Vehicle Speed Control Problems of Volvo XC90 - part 1

The instrument panel just stopped working. Our safety and the safety of others was/is put at risk because you are unable to see how fast you are going in the car. It also doesn’t let us know how much gas we have left in the gas tank so if the car just stalled out on a highway, it could cause a major safety issue. This is also where cruise control is run from. It’s also the panel where any and all vehicle warnings would show up so if there’s another issue in the car, we are unable to see it.

See all problems of the 2020 Volvo XC90 🔎.

The instrument cluster display on my 2020 Volvo Xc90 went completely out while driving my vehicle. This was a single point of failure and safety issue as it affected my speedometer, gas gauge, etc. I was driving without any functioning indicators on the highway when it went out. There was no advanced warning. The issue was fixed by my dealership and part replaced, invoice is attached. We have made multiple attempts to resolve this issue with Volvo corporate, who has been non-responsive to the overall safety concern. Based on research Ford motor company (part 573 safety recall report 23v-506) faced a recall for their escapes because of a similar safety issue.

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.

See all problems of the 2023 Volvo XC90 🔎.

Previous issues with brakes, suspension, leaking sunroof, electrical and gauges. Vehicle became disabled due to defect with coolant system, smoke from engine compartment, towed to monterery Volvo (dealership/service center identified issues with coolant leak present turbo & cooling plastic pipe. Cruise control-vacuum pump: found vacuum pump leaking oil. Estimated repair $5,414. 38.

See all problems of the 2016 Volvo XC90 🔎.

On August 17th 2022 I received the reduced performance and acceleration reduced sign with an icon of a turtle. Besides getting this light on my dash my evening ended in fear and distress as I received a call from my family that the new car purchased was acting up and all that they were afraid for their life. This occurred to my spouse in the middle of driving home on the freeway (as she had our two kids in the backseat). She had to drive in a very low and dangerous speed on the highway and take the first exit possible as the car started acting up. A strong smell of something burning started to permeate the car coming from under the hood of the engine. My family was beyond terrified of this. The threat and fear for their life was due to the safety failures of this vehicle. The amount of stress and anxiety this SUV caused my spouse and underage children is beyond horrific. I was forced to drive across town (in severe distress and panic, as I did not know how this will all end and if my family was ok) and exchange cars with my frightened and petrified family. As I drove the car, I was frightened for my life as I understood the possibility of the car catching on fire (as the burned smell permitted the car). I was not able to drive more than 15mph. This is the third instance of the serious safety and hybrid system malfunction of car itself within the last 90 days post purchase. First time dropped the vehicle at sacramento Volvo on may 4, 2022 due to check engine came on / acceleration reduced. Second time dropped the vehicle at sacramento Volvo on Aug 9, 2022, check engine light came on, hybrid propulsion fault is on, vehicle struggles to accelerate. This dangerous safety issues that I have experienced within the short time owning this SUV can have severe consequences on the lives of my family. I opened a case with Volvo USA, so here is the case 220818-000954.

See all problems of the 2022 Volvo XC90 🔎.

The contact owns a 2006 Volvo Xc90. The contact stated that while pressing the brakes to park the vehicle when the vehicle's rpms revved up causing the vehicle to unintentionally accelerate and crash into the wall in front of their vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. After the crash occurred the low coolant warning light had failed. A police report was ,made. The contact had injuries to their scrotum and rib area. The contact was a physician therefore provided their own medical care. The vehicle was towed and deemed totaled. The contact stated their insurance diagnosed intended sudden acceleration. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 110,000.

See all problems of the 2006 Volvo XC90 🔎.

I have installed a sprintdrive installed in my Volvo. Since the installation, I have had several safety and security issues occur that stop once the device is removed. The following issues have occurred: 1) whilst driving on the muskogee turnpike, the cruising control system would disengage. This occurred at least three times during the drive. On the third time, the cruising control system disengaged and the braking system engaged causing the vehicle to go from 85 mph to 45 mph. 2) I was driving on c-470. The transmission system would not transition between the gears automatically. The vehicle remained in a low gear until I removed the device. 3) I was driving on I-70 when all of the warning lights went and an alarm sounded. The message console read all system failure. The engine shut down. Once the device was removed, I was able to restart the vehicle.

See all problems of the 2009 Volvo XC90 🔎.

