VOLVO Complaints

On 01/04/2026, while operating a gas-powered 2024 Volvo XC40, the vehicle experienced a catastrophic Sudden Unintended Acceleration (SUA) event while stationary at a red light. With the service brake fully depressed, the internal combustion engine began to surge and rev uncontrollably, making loud noises. The engine torque increased in direct response to increased brake pressure, eventually overcoming the braking system and forcing the vehicle forward into the 3-way intersection. Technical Details: Brake-Throttle Override (BTO) Failure: The vehicle’s safety logic failed to prioritize the brake signal over the uncommanded throttle increase. Shifter Interlock Malfunction: During the surge, the electronic gear selector was unresponsive, preventing shifting into Neutral (N) to disconnect power. Shifting capability only returned once the vehicle was brought to a forced stop. Prior Symptoms: Intermittent "idle flaring" and surging were noted 48 hours prior to the failure. Safety Risk: The vehicle moved into traffic against my intent and physical input, posing a high risk of collision. The car was towed by Volvo Road Assistance on 1/4/26 to the Volvo dealership later that evening. This incident mimics the "Powertrain Control System" defects currently documented in NHTSA Campaign 25V392 and the Becker v. Volvo class action, suggesting the software defect extends to ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) models. The car is currently at the Volvo Dealership for diagnostics. The service intake person has not provided an update on whether they have been able to duplicate the issue. I do not know what diagnostics have been performed on the car at this point. There were no warning signs or messages prior to the failure. Some minor surging had been noticed a couple of days before, but this latest incident was catastrophic and a safety risk. I felt trapped in my car.

The crimping on the A/C hose from the firewall to the compressor failed and leaked all the freon from the system. This is a design flaw, the mounting location causes excess vibration in the hose leading to the crimping failure. There are countless forum posts and other complaints filed by owners of the same vehicle for the exact same A/C hose. This should be a recall from Volvo. It is a major safety issue for customers like me who live in a humid environment, without A/C the windshield can fog over and hinder visibility. I contacted Volvo Customer Care for reimbursement and was denied as my car was not under warranty. My car only has 40,000 miles on it and this part shouldnt fail in this manner, especially at my low mileage. I have since purchased their extended warranty as this part will eventually fail again (from the design flaw in A/C system mounting location) and I don't want to pay the large repair costs again. The NHTSA should investigate this with all owners of this year/make/model and they will find Volvo needs to declare a recall and reimburse owners for the repair costs.

Component/System that failed: The engine (T5 Drive-E) experienced sudden loss of propulsion and entered reduced engine performance mode. The vehicle is currently available for inspection and was towed to an authorized Volvo dealer following the incident. How safety was put at risk: On July 3, 2025, while driving approximately 75 mph on a crowded interstate highway in rural Ohio with cruise control engaged, the vehicle suddenly and without warning lost propulsion. Traffic included semi-trucks and other vehicles, with limited shoulder availability. The sudden loss of acceleration at highway speed created an immediate risk of rear-end collision and left the vehicle unsafe to operate. Confirmation or reproduction: Prior to the failure, in July 2024 at approximately 92,000 miles, I reported abnormal oil consumption to an authorized Volvo dealer and raised a known Volvo service advisory related to oil consumption in the T5 Drive-E engine. The dealer acknowledged the advisory but refused testing, stating the vehicle did not meet Volvo’s internal threshold. After the failure, a service agent acknowledged that this issue is known to occur in this model at approximately this mileage. Inspections: The vehicle was serviced at an authorized Volvo dealer in Bethesda, Maryland just days prior to the incident. Following the failure, the vehicle was towed to an authorized Volvo dealer in Columbus, Ohio. Volvo Cars USA has not repaired the vehicle and denied a goodwill request. Warnings or symptoms prior to failure: There were no warning lamps or messages prior to the loss of propulsion. The engine warning light and a “Reduced Engine Performance” message appeared only after power was lost.

