2019 Volvo XC60 Brakes Problems

While driving at 10 mph on a residential street, I experienced a sudden and dangerous loss of power braking assistance, making the pedal nearly impossible to depress. An expert Volvo technician has confirmed that the brake vacuum pump failed because the exhaust camshaft, which drives the pump, sheared or failed internally. I want to emphasize that this catastrophic mechanical failure occurred at only 45,000 miles. A camshaft is a non-wear item that should last the lifetime of the vehicle; for it to fail at such low mileage and take out the braking system is an unreasonable safety risk. This is a known issue (Internal Ref: TJ 29131) that directly links an engine defect to a primary safety system failure. The vehicle has been properly maintained, and the failed parts are available for inspection."

The moon roof leaks and drains into the area of the electronic gateway. This causes the car to become inoperable, slowing it to a crawl, once in park it will not get out of park, and sometimes results in not being able to turn off the engine. Many error codes become displayed ranging from no parking brake available, ESB not responding, check engine light, and others. According to user forums, this issue has been around since 2017 for many of the models and Volvo will do nothing to repair it or acknowledge it. I have paid $2250 so far and the vehicle is still unusable.

Since owning my Volvo XC60 I have had to change my brakes and rotors 3 times. I first purchased my car in January 2020 and the model is a 2019. The brake issues that have occurred have been the brake pedal shaking excessively as well as concern that the car would not brake due to the brakes wearing down very quickly. This has also affected the brake safety that Volvo pride themselves on. Additionally I was asked to pay $600 for a recall that the dealership told me needed to be done for my safety and admitted that Volvo should be picking up the tab for this.

At approximately 55,000 miles I started to experience intermittent heavy vibration at Highway speeds. According to the Volvo technical journal this is a known issue called the Ghost Shaker. There we no warning lamps or car messages that displayed while the shaking occurred. Typically, the car would shake when above 45 MPH, especially on interstate. While the Ghost Shaker is happening, it was very hard to control the vehicle and the only way to cease the shaking is to pull over and come to a complete stop. Sometimes this was not very safe, especially when you were on an interstate with limited shoulder space. This appears to be a known issue of Volvo, but since I was out of warranty, I had to cover the cost for the repair. I took my XC60 into an Independent Repair shop and a new Volvo Brand brake booster was installed. This appears to have rectified the situation and the shaking has stopped.

For the last 18 months, when getting on or while driving on the interstate at speeds of 55 - 70 mph, the steering wheel vibrates and a vibration is felt throughout the vehicle. When braking a pulsation is felt in the brake pedal and the car shudders as it slows. I have taken it to the dealer and they cannot duplicate the issue. I've seen that other Volvo XC-60 have had similar issues with brakes/rotors.

SINCE PURCHASING IN MAY 2019, MY BRAKE PADS WERE REPLACED ONCE AND MY ROTORS NOW THREE TIMES. I HAVE LESS THAN 20,000MI ON MY VOLVO. THE REASON IS BECAUSE OF PULSATIONS WHEN I APPLY THE BRAKES AND IT CAN BE FELT IN THE STEERING WHEEL, AT TIMES. MY DEALER HAS BEEN STELLAR IN ADDRESSING MY CONCERNS EACH TIME I HAVE HAD TO HAVE IT SERVICED. I HAVE SEEN ON VARIOUS BLOGS AND CONSUMER SITES THAT THIS IS A RATHER COMMON OCCURRENCE. I BELIEVE THE ROTORS EITHER ARE NOT EQUIPPED FOR THIS VEHICLE OR THE QUALITY OF THE ROTORS ARE SUBPAR. IF A REMEDY OR RECALL IS NOT SUBSTANTIATED, THE OWNERS SHOULD BE ASSURED BRAKES AND ROTORS WILL BE COVERED BY VOLVO, INDEFINITELY.