What 49 owners told NHTSA about the 2023 Volvo XC60 Recharge

Loss of all audible components after start up (Infotainment system has Android Auto 5.1.17 system installed); no turn signal sound, no back up or lane departure audible alert. This is dangerous because the system can fail to confirm whether the turn signal is on or whether there is hazardous condition outside. Had to perform a complete system reboot to resolve the issue. The reboot is hazardous during driving condition as it is a distraction to the driver. This is issue has been happening on a persistent basis since the latest software update, the system needs to be rebooted two to three times a week, sometimes during driving.

NHTSA ODI 11749979

After Volvo’s software update 5.1.17 was installed, all sound in the vehicle including all warning alerts, turn signals, stereo, etc. have no sound. If you reboot the system it MIGHT work, but it reverts back to not working once it is parked. Does not show any alerts when you’re close to an object. I have serious concerns about any of my safety systems working properly.

NHTSA ODI 11749140

The backup camera system on this vehicle is ineffective and creates a significant safety hazard. Rather than providing a clear view of what is behind the vehicle, the camera is aimed downward, displaying primarily the ground immediately behind the rear bumper and only about two feet beyond it. As a result, it does not provide visibility of approaching vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, or other obstacles behind the vehicle. This severely limits the camera's usefulness when backing out of parking spaces or driveways, where cross traffic and pedestrians are the primary safety concern. Because the display shows so little of the area behind the vehicle, drivers cannot rely on it to safely reverse. Believing this was a defect specific to my vehicle, I brought it to a Volvo dealership on two separate occasions. Each time, I was told that the camera was functioning as designed and that its viewing angle was normal. If this is indeed the intended design, then the backup camera system is fundamentally inadequate and presents an unnecessary safety risk.

NHTSA ODI 11747232

I repeatedly lost propulsion or shut down while driving. The vehicle would not shift into Drive or Reverse and would not move, although displays and lights remained powered. This occurred three times in approximately two weeks. One event occurred at approximately 55 mph. I had to call the police for help. This after Hudson Valley Property Maintence the two previous stalls had been fixed. Dealer performed software update/reinstall and test drove vehicle approximately 30 miles, but the same failure returned and vehicle required towing. This is a repeated highway-speed safety defect. This vehicle is a safety hazard, and I am afraid for my life. The first two tow truck drivers were not able to get it on a flatbed without dragging it which we chose not to do. It took a third tow truck driver with special equipment to lift the car and tow it. This process took five hours on the hottest day and alone while other cars were coming at me at 60 mph. I had to call the police for help. There was no police report filed. Just a quote to dispatch to send officers to control a dangerous situation. The toe was through Volvo roadside assistance.

NHTSA ODI 11740327

While driving on the highway my navagation, internet, gps stopped working. An error came up on the dash saying "SOS emergency call system fault" We were not sure what was happening with the vehicle or if was safe to drive. We made an appointment with a Volvo service center. Volvo service center stated we would need to pay to have this diagnosed because the vehicle has a rebuilt title. The dealership wanted approx $800 just to look at the vehicle. This issue is a known defect in the 2023 Volvo XC60 B5. It was already recalled once for this exact issue. This is an ongoing safety issue - losing our navigation in the middle of the highway as well as the vehicles ability to automatically phone emergency help when required.

NHTSA ODI 11740173

See attached document for complaint.

NHTSA ODI 11730164

3rd time driving our Volvo on the road and having the automatic emergency brake engage too early or in this instance, with no vehicle in front of us. We have been dealing with issues related to the safety systems and error messages in our Volvo related to “blind spot”, “automatic emergency braking”, and sensor failures or errors since having our vehicle leased since 2023. It has been in the shop MULTIPLE times to have sensors replaced only for errors to come back. Our system current says to clean the front sensors even though there is no debris on them. We also experienced this errors while driving 2025 loaner models with our vehicle in for repairs. We feel unsafe in our vehicle and can’t rely on the safety systems. We have also experienced the entire auto system failing in our car multiple times. This leads to any sounds system including emergency warnings to turn signals from not producing ANY sounds.

