2021 Volvo XC90 Recalls & Complaints

Incident: July 12, 2025 · Filed: August 3, 2025

The vehicle’s Start/Stop system began displaying warning messages and malfunctioning prior to the expiration of the factory warranty. The issue first appeared before 50,000 miles and reappeared at 49,997 miles, when a warning was displayed on the dashboard. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for inspection. A diagnostic review confirmed the need to replace the Start/Stop auxiliary battery and repair the Park Assist system. A diagnostic fee was charged, and both system failures were documented. The Start/Stop system’s failure raises a potential safety concern because the vehicle may not reliably restart after automatically stopping at intersections or in traffic. This could lead to dangerous situations if the vehicle stalls unexpectedly or fails to re-engage power at a critical moment. Although the issue has not caused a crash or injury, it introduces unpredictable behavior that could compromise safe operation. The Park Assist system also failed, triggering system warnings and disabling parking assistance features. If a driver is relying on these systems during low-speed maneuvers, a sudden or silent failure may increase the risk of collision with objects, pedestrians, or other vehicles. The dealership confirmed the problem through inspection and diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was contacted and declined to cover the repairs under warranty, despite the vehicle being within the mileage limit when the issue was first documented and presented for service.

Incident: March 1, 2025 · Filed: March 3, 2025

I plugged my usb to usb-c charging cable into my iphone 20 seconds after starting the vehicle. I proceeded to exit my driveway when the infotainment screen went completely blank and the same thing to the driver's display 10 seconds later. I drove to the end of my street to a stop light where the car completely shut off and automatically restarted within a few seconds. I was traveling with my wife and [XXX] daughter. I have yet to reproduce the problem but have an appointment scheduled with the dealership later this week. Zero warnings or messages were present before, during or after the incident. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Incident: September 7, 2024 · Filed: September 9, 2024

The brakes did not work when the automatic emergency braking turned on. When I pressed the brakes all the way down, the brakes didn’t respond because it was still in automatic mode. I was able to swerve into the next lane to not hit the vehicle in front of me. The automatic emergency braking also turned on when I was reversing from a parked location when there was a vehicle waiting to park behind me and my vehicle stoped and didn’t come off of brake/park mode. I had to turn my vehicle on and off again to get it to move again. I have taken my vehicle in twice for shaking. My back rotors were replaced 2 weeks ago but my vehicle still shakes. This car only has around 21,000 miles to have so many issues already with rotors and shaking.

Incident: August 27, 2024 · Filed: August 27, 2024

Vehicle steer violently on pilot assist and powertrain disabled, not allowing us to steer the wheel on a highway. (Last year) We were lucky no other cars were nearby, needed a reboot for the wheels to work again. Dealership isn’t sure what happened. Now we have a hybrid system failure which a lot of cars with the same model Xc90 T8 is having with the hybrid system. Please investigate into this

Incident: December 1, 2023 · Filed: January 8, 2024

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.

Incident: July 16, 2023 · Filed: July 16, 2023

The infotainment system has locked up and has shut completely off while driving. When it shuts down (screen goes black) or glitches, the car actually loses power. Luckily it powered right back on but it was scary and could happen again and be much worse. The screen/ infotainment system has had this issue for awhile. We’ve even told Volvo of Tulsa about it when it was in for service but they said they couldn’t do anything about it because they couldn’t reproduce the issue. We have also had the brakes and rotors replaced twice at the dealership because they seem to be lemons or faulty. We are currently dealing with vibration once again (conveniently now the warranty is out).

Incident: May 5, 2023 · Filed: May 5, 2023

The harness can be loosened by lightly pulling on it without use of the harness release button. The harness is not holding the child in place and the car seat is therefore unsafe for use.

Incident: February 1, 2023 · Filed: March 13, 2023

On two separate occasions, while driving car on highway at high speed, the car has gone into a special shutdown mode, where a turtle icon lights up on the dash and the car begins to shut itself down rapidly, limiting maximum speed of vehicle to 35mph. There is no warning or advanced alert. Suddenly the car reduces speed and feels like it is dead, and the systems begin to alert you that they are going into a reduced function mode. This was extremely scary thing to happen at highway speeds with flowing traffic. I had to crawl to side of rose at very low speeds. I could have been injured. I took the car to dealer for service and they said it was a software issue. A few months after, this happened yet again, also while at highway speeds. I have read that others are having similar issues with the Volvo XC90 model. This is so dangerous and the dealerships are writing it off as a software matter! It is extremely dangerous.

Incident: January 2, 2023 · Filed: March 12, 2023

Vehicle is lurching on slow acceleration in Hybrid Mode. For example, lurching occurs when pulling away from a stop sign, pulling out into traffic, pulling into a parking spot. Issue started beginning of January 2023. In February Fields Volvo Service diagnosed issue as a software problem (Code IEM-P287100) and that Volvo hasn't written the software yet. Fields Volvo Service said software update should be available in Quarter 2. Advised that I do not drive my car in Hybrid Mode. I own a hybrid vehicle that I have been told not to drive in Hybrid. Unfortunately, Hybrid is the default mode so upon each start I have to manually change mode to AWD. There is also lurching in AWD on slow acceleration (not as bad as in Hybrid). On several occasions while driving in AWD the vehicle will spontaneously change the mode back to Hybrid resulting in decreased or no acceleration and lurching. This has happened several times in parking lots (minimal fear for safety) but also several times while pulling into traffic (e.g., making left hand turns which require acceleration) and acceralerating on onramps to the freeway (definite fear for safety). Problem has been experienced by sales staff at Fields Volvo because we are trying to get rid of the car because it is still under warranty (36,000 miles). Fields Volvo has not gotten back to us as to whether they will buy back the car. Volvo USA has been contacted via phone and email about the issue. I have received no response.

Incident: November 13, 2022 · Filed: November 15, 2022

I brought a 2021 XC90 Volvo on 8/18/2022 with 12861 miles on it. The attached photo will show the current mile on the vehicle is 17421, so you can see I have only put 4560 miles on the vehicle. This vehicle was only brought 3 months ago. It's very concerning that I was driving down interstate 530 on Sunday 11/13/2022 and for the first time ever the low-pressure light comes on and then seconds later the vehicle starts the shakes and I almost lost control of the vehicle. I managed to get to the side of the highway to find that my back passenger rear tire had separated around the rim (pictures are attached). Perelli 275/40 R21 107V M+S Scorpion Verde All Season