2019 Volvo XC90 Complaint Log

Some back info: I keep the auto start/stop feature disabled. There are three identical incidents total. One about a year or two ago and two back to back a few weeks ago. The first time I was stopped at a drive through but in “drive” with my foot on the brake. All of the sudden the car completely turns off. Screens black, engine off. Completely black car no inside lights on. Within a couple of seconds, I hear the engine reengage and the car “starts” as normal like when you turn the switch. All of the lights and screens turn on and apple car play reconnects. The most recent two incidents were the same day and in drive having stopped at stoplights. The car goes “dead” then restarts all in drive with my foot on the brake. No warnings come up after the incident either. This time my husband and children were with me and can confirm it happened. I did not get these incidents checked out since the car was instantly back to normal with no warning messages. Very unnerving though and feels like the car is being remotely restarted somehow. The first time I just brushed it off, now I am concerned about this happening while in motion.

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

Upon driving a symbol with a turtle and engine cation sign flashed upon the dash displaying and reading reduced power train mode as this is being shown on dash the passenger next to me smelt smoke as we next seen smoke coming from the air conditioning system we immediately pulled over to the safest spot out of the ongoing traffic as smoke continued to worsen now under the hood when flames engulfed the engine and spread to rest of car.

My engine caught on fire. Unknown cause at this time.

The contact owned a 2019 Volvo XC90. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50-52 MPH, there smoke coming from the front passenger’s side wheel well of the vehicle. The contact stated that an off-duty Police Officer witnessed the failure and activated the Emergency Lights, allowing the contact to safely pull off the highway The contact immediately pulled over and stopped the vehicle. The grandson seated in the front passenger’s seat immediately exited the vehicle and the contact was able to unbuckle and removed the [XXX] from the second-row middle seat. The contact stated that moments later there were explosions, and there was black smoke and flames engulfing the vehicle. The vehicle was destroyed. There were no injuries sustained; however, all three occupants of the vehicle experienced emotional trauma from the vehicle catching on fire. Medical attention was not needed. A Police Report was filed at the scene and the vehicle was towed away. The contact stated that the car seat in the rear of the vehicle was destroyed. The vehicle was examined by an Insurance Adjuster, and it was determined that the fire had started in the engine compartment. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 61,511. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

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 contact owns a 2019 Volvo XC90. The contact stated that after stopping and parking the vehicle, the vehicle failed to turn off. The contact's fiancée arrived on the scene and was able to turn off the vehicle; however, the vehicle later failed to restart, and the gear shifter seized. The message "Gear Lever Lock" was displayed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the panoramic sunroof seal strip had a gap, allowing debris and water into the vehicle, clogging the drain, and rendering the vehicle inoperable. The mechanic disassembled the entire interior and allowed it to dry before reassembling. The contact was informed that the front passenger’s side air bag sensor, seat belt buckle, and seat belt tensioner needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: TJ 35503.3.0 (Panoramic sunroof, sealing strip has a gap). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.

Vin: [XXX] We just had the starter go bad at roughly 66000 miles. When the repair shop had removed the bad starter they noticed a very odd failure. The nut/stud on the starter was stripped. They stated that this was definitely from a manufacturing defect. I can provide the bad starter and receipt of the cost of replacement. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2019 Volvo XC90. The contact stated while reversing out of a parking space, the contact depressed the brake pedal; however, the vehicle failed to stop. The contact pumped the brake pedal and then depressed the brake pedal to the floor for the vehicle to come to a stop. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to be diagnosed and it was determined that the brake master cylinder and the brake booster had failed internally, causing a vacuum leak. The contact was informed that the brake master cylinder and brake booster needed to be replaced, the brake lines needed to be bled, and the brake control module needed to be calibrated. The vehicle was scheduled to be repair but had not yet been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 49,800.

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)

While driving, the brakes completely failed without any warning. There were no signs, alerts, or symptoms prior to the failure. The braking ability was suddenly and entirely lost, creating an extremely dangerous situation. Upon inspection, it was determined that the brake booster had failed. This component failure directly caused the complete loss of braking power. Because this occurred without warning or prior indication and such an unexpected failure not only poses a significant safety risk to the driver and passengers but endangers everyone on the road, and it represents a severe safety hazard. A sudden brake booster failure can easily lead to loss of vehicle control, accidents, injury, or even fatalities. Immediate action is required to address this serious issue that threatens public safety.

