I just picked up my XC40 Momentum with 20 inch wheels on April 27. Drove to work on the 29th. Once I reach about 65 mph, I start to feel a vibration in the front of the car and steering wheel. Once I hit 70 mph, it becomes very noticeable. I did confirm with a few other owners in an XC40 Facebook group that they are also experiencing the same issue. They have had their wheels balanced, had alignments, etc and nothing fixed this issue. I spoke with the salesman and he just told me to have service look at it. I just want to know if this is a known issue and if others here are experiencing this. I dont want to have to deal with the service dept not really knowing how to fix it and will file a lemon law claim if this is something that cant be rectified. I really love this car in all aspects except this one annoying issue. Any guidance would be appreciated.
Vibrations at higher speeds
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Im getting frustrated because I really love everything about the car EXCEPT this vibration.
I went back to the dealer. Tire pressure was at 44. Lowered to 33 . Rides better but still feels like I am driving on a road that isnt smooth when I get to 70 MPH. It almost feels like the front tires are bouncing off the road slightly. I dont know how else to explain it. Feel it in the steering wheel. Im going to call the dealer again tomorrow but I think I may have to go to a different Volvo Service Dept to see what their opinion is. I just cant believe this is normal to feel this. If anyone has suggestions, I would love to hear them.
Lowering the air pressure below factory specs is neither safe nor the solution. Reach out to Volvo directly if your dealer isn’t getting anywhere. You are right that a vibration in a brand new car at highway speeds is a serious issue.. beyond just a minor annoyance. And it could be a safety issue. My advice is that you don’t ignore it, and be your own best advocate with Volvo or absolutely use your state’s lemon law to get a new one. That’s what it’s there for.
The pressure was at 44! they lowered it to specs of 33. I told them I wanted to drive another XC40 at highway speeds. Same tires. I did today. NO vibration. Service rep then drove my car to see if he experienced what I was talking about and sure enough at about 65 he started to feel it and said it continued even over 70 mph. I was advised that they were going to reach out to Volvo and speak with the technical team. He said he didnt feel the car was unsafe to drive. They wouldnt give me a service report because they said it wasnt an actual service appt. Now I will schedule a service appt before I bring it in so I have documentation. If need be, there will be the lemon law. Appreciate your comment and if you knew me, you would know I will be on them like flies on dog poo!! After all, I didnt buy a cheap car.
I hear you on that.
It sure makes you wonder how Polestar will perform and if these issues will also play out their. I won't mind going that direction if something XC40-like is produced.
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I think this is the same issue I am also experiencing on my XC40 Inscription with 20 inch wheels. After around 65 mph, I feel a vibration coming through the steering wheel and the seats. I have two other cars which have no such vibrations on the same roads. The dealer has rotated my tires, performed a regular balancing and a road force balance but the issue remains. The dealer is now claiming that the vibrations are normal and that I shouldn't be comparing the XC 40 to my other cars since they are all different. I call BS on that. I am supposed to be driving another XC 40 tomorrow as a comparison but this issue has been there on my car since day 1. I am at 3000 miles now but the issue continues. I think its tire related but the dealer hasn't offered to replace the tires or even try a different set of rims on it.
Where are you located? I suggest you get Volvo customer service involved. Tomorrow I am bringing it in to get the tires swapped out. This was offered after I asked to drive another XC40 and it didnt have the same vibration issue. After that they contacted volvo technical department and they may have suggested to swap the tires out. On another forum someone said there is an 11 point check list. It was also said that drive shaft replacement is down on the list of actions from Volvo as well. They cant say its normal if its not happening on every XC40.
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That was my next step. I am most likely going to call them tomorrow after I drive another XC 40 with the dealer technician. And you are right, it could be a tire based or another mechanical based vibration but the dealer seems to not want to take other steps before we compare another XC40 with the same tire configuration. Do you have a link to the other forum?
I am located in Seattle/Bellevue. Bought the car from Seattle Volvo but getting the car serviced at the Bellevue dealership since it's much closer to me.
