Table 1 shows one common electrical system related problems of the 2024 Volvo XC90.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Electrical System problems |
The infotainment head unit (ihu) on my 2024 Volvo Xc90 has experienced repeated total system blackouts, spontaneous power-cycles, and critical thermal failures while operating at highway speeds (46–77 mph). The ihu displays a "cooling infotainment system" critical warning and fails completely, resulting in total loss of the federally mandated rearview/backup camera (fmvss 111 violation), gps navigation, and all safety interfaces while in motion. The dealer confirmed the defect and attempted repair twice but only performed software resets rather than hardware replacement. The dealer documented "fixed failed. " failures have continued and worsened after both repair attempts. Video documentation exists for all incidents (exhibits a–h, dated may 2–7, 2026, odometer 41,900–42,151 miles). The vehicle's own diagnostic system issued a critical thermal warning on the driver cluster while navigating traffic, confirming a hardware cooling defect. Two failures occurred during active driving maneuvers including a reverse maneuver and highway operation on I-20, creating immediate safety risk to the driver and public. The component is available for inspection. The defect has been confirmed by the Volvo dealer. A texas lemon law complaint has been filed.
Driving on highway. Selected another route on map, but the screen lagged in response. Screen then went dark, shut off electronics on dashboard and infotainment, and ac turned off; seems like car also slowed down. Able to pull over and wait for everything to restart. Safety put at risk: sudden change in environment causing attention to shift to safely getting off road incase car shut off entirely. Previously: infotainment has been off at start-up before; never had this problem while driving, though. One incident in drive-thru where I pressed infotainment and whole car shut off. Vehicle has been taken to dealership services for annual and as needed, codes have been ran extensively, and no faults have been found. The concerning incident occurred an hour ago so I have not brought to dealership yet, but seeing online that the problem is not just with my vehicle.
A software update (version 5. 0. 5) was complete on my 2024 Volvo Xc90 at the end of March. The software was marketed in emails to have an enhanced infotainment display to support a safer experience. Since the upgrade, I have experienced the opposite of enhanced safety. My infotainment screen and dash displays randomly go black and it restarts itself several times a day while driving. In addition to that, the blinkers malfunction when this happens. The most important safety issue is navigation outage on the displays. The inability to rely on the google maps navigation within Volvo, or within carplay, results in my having to use my phone to input and view directions, taking my eyes off the road. It also disables to cameras when I need them. On 3/31 I emailed my sales rep asking if he'd heard of others having this complaint, he did not appear to be aware and asked me to make an appt with service center. I brought the car to Volvo on 4/2 where the service check-in employees did mention they were seeing many cars coming in with the same concerns. The technician was not able to confirm the issue but said they would contact corporate and let me know of a response, which was 15 days ago. According to online searches, multiple other Volvo drivers are experiencing the same. Since we have become so dependent on the driver assistance features, and this issue is now occurring, I have become a nervous driver in a brand of car that is marketed as one of the safest vehicles in the world. I get worried that my bliss or lane assistance or other driver assisted features will malfunction as well. No notifications from Volvo have been received thus far. I have not contacted the corporate offices of Volvo yet. Please take this safety issue seriously.
Safety complaint – Volvo Xc90 electrical and airbag malfunction issues I am reporting ongoing safety concerns with my Volvo Xc90 related to electrical malfunctions and unexpected engine shutdowns while driving. The vehicle has suddenly turned off multiple times, including: •once before merging onto a highway, •once while entering a roundabout, and •once while driving in traffic. Each incident occurred without warning and created a hazardous situation with the potential for a collision. Additionally, the vehicle displayed an airbag malfunction warning once, raising concern about the reliability of the vehicle’s safety systems. The vehicle has been serviced multiple times, but the issues persist. I am requesting a formal investigation into these failures, as they pose a significant safety risk to the driver, passengers, and others on the road.
Some critical functions on the center display console instrument panel are freezing up while driving - we are unable to change the drive mode while the car is in motion. This has not happened before, and it is glitching a lot lately. The display has been extremely slow and unresponsive, and the problem is multiplied as all critical functions of the car are controlled through the display panel. There were no warnings issued when we tried to change the drive mode. We had to pull over to the roadside, turn off the car for 30 seconds, then restart the car to fix the issue. We have [xxx] and [xxx] ) in the car, so this is becoming increasingly risky to drive this "safe" car by Volvo. We have reported such issues with the display to our Volvo service unit multiple times, and the car has been returned to us with such issues still lingering (despite the service reloading/updating the software multiple times) for the last 6 months since March of this year. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).
The trunk fails to open via kick correctly and then has closed in the midst of using the trunk space. It has not performed the “kick to close” function since purchasing the vehicle. We have two young children and this has brought a scare a few times. We love our Volvos but this has been our only concern.
Urgent safety concern: intermittent total loss of all vehicle audio alerts this issue has occurred multiple times and poses a serious safety concern. While driving, the vehicle intermittently experiences a complete loss of all audio output. This includes: •turn signal indicators •hazard warning sounds •blind spot monitoring alerts •park distance control tones •navigation guidance •audio system playback (music, radio, etc. ) •all other safety-related audio warnings and notifications the vehicle becomes completely silent, eliminating essential auditory cues that are critical for safe operation. Temporary workaround (while driving): the only way to restore functionality is by performing a forced reboot of the infotainment system. This requires the driver to press and hold the home button until the system power cycles—a distracting and unsafe action that must be done while the vehicle is in motion. Please note that while rebooting does not disable the vehicle’s ability to drive, it temporarily resets multiple core systems, including the climate control and infotainment interface. This creates a significant distraction and impairs the driver’s ability to safely monitor vehicle status and surroundings. This malfunction poses a significant safety risk and must be investigated immediately.