Engine began to misfire. According to Volvo, there is a problem with the valve ring(s) not sealing, oil coming into the #4 piston chamber and excessive oil consumption. Vehicle has under 95K miles, and has been properly maintained, but Volvo is saying we are outside warranty period.

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 quoted cost $4,854.03. 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 Hawaii is brutal. The $4,854.03 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 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) I would like to have Volvo USA to address this issue and fix this common issue and recall this year model.

After a software update the backup camera’s field of view is super focused on the tailgate, license plate, and the immediate ground below. This is a safety concern as there have been a few near misses at parking lot speeds.

Rear passenger door won’t open. We had freezing temps in Colorado, when I tried to open the rear door to get my 2 month old out of the car the door would not open. Apparently this is a known problem for this vehicle the rear door motors spontaneously stop working.

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.

AIRBAG LIGHT WAS ON. DEALER VERIFIED AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT ON. CONNECTED TO VIDA AND RECEIVED CODE (SRS-BB15381B HIGH VOLTAGE BATTERY POWER SUPPLY DISCONNECT DEPLOYMENT LOOP CONTROL. GENERAL ELECTRICAL FAILURES. CIRCUIT RESISTANCE ABOVE THRESHOLD ). THEY REPLACED TERMINALS 11 & 12 IN THE LOW VOLTAGE CONNECTOR AT THE HIGH VOLTAGE BATTERY. REFERENCING TJ 37119-0. MY VOLVO FACTORY EXTENDED WARRANTY WOULD NO COVER THE REPAIR.

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)

According to Volvo, there is a problem with the valve ring(s) not sealing, oil coming into the #1 piston chamber and excessive oil consumption. However, they have yet to provide everything clearly in writing with an explanation. As mileage was about 89K when we first brought into them for what we viewed as major engine problems, they are saying we are outside warranty period.

The contact owns a 2019 Volvo XC90. The contact stated that while stopped and attempting to accelerate, the brake became inoperable. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed two times and taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed three times that the brake booster had failed. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was not available.

The contact owns a 2019 Volvo XC90. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lurched forward while switching back and forth between electric and gasoline mode. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where an unknown repair was performed; however, the failure recurred while driving three years later. Additionally, the turtle warning light was illuminated with the message "Engine System Reduced Performance". The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

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.

On 23rd July 2022 my son went underneath a reversing XC90 2019 vehicle. The front wheel went over his leg and arm. He miraculously survived and the event was close to taking his life. The vehicle was my wife's car. We are in possession of the surveillance video which shows that the vehicles safety features failed. Although the vehicle was left in the reverse gear, the car was stationary, after having been in a forward motion. This sequence automatically engages the park brake and only deactivated when the pedal is pressed. The pedal was not pressed. In addition the video shows the door was open when the brake was deactivated. Another safety feature which failed to prevent the event. My wife was outside of the car and pushing on the rear of the car, trying to stop it driving over my son. Both my wife at the rear bumper and my son on the floor behind the vehicle on the floor, failed to activate the reverse sensors safety feature. Although a small post did after the vehicle drove over my son. I have a video I can email but is too big for the upload feature. Please let me know how to send the video: be warned the video is not very pleasant. After the event I had the vehicle codes read at the local Volvo dealership. Multiple codes related to failures in the parking brake were identified. I contact Volvo and have been assisting them over the last two weeks with their investigation. They have had the car for 4 hours to run this investigation and I am aware the engineers in Sweden are involved. They have now come back to me and asked to see the vehicle again to read more codes. I have been very disappointed in Volvo through this process. The video clearly shows an "Event". and they keep referencing back to the car being fine at the point of the inspection; failing to reference or acknowledge the event timing itself. I am at the point I need to make sure their investigation is being done correctly, since I feel they are playing with words and not telling me the truth.

Water damage to the electrical system from blocked drainage by sunroof; potential mold damage

The rear right passenger door is stuck in a locked state. It's not possible to open that door from the interior or the exterior. Locking and unlocking the doors does not solve the problem. Activating and deactivating the child lock system does not solve the problem either. Turning the engine on and off does not solve the problem. This is extremely unsafe in case of a collision where the passenger needs to be evacuated from the car with no access to the other side of the vehicle. The car has not been inspected by anybody, yet. I'll take the vehicle to the dealership for repair. The door has been like this for a several days now, as of 05/11/2022. There were no signs or other symptoms prior to this problem. There are no signs or messages about this malfunction. Upon looking online on some Volvo owners forums, this problem has occurred to more people before on different models as well. To be clear, this is not a case of the door being stuck due to low temperatures. It has been well above the 40's in the last week at my location in South County, Rhode Island.

