On our 2004 Volvo XC90 the headlights suddenly went dark, no low or high beams at all. I am now being told it is a module and the repair cost is in excess of $1200. The car has hid headlights. This outage created a very serious safety issue in that we were driving up highway 395 at night when the complete failure of the headlights occurred. In researching the issue on the internet it appears it is a relatively common failure.

- Upland, CA, USA

After driving 125 miles without incident, we left our 2004 Volvo xc 90 T6 AWD parked for 4 hours before driving again. After less than a half mile at low speed, there was a "thump" from the front of the car, the wipers cycled, the gauges all went blank, some of the windows stopped working, the A/C went out (blower stayed on). The car stayed on, but seemed "stuck" in second gear and the brakes became "spongy, " but operable. Turn signals were inoperable and the power steering went out. The indicator light on the gear shift went out and the central locking system stopped functioning. We got out of traffic and into the shade. I checked all fuses and tried to restart the car. It would restart, but within seconds there were multiple "clicks" coming from the area near the fuse box in the passenger compartment followed by the electrical failures described above. After letting the car sit for a couple of hours we moved it to a secure location two miles away. During that drive all of the above problems happened again, including the engine being "stuck" in second gear. After letting the car sit overnight, it started and ran without incident. However, the "check engine" light and the "SRS" light have remained on. A repair shop could not diagnose the problem. Prior to this incident, the same things happened to my wife in the same car. The symptoms lasted a few seconds and disappeared.

- Nashville, TN, USA

2004 Volvo XC90 2.5T AWD. Intermittent "thumping" at high speeds causing the car to jolt/lurch slightly. This has happened on and off for 2 months normally at highway speeds. Yesterday I was on a 4 hour highway drive home from vacation and the thumping/jolting happened about 5 times. Ultimately my car lost complete electrical power at highway speed and fortunately I was able to coast off the highway unscathed but others may not be as fortunate. Incredibly dangerous issue.

- Washington, DC, USA

I own a 2004 Volvo xc-90. I have owned the car since April 2004. Approximately seven months ago, I started experiencing intermittent electrical problems (radio and navigation display disappearing, engine service alerts, etc). Since the initial problems with the radio, the problems have progressed to the point of complete electrical failures while driving on the highway at speeds of over 55mph. These incidents involved a complete shut down of the gauges (tachometer, speedometer, fuel gauge, as well as audio system). I have learned from online searches (specifically, www.aboutautomobile.com/complaint/2004/Volvo/XC90/electrical+system) that these incidents are being experienced by many other Volvo xc-90 owners. Such incidents have caused many owners to take the car to their Volvo service department only to be told, as I was that determining the problem would be costly and that there have been not other complaints or recalls by Volvo. The problems I am experiencing are now ongoing whether I am in town or on the highway. It was with an initial expenditure of nearly $400 and an expected upcoming expenditure of $1200. The latter amount is the price for labor and parts to replace the cem board. I told my mechanic of the findings from my online search and had to request the replacement of this part. The problems I am experiencing are not only dangerous at high speeds but I have found that I am now having problems with the latch that unlocks the hatchback trunk and access to the gas tank. My car has less than 50,000 miles and required service has been done at the same dealership since my purchase of the vehicle. I have talked with Volvo customer service and they have not yet issued a recall. I have not found any records of deaths or injuries being caused by the electrical failures, but if the situations encountered by other owners are like mine it is only a matter of time. The vehicle literally can cause a slowdown and impair the ability of the driver to avoid accidents.

- Urbana, IL, USA

I have a 2004 XC90. I have been having electrical failure problems with my car where the car just stalls while driving at speeds of 50mph randomly for the past three years and have brought the car into the calabasas dealer numerous times and also to an independent auto mechanic and no one is able to duplicate the stall of the electrical system and therefore noone is able to diagnose the solution to the hazard that occurs when the car stalls and therefore no one is able to fix the problem. The dealer assures me that it is not a safety issue, just a nuisance. I researched and found that there are 100S of complaints of similar issues for this car. Today this same issue happened at much lower speeds two times within five minutes. I request that this issue be researched and the manufacturer fix the problem.

- Thousand Oaks, CA, USA

In March 2010, 04 XC90 lost power while driving on highway at about 65mph. Dashboard lights, radio all cut off, car lunged forward, and in 1-2 seconds dashboard lights and radio power on again. Took to Volvo dealership, they couldn't duplicate the issue but diagnostics said they needed to replace the steering column module which should fix problem. This didn't fix the problem because car did the same thing (lose power, lunge forward) around same speed 2 months later. Dealer could not duplicate, returned car to me. A week later, June 3, car won't start at all, towed to Volvo dealership. This time they say the cem (central electronic module) needs to be replaced and that should solve it. They replaced cem, so far car runs fine. There have been too many complaints about this and Volvo is not take ownership of this problem.

