[3569]

To throw in my last 2 cents before saying goodbye to Volvo for good: For me, it wasn't really about the delays. Software issues, safety recalls, etc., are all part of the expectations for being an early adopter. What was unforgiveable was the complete breakdown in communications and Volvo Universe relying on poor "Jeff" to handle all XC40 Recharge delivery customer service for North America. The nonsense I dealt with since putting down my deposit at the end of February felt like being in an abusive relationship. The notion of giving ~$60k to a company that treated me this way made me physically sick.

My story ends happily. I now have a bonkers Mach-E with a 98kwh battery and all the safety kit (and a puddle light!). I drove it to work today. It has some software issues that will need to be worked out, like in-app maps currently missing. But my dealer was great, they happily took my check in exchange for a car (the way it is supposed to work!), and I was smiling all the way home. My Tesla Tap, ChargePoint Home Flex, and dash cam retain every bit of value for the new car. And I even get 250 kwh of free Electrify America DC fast charging.

If you are thinking about bailing on Volvo, you should. Grass is greener over here.

If you stick with them, I absolutely wish you the best of luck. I hope they start to value your business.

 

[dtaylor89]

To throw in my last 2 cents before saying goodbye to Volvo for good: For me, it wasn't really about the delays. Software issues, safety recalls, etc., are all part of the expectations for being an early adopter. What was unforgiveable was the complete breakdown in communications and Volvo Universe relying on poor "Jeff" to handle all XC40 Recharge delivery customer service for North America. The nonsense I dealt with since putting down my deposit at the end of February felt like being in an abusive relationship. The notion of giving ~$60k to a company that treated me this way made me physically sick.

My story ends happily. I now have a bonkers Mach-E with a 98kwh battery and all the safety kit (and a puddle light!). I drove it to work today. It has some software issues that will need to be worked out, like in-app maps currently missing. But my dealer was great, they happily took my check in exchange for a car (the way it is supposed to work!), and I was smiling all the way home. My Tesla Tap, ChargePoint Home Flex, and dash cam retain every bit of value for the new car. And I even get 250 kwh of free Electrify America DC fast charging.

If you are thinking about bailing on Volvo, you should. Grass is greener over here.

If you stick with them, I absolutely wish you the best of luck. I hope they start to value your business.

My plans are to test drive the Mach-E and the eTron tomorrow. Just will come down to best overall package for the cost.
Lack of communication is my main big gripe too.

 

[Kindofminty]

Okay, I did have a heat pump in the one I ordered even though I don't really need it in my area. They are holding those at the port. The dealer and Volvo Customer service have finally figured it out for me. They found a car they can get to the spec I ordered just minus the heat pump. It should be here by middle of next week (so they say). I dont know if the heat pump can be added later and the dealer couldn't tell me. I would like to add it if I can but as I said not a huge issue if I cant.

 

[Chris Dauerer]

Yep, I changed that setting. What I am saying is that with the Orange FOB in the car didn't doesn't appear to honor that setting. Maybe it's related to driver profiles?

With Orange key in car, settings will not fix KM/h or celsius ambient temp readings. Will be fixed with software available end April.

 

[Chris Dauerer]

Some clarity:

1. Volvo on-call not working:
VOC button in car and SOS button do work. VOC app does not, Beta SW coming end April, better SW coming early June,
2. Heat pump A/C issue:
XC40 BEVs without optional heat pump are free flowing to dealers. Cars with heat pumps are held in port until SW arrives end April.
3. Carplay not working:
SW to allow Apple Carplay to work is coming early December.
4. Sirius XM not working:
SW to activate Sirius arriving early October
5. Unable to change speedometer from Kms to Miles
This is due to an error with the Orange key. In the short term, remove Orange key from car, problem will go away. SW to fix Orange Key km/h error arrives in early April.

 

[Homer]

To throw in my last 2 cents before saying goodbye to Volvo for good: For me, it wasn't really about the delays. Software issues, safety recalls, etc., are all part of the expectations for being an early adopter. What was unforgiveable was the complete breakdown in communications and Volvo Universe relying on poor "Jeff" to handle all XC40 Recharge delivery customer service for North America. The nonsense I dealt with since putting down my deposit at the end of February felt like being in an abusive relationship. The notion of giving ~$60k to a company that treated me this way made me physically sick.

My story ends happily. I now have a bonkers Mach-E with a 98kwh battery and all the safety kit (and a puddle light!). I drove it to work today. It has some software issues that will need to be worked out, like in-app maps currently missing. But my dealer was great, they happily took my check in exchange for a car (the way it is supposed to work!), and I was smiling all the way home. My Tesla Tap, ChargePoint Home Flex, and dash cam retain every bit of value for the new car. And I even get 250 kwh of free Electrify America DC fast charging.

If you are thinking about bailing on Volvo, you should. Grass is greener over here.

If you stick with them, I absolutely wish you the best of luck. I hope they start to value your business.

I understand and commiserate with the delays people experience. It is not personal, it is the problem of a new release and Volvo not providing clarity.