"Volvo on call service required" message shows up on the dash suddenly every 3-5 minutes, and the black message box itself is close to, and bigger than, the speedometer reading. It makes it difficult to monitor and maintain speed without distraction. At the same time, every 3-5 minutes, top of the center screen completely flashes with "message stored to car status app" to draw driver attention and causes a major distraction while driving.

See all problems of the 2017 Volvo XC90 🔎.

On 2018-09-17, the vehicle, a 2017 Volvo Xc90 t8 hybrid, reported an error stating "reduced performance" within the instrument gauge. The vehicle continued to drive, without the hybrid system, only working on the gas engine. The vehicle was driven approximately 3 miles after the error message appeared. The next day, 2018-09-18, the vehicle was started, with the same error. After driving less than a quarter of a mile, the vehicle abruptly halted in the middle of an intersection, and then limited the vehicle speed to 17 miles per hour. The vehicle was returned to it's origin, unable to exceed the 17 mph restriction, and a tow truck was called in. The vehicle was at the nearest Volvo dealer for repairs for 20 days undergoing repairs. As of 2018-10-15, the vehicle has begin to exhibit a similar problem as was originally reported with 2 months of vehicle purchase in September, 2017, and what led to a multi-day repair in early September, 2018, prior to this incident occurring in mid September, 2018.

On 7 different occasions, the vehicle automatically and aggressively braked on its own. The collision avoidance system sensed that I was about to get into an accident even though there was absolutely nothing in front of me. The collision avoidance system is defective on this model. It was a miracle that I didn't get rear ended as the 7 instances all happened on highways. Many other people have had the same problem. Volvo has agreed to repurchase my vehicle. This is a major safety problem that needs to be fixed before someone gets killed.

(car is 26 days old) the dashboard screen went black while driving on the highway & the engine turned off & wouldn't go over (about) 10 mph. I was able to come to a rolling stop in a parking lot, and called Volvo because I thought maybe I was out of gas, due to the screen not working. My Volvo app let me know I still had a 1/4 of a tank, but I just wanted to make sure. They brought me gas & it was not a problem with gas, the problem was definitely electrical/ motor issues. We finally got the car towed to Volvo of las vegas & they told me it was just a software upgrade needed. I feel that this is a major safety problem & does not seem like a simple software upgrade to me. I was lucky enough to not have my new baby in the vehicle when this happened, but I am a new mom & this makes me very nervous.

The contact owns a 2016 Volvo Xc90. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 mph, the vehicle began to reduce in speed to 5 mph. The contact stated that an unknown warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where the software was reprogrammed. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 5,250.

I own a 2008 Xc90 with only 21000 miles on it. While driving, with my child in my car, I received a message "reduced engine performance" and my car started sputtering. I barely made it home, going over a small hill was a struggle. Mind you, this happened at night and I was scared to death that I was going to be stranded on the side of the road with my child. I have read on forums that this has happened to other customers and Volvo currently has a voluntary recall for etm at no cost to the consumer. When I entered my VIN on the Volvo site nothing came up. This is my mode of transportation and I am terrified to drive it until this gets resolved quickly.

See all problems of the 2008 Volvo XC90 🔎.

During driving on a local road at approx. 45 mph, the electronic dashboard disappeared (so you have no visibility to speed, fuel, warnings), the car rapidly decelerated to 10 mph and wouldn't go any faster and all non-steering controls (radio, ac, navigation, etc. ) froze. It has remained that way since even after power cycling. Apparently this can be temporarily fixed by disconnecting the 2 batteries. But it can happen again with no warning. This happened to me and has happened to others I know.

At least three times now the automatic braking system has applied without any object or vehicle in front. Once was on the i95 at 65mph going under a bridge the brake suddenly applied causing the car to dip and passengers to be shaken, then it continued as normal. Another time on the i78 near newark airport at 50mph passing some parked cars on the shoulder the brakes applied. Another time in local traffic at 30mph the brakes applied possibly when there was a slight dip in the road. The car has been looked at a couple of times and had a software update, but it still does it. It has now been in the shop for two weeks with no result Volvo suggested it was ezpass and we could wrap the ezpass in foil (and what, unwrap it for each toll booth!). This is a frightening safety issue because if we had been tailgated a car would have hit us.

The contact owns a 2016 Volvo Xc90. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 30 mph, the vehicle decelerated independently. The contact mentioned that the instrument panel failed to illuminate and provided reading levels for the vehicles functions. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where the failure was undetermined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 31,000. The VIN was not provided.

