOLVO Complaints

Was on the highway driving back from my aunts house and there were no signs anything was wrong with my car. No alerts on the dash besides low pressure tire which I filled up. As I was almost home, an alert randomly came up with “no oil pressure” along with a check engine light flashing and the car started shaking (misfiring). The car flashed a message that said something about reduced engine performance. As my car was shaking fervently, it was slowing down and failed to accelerate, causing cars behind me to almost crash. No oil pressure can also cause fires and put my life at risk. I had much time left to get my oil changed and yet I had oil message lights come on. I believe this is a problem with the piston rings that are defective & there was just recently a class action suit of them. I have had to continually fill up oil, and now I suddenly have an engine that does not work and threatened the safety of myself and others on the road. Volvo diagnosed the issue as being valve broken, piston ring damage, along with other engine components. I now need an entire new engine.

I OWNED A 2016 VOLVO XC 90 IN VERY GOOD CONDITION. IN EARLY SEPTEMBER 2023, I TOOK IT FOR AN OIL SERVICE. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, I NOTICED A WARNING LIGHT FOR LOW COOLANT AND WAS SURPRISED THAT I HAD TO POUR MORE THAN A HALF GALLON TO REFILL (THIS SOON AFTER SERVICE). A FEW DAYS LATER, I TOOK THE CAR TO HAVE BRAKES CHANGED AND THEY ALSO NEEDED TO REPLACE AN OIL/AIR SEPARATOR PART. AFTER GETTING THE CAR BACK, IT SAT ON DRIVEWAY FOR WEEK. UPON RETURNING FROM OUR TRIP, MY WIFE DROVE THE CAR AND IT STARTED SMOKING FROM HOOD WHILE ON [XXX] IN CHICAGO, NO WARNING LIGHTS SEEN. SHE WAS ABLE TO TAKE AN EXIT RAMP AND FIND AN EMPTY CURBSIDE SPACE TO PULL OVER. WITHIN MINUTES THE SMOKE TURNED TO FIRE AND VEHICLE BURNED EXTENSIVELY BEFORE THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED (~15 MINUTES LATER). THE INSURANCE COMPANY (STATE FARM) DECLARED IT A TOTAL LOSS AND SETTLED OUR CLAIM, HOWEVER WE DO NOT BELIEVE THEY TOOK ANY FURTHER ACTION ON INVESTIGATING THE REASON FOR FIRE. WE BELIEVE THE FIRE WAS LIKELY RELATED TO ISSUE WITH COOLANT SYSTEM. WE NOTICED A PUDDLE ON DRIVEWAY WHERE THE CAR WAS PARKED THAT LOOKED LIKE OIL, BUT IT DRIED QUITE QUICKLY SO WAS MORE LIKELY TO HAVE BEEN COOLANT. ON SEARCHING THE INTERNET FOR FIRE RELATED ISSUE FOR VOLVOS, WE FOUND A FORUM THAT DISCUSSED A SERIES OF FIRES (10-12) FOR 2016 VOLVO XC90 RELATED TO COOLANT SYSTEM ISSUE. APPARENTLY THERE WAS A RECALL FOR THIS, THOUGH APPEARS TO BE FOCUSED ON EUROPEAN DIESEL MODELS. IN DISCUSSING THE ISSUE WITH THE REPAIR SHOP THAT LAST SERVICED THE CAR, THEY INSISTED IT COULDN'T HAVE BEEN OIL RELATED AND MENTIONED PROBLEM COULD HAVE BEEN FROM RODENTS EATING THROUGH WIRES, BUT THAT SEEMS UNLIKELY TO ME. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

6/8/23: Vehicle in shop for 30K warranty service. Front brake pads flagged yellow for wear. Recommendation they be addressed next visit at 40K miles. By 35K, Brake pedal was vibrating and steering wheel shaking upon moderate braking. Made appt. With local dealer which required over a month wait. 1/5/24: Dealer confirmed problem. Despite their own Technical Service Bulletin [XXX], dated [XXX], which recommended warranty replacement of brake pads, the service writer, Joe Barber at Volvo of St. Louis, 7700 Manchester Rd. refused to follow the manufacturer's recommendations. Instead, he quoted me a complete front brake job, to include rotors and pads for $920. I declined. With over 50 years of driving experience, not once have I owned a vehicle with brake/rotor failure with so few actual miles driven (mostly highway). Dealer claims this is normal for Volvo cars. Supposedly, one of the safest cars made for many years. I filed a written complaint with the Service Mgr. when he sent me a customer satisfaction survey. No response. Also filed a complaint with Volvo North America in Mahwah, NJ. They also quickly denied any responsibility, claiming normal wear and tear. Unable to upload documentation from my phone, but can do so by PC scan if allowed. Please advise. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Heat does not work in Hybrid Vehicle. Prevents windshield from being able to be defrosted in winter. Should be covered under warranty, however when I took it to the dealer they report that multiple Volvo have this problem and there is a part shortage. Because of this problem, the vehicle is unsafe to drive the vehicle in the winter because it won't generate enough heat to melt the snow and ice that hits the windshield.