Remember, the Tesla model 3 took deposits and full payments for a car that was delivered three years late. There was no constant information forthcoming from Tesla...just delays.

This is one of the largest investments a person will make.

All the options including Audi, VW ID4, Tesla, MachE, and even Nisan are great cars.

I found the Volvo the one worth waiting for. Immaculate handling, correct tire size for the car, seat height and position is ideal, the seats are some of the best out there, no buzzing and quieter than most EVs, and classic styling.

Volvo is aware of a problem and is working to fix the issue. The dealers would love to sell the car.

I appreciate the frustrations but if you decide on the Volvo, sit tight. It is a wonderful ride.

 

[Kindofminty]

I understand and commiserate with the delays people experience. It is not personal, it is the problem of a new release and Volvo not providing clarity.

Remember, the Tesla model 3 took deposits and full payments for a car that was delivered three years late. There was no constant information forthcoming from Tesla...just delays.

This is one of the largest investments a person will make.

All the options including Audi, VW ID4, Tesla, MachE, and even Nisan are great cars.

I found the Volvo the one worth waiting for. Immaculate handling, correct tire size for the car, seat height and position is ideal, the seats are some of the best out there, no buzzing and quieter than most EVs, and classic styling.

Volvo is aware of a problem and is working to fix the issue. The dealers would love to sell the car.

I appreciate the frustrations but if you decide on the Volvo, sit tight. It is a wonderful ride.

Yeah I am super excited to get mine next week. I am hopeful though that I can add the heat pump later. We will see I guess.

 

[dtaylor89]

I understand and commiserate with the delays people experience. It is not personal, it is the problem of a new release and Volvo not providing clarity.

Remember, the Tesla model 3 took deposits and full payments for a car that was delivered three years late. There was no constant information forthcoming from Tesla...just delays.

This is one of the largest investments a person will make.

All the options including Audi, VW ID4, Tesla, MachE, and even Nisan are great cars.

I found the Volvo the one worth waiting for. Immaculate handling, correct tire size for the car, seat height and position is ideal, the seats are some of the best out there, no buzzing and quieter than most EVs, and classic styling.

Volvo is aware of a problem and is working to fix the issue. The dealers would love to sell the car.

I appreciate the frustrations but if you decide on the Volvo, sit tight. It is a wonderful ride.

BUT it is personal. Many have including myself sold other vehicles based on dates we were told from Corporate or the dealership. There is a difference to the 2 year model 3 delay when it wasn’t even in production to the current mess Volvo is in. Demo cars being sold, customer who have had a deposit down (personally since Nov 2019) and configured day 1 are without any answers or options. Yet reports of people walking into dealerships getting cars since dealer orders are arriving now. There is no tracking of where the car is or what’s going on with it. Corporate “Jeff” is too overwhelmed and dealers are either fully spilling the beans (aka the Retail announcements that were supposed to be internal only) or ones staying silent. At this point you cannot treat the XC40 Recharge as the special new car and exclude it from any and all incentives like it is currently.

Looking at technical merit, yeah XC40 Recharge has an upper hand but when does the pain of this process outweigh that benefit.

Luckily I am off today. Plan to drive MachE and the Audi Etron. Look at how it compares to XC40 both in terms of physical car and ride plus the more importantly cost. Volvo has lost customer confidence in this rollout and will most likely impact how C40 initially pre orders but given how little corporate has cared about my numerous escalations or requests for information nothing will change. It is a shame because Volvo builds a good car they just need to get out of the old way of doing business and realize they have started a direct to consumer model that requires a hire touch and more transparency.

 

[CVOLVO.COM]

I fully understand your very obvious frustrations over how Volvo mishandled the Recharge rollout in North America. What's worse is that it appears Volvo have done a horrible job in communicating their problems and issues. At your expense, I hope Volvo have learned a valuable lesson on how radically new (for Volvo) technology requires a complete overhaul of its sales strategy?

I was very excited when I saw the first XC40 announcement. I was not ready to purchase back in 2018. In Canada around February 2019 they pre-announced 3 levels of electrification, including the new XC40; mild hybrid, medium hybrid and full electrification. Although released in Europe and other markets, including a 3 cylinder model (T3) and various diesel models, North America were excluded. Regardless, the 2020 models at least had numerous options to personize the XC40.

One Canadian dealership's salesman in Canada dissuaded me from any new model, suggesting I wait a few years for Volvo to work out the kinks. When the 2021 models arrived, I tried to match a 2020 configuration and was disappointed that many options I desired, were dropped. There would be no "Mild Hybrid", nor the two-tone colour options for the Momentum. This seemed very strange to me and in retrospect, might have been paving the way for some radical changes. Once again, in the North American market, I strongly suspect Volvo was trying to implement their own brand of electrified vehicles.

They've done some irreparable damage that may take years and extra efforts to overcome. It's almost humourous to hear about their heat-pump issues. I'm in the process of replacing my home's oil furnace with a cold-climate air-sourced heat pump. An XC40 without a heat pump reminds me of the 1947 PV444 that was sold without an in-car heater.