Even after the Volvo R10320 - WAM Upgrade recall, the backup camera is STILL unavailable at times when reversing. The recall and software update did not fix the issue. I would start the car and begin to reverse and met with "Camera is temporarily unavailable". I do not know what else do to as Volvo is slow to respond or provide anytime of upgrade or timely fix. This has happened multiple times and almost five times a week.

Please note this is an all electric SUV. On Saturday 6th December, I unplugged the car from the A/C charger after it had finished charging to 90% in my garage and there was a very loud bang heard from under the car. The dashboard then reported there is a fault with the car and it cannot charge. Took the car to the dealer same day and they suspected it was a failed GHCA part (AC to DC converter). They ordered a replacement and fitted it on 20th December but the car still will not charge on A/C. It still charges on DC and the dealer is using that to keep it powered. I received a call from the dealer today (1/2/26) to say that Volvo corporate needs to perform a detailed investigation as to what has caused the car to stop charging on AC. The dealer will not let me have the car back as they are concerned about the safety of the car and have been without it for approaching one month now. With that in mind and the many reports on social media of similar failures as well as multiple months of having faulty cars, it appears this is a major problem that should be subject to a recall. An example of posts can be seen here: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The vehicle experienced a complete loss of propulsion, causing it to freeze and become unable to move. The first occurrence happened during the original factory warranty period and required towing to a dealership, but the root cause was not identified at that time. The same loss-of-propulsion failure has since recurred, rendering the vehicle inoperable. A dealership has now diagnosed a failure of an electric vehicle propulsion/inverter component. The vehicle is currently in the dealership’s possession and available for inspection. Loss of propulsion presents a safety risk, particularly if it occurs while driving or in traffic, as it can result in sudden loss of power and inability to move the vehicle out of hazardous situations. The failure has been confirmed by the servicing dealership. There is also concern that a related cooling system component may be involved, but that has not yet been confirmed, as the primary propulsion failure must be addressed first. As of the date of this complaint, the vehicle remains inoperable and has been at the dealership since mid-November awaiting repair authorization.

Some back info: I keep the auto start/stop feature disabled. There are three identical incidents total. One about a year or two ago and two back to back a few weeks ago. The first time I was stopped at a drive through but in “drive” with my foot on the brake. All of the sudden the car completely turns off. Screens black, engine off. Completely black car no inside lights on. Within a couple of seconds, I hear the engine reengage and the car “starts” as normal like when you turn the switch. All of the lights and screens turn on and apple car play reconnects. The most recent two incidents were the same day and in drive having stopped at stoplights. The car goes “dead” then restarts all in drive with my foot on the brake. No warnings come up after the incident either. This time my husband and children were with me and can confirm it happened. I did not get these incidents checked out since the car was instantly back to normal with no warning messages. Very unnerving though and feels like the car is being remotely restarted somehow. The first time I just brushed it off, now I am concerned about this happening while in motion.

The car triggered a "charging fault" while charging on a trip and will no longer charge on a level-2/AC charger. I was lucky to have enough charge to make it to a DC Fast charger and continue my trip. If I had not been so close to an alternative DC Fast charger this could have left me stranded.

Water leaking from the windshield seal (possibly the moonroof) gets into electronics under the dash and causes the transmission to stop working properly and also causes the engine to just stop completely. It happened 4 years ago and Volvo replaced a module but it happened again a week ago.

SPEED LIMIT indicator incorrect (example: indicator shows 80 mph speed limit on a small road in Alabama where it should be 35 mph; also, there is no road in Alabama greater than 75mph.) LANE DEPARTURE ASSIST has a hard time identifying lanes in some construction zones (this is extremely dangerous as the car is constantly trying to over-correct me) - infotainment system randomly reboots, presents a problem mostly when navigating - I have reported this issue way too many times and the infotainment system has been replaced once. REAR CAMERA comes on randomly, often when no car or object is near INFOTAINMENT system touch sensitivity is unacceptable