NHTSA ODI 11729489

Occasionally, when I put the car in reverse, the brakes do not activate. The pedal feels stiff and hard to push. But then if I let off the brake pedal, and reapply the brakes, the problem goes away. This puts me and my passengers at risk of an accident. I have not shown the problem to a dealer yet as the problem is intermittent. I have not seen any warning signs about this problem. I have owned the car for about 6 months, since September of 2025 and have seen the problem about 8 or 10 times.

NHTSA ODI 11726529

The contact owns a Nuna Car Seat, Model Type: Pipa Aire RX, Manufactured Date: March 06, 2024. The car seat was installed in a 2023 Volvo XC60. The contact stated while unbuckling the child out of the car seat, the straps used to latch the harness were loose. After the initial failure, the contact inspected the car seat harnesses several times while strapping the child into the car seat; however, the failure persisted. The contact reached out to the manufacturer several times before the contact was able to reach a representative. Once the contact was able to reach a representative, the contact was advised to take a video of the failure while driving and submitting the information and the contact declined the suggestion because the vehicle was unsafe. The contact also reached out to the manufacturer through email and was given a ticket number. The contact reached out to the company where the car seat was purchased and was informed that the one-year car seat warranty had expired. The contact disputed the claim because the failure had occurred less than one year after the purchase. The car seat was not repaired or replaced. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ODI 11721350

System/Component Malfunction: Systemic failure of the onboard computer (Infotainment/Connectivity Module) and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), specifically the Collision Avoidance/Auto-Braking system, Rear-view Camera (FMVSS 111 non-compliance), and the 12V Battery management system. All components remain in the vehicle and are available for inspection. Safety Risk: The vehicle exhibits frequent "phantom braking" where the emergency collision avoidance system abruptly activates without obstacles present, creating an immediate risk of collisions. Additionally, the "hands-on steering wheel" sensor malfunctions, triggering emergency stopping procedures while driving. The backup camera intermittently fails (black screen), causing a total loss of rear visibility. These issues lead to unpredictable vehicle behavior in high-speed traffic. Confirmation & Inspection: These issues began to be reported to an authorized Volvo dealer within the first year of ownership (2022-2023). Most recently, a total vehicle failure occurred due to a drained 12V battery, which the dealer service department confirmed was caused by a known software module defect. Despite multiple "software updates" by the manufacturer, the safety-critical ADAS malfunctions (phantom braking) have recurred three times in the last week following the most recent dealer service.

NHTSA ODI 11715541

Received recall notice, the dealer did software upgrade to 3.7. but still having issues. Error message "Camera is temporarily unavailable". Reported to Volvo dealer who stated they are aware of the problem but cannot fix because they are waiting for new software, expected Q4 2025. Recall was not fixed

NHTSA ODI 11703702

On Wednesday December 3, 2025 the front windshield wipers stopped working on my wife's 2023 Volvo XC60. The stalk to control the wipers was operating as normal. It was able to spray the windshield wiper fluid and operate the rear window wiper as expected. This happened that day that we received unexpected lake effect snow in our area. We immediately scheduled an appointment at dealership we purchased the vehicle from and dropped it off on Friday December 5, 2025. A few moments ago we received a call from the service department that there is an internal service bulletin regarding this issue. They explained that there is a process where they have to go back and forth with Volvo to diagnose the issue. They could not estimate when the issue would be resolved or what was the cause. The dealership was out of loaners, so they gave us an option to either wait or drive the vehicle and hope we don't get caught in bad weather until they can identify what is wrong with the wipers. This puts us in a very unsafe vehicle with no recourse. The safety of my wife, myself, and our child are put at risk because of this issue. There was a message that stated that the wipers failed initially on 12-3-2025, but that message never appeared again. This in itself is a safety issue. What if someone was renting the same vehicle when this occurred. The rental car company wouldn't know and they could rent the vehicle to a drive who wouldn't know.

