2021 Volvo XC90

In February 2026, my 2021 Volvo XC90 Recharge T8 (VIN: [XXX]) experienced a hybrid battery cell failure. The failure was diagnosed and confirmed by an authorized Volvo dealership (Volvo of Tacoma) and is covered under the vehicle's manufacturer warranty. However, I have been informed that a replacement part may not be available until December 2026 or later — a delay of ten months or more from the original failure date. Volvo has advised me that attempting to charge the vehicle in its current state carries a risk of fire. As a result, I am unable to charge the hybrid system and have had to operate the vehicle on gasoline alone, with fuel costs increasing approximately 3.5x per month. Separately, an independent mechanic has advised me that continued operation of the vehicle without a functioning hybrid battery cell is causing ongoing, worsening mechanical damage over time, separate from the original defect. I have made extensive good-faith efforts to resolve this directly with Volvo Cars USA customer care, including phone calls, an online request form, and direct correspondence, with prolonged periods of no response despite written acknowledgment of the issue on XXX. Given that Volvo itself has identified a fire risk associated with charging this vehicle, combined with an indefinite repair timeline of ten months or more and mechanic-confirmed risk of continued mechanical degradation, I am filing this report to document a potential safety defect in the hybrid battery system of this vehicle. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2021 Volvo XC90. The contact stated that upon shifting to Drive(D) while the vehicle was on an incline, the vehicle rolled back before moving forward as intended. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring, causing the vehicle to hit a garage door and a brick mailbox on two different occasions. The contact stated that the tailgate was opened and sustained a dent when the vehicle hit the garage door. The contact stated that upon shifting to Reverse(R) on a decline, the vehicle rolled forward before reversing as intended. The contact stated that the failure had caused the vehicle to hit two pedestrians. There were no reported injuries. No police report was filed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on several occasions, and several unknown repairs were performed; however, the failure persisted. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle had experienced difficulty starting on several occasions, leaving the contact stranded while the contact was in the process of taking his son to the emergency room. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. The message "Press Knob To Start" was displayed. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, the vehicle suddenly stopped. The message "Hybrid System Failure - Service Required" was displayed, and the message "Performance Reduced" was displayed along with a turtle. The contact was able to restart the vehicle, but the vehicle failed to exceed 5 MPH while driving. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The contact stated that the failure recurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where unknown repairs were performed; however the failure persisted. The dealer had recommended the vehicle sale due to the persistent failure. The vehicle was taken to Park Place Volvo(3515 Inwood Rd, Dallas, TX 75209), where the battery cells were recharged, and the hybrid system module and an unknown hybrid system part were replaced; however, the failure persisted.

My 2021 Volvo XC90 Recharge has experienced multiple hybrid system failures under Volvo's factory 8-year/100,000-mile hybrid warranty, with fewer than 45,000 miles on the odometer. The high-voltage battery modules have failed multiple times, directly related to recall R10312 (NHTSA 25V-179), which identifies a supplier process deviation in LG battery modules creating a risk of internal short circuit and thermal runaway — an acknowledged fire risk. Critically, my vehicle has suffered two actual battery module failures, not preemptive recall replacements. This places my vehicle in a substantially higher risk category than others in the recall population with no prior symptoms. A vehicle that has already experienced the exact failure mode identified in a safety recall presents a materially greater ongoing safety risk. Additionally, my vehicle suffered a complete ERAD (Electric Rear Axle Drive) failure — a known defect that Volvo acknowledged by releasing a redesigned ERAD2 unit, confirming awareness of this systemic issue. These repeated failures left my vehicle un-drivable and parked at the dealership for more than 6 months, with replacement parts repeatedly placed on backorder, causing severe and prolonged loss of use. I filed a formal complaint with Volvo Customer Care requesting a vehicle buyback. After months of inadequate communication, Volvo declined to buy back the vehicle or offer reasonable trade-in accommodation. Instead, Volvo offered a nominal monetary concession contingent on signing an NDA, which I declined as insufficient given the documented safety risk, repeated failures of a recalled component, extended loss of use, nor out of pocket car rental expenses. I am filing this complaint to ensure my vehicle's actual failures are part of the NHTSA record for R10312/25V-179, and to request NHTSA evaluate whether Volvo's response to owners who have experienced actual failures — rather than preemptive recall repairs — warrants further regulatory scrutiny.

The ERAD (Electric Rear Axle Drive) transmission on my 2021 XC90 T8 Recharge has suffered an internal failure at approximately 112,550 miles. The vehicle makes loud grinding and slamming noises from the rear drivetrain and locks up when attempting to drive, making the vehicle completely undrivable. The dealership (Volvo Cars Gilbert, AZ) diagnosed the ERAD clutch as slamming and suspects internal gears are missing teeth. A software update was attempted but did not resolve the mechanical failure. The ERAD transmission needs full replacement at a quoted cost of $5,211.56 (part number 32324105-9). This is a known failure point on the T8 platform and Volvo has redesigned this component (ERAD2) for newer models due to reliability issues with the original design. This failure presents a safety concern as the rear drivetrain can lock up unexpectedly during driving. This ERAD failure occurred alongside two other hybrid system component failures within a 3 month period: the High Voltage Coolant Heater (HVCH) and the vehicle batteries (VCM and main), suggesting a systemic hybrid system reliability problem.