I had this problem a few times a year ago and now it has returned. I was driving my car at night in the rain on a two lane freeway when all of a sudden I lost the headlights, dash lights, speedometer, radio, power windows, electric transmission, and much more function of the car. The engine is still running but it seems to almost reset or something then start shutting stuff down. I see on your website someone put this in as a complaint also this is very dangerous you cant see at night the car is hard to drive its obviously this same problem with water getting into the ecm. I read through your information and it seems like Volvo knew something was up with ones produced before or after March. It seems like they have been well aware of the problem and still want to charge you $2000 to fix it! people shouldn't have to pay to fix a problem Volvo has been well aware of and has had a cheap and easy solution for years. I called my local Volvo dealers and not one of them had any information or knowledge of this problem. When Volvo has a service notice about this problem and has obviously spent a lot of time looking into it. The problem seems to be really bad when it rains or I use the wipers further leading me to see that it is the same thing in investigation pe-10-025. These are only the people who are complaining to you this seems to be a very common issue that Volvo is sweeping under the rug to make a buck. It's disgusting.

See all problems of the 2004 Volvo XC90 🔎.

Driving the Xc90 and suddenly there is a huge thump and clicking from the dashboard. All the dials around the spedometer stop working. . If we keep driving there are more thumps and we quickly lose engine power - it is extremely scary when it happens. . All the lights come on (inside the car), dashboard goes dead etc etc. It is extremely dangerous . . It happened to use a number of times with 3 children in the car. It has occurred when we were driving on the highway, 2-3 times, it has occurred on short trips - it happens at seemingly random times, usually after driving for over 30 minutes, but then yesterday it happened on a trip just down to the park, not 5 minutes down the road. . On this occasion the car had been sitting in the sun for a while (maybe heat related?). It has happened in hot weather, cold weather . . We are in constant fear when driving the car. I have contacted Volvo australia about the issue but they said they have no responsibility, that there is no recall for the problem and didn't want to help at all!! I see a lot of people have this same problem, is Volvo not going to fix it until someone is killed??? what will it take!?!?!?! it is a joke ! we bought a Volvo to have something safer than normal but its more dangerous! I cannot even sell the car because I don't know what's wrong with it and I don't want another family / person to be injured . . No resale value, no safety! come on Volvo, this is crazy!.

See all problems of the 2003 Volvo XC90 🔎.

Car was having issues with speedometer screen and center console screens. Screen would blank out when navigation system was in use and vehicle was moving. This would happen twice and system would normalize. Several weeks ago this happened and my husband and I smelled a weird odor and then smoke began bellowing out center console. Unit was turned off and dealer contacted. Vehicle was brought in but after three weeks still has issues. Went to pick up car on 12/5 only to find vehicle was having issue with retaining a fully charged battery. We were told al of these issues are due to software updates but to have speedometer go out while in use and to smoke is not safe.

The contact owns a 2016 Volvo Xc90. While driving approximately 50 mph, the brakes independently engaged without warning and slowed the vehicle down to approximately 5 mph. The city safety warning indicator illuminated after the brakes independently engaged. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 1,200.

While driving at approximately 60 mph with no car within 200 yards in front of vehicle, no object on the road, and no collision was imminent, the vehicle suddenly and spontaneously slowed down to almost 5 mph from about 60 mph for no reason. The seat belts pretensioned, the gas pedal dropped out from driver's feet. City safety activated. All occupants developed mild whiplash. It took several second to get car to return to highway speeds. Dealer claims it was due to a toll tag that was placed to closely to the city safety system near the rear view mirror.

Car lost all power and message window read "reduced engine performance". We were traveling in the left lane and had to coast through traffic to the shoulder. There was absolutely no throttle response, so we shut the car off. Upon restarting it, the message disappeared and we were able to continue our trip. It happened again, and we reset it once again. We stopped at the first Volvo repair facility we found and had them scan all the computers using the Volvo diagnostic equipment. The code they retrieved was ecm-981a. They cleared our computer using the Volvo computer, but the problem returned on our return home. We were barely able to get out of the way of a semi barreling upon us! the problem still persists, and I finally went to my computer to find some information on my own. Apparently, this is not so uncommon a problem with these cars. There is already a recall on some of the 2003-2004 s60's and v70's. We have already spent close to $2,000. 00 trying to remedy this problem, but that becomes inconsequential if someone gets killed because the issue doesn't get resolved.