NHTSA ODI 11703728

Manufacturer: Volvo Car USA LLC | Initial Failure Mileage: 15,000 DEFECT DESCRIPTION: The Google built-in Infotainment Control Unit (ICU) and Audio Control Module (ACM) are repeatedly crashing/malfunctioning while driving. This system failure is a safety hazard because it simultaneously disables critical features: * SAFETY SYSTEM FAILURE: The Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA) is disabled, creating a high risk of collision when reversing. * LOSS OF AUDITORY WARNINGS: All essential auditory cues, including the turn signal click and parking sensor sounds, are lost as the speakers go silent. * Distraction: The screen goes black/unresponsive, requiring a dangerous manual reboot while driving. REPAIR HISTORY: The defect has been confirmed and documented by an authorized Volvo dealer (O'Steen Volvo) on two prior warranty attempts (6/18/24 & 12/19/24) but remains uncorrected. The dealer has admitted they have "no way to fix this" permanently. Corporate (Volvo Customer Care) has been notified. This is a recurring, safety-critical manufacturing defect. Most recent issue was 10/25/205

NHTSA ODI 11695645

There has been at least 5 incidences where the audio stopped working for the turn signals, navigation stopped, radio stopped and air conditioning stopped. The first 2-3 times the system reset itself. The 4th incident I was driving in torrential rain, the wiper auto sensor stopped and every warning light on the dashboard lit up. As the rain dissipated, the system seemed to clear itself. Today, on my way to the dealership, the turn signal audio stopped, navigation stopped, radio stopped. The service advisor verified the situation. His response, per Volvo instructions, tell the customer to reset the system once a month. There's no written instructions to resolve the problem. The service advisor admitted this is an ongoing problem and corporate is making no attempt to resolve it. Is Volvo waiting for a life threatening situation before addressing the problem. I can't rely upon the computer system to function properly. Volvo has a responsibility to its car owners for supposedly being one of the safest cars on the road. This vehicle is becoming unreliable. Thank you.

NHTSA ODI 11694979

Driving the car at under 20 mph making a left turn into my cul-de-sac which has an upward slope. Car system thought it would crash into the tree straight ahead and started emergency braking making loud noise and then the steering wheels locked. Ended up hitting the parked car in front of neighbors house due to brake and steering malfunction. Heard from other Volvo owners that this has been a problem. Even backing out of garage where there is no object behind the car the car emergency braking system engages causing whiplash. No longer feel safe driving this car.

NHTSA ODI 11694759

The "p" button on the car malfunctions. It does not always engage when pressed. After I pressed the "p" button, the car didn't go into park mode and started to roll forward. This put me in danger as well as pedestrians who may have been walking down the street in front of the car. I notified the dealer and they did nothing. There were NO warning signs. Because of the failure of the "p" button to function properly, my car rolled into a parking meter and caused in excess of $4,000 in damages.

NHTSA ODI 11683386

We’ve owned a couple of the XC60s from the new generation. We have had many conversations with Volvo and the dealership but they have yet to rectify the issue. What it all boils down to, is that Volvo put an underperforming center console in its new generation of cars (2016-2025). The console does not have enough memory to process everything it’s doing. As a result it locks up and either freezes or shuts off. The problem is the console operates everything in the car. When it fails everything goes dark including the dash. The safety features turn off and you are essentially driving blind. We have had this issue on so many of our cars: 2018 XC60 which was replaced with a 2019 XC90 to avoid lemon law. The 2019 xc90 had the issues. We have been leasing and are stuck in this cycle because Volvo refuses to address the hardware issue. Instead we are forced to either drive a car with a dead brain or trade in for another Volvo. Volvo keeps thinking it can solve the issue with software updates but that’s not true. They need to do a RAM upgrade for these cars. We know we are not the only ones with these issues and the advice of “just reboot” or “don’t use the apps” or “don’t use the crash mitigation features” does not work. We specifically picked Volvo for safety but enough is enough. Our car is undriveable and from our sample size alone 6 out of 6 new generation cars have had this issue. The console shutting down sometimes takes out the virtual cockpit too. Meaning no speed is displayed, the car may try to mitigate crashes erratically, the heating and cooling will also not function. To put it plainly, the car turns into a flying brick. I feel very fortunate that this has not caused a crash yet.

NHTSA ODI 11682052

Yesterday, while driving on highway, I received a tire pressure warning for all four tires. I filled all tires to the recommended 35psi. The warning went away. Today, after I parked my vehicle, I saw a “parking brake service required” message on my dash. The “park” indicator on my dash started flashing. Now, I’m worried about a brake failure. I only mentioned the tire pressure warning bc I’ve never had multiple error messages like this before.

NHTSA ODI 11672120

For more than a year, we have experienced issues with the infotainment system. Despite many trips to the dealership it has not been fixed. The infotainment system randomly shuts down and or reboots, which seems to affect other systems like turn signals, climate control, lane departure alerts, etc.