Instrument cluster failure and turn signal malfunction while highway driving. No interior sounds, including no lane change warning or near collision warning signals, and no audible confirmation of signal; no exterior blinker activated despite use by driver. Instrument cluster went blank. Safety at risk and accident occurred: approaching car from rear passenger side hit front right side of our car because there was no exterior signal and no audio or visual alerts in our vehicle about lane change or blind spot. Signal and instrument cluster failure: the car is at the manufacturer/dealer for the third time for similar issues with our vehicle (2 prior times they stated the issue was fixed). Manufacturer reports that they're sending a team to investigate given that this most recent episode lead to an accident.
The system that starts the vehicle, called a igs failed yet again. This failed at 700 miles in downtown chicago on the street blocking traffic. Now several months later today going on a trip and the vehicle dies in the middle of the street blocking traffic. Was unable to restart the vehicle again. Attempted to contact Volvo customer service and was on hold over 25 minutes without talking to someone. Tried to find a way to put vehicle into neutral to safely move out of the way, but this vehicle has no way to manually overrride it. It posed a safety risk and could of easily caused an accident.
1. When the air condition is turned on there is knocking/banging/thumping noise. It starts with a whinning noise and then gets thumping noise and then starts again with a whinning noise followed my a thumping noise. It can go over 15 to 20 mins and then stops and restarts again. Yes, it can easily be reproduced. 2. The whinning and thumping noise while the car is driving can cause a safety issue where something could explode (the way it sounds) or air condition can simply not working as we approach summer. 3. Yes, its been reproduced, I've sent them the videos, I was at the dealership to reproduce and they acknowledge there is an issue. Weaver brother Volvo had created an internal case to Volvo technical assistance, case number: rts-us831535. The reply was they are aware about this issue and they are investigating it. The issues seems to be on the expansion valve and they are still investigating it. This was dated August 6th, 2024. 4. No warning lamps or messages or other symptoms. June 26th, 2024. The issue was reported to dealer around July, 25th 2024.
We drove this vehicle to a family event in chicago. We pulled the vehicle out of the parking garage and pulled into a downtown street in front of a hotel to load the vehicle up. Once the family was loaded the vehicle up the car would not start it had 700 miles when it failed. We were stuck on a busy street trying to start the car. I called roadside assitance and someone came out with a jump pack, but the battery was not dead. I was in the pouring rain trying to figure out what was wrong. They did hook a computer up to find several faults in the computer. It did also indicate a left turn signal fault. Also talking with roadside assistance the agent said that was the 2nd call he had with no start issue. Finally it did start but the check engine light was on the whole trip home, had to cut our trip short and drove as far as we could in fear the car would not restart. It kept coming back with the left turn signal fault and did not shut off the car even pumping gas in fear of not restarting then all of a sudden with cruise control on the car just jerked itself amd almost pulled us off the freeway. Now it has been at the dealer all week researching forums this seems to be a common issue.
The contact leased a 2024 Volvo Xc90. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the infotainment screen and instrument cluster went black with the message "critical error - pull over when safe". The contact stated that the failure had occurred several times at various speeds. The contact pulled over and turned off the vehicle. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to a local dealer. The contact stated that the failure occurred often, and the warning light was ignored while driving to the dealer. The contact stated that occasionally, the system was independently rebooted when the vehicle stopped. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle several times and replaced several batteries; however, the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and dispatched technicians to consult with the technicians at the dealer; however, the failure persisted. The failure mileage was approximately 32,000.
All of the electronics are malfunctioning, no navigation, possible airbag and seatbelt malfunction, warning lights on. I am concerned that all of the electronic safety systems are not working properly. Internal sos button not working. Herb chambers Volvo in norwood, MA. Service manager has confirmed that this is a problem with the 2024 Xc90. The car is brand new and herb chambers Volvo does not have any available appointments for several weeks to address concerns. I also contacted Volvo USA and they were unable to assist. I have also requested that the area Volvo factory rep, tom laforte contact me and I have not heard back from him. In the meantime we are unable to drive our new Volvo due to these safety concerns.
I am reporting a serious and ongoing safety defect involving my 2024 Volvo Xc90. The vehicle has experienced intermittent unintended acceleration, intermittent loss of safety and alert systems, and false obstacle detection that triggers unexpected braking or steering input. These events occur randomly and without warning, and are not tied to a specific driver, key, driving condition, or user behavior. At times, the vehicle accelerates on its own without driver input. At other times, the vehicle detects objects that are not present, causing the car to suddenly stop while reversing or swerve to avoid perceived obstacles that are not actually in the roadway. These events occur unpredictably and create a risk of collision with surrounding vehicles, pedestrians, or objects. During these occurrences, safety systems and alerts may become unavailable or inoperable, leaving the driver without audible or visual warnings. Audio alerts and system feedback have also stopped functioning during these events, further increasing the safety risk. The vehicle has been brought in for service approximately 8–9 times for various concerns, including these safety issues. Despite repeated service visits, the problems remain unresolved. Restarting the vehicle sometimes restores functionality, but the defects continue to recur unpredictably. This vehicle is used to transport young children, and these failures present a significant risk of serious injury or death. The unpredictability of the unintended acceleration, false braking/steering, and loss of safety systems makes the vehicle unsafe to operate. I am submitting this complaint due to concern for my family’s safety and the safety of others on the road, and because the manufacturer has not resolved the defect after repeated attempts. These issues have occurred since we received the car in September 2024.