- Malvern, PA, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Volvo XC90. While driving at speeds of 65 mph, there was an unusually loud noise followed by an immediate loss of all panel lights. The contact was able to move the vehicle from the roadway and shut off the engine. Upon restarting, the SRS air bag and check engine warning lights remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer twice but the failure was unable to be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 89,000 and the current mileage was 99,000. Updated 6/21/10 the consumer stated after driving for about three hours, the radio turn signals stopped working. Updated 06/24/10.

- Moon Township, PA, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Volvo XC90. The contact stated while driving at speeds of 50 mph the vehicle would stall and the electrical system would malfunction. This would cause the power windows and interior lights to become inoperable. The dealer could not duplicate the failures. The contact stated that he was able to locate several complaints pertaining to the failure and did not feel safe in the vehicle. He also stated that the failure contributed to a defective computer and should be the manufacturers liability. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 97,000.

- Moon Township, PA, USA

My 2004 Volvo XC90 has experience a sudden electrical failure. While driving in city conditions all internal electronics including speed & fuel gauges, turn light indicators, audio system, air circulation and supplemental restraint system have turned off while the engine continued to operate. This made the car impossible to drive as no feedback on speed or ability to indicate a turn or a stop was possible. This occurred suddenly and without any warning. I was unable to fix this by restarting the car. According to basic research, this is a common issue with Volvo cars made circa 2003-4 and involve a defective cem (car electronics module). In other incidents engines have also shut down unexpectedly and brakes became inoperable. This is a serious safety issue that needs to be addressed.

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

Electrical issue resulting in supposed brake failure and SRS failure. This is without a doubt a safety issue that Volvo cars of America needs to address. The warning lights come on intermittently possibly due to a weak battery and/or faulty computer. Other operating components go on and off (e.g. speedometer, tachometer, turn signals).

- Fairfax, VA, USA

On a road trip one night, my car lost all electrical power on the dash. I cannot read any gauges, turn on blinkers or emergency flasher. Windows and radio, A/C is disabled. After arriving, I restarted the car and has an "SRS failure message". I read that this happens to many XC90 owners and the dealers/manufacture cannot confidently fix the problem. They think it's a central electrical module (cem) failure. I think it's a great safety issue when traveling on a darkened highway. I'm replacing the cem unit at the cost of more than $1000 for parts and labor.

- Orange, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Volvo XC90. While driving on the highway in rainy conditions, the electrical system shut down for a few seconds. The lights, radio, windshield wipers, and steering also shut off. The failure continued to occur intermittently within minutes until the vehicle was completely turned off and restarted. He only noticed the failure while he was driving on the highway. The dealer made several attempts to diagnose the failure and was unable to find the cause. It was suggested that he replace the computer and software system. He replaced the software (upgrade) but the failure continued to occur. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The current mileage was approximately 106,000. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000. Updated 01/06/10 updated 01/07/10.

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

I was wondering if there has been a recall for 2004 xc-90's because of there extremely dangerous electrical failure. This past weekend after about 3 hours of highway driving the whole dashboard and navigation flickered and restarted. It did they 3 or 4 times until it did a similar thing where the entire dashboard and navigation shut down. The ABS light came on and it told me there was break failure and to pull over slowly. I had no blinkers or hazard lights and the headlights even went off. This is extremely hazardous. I pulled over and turned the car off. Turning it back on it drove ok for a few minutes until it flickered again. I finally made it to my destination and took it to a Volvo dealership who could not figure it out. They charged $160 to try and "figure it out" but they just ended up upgrading the software. On my trip back down to nyc, the same thing began happening after about 3 hours of driving. It flickered a few times and again went completely dark telling me to pull over on the freeway. After pulling over the airbag message comes on. I have read various places online of this happening to other people so this is not a rare condition. This seems like a very dangerous situation which Volvo should really take care of. Asking customers to pay $1200 to replace a cem when it really should be a recall is a little ridiculous.

