Volvo XC90 Complaints (2023)

41 consumer complaints on file.

#11664156June 1, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The Emergency Flashers on occasion and randomly malfunctions with the red triangle button flashing but the green arrows intermittently blink on the dash screen and the ticking sound also intermittently working. I have a video clip of the issue but can’t upload on this webpage.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11664155June 1, 2025
BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
Rear view camera sometimes does not display on the infotainment screen even though the car is in Reverse. The display message is “Camera is temporarily unavailable”. I have yet to receive a recall notice. This issues makes backing up very dangerous!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11648168March 13, 2025
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH
The contact owns a 2023 Volvo XC90. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front driver’s side door failed to remain closed securely. The contact stated that the front driver’s side door remained ajar, and an abnormal sound could be heard inside the vehicle. The contact recorded the sound at 99 decibels. The contact stated that the failure had been occurring since purchasing the vehicle in 2023. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, no cause for the failure was found. The contact stated that an unknown part was repaired in the door. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 6,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11636759January 18, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES
While driving a warning sign came on indicating break failure. The breaks were not working at all. Car was able to be slowed down to a stop. It was towed to a dealership who stated there was a remote software update done that causes break failure
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11634462January 6, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Constant malfunction of Infortainment center. Turn indicators do not always work. Lately braking error messages. Volvo said it needs software updates. That has been done multiple times. This time it lasted several days and was completely black. You cannot see any information. No radio, no Bluetooth, no GPS, no data on car systems. Car has had problems for almost 2 years and excuse is always the software.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11625105November 13, 2024
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING, BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS
The automatic reverse braking feature is far too sensitive and causes headache-inducing, jarring, sudden extreme braking without any warning. It’s so aggressive that I believed I actually struck something each time. There’s no way to release the locked brakes unless you put it in park and then in drive. Extreme safety concern! This occurs when backing into or out of the garage using the mirrors, backing up to a 6 inch parking curb, or any bushes/brush that is near the bumper. It is wildly inaccurate and is not useful for people who actually use their mirrors to park.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11615593September 20, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES
WHEN PUTTING THE VEHICLE INTO REVERSE, THE BRAKE PEDAL AUTOMATICALLY HAD TENSION, THEREFORE, I WAS UNABLE TO PRESS DOWN ON THE BREAK AS NORMAL. WITH LITTLE FORGIVENESS, I ATTEMPTED TO REVERSE AND ROLL BACK IN A SMALL PARKING LOT OF A LOCAL SCHOOL. AS I WAS ATTEMPTING TO ROLL BACK, THE CAR MADE A LOUD NOISE WHEN I WOULD TRY TO ENGAGE THE BREAK.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11600171July 8, 2024
POWER TRAIN, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Third instance of reduced engine performance warning system taking over the car, which results in the "turtle mode" coming on and throttling vehicle speeds. The car does not respond to gas except at lower speeds. Then the Check Engine light also came on.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11592156June 3, 2024
ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN
Check engine light comes on every few weeks. Dealer inspects, resets, and says software issues. Now engine performance lights and "turtle mode" has come on twice throttling my speed while driving. Again no known cause and just resetting. Currently in a loaner vehicle while they research.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11590688May 25, 2024
SEAT BELTS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING
I've owned several vehicles in my life. The Volvo XC 90 advanced "safety features" have caused more near accidents in the first 10 months of owning this vehicle than anything I have ever experienced. The collission prevention and auto-braking features cannot be disabled on this car and they are defective and extremely dangerous. On sevreal occasions (four in the last two weeks alone) the auto-braking has engage when performing simple task and common suburban style shopping center parking lots. Backing into spots (which is proven to be safer -- my employer used to require it) the auto braking SLAMS onthe brakes and tightens the seatbelts. I am not exagerrating I've almost had a heart attack it's so jarring. Once I performed a u-turn (was perfectly legal) but due to something in the road had to back up to do a three point turn -- the auto braking engaged. I was stuck without the ability to move quickly and was almost hit. In short, many false positives from this sytem that cause MORE HARM than good. It has prevented zero accidents and has caused me to almost get into an accident or scared the living you know what out of me and my passengers all but too many times. In adidtion to these issues, the infortainment system (Android based) has hung on sevreal ocassions. In those instances I cannot control the air conditioning, defroster, etc. Lastly, the last, the lane departure feature is similarly flawed to the auto braking features. Correcting or warning when there is nothing. These features that are supposed to help are in fact making my driving experience more dangerous. It has happened so many times, I'm considering involing an attorney. I have warned friends and family of the dangers of Volvo's flawed technology platform and "advanced safety features." I also shared thsi feedback withthe dealer who offered a simple "wipe and restore" of the infortainment system. At the core, the system is broken and flawed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11586275May 1, 2024