While driving vehicle at 55-60 mph all dashboard lights came on and car lost power. This caused a frightening and extremely dangerous situation. Without headlights or tail lights I could not be seen by other drivers. I tried to cross 2 lanes and get onto the shoulder with no power steering or engine power. While I was very fortunate I was not in or did not cause a serious accident I had an extremely close calls. I changed lanes and almost collided with another vehicle traveling at 55. Once in the lane another driver who was unable to see my vehicle (no lights) came up behind me at a high rate of speed. Only a last minute swerve avoided a rear end collision that no doubt would have caused a terrible accident with very serious if not tragic results. Additionally other drivers had to swerve to avoid the vehicle-causing a very dangerous, chaotic situation. The loss of power and loss of lights came close to causing a major multi-vehicle accident. Many are aware of this problem. Please do not wait until people are killed to reopen the investigation and re-consider a safety recall.

See all problems of the 2005 Volvo XC90 🔎.

2004 Volvo xc-90. Consumer states problem with crankcase vent the consumer received a second a opinion and was informed the throttle body needed to be cleaned.

While driving on a 40mph busy road, my cd player display began to flash, then a few seconds later, my srs air bag service urgent message came on. Everything continued to flash and then all my instruments (speedometer, rev counter, turn signals) all died. Lucky I was passing my dealer who I just bought the car from and able to turn into it. After braking, I could not accelerate the car and had to let the momentum carry me into to the lot. I have had the car for 5 days now. I noticed on the first day that simple things were not quite right, including my mirror button only working half the time as well as my window control. Also my wipers would turn on randomly. This seems to be a very common problem with this year and model car if you read any Volvo forums. It seems it has happened to enough people that there should be a recall on the electronics of this car. People's safety are great risk with the failure of these said item in the car.

While driving, the electronic panel all shut down and I got msg regarding brake failure and to stop safely. I was on left-most lane of highway and my signals and hazard lights would not turn on!!! even my power window would not work so I couldn't open for me to make hand-signals. Lucky my father-in-law next to me had window open so I told him to make motions to surrounding cars for me to change lanes safely. When I was able to stop, I turned off car, turned on again and got srs airbag urgent msg on panel. Since car started ok but with msg, I took side streets home but it shut off again 2 times. I did same thing (stop/restarted) and made it home. I had my in-laws with me and my 3 young kids when it first happened on 12/23/11. Because of holidays/vacation and since nearest dealer is 20 miles away (an hour drive with traffic) and service department only open on weekdays, we couldn't take to dealer right away. Since it was an airbag message, my husband not too concerned - he wasn't with me when it first happened so I don't think he realized the gravity. He used it few times and 2 wks later, it happened to him. This time when restarted, there was also check engine msg and noticed difficulty steering. He took to dealer, and both technician and manager could not diagnose problem! they just reset to remove the srs msg and did a software update. We thought/hoped it was fixed but then yesterday the same thing happened (all shut down)! last night we started checking on-line and found many similar complaints! we are devastated because we love/take care of this car, which we use primarily on weekends and trips. We thought it's safe for our family but now aren't comfortable that taking back to dealer will fix problem. I am very surprised there has been no recall. Something needs to be done because it's only a matter of time before there are fatalities.

While driving the electronics shut off and the engine dies as if its in neutral. Took to Volvo service and they said a can software upgrade would solve it, this did not solve it, immediately after we left the same thing happened within a few miles, engine shut down, power went out, when restarted the srs airbag error code came on as well as the abs break failure message. I see you guys have completed an investigation (pe10025) on this but what the heck is being done about it. This car is very dangerous to my wife and newborn!!!! the car goes from 70 to 10mph on the freeway, how is this not as important as the issue with toyotas excessive acceleration problem, does someone need to die before you guys take this serious!.

I was driving on the freeway and there was a slight thumping noise and the electrical systems failed and shutdown in a second. The power was lost and the vehicle came to a sudden halt. Luckily I was on the right side of the road and I had pulled over to the side of the road. It was very scary, as I was on the freeway in the night and I could have very well been in an accident causing damage to my life and others. The electrical failure caused the car to loose complete control of the speed and the car came to an immediate halt. There was a message of break failure for a second before the car shut down completely. Request you to please look into this concern as it is a potential safety hazard. I have researched over the internet and I read that most of the owners of 2004/2005 Xc90 are facing similar issues, which is very scary. Kindly help us and help save lives. Thanking you.

