[He Keith]

I get that EVs are new and stuff, but it is odd how the problems these cars are having that really can't be attributed directly to it being an EV. IHU, brakes, TCAM should all be common to the entire Volvo lineup. I look at Kia and people are complaining about heat pump related issues where one could say that is attributed to being an EV.

 

[Homer]

I get that EVs are new and stuff, but it is odd how the problems these cars are having that really can't be attributed directly to it being an EV. IHU, brakes, TCAM should all be common to the entire Volvo lineup. I look at Kia and people are complaining about heat pump related issues where one could say that is attributed to being an EV.

I agree with this. The basic integration of the IHU, brakes and TCAM does not appear to be an issue with other Volvos. This is a well utilized technology that has been in use across multiple different automotive companies. They all have their unique spin and interface, but Audi, BMW, etc., have TCAM, IHU interfaces and do not have the apparent significant issues with brakes and total power failures.

I have followed multiple different EV forums and the Volvo interface issues and power/mechanical problems appear to not be common to other EVs.

Clearly there are people whose cars have performed without issues. However, purchasing a new car should not be a gamble that you get the one that works.

 

[improvius]

I agree with this. The basic integration of the IHU, brakes and TCAM does not appear to be an issue with other Volvos. This is a well utilized technology that has been in use across multiple different automotive companies. They all have their unique spin and interface, but Audi, BMW, etc., have TCAM, IHU interfaces and do not have the apparent significant issues with brakes and total power failures.

I have followed multiple different EV forums and the Volvo interface issues and power/mechanical problems appear to not be common to other EVs.

Clearly there are people whose cars have performed without issues. However, purchasing a new car should not be a gamble that you get the one that works.

XC60 has been having TCAM issues as well.

Did new TCAM fix the problem?

My brand-new 2022 XC60 T8 Recharge is in the shop awaiting a new TCAM. My GPS and Hey Google stopped working two days after I took delivery and has been in my dealer’s service department for three days. They were on the phone with Volvo, who told them to reset this, unplug that, but nothing...

www.swedespeed.com

 

[B-mtrd]

All this horror stories gave me a lump on my throat. Both my XC40 and XC60 have worked well but it still makes me nervous.
Already a few similar stories in the past week.
Maybe a bad batch?

Volvo better get their **** together now that their direction is AAOS. You don’t really hear that many horror Sensus stories.

 

[He Keith]

Remember more people come online to complain that to praise. That said we own a XC40 and C40 Recharge, if you fine my posts I have IHU and brake issues with my old XC40 that Volvo swapped for a C40. Both her XC40 and my C40 have been very good, hers has been flawless, mine just losses the "hey google" every few days unless I reboot.

That said I wish Volvo would get its act together as this is a great car. There is still not another EV I would rather own.

 

[MMK]

Remember more people come online to complain that to praise. That said we own a XC40 and C40 Recharge, if you fine my posts I have IHU and brake issues with my old XC40 that Volvo swapped for a C40. Both her XC40 and my C40 have been very good, hers has been flawless, mine just losses the "hey google" every few days unless I reboot.

That said I wish Volvo would get its act together as this is a great car. There is still not another EV I would rather own.

Everything in perspective, ditto on above.

 

[B-mtrd]

Remember more people come online to complain that to praise. That said we own a XC40 and C40 Recharge, if you fine my posts I have IHU and brake issues with my old XC40 that Volvo swapped for a C40. Both her XC40 and my C40 have been very good, hers has been flawless, mine just losses the "hey google" every few days unless I reboot.

That said I wish Volvo would get its act together as this is a great car. There is still not another EV I would rather own.

I’ve read your posts and they are always very informational and factual. I think we all already owe you a few beers.
You’re right, you read more bad stories than positive, just makes you uneasy to read them.