The contact owns a 2019 Volvo XC90. The contact stated that upon returning to the vehicle, she noticed that her sunglasses case and tennis can located in the interior of the vehicle had been chewed. The contact stated that upon looking further, she noticed that the third row seats leather coating had been chewed. However, the contact had not transported pets on the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who inspected the vehicle and informed the contact that rodents were entering the interior of the vehicle through a hole they had created on the rubber seal between the dashboard and the engine compartment. The dealer informed the contact that the rodents were attracted by the soy-based wires coating. The manufacturer was notified of the failure of the failure and informed the contact that she would need to pay a repair fee as the vehicle would not be repaired under warranty. The dealer replaced the leather coating on the seats and the seats stuffing. The dealer installed a new seal on the hood, wrapped tape around the soy-based wires coating to prevent rodents intrusion. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 38,000.

The front rotors on my truck had to be changed twice already. The truck has 25k miles on it. The dealer warrantied them both times but they keep putting in the same kind of rotors. After a few month of driving with the new rotors the steering starts to shake when brakes are applied. The front brake pads also wear out pretty quickly. With only 25k miles they told me I needed new ones. I have invoices if needed to prove the rotors have been changed twice

The contact owns a 2019 VOLVO XC90. The contact stated that while her foot was on the brake pedal and while talking with a friend outside her vehicle, she had decided to place the vehicle into park. After approximately 8-10 minutes, the vehicle independently accelerated forward without warning and crashed into her friend's garage door. The air bags deployed immediately upon impact. An automatic safety feature on the vehicle detected the crash and automatically notified the police; a police report was filed. The contact sustained bruising to her left arm and leg and the passenger sustained bruising to her stomach. Due to the failure, the contact had the vehicle towed a dealer where it remained in their possession. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The contact's insurance was able to retrieve the EDR report from the vehicle which showed that the vehicle accelerated prior to the crash; however, it did not determine if the vehicle was in parking gear when it crashed. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 VOLVO XC90. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE STALLED. A FUSE WAS REPLACED BY VOLVO CARS OF GREENVILLE (2668 LAURENS RD, GREENVILLE, SC 29607, (864) 288-5555); HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TO STALL AND WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 8,000.

I PURCHASED MY NEW 2019 VOLVO XC90 ON DECEMBER 15, 2018. ON THE MORNING OF DECEMBER 29, 2018 I WAS WITH MY TWO CHILDREN WHEN THERE WAS A MALFUNCTION WITH THE VEHICLE KEY RECOGNITION SYSTEM WHICH ALLOWS FOR THE VEHICLE TO START. MY VEHICLE GAVE ME THE ERROR 'VEHICLE KEY NOT FOUND. SEE OWNER'S MANUAL'. THIS LEFT MYSELF, MY 4 YEAR OLD AND MY 4 MONTH OLD STRANDED. THE LOCAL FORT MYERS DEALER SAID THEY REPLACED THE FOB ANTENNA. MY VEHICLE THEN HAD THE SAME PROBLEM FEBRUARY 14, 2019 LEAVING MYSELF AND MY TWO CHILDREN STRANDED BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WOULDN'T START. VOLVO CLAIMED TO FIX THE ISSUE BUT THE VEHICLE AGAIN MALFUNCTIONED WHILE IN THE POSSESSION OF MCGRATH VOLVO OF FORT MYERS. AGAIN ON FEBRUARY 23, 2019 MY VEHICLE WOULDN'T RECOGNIZE MY KEYS AND WOULDN'T START, YET AGAIN LEAVING MYSELF AND MY TWO CHILDREN STRANDED. AFTER VOLVO TOLD ME THEY FIXED WHAT THEY THOUGHT WAS A DEFECTIVE WIRE, I RECEIVED MY VEHICLE BACK. ON MARCH 6, 2019 I WAS DRIVING WITH MY THEN 6 MONTH OLD BABY WHEN MY VEHICLE SHUT OFF TWICE. AS I WAS DECELERATING, MY VEHICLE ENGINE SHUT OFF BY ITSELF AND ALL SCREENS IN THE VEHICLE WENT BLANK. THIS OCCURRED TWICE WHILE DECELERATING. VOLVO HAS HAD MY CAR SINCE MARCH 6, 2019 PROVIDING ME NO UPDATES AS OF TODAY, MARCH 19. I HAVE ONLY OWNED THE VEHICLE 94 DAYS AND IT HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP 35 DAYS, WITH ONLY 2387 MILES ON IT.