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS, BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING
Multiple times when driving the car, all sounds that the car makes will simply stop working. This includes things like the safety features and warning sounds, the turn signals, the radio, any map directions, etc. We have researched online for a solution and found others with similar problems, and we have reported the issue to the dealer on 3 different occasions - they took it into service and told us they did updates to the software, but none of their changes have prevented this from happening again. It is random. Other times, the screens will simply lock up, but the audio still works. Eventually, the system will reset. Sometimes all it takes is turning the car off and back on again, other times we've had to leave it to sit overnight before it is working again. This is clearly a safety issue and also a ridiculous thing to have happen to a car that costs over $70,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11548806October 7, 2023
STEERING, BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
My name is [XXX] . My wife [XXX] has been corresponding with Volvo Car Financial, as well as Volvo, regarding our Volvo XC90 lease. This Volvo has been the biggest disappointment of any car we've ever leased or purchased out of the new cars and trucks we have purchased every 2-3 years for the past 40 years. We have contacted Volvo several times about the issues we are having and taken it in three times to have the problem resolved. I live in a rural area with backroads, and they say the mapping system called City View does not work well on backroads, so they are not able to replicate the problem when it is taken in for them to look at. I have been in constant communications with our saleslady Sara, she is WONDERFUL and has been most helpful. She also has documentation of everything, and a few videos. She did see when I came to pick the car up three weeks ago, that it doesn’t understand a lot of our commands. The car jerks the steering wheel from me into oncoming traffic, off the road, then tells me it avoided a collision when it almost caused a collision. Hey Google, does not understand either of us, the slight chance it does, it does not do what we have requested. I do have a video showing different things that the car does. It seems to have a mind of its own, I do not feel safe driving this car any longer. It is going to cause us to have an accident. I Purchased the car because I thought Volvo was the safest vehicle there was to buy or lease. Now my feelings have changed I am afraid to even drive the car to the point I am having to borrow my mother’s older vehicle. The back hatch doesn’t always open, you must assist it with your hand. It came down and hit my head in food lion parking lot and two men came running over to check on me. I met a tractor last week and the steering just went crazy, it was all over the road, and I was having to really fight it. My husband says he feels as if he has driven a tractor trailer all day when INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOI
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11544100September 12, 2023
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
The contact owns a 2023 Volvo XC90. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the low fuel warning light illuminated and the vehicle decelerated, lost motive power, and stalled. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle, but the vehicle would not restart. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. After several attempts to restart the vehicle, the dealer was able to restart the vehicle and stated that no failure was found. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 1,000. The VIN was not available.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11543044September 6, 2023
BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS, BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING, VISIBILITY/WIPER
The rearview camera on the Volvo continually freezes, is delayed to start or blacks out. Since I have had the car for the last year there have been multiple times a week where reverse is selected and the rearview camera loads, then when I start backing the camera image freezes two to three times before jumping and resuming normal operation. I've also experienced where the camera image is displayed, then the screen temporarily blacks out for a second and then the image is displayed again. This happen most notably when the car is unlocked and then immediately shifted into reverse. I've brought this into show the repair shop but they state it is normal behavior or they can't replicate the issue (even though I've provided them a video of the issue happening). After a year it's getting very dangerous as backing into tight spaces, a delay or black out can cause me to hit something or someone thinking I'm further away then I really am. When the car is in a deep sleep (not driven for a few days), then the camera can take upwards of 15+ seconds to load after turning on the car and selecting reverse.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11536823August 7, 2023
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