 

[DratUK]

@MMK I think you are spot on. If we peruse the forums to much I wouldn’t buy any car irrespective of brand. My personal experience with Peugeot. Brand new 407 estate, wagon to USA people, spent 6 months of its first year in the workshop with electrical and software issues. The workshop bless them were very good however it did not takeaway from the fact it was an a not ready for the road. Numerous complaints on the forums. Eventually they managed to solve the issues but my patience wore very thin.
I am still plotting ahead with the order with a hope and a prayer we won’t be affected by the bugs present.

 

[SeattleCat]

I have seen lots of bad posts about other cars. Seems many manufacturers are having challenges at the moment and evs seem to be having their fair share.

As always wish we knew the actual percentages of people having problems. So few people seek out a board to say things are going well.

I do because I like helping folks and there is always more to learn about the car! How to reset the car mirrors was surprising

I have also found with almost all products you go online and there are always folks complaining with or without valid reasons. The world might of forgot how to do quality control. Feels like the end users gets to do it. Welcome to 2022.

 

[Daniel.w.leigh]

@MMK I think you are spot on. If we peruse the forums to much I wouldn’t buy any car irrespective of brand. My personal experience with Peugeot. Brand new 407 estate, wagon to USA people, spent 6 months of its first year in the workshop with electrical and software issues. The workshop bless them were very good however it did not takeaway from the fact it was an a not ready for the road. Numerous complaints on the forums. Eventually they managed to solve the issues but my patience wore very thin.
I am still plotting ahead with the order with a hope and a prayer we won’t be affected by the bugs present.

If it makes you feel any better, I am in the UK and have one of the first XC40 P8 BEV/Recharges, and besides a period when I first got it where the A/C didn't seem to be blowing cold, I've had no issues. No head unit freezing. No charging issues. No reliability issues. I get the odd outage of the 3G/LTE which is annoying as the car uses built-in Spotify, so I have no music when it has no signal, but I live in a rural area where my phone doesn't always get signal, so its fair that my car doesn't! The C40/XC40 EV is a brilliant car, with no more issues than most new cars (see the issues people had with Tesla Model 3 when they first came out!). It's well screwed together, quick, comfortable, gets decent range and has been very reliable for me after a year and 10k miles.

 

[SeattleCat]

If it makes you feel any better, I am in the UK and have one of the first XC40 P8 BEV/Recharges, and besides a period when I first got it where the A/C didn't seem to be blowing cold, I've had no issues. No head unit freezing. No charging issues. No reliability issues. I get the odd outage of the 3G/LTE which is annoying as the car uses built-in Spotify, so I have no music when it has no signal, but I live in a rural area where my phone doesn't always get signal, so its fair that my car doesn't! The C40/XC40 EV is a brilliant car, with no more issues than most new cars (see the issues people had with Tesla Model 3 when they first came out!). It's well screwed together, quick, comfortable, gets decent range and has been very reliable for me after a year and 10k miles.

Glad your in the happy boat.
Do British versions of the car use 3g not 4g?
3g being phased out in America at the moment and uk is usually ahead of America.

 

[Daniel.w.leigh]

Glad your in the happy boat.
Do British versions of the car use 3g not 4g?
3g being phased out in America at the moment and uk is usually ahead of America.

LTE is 4G. In the UK we don’t have great coverage of 4G (forget 5G) in rural areas so my car often defaults to 3G. I think 2028 is when the UK is phasing out 3G! I’ve even seen my car drop down to Edge (2.5G) which is going away for a long time, but I do wonder what’ll happens to today’s cars in a decade when the tech has changed but they rely on OTA updates and SIMs to do basic things like Nav and music! Same issue for all OEMs really, but it’s a bit like the old GM OnStar in the US which used analogue phone signals way after most people stopped using it for phones, so people were buying cars and within 3 years the OnStar was dead.

 

[6450]

Off to the workshop it is. Yesterday afternoon I thought I'd take the car for a little drive just to see if anything would change. Luckily I was just driving around the local streets. About 5 mins into my drive the car just died again and shut down very abruptly. On Saturday night the car went into "Turtle Mode" and I was able to limp home. This time it just stopped, literally in the middle of the street. I had about 15 seconds notice (but was only travelling at about 30kph). I couldn't get the car home at all so had to call roadside assistance to tow me. Today the car has gone to the dealership so I'll keep you guys posted on what they say the issue is.


