Steering Related Problems of the 2021 Volvo XC60

Table 1 shows one common steering related problems of the 2021 Volvo XC60.

Table 1. Steering related problems of Volvo XC60

Problem Category Number of Problems
Steering problems
7

Steering problem #1

Multiple times, with the pilot assist system engaged, the vehicle has pulled me out of my intended travel lane when on a curve, near an on / off ramp, and generally tends to drift from the left to right of the intended lane of travel on straight sections of road. It will drift to the rumble strip and sometimes into the next lane with both hands firmly on the wheel. I find myself fighting the system at these times. When it gets confused, with corners or merges, and on / off ramps, it will abruptly change lanes which is very dangerous. Twice it almost caused an accident. I have had it looked at many times now by gengras Volvo in east hartford where I bought the car. I was provided a loaner each time but the car has been in their shop for close to a month over these visits. It happend on one test drive with their repair tech driving the car, so the issue has been verified and recorded by gengras. Multiple components of the system have been changed out and Volvo has downloaded and reviewed the telemetry twice. Volvo's stance is that the system is functioning correctly, and in times if inclement weather it may not work as intended. Most of my incidents happened on dry roads. Upon researching this on the internet, there are many other owners of Volvos of my year and others complaining of the exact same issues and behavior of the car. I feel it may be a design flaw but in my opinion the system is not safe to use. Volvo went to a completely different system soon after 2021. This was a very expensive option to purchase on the vehicle. We have a similar system in our Acura that works flawlessly on the same roads in any weather condition. I bought this vehicle certified by Volvo with roughly 15k miles for my son to drive when he had just gotten his license as Volvo has an incredible reputation for safely. I do not feel safe with him driving this vehicle as was intended. Latest diagnosis attached, remainder available from gengras Volvo, east hartford CT.

Steering problem #2

The contact owns a 2021 Volvo Xc60. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds and turning, the front end of the vehicle made an abnormal grinding sound. Additionally, the contact stated that the steering wheel seized after turning, which required the contact to jam the steering wheel for the steering wheel to return to the center. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the steering rack had failed internally and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 23v001000 (steering); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.

Steering problem #3

On three occasions in September 2021 the car's steering locked up while driving so that I was unable to unwind the wheel, nearly sending me into stationary objects or the opposing lane. After slamming on the brakes, the wheel released. These all happened at low speeds, around 10mph. No signals or warnings popped up on my display. This was very upsetting. The dealer could not reproduce, could find nothing wrong, and advised me to keep all lane keeping aids off. They have since been off. Four times last week of July 2022 this happened again, the last time sending me into oncoming traffic with multiple cars in both directions all nearly colliding at speeds in the 30-35mph I was crying and extremely upset, I've been in an accident before and this was triggering. My husband thinks the car is unsafe to drive. I returned to the dealer and cited two posts I found online of this same incident being reported with the same year and model car. The dealer could find nothing wrong again, but did believe me and did replace the sub battery to the power steering as one online public complaint cited a Volvo advisory recommending this fix in this situation. My dealer could not find this advisory from Volvo however. They also said there is nothing to report to Volvo as there are no computer prompts, or something along those lines. At this point if it fails again we'll be pursuing the lemon law. I want to trust the car is fixed, but this is terrifying.

Steering problem #4

In September 2021 on 3 occasions, my car's steering locked up while driving. I could not unwind my wheel from a turn. Each time nearly resulted in a collision with a garage ticket booth, a median, drifting into an oncoming lane. Ii slammed on brakes each time to avoid and accident or collision. It was frightening. This happened at low speed (approx. 10 mph), I had no warning indicators, and the wheel released after I stepped off the brake. I took the car to the dealer who could not replicate it; they suggested I keep all lane keeping aids off. They have since been off. This month of July 2022, this began to happen again: 4 times in one week. The last time I could not correct out of turn in the road and nearly resulted in a head-on collision at about 32 mph and I ended up in the approaching traffic lane. I was terrified and very shaken up. I returned to the dealer. . Read more...

Steering problem #5

I purchased a brand new Volvo Xc60 t5 awd inscription 7/04/2021. On 9/22/2021 I was driving in the middle lane on interstate 20 located in dfw TX and entering a curve when suddenly and without warning the steering wheel went stiff (as if I had no power steering). I almost got into an accident, had I not been an experienced driver. A warning then displayed in the driver's information center "power steering service urgent, drive to workshop". The steering wheel continued to function as if I had no power steering until I arrived at work. I immediately called the dealership where I purchased the my SUV and they got me scheduled with a loaner. It was a traumatic incident that caused me great deal of concern since my SUV in brand new. Apparently Volvo put out an advisory notice that the sub-battery attached to the power steering pump is having issues and the dealership replaced it. I have not had a similar experience since. . .

Steering problem #6

I purchased a brand new Volvo Xc60 t6 on 7/18/2021. On 8/14/2021 I was driving on the far left lane on the 280s freeway and wanted to merge one lane to the right and as I was merging the steering wheel went stiff and caused me to lose control of the car. I almost get into a big accident with a Tesla. Then I heard a sound and notice on the dash display "power steering service urgent drive to a workshop" sign. The steering wheel continue being stiff and I experienced pain in my left arm due to the steering wheel incident. I immediately called the dealership where I purchased the car from and unfortunately the service department is closed on weekends. I managed to drive slowly and drove back home with very limited control on the steering wheel. I used Volvo on call and had the car towed to be brought back to the dealership. It was a quite traumatic incident that make me feel not confident to drive the car anymore. Is there any recall that I am not aware of for this car model? I emailed Volvo customer care regarding this issue on 8/15/2021.

Steering problem #7

Rotor seems to have worn out much quicker than expected. When I break, I can feel certain vibration / bumps. When breaking while going down on a hill, front break also has made screeching noise. Steering feels stiff at times. Generally, I have always been topping up gas more than the advertised mileage performance / epa.


Steering related problems in other Volvo XC60 model year vehicles:



XC60 Service Bulletins
XC60 Safety Recalls
XC60 Defect Investigations