[sexyredkid]

Hey y'all,

So I recently had my GPS just stop working all together. Tried all the different types of resets and tricks to get it working again, but no dice. So I took it to dealer and they unplugged batteries and did a hard reset. They informed me that (sorry paraphrasing): "It may get a little squirrely over the next week and may go in and out. But they should be pushing an over OTA update in early December to address this and other issues." So not thrilled about that, but it is what is and every other feature worked. I had full 90% when I took it over on Friday and hadn't really gone anywhere to require charging. It was still at 70% last night.

So Saturday evening (11/27/21), I go to plug in the charger. Except when I open the door for the charger, no white light comes on (the courtesy light to help you find the charger). Doesn't really seem like a thing, so I plug in car. Car starts to initialize and then after about 10 seconds the Volvo supplied charging cable starts blinking red. I try a variety of things:
Reset breaker, unplug charger, disconnect charger from NEMA 14-50 plug, re-attach, unplug and attach standard 120V plug and plug into a regular outlet. Still blinking red light. Now I'm super annoyed because there is no way to charge my car at home. Panic buy a MUSTART 40A Level 2 charger to try. That showed up today. However on our way home from visiting family, we attempt to stop at an EA station. Go to plug it in and it won't connect to car. I then get a message that says: APP_VEHICLE_RESPONSE_TIMEOUT.

So now I can't charge it a public station, can't charge it at home. Did the dealer do something screwy when they unplugged/plugged back in battery system? I haven't even attempted to try to charge via the new charging cable/station. Any ideas/thoughts? I'm also terribly worried that now that the car has had 2 issues withing a week, (it also has less than 1900 miles on it) that I got a bad car or something. Is thing going to be in/out of the shop every 2 months?

 

[sexyredkid]

Update: Apparently you have to lock the car to plug in? New charger is able to charge the car, but I was unaware the car had to be in "sleep" mode in order to initiate a charge. Which is odd, since I have tried to charge before and it was unlocked and it worked. This is a wholly new experience that has never happened to before.

 

[Rousie13]

Update: Apparently you have to lock the car to plug in? New charger is able to charge the car, but I was unaware the car had to be in "sleep" mode in order to initiate a charge. Which is odd, since I have tried to charge before and it was unlocked and it worked. This is a wholly new experience that has never happened to before.

The car should not need to be locked to charge. Try leaving the car locked tonight and then see if things are back to normal tomorrow. In summary the car should charge when it is unlocked or locked. The only thing that is different when it’s locked is you can’t remove the charging cable.

 

[sexyredkid]

The car should not need to be locked to charge. Try leaving the car locked tonight and then see if things are back to normal tomorrow. In summary the car should charge when it is unlocked or locked. The only thing that is different when it’s locked is you can’t remove the charging cable.

Agreed, except multiple customer service people on the Volvo Chat App have asked, "Is the car locked?". Which is wholly new to me. I've sat in it unlocked at public charging stations listening to music and charging my phone while it goes from 20%-80%. So I don't know what they're on about. In the manual it says: "Make sure the ignition is off." Great that's helpful.

I've intiated an email to Volvo Customer service and copied everyone at the dealer that I could find an email for. I'd like an answer as to why this is happening and what they can do to fix.

 

[Rousie13]

Agreed, except multiple customer service people on the Volvo Chat App have asked, "Is the car locked?". Which is wholly new to me. I've sat in it unlocked at public charging stations listening to music and charging my phone while it goes from 20%-80%. So I don't know what they're on about. In the manual it says: "Make sure the ignition is off." Great that's helpful.

I've intiated an email to Volvo Customer service and copied everyone at the dealer that I could find an email for. I'd like an answer as to why this is happening and what they can do to fix.

That’s an odd question unless they potentially know of some issue. Have to keep the thread updated with what you find.

 

[BainbridgeIsland]

Update: Apparently you have to lock the car to plug in?

I almost never lock my car when charging. Works fine.

 

[SeattleCat]

Also have locked the car whilst charging 5% of the time … when we went into Walmart on summer Trip. Other than that it’s never locked.

Wonder if this is an issue with non high speed charging vs level 3.

 

[sexyredkid]

Another update from Volvo that is basically useless:

"Thank you for contacting Volvo Cars and we regret to learn of the disruption and inconvenience caused by this charging cable concern. I'm glad to hear the charging is currently working however we do recommend using only a Volvo OEM charging cable with your vehicle. I would recommend bringing the Volvo charging cable and the vehicle into the dealership to diagnose the concern and to determine if the cable was indeed causing the charging not to work to ensure this was the source of the concern. Please let me know if you have any additional questions. "

 

[BikerBill]

Our 2021 is parked inside our home garage in the USA and its never locked. Charges fine from either a wall plug or the ChargePoint wall adapter.