View attachment 3544

Ouch. Good luck with that and keep us posted.

 

[DratUK]

@Daniel.w.leigh Cheers Daniel. I have been through a fair number of cars over the years as a medic sales rep which were pretty reliable. On the private side we went through the Alfa Romeo line up and despite all the reliability issues we kept going back. We have never spent so much on a car nor more excite. Thank you for the reassurance.

 

[Wiverson]

On Monday I went to pick up my son from school. When I went to get back in the car wouldn't start (2022 Ultimate Recharge). Calling OnCall, they had me leave the car fob in the center console, then get out, shut it, and then get back in. That was enough to get it to start, but it presented a "Propulsion system Service required" message. Drove me son home and called my local Volvo dealer.

I was able to drive it to the dealer yesterday, and they seemed to think it needs a new "battery discharge module." My wife brought me home yesterday, and this morning she dropped me off so I could pick up my loaner, a regular XC60 T5. The tank was almost empty, $97 to fill it up.

The dealer has no idea when the part will come in. This car was in the shop for nearly a month back in November due to a TCAM issue, which I posted about earlier. The dealer said it could be days or weeks until they get the part, they just don't know.

I really love this car when it works, but I've never had anything even remotely close to these kinds of issues with any other car I've owned.

I just... I don't know what else to say. I'm just at a loss for words.

 

[Dan in Connecticut]

So I've read about all the issues other people on these forums have been having with the XC40 Recharge, and I was silently hoping none of them would happen to me. Being a later MY22 model, v2.0 software etc. "Maybe they sorted the issues now" is what I kept saying to myself.

Well tonight, after just 36 hours of ownership, the car is stuffed. Not sure what I can do to get it going again but here's what happened.

I took the wife and kids out tonight for their first drive in the car but it was raining. We went to our local big shopping center (about 10km/6mi away) and on the return trip I had a series of warnings and errors and strange behavior. It was also raining tonight so pulling over and getting out of the car wasn't an option we wanted.

The problems happened like so...
1. I was at 80% battery capacity and then it suddenly dropped to 65%, then 57%.
2. One Pedal Driving was automatically turned off and I got a warning that I had to use the brakes
3. A few moments after this, I started seeing an orange bar start to work it's way down my power meter on the right of the dash (like where it starts restricting power)
4. Once this orange bar had got all the way to the mid-way point, the turtle icon showed up to show I was in limp home mode
5. A few moments after this I got a drive propulsion warning.

We were only 3km/1.8mi from home so I kept the car going and limped home.

6. When I got home just as I was pulling into the garage I got a "Drive to workshop 12V battery charging fault service urgent" warning.

We also noticed a very very fast "fan" noise coming from the front of the car. Not sure what this was (definitely didn't sound like air-conditioning). This fan shut itself off after a further 30-60s.

I got out of the car and locked it. It has been about 30min and I've now gone back to the car to try to "start" it to see if it will move and all I get now is a "12V Critical Charging Fault" with a "red" battery warning icon. The car will not start up.

Tomorrow here in Australia is Mothers Day I was hoping to drive the car to the thing I have planned for my wife and the kids. I'm going to see if I can access the 12V battery (I remember seeing someone on here post some pics on how to get to it) and I'll just check the charge and make sure the terminals are tight. Failing this - I'm out of ideas.

Defective 12V battery. Similar issue for my 2021 a few months after purchase.

 

[DreamensioN]

So I'm one week in the shop and they still don't know what's wrong with it. They thought they fixed the issue on the first day and the techs took it for a test drive and the car did the exact same thing and broke down on them. They had to get towed back to their own workshop. The car has been referred to Volvo Australia. Hopefully I'll get another update later this week.

 

[He Keith]

Keep us posted. What kind of lemon laws do you have there?

