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What 9 owners told NHTSA about the 2025 Volvo XC40

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (9)Crash / fire / injury (1)Backup camera & sensors (3)Electrical system (3)Driver assistance (2)Engine (1)Speed control (1)Steering (1)

3 of 9 complaints match · Electrical system · clear filters

Mar 17, 2026Electrical systemDriver assistance

Despite multiple repair attempts by Volvo Cars Sugar Land — including software reloads, module reprogramming, and the completion of Recall R10333 — the vehicle continues to experience failures that directly compromise my safety and the safety of my wife. I no longer feel safe operating this vehicle. My XC40 has undergone five documented repair visits, including: • Electrical system failures • Infotainment instability • Parking sensor and camera malfunctions • Multiple software reloads and module reprogramming • Recall R10333 “Total Upgrade” On March 11th, while driving at approximately 60 mph on the highway, the IHU screen froze, went completely black, and all audible safety indicators inside the cabin were lost, including: • Turn signal click • Hazard flasher sound • Parking sensor tones • Multimedia audio This condition lasted for nearly 10 minutes, during which I had no ability to safely signal lane changes or rely on audible warnings. I was forced to continue driving until I could safely pull over. After parking, shutting the vehicle off, and waiting several minutes, the IHU restored itself. This incident occurred five days after the most recent repair attempt and represents a serious safety hazard and a complete loss of trust in the vehicle’s reliability.

NHTSA ODI 11724948

Jan 27, 2026Electrical systemSpeed controlEngine

My car randomly has a battery charging fault. An alert stating “stop safely 12V battery critical charging fault” will just pop up while driving and then put the vehicle in turtle mode. This is an intermittent fault and is likely a false indication. This could cause an accident because it causes the car to slow down. This could happen on a highway.

NHTSA ODI 11713785

Nov 14, 2025Electrical system

Two Issues: 1. "Check Engine Light" comes on for no reason. This has happened six times (I have video recordings and maintenance reports from the dealership.) In the last maintenance report, Volvo technicians acknowledged the issue and stated that "AS OF NOW NO SOLUTION FOR THIS TO BE FIXED, VOLVO WILL BE LOOKING INTO THIS FOR FURTHER NOTICE." They also told me to just ignore the light if it comes on again. So, if there is a real and dangerous engine malfunction, there is no way to be alerted. 2. The entire sound system goes off while driving. This has happened few times. When this issue occurs, there will be no sound of alerts (turn signals, collision warnings, parking warnings, air conditioning, Google Maps, radio, etc.) The sales associates and manager told me this happens to their vehicles as well, and told me to reboot the screen whenever it happens. In one incident, I had to pull over in a shopping center parking lot to reboot the screen. No permanent solutions to this issue as well.

NHTSA ODI 11699484

Working with the data? Download all 9 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 18, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2025 Volvo XC40 verdict →