VOLVO Complaints

Two Issues: 1. "Check Engine Light" comes on for no reason. This has happened six times (I have video recordings and maintenance reports from the dealership.) In the last maintenance report, Volvo technicians acknowledged the issue and stated that "AS OF NOW NO SOLUTION FOR THIS TO BE FIXED, VOLVO WILL BE LOOKING INTO THIS FOR FURTHER NOTICE." They also told me to just ignore the light if it comes on again. So, if there is a real and dangerous engine malfunction, there is no way to be alerted. 2. The entire sound system goes off while driving. This has happened few times. When this issue occurs, there will be no sound of alerts (turn signals, collision warnings, parking warnings, air conditioning, Google Maps, radio, etc.) The sales associates and manager told me this happens to their vehicles as well, and told me to reboot the screen whenever it happens. In one incident, I had to pull over in a shopping center parking lot to reboot the screen. No permanent solutions to this issue as well.

On November 5, 2025, while driving my 2017 Volvo XC90, I experienced a sudden and dangerous loss of braking assist. When I pressed the brake pedal, I heard a loud hissing noise coming from under the dashboard, and the car would not stop. The brake would not work and the vehicle would not slow or stop unless I stood up and used my full body weight to press it. A licensed mechanic inspected the vehicle and confirmed this is consistent with loss of vacuum pressure from the brake booster/failure of the vacuum brake booster, the component that provides power assist to the braking system. The booster, brake pump, hose from booster to pump and brake pedal clip were replaced, with an estimated cost of $2,858. The mechanic also advised that this failure is not uncommon in Volvo XC90 models. After the incident, I researched similar complaints and found numerous reports on NHTSA and [XXX] describing **identical symptoms—hard brake pedal and hissing sound due to vacuum booster failure—**in the 2016–2019 XC90. For example, one owner reported “hard pedal, no assist, hissing sound behind dash” [XXX] , Volvo XC90 2017 Brakes section, accessed Nov 2025). No warning lights or error messages appeared before or during the event. The problem occurred suddenly and without prior symptoms. This defect posed a serious safety risk to me, my passengers, and other drivers, as it severely reduced braking ability and required excessive force to stop the vehicle. Under other conditions, this issue could easily have resulted in a crash. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

My 2019 Volvo XC60 with approximately 65,000 miles, experienced a sudden failure of the electric power steering rack. The vehicle became unable to steer and unsafe to drive. The dealership confirmed that the entire steering rack must be replaced at a cost of nearly $7,000. I was told by an independent second opinion that this kind of steering rack failure is highly unusual at this mileage and may indicate a premature component failure. This is a serious safety risk for drivers. I filed a claim with Volvo’s Goodwill program on October 15, 2025, and after five weeks of no communication from Volvo Corporate (despite endless attempts to reach them on my behalf), the only information I have received is a secondary text from my service rep that Volvo is offering a small portion of coverage — with no explanation or written decision. The lack of transparency, combined with the unusual nature of the failure, raises concern that this could be part of a wider pattern of steering failures on similar Volvo vehicles.

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2011 Volvo S40. It was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a dealer sale. At the time of purchase, the mileage was 115,314. The contact stated that at the time of registration, it was discovered that the mileage was 350,000 on VIN History USA.

Ever since I bought the vehicle new in 2021 I have had perpetual problems with the software and technology. The cruise control system has gone out completely, all electrical fails in the vehicle, apple car play regularly goes out. What is even more of a safety concern is multiple times my car has been automatically braking and suddenly accelerates nearly causing me to rear end the vehicle in front of me. Several times I have been traveling down the road straight ahead with the cruise control system enabled and the vehicle will suddenly automatically turn sharply throwing me towards oncoming traffic or towards the side of the road. Fortunately I have been able to prevent an accident every time because of quick action but this is deeply concerning and an extreme safety concern for me and others on the road.