The vehicle’s Start/Stop system began displaying warning messages and malfunctioning prior to the expiration of the factory warranty. The issue first appeared before 50,000 miles and reappeared at 49,997 miles, when a warning was displayed on the dashboard. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for inspection. A diagnostic review confirmed the need to replace the Start/Stop auxiliary battery and repair the Park Assist system. A diagnostic fee was charged, and both system failures were documented. The Start/Stop system’s failure raises a potential safety concern because the vehicle may not reliably restart after automatically stopping at intersections or in traffic. This could lead to dangerous situations if the vehicle stalls unexpectedly or fails to re-engage power at a critical moment. Although the issue has not caused a crash or injury, it introduces unpredictable behavior that could compromise safe operation. The Park Assist system also failed, triggering system warnings and disabling parking assistance features. If a driver is relying on these systems during low-speed maneuvers, a sudden or silent failure may increase the risk of collision with objects, pedestrians, or other vehicles. The dealership confirmed the problem through inspection and diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was contacted and declined to cover the repairs under warranty, despite the vehicle being within the mileage limit when the issue was first documented and presented for service.

I plugged my usb to usb-c charging cable into my iphone 20 seconds after starting the vehicle. I proceeded to exit my driveway when the infotainment screen went completely blank and the same thing to the driver's display 10 seconds later. I drove to the end of my street to a stop light where the car completely shut off and automatically restarted within a few seconds. I was traveling with my wife and [XXX] daughter. I have yet to reproduce the problem but have an appointment scheduled with the dealership later this week. Zero warnings or messages were present before, during or after the incident. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The infotainment system has locked up and has shut completely off while driving. When it shuts down (screen goes black) or glitches, the car actually loses power. Luckily it powered right back on but it was scary and could happen again and be much worse. The screen/ infotainment system has had this issue for awhile. We’ve even told Volvo of Tulsa about it when it was in for service but they said they couldn’t do anything about it because they couldn’t reproduce the issue. We have also had the brakes and rotors replaced twice at the dealership because they seem to be lemons or faulty. We are currently dealing with vibration once again (conveniently now the warranty is out).

Check engine light illuminated at 11,000 miles. Diagnostics showed a software update was needed but the software update did not fix the problem. Volvo corporate said the IEM module needed to be replaced. The IEM module controls the rear axle / propulsion and this is a serious safety issue because sudden loss of propulsion while driving at high speeds increases risk of having an accident. After replacing the IEM module, the mechanic cleared the DTC codes, test drove the car, and re-ran the DTC - and the code indicating a software update was still needed was present. Also the hybrid battery doesn’t keep its charge and depletes at an extremely fast rate.

*WITH THE BOWERS & WILKINS SOUND SYSTEM* TWICE WITHIN 1400 MILES, THERE WAS A LOUD "POP" SOUND FROM THE SPEAKERS FOLLOWED BY NO SOUND FROM ANY PORTION OF THE VEHICLE. THE POP SOUNDED LIKE A WINDOW OR THE SUNROOF SHATTERED. ALL SOUND WAS LOST: SENSUS FEEDBACK, TURN SIGNALS, PARKING SENSORS, PHONE, ETC. THE ONLY THING THAT WORKED WAS THE BASS. AFTER THE CAR WAS PARKED AND OFF, AND RE-STARTED, EVERYTHING WORKED AS NORMAL. ODDLY, THERE WAS THE FEELING OF STATIC ELECTRICITY JUST PRIOR TO EACH POP. THESE POPS WERE CAUGHT ON DASH CAM FOR PROOF. THERE WAS STATIC HEARD IN THE DASH CAM VIDEO TOO. THE DEALER PROVIDED A "FIX" WITH A SOFTWARE UPDATE DESCRIBED IN TECHNICAL JOURNAL. TJ 35554.20-2020 (IHU VOLUME RESTRCTION WITH ORANGE KEY). THIS SOFTWARE UPDATE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE PROBLEM I HAD. THE ORANGE KEY WAS NO WHERE NEAR THE CAR DURING ANY OCCURRENCE. SINCE THE UPDATE, THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL IDENTICAL LOUD POPS, BUT THE AUDIO CONTINUED WORKING. THE SAME STATIC ELECTRICITY FEELING OCCURRED MILLISECONDS BEFORE THE POP. ALL INCIDENTS OCCURRED WHILE ON A FREEWAY OR MERGING ON A FREEWAY, WITH MY PHONE ON THE WIRELESS CHARGER AND THE AUDIO ON AT LEAST AROUND 50%. MULTIPLE REPORTS OF THE SAME ISSUE ON A REPUTABLE VOLVO FORUM.