NHTSA ODI 11667647

255 / 40 / R 21

NHTSA ODI 11653156

Reverse backup camera repeatedly does not work and will display message saying camera unavailable. Sound system will go out with the center screen were no sound comes through (not even blinker sound). With a small child and have concerns driving when these issues occur, especially since they occur unexpectedly. Issues will occur a few days in a row, then work fine for a few days and then issues will occur again. Have been to the shop where they looked at the issue and was advised have to wait for a software update.

NHTSA ODI 11652231

I am writing to address a recurring safety issue with my 2023 Volvo XC60 B5 AWD related to the windshield wipers. I believe this issue poses a serious safety risk. Specifically, when snow accumulates in the area where the wiper arms retract—hidden behind the hood for aerodynamic and stylistic reasons—the wipers stop functioning until the snow is cleared. This has happened to me twice during the winter of 2022-2023 and once during the winter of 2023-2024. While driving in heavy snow, the wipers would suddenly cease movement when sufficient snow accumulated in that “well”. There were no warning lights of any kind. This was sometimes triggered by braking, which caused snow to slide off the roof into that area. Once the snow accumulates to a certain level, the wipers become inoperable, resulting in zero visibility. This situation demands immediate action, regardless of my surroundings. Fortunately, on all occasions, I was on quiet roads, allowing me to stop safely. However, during the first incident, I was caught off guard and collided with a snowbank at low speed, causing no damage. Clearing the snow from the wiper well is not straightforward. The wiper arms must be placed in service mode to access that area, but they will not do so once they have stopped functioning. After the initial incidents in 2022-2023, I took my vehicle to the dealer, who evaluated the issue and “reset” the wipers. Unfortunately, this was after the snow season, so I couldn't determine if it made a difference until the following winter. Although the winter of 2023-2024 was relatively mild, the problem resurfaced during a late-season storm. I am particularly concerned about the potential consequences if these incidents were to occur at higher speeds on a busy highway. The risk of a serious crash involving myself and my passengers is significant.

NHTSA ODI 11617596

My Volvo XC60 rear windows turns blurry in the heat. For long I didn't bothered, but recently I have noticed that there are more people facing the same issue with 23 & 25 models. Please see the attached picture. Volvo America is aware about the issue but they have not taken any action.

NHTSA ODI 11616749

Dear sir, I would like to make a complaint about the SOS system in my Volvo CX 60 on two occasions tire blew out on the [XXX] interstate on both of those occasions I called Volvo roadside and emergency assistance. I waited for approximately two hours. No one came. I then had to change the tire myself. I have a bad back and I hurt my back further, the first time the second time I was stopped on the [XXX] interstate they were doing road repair. I stopped on one side of the road and then the people doing the road repair asked me to move to the other side which I did, I called Volvo and waited at least two hours. It is 105° outside in the area adjacent to Selena Utah. I believe I was dehydrated. The human body is approximately 90% water water went down to approximately 70% a gentleman doing construction, the side of the road who I spoke to kindly gave me two bottles of water and one bottle of power drink , at the same time, he asked me to move my car from the other side of the road since they opened up the road they were doing some type of repair type. I am not sure got their assistance and moved my car into Salina town in Utah, where I am now , my complaint is that the SOS button on the Volvo CX 60 is what you were supposed to press if you are in an emergency and they are supposed to come. They are not supposed to tell you they’re gonna come and not come which is what happened in my case both times someone said they’re gonna be there in an hour and then I waited two hours. No one came and then , I had to in the first case do the repairs myself in the second case have someone help push me in the basis of Volvo is misleading thinking that the SOS button works it does not work. That is the basis of my complaint. These two events occurred on [XXX] and [XXX]. Of 2024. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11594526

On November 11, 2023 @ between 10:30 and noon, the vehicle infotainment system completely failed. The screen went blank and functions for heat, radio, navigation, cameras, indicator lights in the mirror and the ability to call Volvo emergency services were all lost. A message on the screen said, "Stop the vehicle. This vehicle's infotainment system has encountered a problem. You can reboot or reset factory settings. If this doesn't help, please contact a workshop." This is the second such failure. The first occurred on September 22, 2023. I filed a report with Volvo (REF#[XXX]), and repairs were effected at a local dealer in Maryland. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11554722