2017 Volvo XC90

The contact owned a 2017 Volvo XC90. The contact stated that while driving at 10 MPH, a white-colored smoke began to emit from the vehicle's engine compartment. The "Coolant Low" warning message soon appeared on the instrument panel as the contact pulled over into a parking lot and exited the vehicle with her three children. As the smoke grew rampantly, the vehicle quickly caught fire. A fellow motorist attempted to extinguish the fire but to no avail. The authorities quickly arrived at the scene and the fire department extinguished the fire. While the incident all mentally shook the contact and her 3 children; no medical treatment was rendered. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent tow yard where it remained in their possession for an insurance inspection. The vehicle was destroyed by the fire. The dealer nor the manufacturer had to be notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000. The VIN was not available.

Recently our 2017 XC90 experienced a significant coolant system leak via a part that was part of a recall campaign for the prior year model (2016 XC-90). The exact same part (a coolant bleeder hose - part #32249907) failed in our vehicle in a similar manner as the prior year component. There was no antecedent warning prior to its failure until after a significant amount of fluid was lost (literally sprayed about the engine compartment) leading to a low coolant level CEL. The safety concern, as stated in the prior recall, is that this particular part failure can cause coolant to leak on the catalytic converter heat shield insulation causing a fire hazard. The connector of the hose in our vehicle literally started to deteriorate and crumble at multiple locations. The vehicle is only 8 years old. This has to be a related failure of an already identified defective component. The prior recall is noted as: 19V-308 / R29936 The vehicle required towing and the component was replaced at the local dealership at standard cost. We are obviously concerned that others with our particular year and model could experience a more catastrophic end.

The contact owns a 2017 Volvo XC90. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an unknown speed, she noticed smoke from the engine compartment. The vehicle spontaneously caught fire. The coolant warning light was illuminated a minute prior to the failure. There were no reported injuries or air bag deployments. The fire department was on the scene. The vehicle was towed to an unknown location. A police report was filed. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 79,000.

On Saturday, April 22, 2023, I was driving when I noticed the vehicle had issues when driving/accelerating on the local roads. The car had delay in accelerating and/or had trouble with power when driving. There were also instances of plumes of white smoke coming out from the exhaust. Once I noticed the issue, I immediately drove the vehicle home. This is a major safety issue for myself and for others; afraid the car may suddenly break down in the road and/or unable to pick up speed when needed and unintentionally causing an accident on the road. On the way home, the vehicle dash board displayed engine system light and the performance was reduced. On Monday, April 24, 2023, the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for inspection. I was informed by the mechanic that the number one (1) cylinder of the engine had lost compression and there are serious problems with the engine. The vehicle is available for inspection. Given that the engine is such a critical component of the vehicle, I would not expect such engine failure in a six (6) year old vehicle, that has been regularly maintained, never been in any major accident and had not previously experience any engine issues. I believe the engine failure was due to defects in the vehicle. I have reached out to manufacturer via email/mail for assistance and information regarding this matter.

While driving in hybrid mode while both the gasoline and electric motor are running or shifting back and forth, occasionally the electric motor will come on with a sharp, sometimes loud, metallic “bang”. The sound and feel appears to be coming from the rear. The last two times it happened, the car lunged forward on its own without additional pressure on the accelerator, and once over the past week it lunged forward near an intersection when lifting off the accelerator pedal and engaging the brake. The lunge almost caused me to rear end the car in front of me which I was not very close to. This occurs about once every 50 miles travelled or once per day and at various speeds. To date it has not generated a CEL or any other type of warning.

FOLLOW UP TO 09/16/2019 COMPLAINT ID NUMBER 11255771. THE ENGINE NOISE WAS DIAGNOSED AS SIGNIFICANT INTAKE CAM SHAFT BEARING(S) WEAR. THIS WAS NOT A LUBRICATION ISSUE PER THE DEALER, SO APPARENTLY A MANUFACTURING ERROR. THIS CAUSED METAL CONTAMINATION THROUGHOUT THE ENGINE IN THE OIL. PER THE DEALER, 2 OTHER XC90'S HAD THIS SAME PROBLEM IN THE US. THROUGH THE VIP EXTENDED WARRANTY, A NEW LONG BLOCK ENGINE WAS AUTHORIZED AND INSTALLED, MINUS A $100 DEDUCTIBLE. A $15K-$20K SERVICE (PLUS ALL DIAGNOSIS') FOR THE $100 DEDUCTIBLE IS NOT A BAD DEAL. THE ENGINE SOUND IS NOW GONE AND IS IDENTICAL TO A NEW CAR. HOWEVER, THE CONFIDENCE IN VOLVO IS DECREASING. SAFETY, COMFORT, BEAUTY ARE ALL TOP NOTCH. BUT MECHANICAL ERRORS LIKE THIS ARE CRAZY FROM A $60,000+ VEHICLE.

ENGINE MAKES A LOUD WHINING SOUND. THE HIGHER THE RPM'S, THE HIGHER PITCH THE WHINE. DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT THAN THE SUPER CHARGER AND THE TURBO. OCCURRED SINCE AROUND 10,000 MILES. INITIALLY, THE DEALER REPLACED THE BALANCE SHAFT UNDER A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN. THIS DID NOT CORRECT IT. DROVE MULTIPLE XC90'S AND NONE OF THEM HAVE THE WHINE SOUND. OUR XC90 HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP FOR NEARLY TWO WEEKS NOW AND THE BALANCE SHAFT HAS BEEN REPLACED AGAIN AT THE DIRECTION OF THE MANUFACTURER. THE TECHNICIAN HAS REFUSED TO REPLACE THE BALANCE SHAFT A THIRD TIME BECAUSE IT DOES NOT CORRECT THE PROBLEM. THE TECHNICIAN HAS INSISTED THE SERVICE REQUEST BE EXPEDITED. THE ONLY ANSWER WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN IS THE SOUND IS COMING FROM THE ENGINE.

WHILE DRIVING WITH TWO YOUNG CHILDREN IN CAR, VOLVO HOOD STARTED TO SMOKE. NO WARNING LIGHTS OR SIGNALS WENT OFF. WE PULLED OVER, TURNED ENGINE OFF, REMOVED KIDS FROM THE CAR, AND WITHIN A FEW MINUTES, THE ENTIRE HOOD OF THE CAR WAS IN FLAMES. THE CAR WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED, EVEN THOUGH FIREFIGHTERS EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. WE HAVE NO INFORMATION AS TO THE CAUSE OF THE FIRE - ENGINE, ELECTRICAL, ETC - BUT THE CAR ONLY HAD 18,000 MILES ON IT. VOLVO HAD ALREADY REPLACED THE ROTORS TWICE IN TWO YEARS - HIGHLY UNUSUAL - BUT OTHERWISE WE HAD NO REASON TO SUSPECT A PROBLEM. WE WERE VERY LUCKY WE WERE ON CITY STREETS AND NOT ON THE HIGHWAY WHERE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFICULT TO IMPOSSIBLE TO PULL OVER.