Table 1 shows one common equipment related problems of the 2019 Volvo XC90.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Equipment problems |
I am writing to formally a repeated mechanical failure involving the hvac evaporator systems in two Volvo vehicles that I purchased within a few months of each other. The vehicles involved are: • 2019 Volvo Xc90 t6 momentum VIN: [xxx] purchased: November 2024 • 2020 Volvo xc60 t5 momentum purchased: January 2025 within a six months apart, both vehicles suffered complete air conditioning system failure due to large evaporator leaks. In total, three evaporators have now been confirmed as leaking across these two vehicles. The 2020 xc60 experienced evaporator failure in may 2025 and required full evaporator replacement under its cpo warranty. The 2019 Xc90 subsequently developed the same issue. After multiple independent inspections and a full diagnostic performed by Volvo, they have confirmed that both the front and rear evaporators were leaking. The total repair estimate exceeds seven thousand dollars. Despite the statistical improbability of two vehicles purchased months apart suffering identical hvac system failures within months of ownership, Volvo cars north America denied my goodwill assistance request. The denial was based solely on the fact that a prior owner of the Xc90 had previously received an unrelated goodwill repair. I was not informed of this at the time of purchase and had no connection to that prior claim. I then filed a complaint with the bbb against Volvo cars north America. Volvo did not respond at all. The bbb has now formally closed the case and recorded that Volvo failed to respond to the complaint. I have acted in good faith at every step. I paid for diagnostics. I provided complete documentation. I pursued proper escalation channels. I sought resolution through the bbb. Volvo has remained silent. This is not an isolated service matter. It reflects a potential systemic defect affecting multiple Volvo platforms and model years. The repeated evaporator failures raise serious concerns as far us intaking large freon amounts. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information.
Rear evaporator coil (failure) the rear evaporator coil failed on my Volvo Xc90 purchased new at the dealership in 2019. This car only had 27,000 miles on it when the evaporator coil went bad. Refrigerant smells entered the cabin when ac was on while my 2 year old daughter was in the back. Having refrigerant leaking into the cabin is not great for health, especially that of a toddler. Additionally this could have caused an inability to defrost windows creating a safety hazard. All refrigerant leaked out leading to a condition where I had to drive in 90 - 100 degree temperatures with my daughter.
Car shut off while driving and rebooted. Was precessed by the infotainment system crashing and then rebooting a minute prior. Car made a sound like a grunting sound right as it shut down.
Vehicle started experiencing stalling and when trying to accelerate it would not pick up on speed, I have been quoted by Volvo that the supercharger is bad on a car that is only 6 years old. That repair for this is $2,000 as the engine valve also has to get cleaned out. The vehicle started having issue with ac after 2 years and now the front evaporator has gone bad and with summer time is when I realized of this defect. $5,000 repair for the evaporator.
The chrome trim started peeling on the center console, near cup holders. This revealed a razor sharp edge on which I cut my finger. All of the exterior door handles have chrome trim and are peeling. Last week my [xxx] daughter cut her finger as a result of a sharp peeled chrome edge. Many reports of this on Volvo forums. Some dealers will repair for free, others want to charge for this defective, safety hazard. My service provider said they could not fix for free and wanted $3800 for the repair. This is a known issue and a safety hazard that Volvo is not addressing, see for example: [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).
There are many form online stating that Volvo has an issue with water leaking/water drainage line from the sunroof. The water leaked into some components of the airbag and electrical system. After the first time taking to the dealership they were no issue with the system and the vehicle was fine that incident happened back in 2020. The same issue happened again where water was leaking in from the sunroof area (I am assuming because it looks the same as last time) this time the water is in the driver side, and there was a puddle of water forming where the gas and brake paddles are. After noticing the water puddle I try to close the sunroof and turns out the sunroof no longer functions with the electronic control right in front of the sunroof. I also took the initiative to open some of the trims where the side air bags are and it turns out that the area are completely soaked. I do no know if this will cause an issue to the airbag or not but I am worries that prolong exposure to water will compromised the integrity of the airbag system. What's was is that since it affected the electronic for the sunroof what if it affect the sensors for the air bag system.
There was a leak on the evaporator coil within the ac system for this car. We started having issues with the ac around the 56,500 mile mark ([xxx]). After a couple of rounds of recharging the system with refrigerant and looking for a leak, the repair shop finally found the leak on the evaporator coil system. The repair was recently completed on 10/22/2024 at the cost $4,254. 03. This car has roughly 66000 miles on it now (12/07/2024). The evaporator coil during the summers when the ac was not working, this was definitely a safety concern. Riding in the car with no ac in the summertime in south carolina is brutal. The $4,254. 03 cost for the evaporator coil replacement, did not include the amount of money we spent the first two go arounds looking for the leak and recharging the system with refrigerant. After doing some research and talking to the repair shop who completed the evaporator coil replacement work it seems that this is a very common failure on this model/year Volvo. I also noticed it looks like they already had a similar recall out for this failure on other similar Volvos. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).
Air conditioning failed to function as soon as vehicle lease was up. Less than 45k miles on a 3 year old car. Stopped working, hot air blowing in the middle of summer no less. This does not appear to be a part that is on the maintenance interval list. This does not appear to be an isolated incident when researching this fault now over a year later. The climate control system failing on a new car on a part that cannot be reasonably serviced seems problematic to say the least. I asked the dealer to consider a good will repair on more than one occasion as I had literally just moved from a lease to a finance purchase. No luck on that.