I first experienced the delay in re-acceleration one morning on my way to work. After coming to a complete stop @ a stop sign, I stepped on the gas to take a turn and the car hesitated at a very slow pace to take off. I chalked it up as the car being cold early in the morning. It continued to happen periodically until one day it happened as I was stopped at a busy intersection waiting to turn left. When the intersection was cleared of oncoming traffic from a reasonable distance I pressed the gas to go and the car literally dragged in slow motion into the intersection. The acceleration was so slow that it allowed time for the oncoming traffic to reach me. With the front of my car in the intersection and the oncoming traffic coming directly at me at full speed I had to floor the gas pedal to jump kick the car into speed to get across the intersection safely. After that near death experience I called my dealer immediately. They were able to get me in the next day, gave me a loaner vehicle and kept my car overnight. I got a call from my service advisor the next afternoon stating that they could not duplicate the problem, however they will reset the cars computer to see if that helps. Well it didn't. I now don't drive the car unless I absolutely have to. It's still happening and I don't feel completely safe when driving my car. Our daughter will be getting her license soon and we thought out of our two cars that the Volvo Xc90 will be the safest for her to drive. Now I don't see it as even being an option for her. I've been online researching similar complaints by other 2011 Volvo Xc90 owners and didn't find much of anything. Perhaps there were just a few bad apples out of the bunch and I just happened to get one of them. My 2011 was purchased new off the showroom's floor June 2011 with 550 miles at delivery. I now have a little over 4000 miles.

See all problems of the 2011 Volvo XC90 🔎.

Driving from phx to tus at 75 mi out of phx at about 2200hrs. The car completely failed for fraction of a second then resumed normal operation until arriving at destination 10 mi. Later. The second time a week later was traveling to phx at 1800 hrs. 70mi out of tus. The car failed like the first time then a few seconds later did it again reached destination about 15mi. Later. When this happens the lights, radio, windows, dash light and gauges all stop working the mess. Comes on abs,srs. Its happened 5 or 6 times now with the worst being yesterday 16 June 2012 . I got off loop 202 and pulled in a parking lot and shut down the car and then attempted to restart 4 times before it restarted. The a/c,windows, lights, gauges,turn signals all failed. The mess. Abs, srs, check engine came on. I drove about 5 mi to destination. I'm now scared to drive it if the srs, abs warning are on are they working? if in an accident will the passengers and driver be protected ?.

The contact owns a 2004 Volvo Xc90. While driving approximately 45 mph, the vehicle became unresponsive to the contacts attempts to accelerate. All electrical components also failed. The vehicle was pulled over and shut off for approximately 3 hours. Upon restart, the vehicle would drive as normal but all of the warning indicator lights on the dashboard were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the failure was unable to be diagnosed and the vehicle was not repaired. The failure recurred twice and the vehicle was taken back to the independent mechanic. The mechanic was still unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 94,000 and the current mileage was 97,000.

The contact owns a 2004 Volvo Xc90. She stated that while starting the vehicle it idles excessively and then the engine shuts off. After she turns the vehicle back on and operates normally and then begins idling once again. The mechanic stated that the computer indicated that the air flow meter and the throttle body gasket needed to be replaced. The dealer was contacted and they stated that they will update the files on the repair and the failure that occurred. The vehicle will be repaired at the owners expense. There are no related recalls. The failure has occurred for approximately 3 months and has become progressively worse. The failure mileage was 68000 and current mileage was 72000.

I had to wear wide width shoes due to my toe being pinched. I was driving a 2005 Volvo Xc90. A couple of times, instead of applying the brake, the shoe was on the accelerator. The gap between the accelerometer and brake is very little. When I was driving with a non-wide width shoe, I did not notice this problem. This happens almost all the time wearing this one particular shoe (4e wide).

The contact owns a 2005 Volvo Xc90. The contact noticed that the space between the accelerator and brake pedals was only 4 1/2 inches wide. The width of his foot is 5 inches wide. There is an insufficient amount of space to adequately apply pressure to the accelerator pedal without also depressing the brake pedal. The dealer stated that they were aware of the failure, but have not made any efforts to correct the design. The VIN was unknown. The failure and current mileages were 54,000.

The contact owns a 2003 Volvo Xc90. While driving 55mph, the vehicle suddenly lost power while merging between two large vehicles. The accelerator pedal would not respond when he tried to engage it. The dealer stated that the rear differential, the throttle and the disc brakes failed. The purchase date was unavailable. The current and failure mileages were approximately 45,000.