 

[Rousie13]

Another update from Volvo that is basically useless:

"Thank you for contacting Volvo Cars and we regret to learn of the disruption and inconvenience caused by this charging cable concern. I'm glad to hear the charging is currently working however we do recommend using only a Volvo OEM charging cable with your vehicle. I would recommend bringing the Volvo charging cable and the vehicle into the dealership to diagnose the concern and to determine if the cable was indeed causing the charging not to work to ensure this was the source of the concern. Please let me know if you have any additional questions. "

Only recommend using a Volvo OEM charging cable…..haha…..wow. I just don’t even know what to say to that reply from Volvo.

 

[sexyredkid]

Only recommend using a Volvo OEM charging cable…..haha…..wow. I just don’t even know what to say to that reply from Volvo.

I responded by saying that is curious since they have a partnership with ChargePoint and that's highly impractical if I were to take a road trip. What kind of answer is that?

 

[BainbridgeIsland]

Only recommend using a Volvo OEM charging cable…..haha…..wow. I just don’t even know what to say to that reply from Volvo.

We only recommend Volvo OEM gas pump hoses for all of our ICE vehicles.

 

[SeattleCat]

We only recommend Volvo OEM gas pump hoses for all of our ICE vehicles.

I heard the ice’s only worked with Volvo gas.

 

[sexyredkid]

Update:

"
Thank you for your response. Yes, the vehicle does need to be locked in order to charge. We apologize for the inconvenience caused and please let us know if you have any additional questions.


Med vänliga hälsningar!

Yours Sincerely,

Fi
Volvo Customer Care
"

I've forwarded that message to my dealer with the response of...umm what?

 

[Rousie13]

Update:

"
Thank you for your response. Yes, the vehicle does need to be locked in order to charge. We apologize for the inconvenience caused and please let us know if you have any additional questions.


Med vänliga hälsningar!

Yours Sincerely,

Fi
Volvo Customer Care
"

I've forwarded that message to my dealer with the response of...umm what?

Haha…..ummmm…..what?!?!!? I don’t even think half of Volvo’s employees understand these EV’s. This could be a huge issue for Volvo if they don’t get all employees up to speed on this new technology.

 

[SeattleCat]

Haha…..ummmm…..what?!?!!? I don’t even think half of Volvo’s employees understand these EV’s. This could be a huge issue for Volvo if they don’t get all employees up to speed on this new technology.

I understand sales people not understanding what the car can do/has/etc as they do not work for Volvo. I can even understand many folks at Volvo not understanding if they work for non ev products but Volvo customer care should really be channeled to those that have a clue. . .

Scary to think of these are the right people and they are just this badly informed.

Still I have had badly informed tech support from many companies not just car companies.

At least on the phone you can rapidly get the picture the person knows nothing then you can politely end the call (pardon me I am afraid I have to go as a dog is trying to copulate with my leg) and call back. Using this technique it is possible often to get to a person who does have a clue.

 

[kevinxb]

I was having sporadic charging issues since I got my car in September. After the dealer did the 1.7 update, it wouldn't charge at all. The onboard charger needed replacement and it took almost a month for the dealer to receive it. No issues since the replacement.

 

[girlgeek]

Update: Apparently you have to lock the car to plug in? New charger is able to charge the car, but I was unaware the car had to be in "sleep" mode in order to initiate a charge. Which is odd, since I have tried to charge before and it was unlocked and it worked. This is a wholly new experience that has never happened to before.

Weird. I never lock my P8 when I charge. It’s in my garage, so there isn’t any reason to lock it.

 

[SeattleCat]

Weird. I never lock my P8 when I charge. It’s in my garage, so there isn’t any reason to lock it.

We know you do lot have to lock it to charge it. It’s just Volvo using the Volvo magic 8 ball to answer questions.

 

[girlgeek]

Update:

"
Thank you for your response. Yes, the vehicle does need to be locked in order to charge. We apologize for the inconvenience caused and please let us know if you have any additional questions.


Med vänliga hälsningar!

Yours Sincerely,

Fi
Volvo Customer Care
"

I've forwarded that message to my dealer with the response of...umm what?

The worst part of owning a newly launched EV is the serious lack of knowledge on the part of customer service and dealerships. I had one of the first BMW i3 BEVs and our FB user group knew waaaaay more than any one BMW employee. We created quick start guides, FAQs, and popular accessories lists for new owners.