Make sure you get a record of service each time you go, After 4 times.. Lemon Law.
This is a UK forum
https://www.xc40forums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=957&p=11192#p11192
There is also this thread on this forum
https://www.xc40forum.com/forum/9-volvo-xc40-general-discussion-forum/1463-vibration-2.html#post9587
AND check the facebook groups.
PS. You can tell them other owners have already test drove other XC40's that dont have this issue. My service advisor drove my car himself AFTER the service tech drove it and told me this was normal. Two days later they found out the tires were inflated to 44 pounds. The service advisor felt the vibration and said it wasnt normal.
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Thanks for the link to the UK forum, I had been following that one as well. It's hard for someone who isn't always driving this car to notice these things. The UK thread captures it all really well. I see differences based on ambient temperatures as well, and thought I was crazy for thinking that. There are days when the vibration is slight vs very noticeable. Tomorrow will be my fifth visit regarding this issue. :|
Just had my wheels/tires swapped with another XC40 that does NOT have the vibration issue. Guess what? I STILL have the vibration issue!! I am SO disappointed. Service mgr said he was going to reach out to Volvo techs that are in the area. Didnt hear back since I called around 1030 AM EST. I seriously dont even know what they are going to do to fix this. I am beyond frustrated. I dont want to deal with this back and forth. I have never had a car that when I bring it to the service department, they have to email or make calls to the manufacturer to fix something. Just odd.
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What wheels and tires did the swapped set have?
I just test drove another XC40 this morning with the same setup as mine, 20" rims with the Pirelli Scorpion and I felt the same shimmy/vibrations. If you perform a Google search for the Pirelli Scorpion Verde 20" you'll see numerous other complaints about this tire causing vibrations in SUVs.
The service tech mentioned that they have been seeing customers complain about this and it's usually from customers who drive on the highway frequently. In some instances they have replaced the tires with Continentals and the issue seems to go away.
I'm going to call Volvo USA to see if they'd be willing to do the same as the dealer needs Volvo to clear the cost of doing so.
Weird that the tires they swapped out didnt have the vibration on the car they took them off of though. My issue actually seems worse now. Thanks for the input. I did google vibration issues on those tires and do see what you said. Im just wondering how they are going to put new tires on if they dont even have a road force balancing machine at the dealership...
I have the Pirelli Scorpion 20's too
Just picked up My R-Line Saturday with the 20" Pirelli Scorpions. less than 100 miles and get on the highway and it vibrates. I had nothing but problems with Pirelli tires on my Infinity QX50. Needed tires on that before lease turn in and had them for 6 months. These were the P6 tires. Vibrated like a bitch the first day. Finally found the suspect tire with a roadforce number over 20. Every car I have had with Pirelli tires vibrates. I will try to check these on my XC40 with a roadforce balancer. You need to know what the force number is for each tire. Anything around 15-20 pounds of force and you will feel it. You then need to rotate the tire on the rim and see if it can be balanced better, if not, then the solution is to replace the tire and hope you get a better one. Also, for those that think Continental tires are any better, they are not. Test drove an Alfa Romeo Stelvio with those and it vibrated to. The only tires (for me) that don't vibrate are Bridgestone, Michelin, Yokahoma, some Goodyears, Handkook, Vredestein, General, and Cooper.
Remember that a 20" wheel and tire combo is heavy and any out of roundness or heavy spot is very hard to deal with.
Remember that a 20" wheel and tire combo is heavy and any out of roundness or heavy spot is very hard to deal with.
Tomorrow the field tech test drives my car and service manager pretty much said they are going to put michelins on instead of the pirellis. Lets hope this is the fix!! Othwerwise, back it goes. I asked him about road force balancing the new tires since they dont have a road force balancing machine and he said, most of the time a regular balancing is fine.. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
This is true with four good tires and smaller than 19". Keep us posted on what Volvo does so we can advise our service advisors.
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