Issues related to the electrical system and the brakes are among the top complaints received by the NHTSA from vehicle owners
The 2022 Volvo XC60 is a luxury SUV that is designed to excel beyond the competition. The company claims that this model is “smarter than ever.” But there’s nothing smart about it when its electrical system, computer, and software malfunction and render it unusable.
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There were 23 complaints made to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) about the 2022 Volvo XC60 between January 12 and November 11, 2022. More than half of these are about the electrical system. They range from problems with the infotainment system to batteries draining for no reason.
Nearly a third of the complaints are about forward collision avoidance, with 3 pertaining to the electrical system. Another 2 of these relate to faulty brakes, with 1 reporting a crash.
At least one of the brake-related complaints is linked to the electrical system. This describes how the electrical emergency brakes malfunction.
Other components and systems that have attracted complaints include the engine, exterior lighting, the fuel/propulsion system, lane departure, seat belts, steering, tires, and visibility/wiper.
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Electrical System | |
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings | |
| Service Brakes | |
| Lane Departure: Assist | |
| Engine | |
| Fuel/propulsion System | |
| Vehicle Speed Control | |
| Exterior Lighting |
There’s nothing more disappointing about the 2022 Volvo XC60 than the electrical system. The best way to describe what’s happening is to look at the current complaints filed with the NHTSA.
Computer operating system malfunctions and software that drains all the power from the vehicle’s batteries appear to be the biggest problem facing Volvo XC60 owners. But there are also a host of other electrical software problems. These problems are often related, and they commonly occur alongside other issues from air conditioning and heating malfunctions to major faults with the infotainment system.
An owner from Massachusetts claims that the 2022 Volvo XC60 “should have never been released for sale and Volvo should have told their many customers that the 2022 XC60 had serious issues before the sale.”
Those he experienced included the screen going blank, the car stopping working and slowing “down to a crawl showing a turtle symbol on the dash. To reset, the vehicle has to be completely shut down and restarted. The ventilation system stops working and requires a reset. The Google operating system which controls everything in the vehicle is a failure.”
An owner from Maryland reckons “Volvo rushed the 2022 model year XC60 with the new Google infotainment to market before all the bugs were worked out.”
Issues this owner faced after the first 4 weeks of ownership included the HVAC and turn signal lights, maps, and speed limit alerts not working. “Had to manually reboot the infotainment to regain these necessary safety features… Even the dealer is aware of these reported issues.”
An owner from Oklahoma has had weird electrical problems that “caused my car to act like it was running out of gas. The dealership had my car for about 3 days and it was a computer problem with the batteries not communicating between systems so they had to order a new module and reset the computer.
Nevertheless, the problem recurs, and it seems “I might have to take my car or have my car towed to the dealership every 2-3 weeks because of a computer update issue” in a brand new car.
An owner from Massachusetts has had “continuous problems associated with the computer of the car that are affecting its ability to drive safely. While in reverse and in motion, the car’s camera will often, and unpredictably, shut off. Additionally, the car’s forward collision warning system will initiate when there are no cars in front of it. Rather, it sometimes engages when oncoming traffic (is) going the opposite direction. Lastly, the car lost all power while on the highway due to a ‘battery error’. It required a redownload of software;. However, these other safety problems persist.”
This last complaint shows how the different issues are interlinked.
Here are a few examples of battery problems.
An owner from New Jersey states that when the XC60 was 4 months old, a “software bug” drained all batteries on board, preventing the vehicle from starting. They were stuck in park, and it was impossible to disengage the parking brake or put the car in neutral.
“We were put at risk by a car that can fail without warning and not start at all as we were stranded at a remote location. When the car failed to start, it could only be moved by a flatbed tow truck, as it was impossible to put the car into neutral and it would not roll. The Volvo dealer confirmed that the vehicle failed to start because of a software bug.”
An owner from Vermont found a brand new XC60 suddenly had zero power. “The FOB didn’t work so I couldn’t get into my car. The tow truck driver jump-started (the) car successfully. Fortunately, I instructed the driver to take it to the dealership anyway because there was no reason for the new vehicle to have a dead battery. I had left the car running and returned to it after chatting with (the) driver.
“At some point, a warning message appeared on the display reading “Stop Safely. 12V Battery Critical Charging Fault.” If I had driven off after the car was jump-started — as I have always done before — the vehicle could have gone into a serious fail mode that would have endangered me and those around me.”
An owner from Minnesota, with an XC60 that had less than 10k miles on the clock, parked the SUV for about 2 hrs and found that the battery was “completely dead. This left me and my family stranded unexpectedly. After jumping the car, a warning displayed: Stop Safely, 12 V Battery Critical Charging Fault.”
He drove home with the vehicle in “turtle mode” which he acknowledges wasn’t safe. “The acceleration was surging unexpectedly and without warning. I realize that there was a warning not to drive. However, I didn’t have a lot of good options given the electrical failure.”
It’s not clear whether the software does impact the battery. But an owner from Florida blames a software update malfunction for major problems. “Without warning, the vehicle failed to start, supposedly because of a software update that failed to work properly. The car routinely has software updates. This is the second time in the 6 months since we leased the car that it has had problems with a software update.” They had to have the vehicle moved by a flatbed tow truck.
“The Volvo dealer confirmed that the vehicle failed to start because of a software update that failed to work properly. As far as we know the car’s computer(s) was (were) not replaced – it was a pure software download problem.”