I have a 2016 XC90, been letting Volvo know of my oil consumption since Feb 2022 when I noticed more oil being used before changes were due! My vehicle failed the oil test performed on 12/6/23 at Volvo on Manchester in St Louis, and now this Volvo extended warranty won’t cover it. Why? Well, I never received anything from Volvo and wasn’t even aware until the service advisor told me to call. A “ticket” was put in with Volvo headquarters on 12/8/23 and they state that I’m out of the extended warranty, yet I NEVER had any opportunity to even get it since I didn’t receive anything! They want to replace where the current leak is, which is $2600, then do another test! This was my first actual oil consumption test! Despite bringing it to my advisor at the time, which I was well within these “extended warranty parameters” such as mileage, my advisor never suggested this test back in 2022. I was just informed in December 2023 there is a Volvo lawsuit regarding oil consumption. Apparently letters were sent out to Volvo customers of this “extended warranty” opportunity to fix the issue, which I never received anything! I was informed by the dealership to reach out to Volvo headquarters, which I have, a case was put in and 24 hours later I received an email stating they would NOT assist as I’m outside of those “warranty guidelines!.” Like I’ve advised them, how is an owner to know of this extended warranty if we weren’t notified!! it will be $2,600 to fix the current consumption THEN they want to do another consumption test to ensure it’s not leaking elsewhere!

Both of the rear doors fail to unlock and open from the inside or outside. This is a safety issue, as in a fire or accident, I would not be able to remove my children from the back seat of the car.

SUA Sudden unintended acceleration while making a U-turn to park in front of our home my wife, [XXX] was driving when the vehicle suddenly accelerated rapidly jumping the curb onto the sidewalk onto grassy front lawn then stopped. This was a ‘loaner’ vehicle from Volvo whom I called to have it towed back to them. Luckily there were no injuries or damages. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

My 2019 volvos' xc40 center console has been glitching and blacking out while driving. I rely on this system to navigate and when it blacks out, it does not resume operation till I restart my car. I mentioned this while getting my car serviced and was told I needed to pay a $250 fee to get my system updated and I couldn't complete the update on my own. The update can only be completed by an authorized dealer and there is a charge associated with it. This practice is negligent and unacceptable as the lack of updates results in safety concerns and is not just perk. I contacted customer service and they apologized for the inconvenience. This is not an inconvenience, it is negligent and a safety issue.

1. The engine has been compromised due to excessive oil consumption for at least half the life of the vehicle. The oil level was detected y a Volvo mechanics being 4 quarts low despite the vehicle not being due for an oil change for another 2,200 miles. At that time, the vehicle was still under extended warranty 2. Had the low oil level not been detected , I would have run out of oil on the freeway and the engine would have caught fire 3. I monitored oil consumption over 5 months and documented significant consumption on the order of 1 quart over 500 miles 4. I opened a case with Volvo in Feb. 2021, and I was sent to one of their dealers for an oil consumption test. The service dealer stated the test was normal, despite the fact that the dipstick level drop corresponded to 1.5 quarts of oil consumed over 1000 miles (documented by photos). Volvo then closed the case 5. I continued to monitor oil consumption myself and topped up the oil as needed at a rate of 1 quart per 600 miles. Since Feb. 2021, over 30,000 driven miles, I have added ~ 60 quarts of oil, in addition to continuing to perform oil changes as recommended by Volvo dealers 6. For the record, Volvo has been concealing their excessive oil consumption by administering 7 quarts and even 8 quarts of oil at each oil change instead of the owner's manual recommended 5.8 quarts. I have 15 oil service record documents from Volvo service facilities for all my oil services documenting the above 7. In Nov 2023 my catalytic converter issues error codes due to low performance caused by excessive oil consumption 8. On [XXX] while driving to Cleveland I had several misfires, the engine started shaking on the freeway and barely made it to Cleveland 9. On [XXX] I took the car to a Volvo dealership where it was diagnosed with severe engine damage from prolonged oil consumption. I re-opened a case with Volvo to cover repairs (~$7000) and loaner car. So far Volvo has been silent and slow. 10. Doc upload not working below. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFO

When traveling down a local and city road traveling at approximately 55 miles per hour, the vehicle is fine. But once I get on the highway and travel over 60 miles per hour (approximately driving 70 miles per hour), there is a horrible click that engages in the steering wheel at around approximately 1° angle (it turns right barely when it happens). While driving in either lane, the steering wheel will automatically lock up and turn the vehicle right. When this happens, you can legitimately feel it in the steering wheel. You have to then turn the steering wheel left in order for the click to disengage, but it causes the vehicle to turn sharply. This is unsafe and I feel it will eventually result in a car accident if this is not fixed. It is my daily drive and I feel 100% unsafe!