My ultimate solution was to purchase a new 2020 XC40 T5 R-design, obviously happy I did not have to suffer your frustrations. As we say in this part of Canada; bonne chance mon ami.

 

[JHinman]

We were ready to order an XC40 Recharge, but balked at the dealership’s unwillingness to negotiate prices. I have bought a dozen new cars, and a basic tenet of the industry is that cars sell for less than MSRP.

After we backed away from the Volvo I started hearing about the software and heat pump issues. I think walking away was probably a good idea.

Our short list of cars included the Volvo, the Ford, and the Audi. I liked the Volvo ride, and the fit and finish of the interior. I did not like the fact that it comes only with a black interior. Maybe in the future they will offer a more attractive interior.

The Ford is a bit plain inside. The infotainment was easy to negotiate, although a bit bland. The rooftop window with no cover makes me nervous, and pricing is an issue. The sales people don’t understand the cars or the financing incentives.

The Audi is the nicest car of the bunch (and the most expensive). It has been on the road for two years, so many of the kinks are worked out. It is significantly larger than the others too, which my wife did not like.

Unfortunately there are not that many choices in the electric car market.

 

[Rugbychix]

All the options including Audi, VW ID4, Tesla, MachE, and even Nisan are great cars.

It really is a sign of critical mass being achieved that there are multiple good options ,with sane range, in the crossover/small SVU segment. I would cross shop because all of these vehicles are different. Different price points, different sizes, different performance at various trims, different infotainment systems, and different ranges. I suspect by this time next year the ID4 (and to some extent the Mach-E) will be hailed as the "tipping point" for EVs due to how practical it is. The Mach-E was tempting, more so than the Tesla, but I didn't dig the rear wheel primary, four wheel drive and at least in the model I drove, and the infotainment system was super laggy. I didn't want something the size of the Etron and frankly the extra price was a bit of deterrent.

 

[Sandman]

Just notified by Jeff that my car is in transit to the dealer. Keep the faith.

 

[Vanessa]

After a communication initiated by me, I learned yesterday that my car arrived at my dealership on Tuesday. (I had not been notified that it had left the port.) The dealer told me it was being held up due to the heat pump and they expected a fix at the end of next week--which is likely not true. Meanwhile, I was rear-ended at a red light last week and my current car was totaled. This just keeps turning into more and more of a pain.

For those who did take delivery of their cars, were any of you able to negotiate price? Did the dealer charge the documentation prep fee?

 

[dtaylor89]

After a communication initiated by me, I learned yesterday that my car arrived at my dealership on Tuesday. (I had not been notified that it had left the port.) The dealer told me it was being held up due to the heat pump and they expected a fix at the end of next week--which is likely not true. Meanwhile, I was rear-ended at a red light last week and my current car was totaled. This just keeps turning into more and more of a pain.

For those who did take delivery of their cars, were any of you able to negotiate price? Did the dealer charge the documentation prep fee?

Same. I had to bug my dealer and haven’t been told timing or where the car is. Also pushing what Volvo will do for the inconvenience.

 

[Homer]

Same. I had to bug my dealer and haven’t been told timing or where the car is. Also pushing what Volvo will do for the inconvenience.

I just received an email for Volvo corporate

We're expecting updates the end of April related to the On-Call access and heat pump as well.

Med vänliga hälsningar!

Yours Sincerely,

Alexis
Volvo Consumer Relations Center
800-458-1552

 

[Kindofminty]

I imagine you can’t, but does anyone know if you got a car without the heat pump, if it can be added later?

 

[Treesap]

Got notified today the P8 has arrived at the dealership. (Dallas) ordered with heat pump. No notification about any issues from Volvo. Any concerns from this group about taking delivery?

 

[S Kurtzman]

Got notified today the P8 has arrived at the dealership. (Dallas) ordered with heat pump. No notification about any issues from Volvo. Any concerns from this group about taking delivery?

My salesman (in CT) also told me that the care is at the dealership, but they are not authorized to release until the heat pump thing is taken care of. Since we have all apparently completely lost trust in Volvo, and poor Jeff, it is only a guess that the real issue is the a/c not working some time. I agree with whoever said that it might result in a structural problem that Volvo would have to repair at a high cost.
I have stayed away from Sirius, I don't like the sound quality and it is nearly impossible to quit since they have your credit card number and the only way to stop is to get a rep to answer the phone. In my experience, as soon as you say "stop service" they hang up on you.

 

[afung]

I picked up my car from dealer on Friday. Haven't driven it much, but its working very well. I have the heat pump option. Dealer told me about the AC issue (I knew anyway from this board), and said I could take delivery if I wanted or they could hold it pending fix.

 

[blitzswede]

I picked up my car from dealer on Friday. Haven't driven it much, but its working very well. I have the heat pump option. Dealer told me about the AC issue (I knew anyway from this board), and said I could take delivery if I wanted or they could hold it pending fix.

Congratulations on picking it up, and having a dealer who came up with a satisfactory solution to this holdup mess!
Explaining the issue to the customer and asking them to chose either to wait for the eventual fix or to accept delivery might be the best way to handle this situation, IMO.