An owner from North Carolina says that after several functions had failed, they tried an over-the-air (OTA) software update as recommended by the dealer. After this was completed, there was a total failure of all functions.
An owner from Massachusetts found that a car that was 4 days old wouldn’t unlock. So he manually unlocked the car, only to find it wouldn’t start because there wasn’t any power.
According to the dealer, a “software error caused application downloads or refreshes to continually run, draining the battery, which needed to be replaced entirely.”
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When the brakes of any vehicle malfunction, there is a risk of a crash. The severity will depend on the circumstances, but crashes can be fatal.
There is only one accident caused by faulty brakes that has been reported to the NHTSA so far. An owner from California had only owned the Volvo for a few months when it happened. He was starting to brake so he could turn the car around and park in a parking lot. “However, the car didn’t stop but instead lurched forward at full throttle causing me to crash into a breezeblock wall. The automatic warning system did not sound and the crash detection system never engaged. I haven’t been in an accident for 30 years and was not distracted when this happened.”
The owner’s frustration was heightened because the vehicle had been with the dealer 3 times before this “because of technical/computer/infotainment issues. The dealer had the vehicle for about a week on each occasion.”
An owner from Texas also had an issue in a parking lot. “The Rear Auto Brake engaged without warning and without the presence of obstacles, vehicles, or persons in the vicinity which would have warranted an alert or braking.” Then it happened again when backing out of a private garage, and then a third time.
Each time this happened, “the words Rear Auto Brake Intervention or something similar appeared on the dashboard. The braking and screen message occurred without warning or any cause for the sudden and forceful automatic braking.” The owner managed to disable the Rear Auto Brake intervention feature, but the dealer was able to identify a fault.
Another complaint, from an owner in Puerto Rico, states that the electrical emergency brake doesn’t function on a steep slope.
If you are one of the unlucky Volvo XC60 owners who is experiencing battery, software, brake, or any other problems that recur, you might have gotten yourself a lemon. Since the law makes Volvo pay the legal fees for lemon law cases, you might be able to get the lemon out of your life quicker than you think. Every year, auto manufacturers buy back, replace or pay cash settlements to thousands of ‘lemon’ owners like you.
All you have to do is contact Lemberg Law on our Helpline or fill out a contact form. We will assess your Volvo XC60 problems and get back to you.
Brian Jones spent more than 30 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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My vehicles problems- front parking assist inoperative-screen goes blank-pedestrian warning inoperative.-camera only gives rear view-indicator for red light brake hold inoperative- no warning about hazards in front (no alarm ever). Car is 2023 xc60 phev ultimate trim. Already have bumped person who walked in front of vehicle- no alarm, no braking.
Hi I am the owner of a Volvo XC60 2022 B5 mild hybrid from India. Facing the same “12V battery critical charging fault”. After the car being dead multiple times in a few months of purchase the battery was replaced by the dealership. 1 month after replacement I find the vehicle dead again. There seems to be serious issues with the battery. I cannot rely on the vehicle for going anywhere
My one month old Volvo c60 today would not start . Roadside assistance came . I have appointment to bring car in tomorrow but no loaners
I live in Lisbon, Portugal and I have a new Volvo XC60 PHEV T6 bought 2.20. After 8 months and 12.500 km while connected with the wallbox, it did not recognize the Fob Key. With the manual metal key I could get inside and the message was “Key not recognized”. The second key also did not solved the problem. It took it to Volvo 3 days to disconnect the car from the wallbox! After 4 weeks Volvo assistance is not answering my emails and for the last week I am forced to drive the car with no heat capacity in electrical mode! This is significant for taking my kids to school in the winter and dangerous for the fog on the front window. Unbelievable.
My rear braking system has whiplashed me several times now trying to back out of the garage and into a parking space wherein I had 3 ft from a bush, plus I had equal space on both sides while attempting to back out of my garage. I thought I wasn’t going to be able to go to work that day – it has happened multiple times now. Scares the crap out of me because it is like you hit a brick wall and there is not anything around you at all. Also, the lane assist was scary, so I turned it off because it came on collision avoidance and jerked me when I was traveling on a road I’ve traveled for over 40 years, and I was well with the parameters I was supposed to be. Otherwise, the vehicle drives great, but I am always leery of the above described and uneasy what will happen next unexpectantly.
I purchased a 2022 XC60 Recharge. In 3 months it has broken down 5 times for the same reason. It keeps going in to Turtle Mode. The Propulsion System keeps failing. It has been a horrible experience. Also the new technology sucks. Making a call with the voice controls is virtually impossible. It never gets the name correct. They finally did an update allowing the vehicle to have Apple CarPlay but it is not wireless. You have to plug the phone in to use it.
My problem with my 2022 XC60 is that the Lane Keeping Aid comes on randomly when switched off. It has been into the dealership 3 times now and they keep coming back with the most stupid answers. The latest is that I drive to close to the line! DUH!!! Next was you can not disengage the LKA. This is a completely random happening that I can not reproduce on demand, but when doing 70 on the interstate and the LKA intervenes and tries to steer the car off the correct line, when purposely switched off is most worrying. I am waiting for the next pathetic excuse, before I start to get really angry with them. I have also had the front collision warning apply the brakes and steer to the left at 40mph with absolutely nothing in front. The rear collision braking stopped me reversing out of the garage. It all seems to come from one common denominator, but the dealership are more intent on blaming my driving (it did not happen in all the loaners I have had from them) than admitting there is a fault. Anyone else experiencing the same?