Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL | |||
| 02/28/2013 | 110156 | ||
| Today, we learned our volvo xc90's yaw rate sensor has failed. the root cause was water leaking into the passenger side of the car due to blocked moonroof (i.e. sunroof) drains, which shorted the yaw rate sensor. this impaired the electronic stability control and brakes of our volvo, putting us at risk of accident. research shows this is a frequent and recurring problem known since at least 2004. it has caused thousands of dollars in damage to numersous xc90s. volvo is aware of this issue up to and including the president of volvo usa. even though easy and inexpesnive regular maintenance would prevent expensive damanage, neither the volvo user manual nor maintenance service operations guides mention the need. the damage we and others have suffered was completely preventable. the root cause is a design defect, which volvo service providers regularly correct by cutting the bottom end of the hoses. a service provider is reported as saying, this is a bad design. we don't know why volvo designed it this way, so we jsut cut off the bottom two inches of the hoses. given the risk this defect puts owners at and volvo's ongoing failure to correct this design defect and/or notify owners of this issue and the required maintenance to address it, i believe a recall of all affected volvo xc90s is warranted and should be institued immediately. yours, jordan dea-mattson | |||
| 10/13/2012 | 88013 | 1 | |
| While driving between 65 and 70 miles on a major interstate my 2004 volvo xc 90 has a severe thump in the front end, which is then followed by a very brief (split second) internal (meaning all dashboard lights, hi-fi, dome lights, radio air condition, oil gage, fuel gage clock ) power failure. while trying to push the gas the car would not accelerate. at first i hit something on the highway. a minute or two later the thump was harder and the lights internally completely went out, hazard lights could not be turned on, blinkers could not be switched on, hi-fi went out, the door locks would not work, the windshield wipers would not cut on or the electric windows. i pulled over immediately and turned the car off, waited 10 minutes and restarted it. there were 3 messages on the dash, the yellow exclamation point dashboard icon/alert lit up, a service message flashed referring to the anti-lock brake failure, the srs needed to be checked, and check engine. the next day i took it to a volvo dealership, they couldn't diagnose the problem. they assured me that the car was ok to drive. four days later the problem starts again. so after doing a little research i find out that this is a common occurrence on the volvo xc 90 and there was an investigation on this same issue in november 2010 in which volvo is fully aware of and acknowledges a problem affecting some subject vehicles involving water seepage into the plenum box area in the engine compartment. when this occurs water may enter into the interior passenger compartment and track along the wiring harness for the central electronic module, the device that controls many of the vehicles electrical functions including wiper operation, lighting, and transmission operation. if the water reaches the central electronic module connector electrical faults may result. this is a $1200.00 repair which volvo should pay. *tr | |||
| 10/13/2012 | 88013 | ||
| While driving between 65 and 70 miles on a major interstate my 2004 volvo xc 90 has a severe thump in the front end, which is then followed by a very brief (split second) internal (meaning all dashboard lights, hi-fi, dome lights, radio air condition, oil gage, fuel gage clock ) power failure. while trying to push the gas the car would not accelerate. at first i hit something on the highway. a minute or two later the thump was harder and the lights internally completely went out, hazard lights could not be turned on, blinkers could not be switched on, hi-fi went out, the door locks would not work, the windshield wipers would not cut on or the electric windows. i pulled over immediately and turned the car off, waited 10 minutes and restarted it. there were 3 messages on the dash, the yellow exclamation point dashboard icon/alert lit up, a service message flashed referring to the anti-lock brake failure, the srs needed to be checked, and check engine. the next day i took it to a volvo dealership, they couldn't diagnose the problem. they assured me that the car was ok to drive. four days later the problem starts again. so after doing a little research i find out that this is a common occurrence on the volvo xc 90 and there was an investigation on this same issue in november 2010 in which volvo is fully aware of and acknowledges a problem affecting some subject vehicles involving water seepage into the plenum box area in the engine compartment. when this occurs water may enter into the interior passenger compartment and track along the wiring harness for the central electronic module, the device that controls many of the vehicles electrical functions including wiper operation, lighting, and transmission operation. if the water reaches the central electronic module connector electrical faults may result. this is a $1200.00 repair which volvo should pay. | |||
| 04/18/2012 | 90000 | ||
| The sunroof drain has a design flaw that can cause water to enter the passenger compartment and/or electrical systems. this can present simply as water on the floor boards. but it can also present in more subtle ways with water coming in contact with electrical systems and being drawn throughout the car through copper wires acting as conduit (this effects speaker quality, radio function, cruise control function etc). most importantly, water can accumulate in the compartment under the front passenger seat that houses the dynamic stability traction control system putting safety at risk. we have experienced this with our xc90 but see many complaints regarding other volvo models. this is a significant safety concern but most concerning because of its subtle nature, slow progression, and prohibitive costs to repair. many people are driving around with compromised systems and are not yet aware, unable to recognize the cause, or unable to fund the the repair. | |||
| 03/01/2010 | 46000 | 1 | |
| My 2004 volvo xc90 has experience a sudden electrical failure. while driving in city conditions all internal electronics including speed & fuel gauges, turn light indicators, audio system, air circulation and supplemental restraint system have turned off while the engine continued to operate. this made the car impossible to drive as no feedback on speed or ability to indicate a turn or a stop was possible. this occurred suddenly and without any warning. i was unable to fix this by restarting the car. according to basic research, this is a common issue with volvo cars made circa 2003-4 and involve a defective cem (car electronics module). in other incidents engines have also shut down unexpectedly and brakes became inoperable. this is a serious safety issue that needs to be addressed. *tr | |||
| 06/20/2008 | 52000 | 1 | |
| I have a 2004 volvo xc90 that has 52,000 miles on it. i started receiving a brake failure warning and took it in to my mechanic. he said it was abs/dstc control module which regulates the anti-lock brakes and dynamic stability control. this is a safety feature, and according to my mechanic, has been known to be defective on this model. it requires replacing with a factory part, and reprogramming of the computer at a cost to the consumer of about $1100. labor for this is approximately $250. since this is a safety feature, and due to the fact that this is such a common problem with this vehicle, i feel if is reasonable to request that volvo recall these vehicles and repair this feature. *tr | |||