 

[DreamensioN]

So just an update.... there is no update. The car has been in the shop for 3 weeks and they still don't know the root cause of the issue. I went there yesterday to get an update in-person as all I ever got on the phone was "we're still looking at it".

Whatever the issue is, it's way beyond the skillset of the guys in the workshop and they are relying on Volvo Australia for everything. Last week they "decommissioned the battery", which I learnt was just doing a full discharge on the main battery so the car is safe to work on. Apparently this took some time because they can't drive it and had to draw out the power via some other method. They still have "13 more tests" to run on the car, and one reason they said it's taking a long time to get this resolved is because they do a test, send the info to Volvo Australia, wait for them to analyse the data, then they tell the workshop what to do next. So the delay is in this back and forth.

They are arranging a loan vehicle for me. Luckily I haven't been without transport because I still have my old ICE vehicle (which should be up for sale by now), but I've hung onto it while they sort the XC40 out. But after 3 weeks they can provide a loaner so I can finally put my ICE car up for sale and unlock the $$ value of that.

I'm not disappointed in the dealership that's working on the car...but I am a bit miffed that 3 weeks later they still haven't identified the problem. Maybe I'm over simplifying it in my mind...but the software threw an error and because that error condition was met, the software then shutdown the drivetrain of the vehicle. The software throws an error because it is told to throw the error by a signal it has received. That signal comes from one of several items. In my mind... you just look at those several items where the error has come from and test those components.

Surely that doesn't take 3 weeks?

And I get that this car needs more of a IT/Electrical support engineer rather than a "mechanic", but surely the car keeps an error log somewhere that can be looked at.

Also in the above picture you can't see it, but they have removed all the "frunk" plastic bits to expose the front drive motor. I didn't get a photo of it but the motor is literally fully exposed just under the frunk, complete with heaps of bright orange cables etc.

 

[SeattleCat]

So just an update.... there is no update. The car has been in the shop for 3 weeks and they still don't know the root cause of the issue. I went there yesterday to get an update in-person as all I ever got on the phone was "we're still looking at it".

View attachment 3762

Whatever the issue is, it's way beyond the skillset of the guys in the workshop and they are relying on Volvo Australia for everything. Last week they "decommissioned the battery", which I learnt was just doing a full discharge on the main battery so the car is safe to work on. Apparently this took some time because they can't drive it and had to draw out the power via some other method. They still have "13 more tests" to run on the car, and one reason they said it's taking a long time to get this resolved is because they do a test, send the info to Volvo Australia, wait for them to analyse the data, then they tell the workshop what to do next. So the delay is in this back and forth.

They are arranging a loan vehicle for me. Luckily I haven't been without transport because I still have my old ICE vehicle (which should be up for sale by now), but I've hung onto it while they sort the XC40 out. But after 3 weeks they can provide a loaner so I can finally put my ICE car up for sale and unlock the $$ value of that.

I'm not disappointed in the dealership that's working on the car...but I am a bit miffed that 3 weeks later they still haven't identified the problem. Maybe I'm over simplifying it in my mind...but the software threw an error and because that error condition was met, the software then shutdown the drivetrain of the vehicle. The software throws an error because it is told to throw the error by a signal it has received. That signal comes from one of several items. In my mind... you just look at those several items where the error has come from and test those components.

Surely that doesn't take 3 weeks?

And I get that this car needs more of a IT/Electrical support engineer rather than a "mechanic", but surely the car keeps an error log somewhere that can be looked at.

Also in the above picture you can't see it, but they have removed all the "frunk" plastic bits to expose the front drive motor. I didn't get a photo of it but the motor is literally fully exposed just under the frunk, complete with heaps of bright orange cables etc.

That sounds like a nightmare
One area volvo seems to of massively the ball on is training service departments.

I imagine it was left up to the service departments to organize and request so a bottom up structure. Probably Covid did not help but still the information on how to diagnose and fix things needs to be disseminated better.

I hope they get to grips with the problem soon.

Good luck.