I've owned the EX30 for approximately 3 months. During that time, there have been approx. 5 incidents where after backing the car from a parking spot and switching to drive mode, the entire navigation screen goes blank and the screen displays the car as being in reverse mode. After being advised by Red Bank Volvo, NJ that this likely would be rectified during a major software update, I installed 2 major updates without a resolution to this problem - shortly after the 2nd update, I experienced the issue again. On 11/7/25 I brought the car to service and was told there were no error codes and software was up-to-date so they could do nothing. I called Volvo Customer Service to report the issue, and they advised bringing the car back to service, where a remote diagnostic assessment could be performed with corporate service. I was not advised by Red Bank Volvo that this was an option.

When leaving a downtown parking garage, I noted the following alert on the driver's screen: "Steering fault - Drive with caution. Book a service." The driver's screen also showed that there was a driver support system fault and that the lane keeping aid was not available. The center stack stated the following: "1 serious issue detected. Steering fault Drive with caution. Book a service." At the time that the fault came up, the car had been driven out of its parking spot (by turning left) approximately 50 feet. I had then stopped the car to talk to a friend. When I got back into the car, I noted the fault message on the driver's screen when I went to back the car up so that I could leave the parking garage. During my trip from downtown to the dealership, I did not note anything unusual other than the fact that the fault messages were displayed. The messages were displayed when I arrived at the dealership and stayed displayed until I exited the car. When I got back in the car to turn it on, the error messages had disappeared.

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2023 Volvo XC90 on [XXX]. The vehicle was purchased from Guaranteed Motor Cars in Palos Hills, IL. The contact discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a dealer sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 39,019. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer for repairs. When the instrument cluster was installed, it was discovered that the mileage was 111,914. The contact filed a complaint with the State Attorney General's Office. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Vehicle is a 2017 model year of the Volvo XC90 and has the same safety issue in the Quality Bulletin for Recall R29936: Coolant Bleeder Hose (Engine Side), which is for the same make and model but for the 2016 model year. The vehicle has a plastic coolant bleeder hose that can crack and create a coolant leak that drips above the catalytic converter. The coolant accumulates in the catalytic converter heat shield insulation and poses a fire risk in the engine compartment area. The leak can also be small enough to cause coolant to evaporate and off gas into the cabin through the AC, exposing fumes to cabin occupants. The corrective action is to replace the engine side coolant bleeder hose, though this recall did not extend to 2017 model years, in which this same part was used. The same recall R29936 will need to be extended to other model years after 2016 in which the same component or design of component was used.

We lease this car from Volvo and are the first and only owners of the vehicle. No history of collision or accidents. The vehicle has a rear backup camera. The camera system also allows the option to select a 360-degree, top down "birds-eye" view of the entire vehicle. The backup camera turns on automatically when the car is shifted into reverse and originally provided a normal view directly behind the vehicle that extended at least a car length or more. At some point, we noticed that the rear backup camera view changed and was angled sharply down to the ground, including a partial view of our rear license plate and back bumper. The view now extends less than 7 feet behind the vehicle, angled down from the height of the camera (40-inches) so we can only see inches above the ground just a few feet behind the car. We can no longer see approaching vehicles, pedestrians, or any obstacles. The service technicians suggested this change in camera angle resulted from a routine system software update that was automatically downloaded to the vehicle. I don't know exactly when that occurred. On June 27, 2025 we received a safety recall notice from Volvo - Recall R10320 - warning us that the rear-view camera image may not show during the start of a backing event. We installed the recommended "Over the Air" software update, but that did not resolve our problem. I took the car to a local Volvo dealership on 9/26/25. They tried software upgrades and reboots, confirmed that the camera hardware was operating correctly, and told me that they could not fix it. They suggested I file a complaint with Volvo. I did that on 10/3/25. The only response to my claim was to "contact your dealer to make an appointment," which I told them I had already done. I have followed up twice since and Volvo has not responded further to this complaint ID #: 251002-000556. The incident date provided below is approximate. I don't recall when exactly the camera view changed.