What 39 owners told NHTSA about the 2023 Volvo XC90 Recharge

The button to initiate the parking brake frequently does not work. With my foot firmly on the brake, I have had to push the Park button many times to put the vehicle in park. I have video of this incident. Other times, when not expecting it or recording video I have pressed the park button and not realized the vehicle didn’t go into park. When I released my foot on the brake the vehicle rolled forward. Thankfully no one or other vehicle was directly in front of the car.

NHTSA ODI 11688622

To Whom It May Concern, I am filing a complaint against Volvo Car USA for unresolved defects in my 2023 Volvo XC90 T8 Recharge, purchased in Indiana. The vehicle’s control systems—infotainment, climate control, navigation, backup camera, and reverse braking—are defective, impairing its use, value, and safety, despite maintenance and updates. Study and searches on owner forums and social media discovered that those issues are widespread among the 2023 model year of Volvo XC-90 T8. Issues: Backup camera often shows “unavailable” when reversing, posing safety risks. -Volvo did a software recall in May, 2025. The issue seemed largely resolved. Automatic reverse braking (ARB) falsely triggers, causing abrupt stops. No permanent adjustment exists. -The issue persists even after multiple software updates including the recall mentioned above. The false ARB activations made drivers and passengers traumatized and panicked for "hitting or being hit by other vehicles or objects. Infotainment and climate control system lags (5+ minutes to respond), displays errors, and is unreliable. That became a bigger problem during inclement weather that driver and passengers may suffer injury from the extreme cold or hot conditions for a long period of time. This is even more dangerous when there are elderlies, pregnant women, or children in the vehicle. This issue was not resolved even after multiple software updates. Further research indicated the issue was not only from software but also from hardware (including but not limited to the CPU chips, RAM, etc. LTE connection is unstable 50% of the time, affecting navigation or emergency assistance. Volvo uses safety and emergency assistance as one of the selling points for its vehicles. However, the instability of its LTE connection makes the "SOS call" unreliable or not functional when customers are in danger. Even after multiple visits of Volvo dealer and contact of Volvo customer care, there is no solution.

NHTSA ODI 11668705

While driving a warning sign came on indicating break failure. The breaks were not working at all. Car was able to be slowed down to a stop. It was towed to a dealership who stated there was a remote software update done that causes break failure

NHTSA ODI 11636759

WHEN PUTTING THE VEHICLE INTO REVERSE, THE BRAKE PEDAL AUTOMATICALLY HAD TENSION, THEREFORE, I WAS UNABLE TO PRESS DOWN ON THE BREAK AS NORMAL. WITH LITTLE FORGIVENESS, I ATTEMPTED TO REVERSE AND ROLL BACK IN A SMALL PARKING LOT OF A LOCAL SCHOOL. AS I WAS ATTEMPTING TO ROLL BACK, THE CAR MADE A LOUD NOISE WHEN I WOULD TRY TO ENGAGE THE BREAK.

NHTSA ODI 11615593