This afternoon for no reason, the car flashed a non-stop message “Drive to workshop. Propulsion system Service urgent.” I drove about 3 minutes at 15 mph to get the car somewhere safe, all the while the engine not turning correctly and could not accelerate safely. This appears to be a VERY common and dangerous issue for Volvo hybrids and there was a recall last year. It clearly did not fix the issue though.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11536197August 3, 2023
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, STEERING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
On May 18, 2023, the vehicle was not driveable and it was not able to be taken out of the park mode. The vehicle had no power so the engine would not start regardless of what the tow truck driver tried. The car had to be pulled onto the tow truck so the tires did not move. On June 10, 2023, Due to a backlog. The Volvo dealership was finally able to look at the vehicle. They stated "error codes in the computer indicate an internal defect in the high-voltage battery. Even after consultation with Volvo technical support, we cannot avoid removing and opening the battery to replace a part inside the battery." Due to a backlog and waiting for parts, they stated it would be 6 weeks before they could repair. On July 28, 2023, The Volvo dealership repair stated, "the first spare part (for the defective battery) that was delivered was unfortunately defective and had to be sent it back." They will keep us up-to-date. The dealership is aware of the R10198 Recall for the Electronic Control Module.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11526543June 12, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
1. When putting vehicle in reverse the backup camera has a slight delay which can cause serious accidents. I've never driven a vehicle with such delays. Needs to be checked out. 2. When putting vehicle in reverse, the backup camera comes up, ut if you press any button on the main screen the backup camera screen will go away. For example I press the AC button, the backup camera will disappear and the AC settings will come up. This causes a very dangerous situation. There isn't even a way to get back the camera view once you press anything on the screen. This happens because Volvo cars don't have much physical buttons left, so everything is controlled on the screen. In my opinion, when reversing, the backup camera should always be the dominant thing on the screen, no other functions should be able to overwrite that.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11519908May 1, 2023
STRUCTURE:BODY, SUSPENSION, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
On April 29th 2023 while washing my Volvo XC90 I opened the trunk to clean out the crevasses around the car. As I continued to wipe down/dry the vehicle I placed my hand at the top of the trunk opening and moved my way downwards to wipe the bumper and side of car. Unfortunately, the handsfree tailgate feature activated and the trunk began to close on my hand. Due to my hand being so close to the the spring and the speed in which the trunk door closed I was unable to move my hand fast enough. My Middle, Index and pinky finger were all crushed inside of the car trunk. No one was able to render aid to me for several minutes. I was able to contort my body enough to push the trunk button and unlock it but the gate itself would not lift. I even in a state of panic tried to kick under the car to initiate the lift, I tried lifting as best I could to get relief off of my hands. Finally about 5 minutes later a passerby came and rendered aid to me and he had to manually lift the trunk up to free my fingers. The experience has been traumatic and I am taking all necessary steps via the Volvo dealership and Volvo to have this matter checked out and resolved. The car has no sensors around the trunk with the exception of something blocking it from closing completely. Also, if you are not carefully and are leaning into the trunk and trip the handsfree tailgate sensor it can close on you if you are leaning into the trunk - this is an issue I saw with my XC60 (2021) that clearly was not resolved. I did go to the ER and wound up with thankfully a bruised hand/tendons but no broken bones but I will need to follow up with a hand surgeon to ensure I do not have tendon/nerve damage.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11515127April 3, 2023
PARKING BRAKE, POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2023 Volvo XC90. The contact stated that before exiting the vehicle, he pressed the park button and the vehicle inadvertently started to reverse. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed but no cause for the failure was found. The contact stated that the gear shifter and parking brake failed to engage as needed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11513846March 26, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The 2023 model features a push button to shift the vehicle into park. When pressing the button, the vehicle does NOT always shift into park. I’m not sure if it only registers with a certain force, but often I’ve pressed the button many times only to realize that I’m not in park as I remove my foot from the brake and propel forward. I’ve been keeping the ‘auto break’ feature on this way when it doesn’t switch into park at least the car doesn’t possibly roll into something I’m parked behind. When Parking permanently and shutting the vehicle off I’ve started just turning the car off completely avoiding the step to put the car into park first. However, I don’t think it’s safe to have to take so much care to ensure your car switches into the park gear. I was only able to find one other person with the same complaint in an online forum, I believe because this shifter set up is new for all of the 2023 models. The person in the xc40 thread describes my exact safety concern. https://www.xc40forum.com/threads/gear-selector-park-button-requires-extra-force-to-shift-into-park.6079/
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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