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

Occasional power failure, likely due to heat. A problem with the cem due to heat soak on a long drive - 2004 Volvo xc 90 has a split-second severe "thump" in the front end due to the power loss, which is then followed by a very brief (split second) internal (meaning dashboard lights, hi-fi, dome lights, etc) power failure. Power then returns and the car continues to drive - however, this is clearly a safety issue when driving on the freeway. Seems to be a design issue - symptoms as per here: www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums/viewtopic.php?F=10&T=16351 frustratingly, Volvo do not recognize this as a problem with the vehicles and there is no outstanding tsb/recall for this item. I have discussed at length with both the dealer and Volvo na and neither will admit that there is a problem with the cem design. As far as I can tell, it is susceptible to heat failure - however, even paying $1,000+ to have it replaced does not seem to guarantee any improvement as the part design has not changed since 2003. Volvo customer care contact details are: Email: Customercare@volvoforlife.com contact: Lisa telephone: 800-458-1552 X1953

- Front Royal, VA, USA

2004 Volvo XC90 2.5L transmission. Complete failure at 65,000 miles requiring replacement of entire transmission. Four days after repair, vehicle has loud engine thump and check engine light comes back on. Repeats thump with entire electrical system going out requiring a 3.5 hour tow home from 1/2 to our vacation destination. Dealer replaced alternator. Had for 2 days and check engine light comes back on and the thump/electrical issues start again. Barely got to dealer who has had for a week. They replaced alternator as put in the wrong one, but still haven't fixed it yet.

- Katy, TX, USA

When working on the audio/cd/radio of the car, this generates an SRS service urgent message to be displayed on the dash. This appears to be a common problem with Volvo if you check the message boards. People should be able to work/change out their stereos without the fear of the airbags working after words.

- Washington Court House , OH, USA

While driving in heavy traffic on April 25, 2009, my 2004 Volvo XC90 began jerking and then there was a sudden loss of power, the instrument panel swooped to the far right and then back to left with no other movement, the radio shut off, the windshield wipers began wiping, and the door locks and windows would not work. Shortly thereafter, the message box displayed "brake failure-stop safely", and then changed to "SRS airbag _service urgent". once we stopped, the vehicle would not start again. I disconnected the battery in hopes of resetting the computer. Once this was done the car started again. Messages are still displayed. We contacted Volvo corporate and have an appointment with a local dealership tomorrow. This is a serious safety issue and it is not the first time I have submitted a complaint for this same type problem. I have been a faithful, repeat Volvo customer, and would like to continue to support Volvo. My loyalty is slowly fading, especially after reading several complaints of the same nature. Volvo please don't let a death occur before you take action.

- Decatur, GA, USA

On March 22, 2009 I was traveling with my two daughters East on I-75 from naples to miami when the car suddenly jerked and the dashboard and instruments flickered and lit up, and then the instrument panel displayed the message "SRS - airbag service urgent". was able to continue driving to look for a rest area as that stretch of I-75 is in the everglades. After a few miles the car jerked again, but this time all the dashboard lights, instruments (speedometer, RPM), radio and interior lights did not work. Was able to continue driving to a rest area about 7 miles down the highway. I stopped, turned off the car for 15 minutes then it started up again with all the electrical systems working, but still displaying the message "SRS - airbag service urgent". not wanting to B stuck in the everglades I continued driving, and the jerking motion and issue with electrical occurred again two more times. The last time was when I was pulling off the highway onto my exit for home it displayed the message "brake failure! stop safely". I was able to stop, turned off car, started it again with everything working, but still displaying the message "SRS - airbag service urgent". this same issue happened last summer when my wife was driving with our kids from miami to jacksonville. She took it to a Volvo dealer in daytona beach and one in jacksonville. Both dealers were not able to diagnose the issue. When back in miami, I took it to an independent mechanic who is Volvo-certified and he was not able to fix the issue either. Based on what I've researched it seems to be an issue with the onboard computer. This is a very scary problem that needs to be addressed by Volvo, especially when you are driving 70 miles an hour on the highway and the car suddenly jerks and loses power.

- Miami, FL, USA

On January 6, 2009, my wife and daughter were driving on I-20 when they heard a "thump" and then experienced a sudden loss of power with the electrical systems. The engine never stopped, but the radio, windshield wipers, door locks, dashboard and everything suddenly stopped working. They continued to drive and about 5 minutes later it happened again. They never stopped and about 5 minutes later it happened again. They immediately exited the highway and waited about an hour before trying to drive again. We have not been able to duplicate the problem since then. In reviewing the website, this appears to have happened to a few folks.

- Decatur, GA, USA

While driving northbound on interstate 405, my wife heard a loud "thump" from the engine compartment. Immediately after this noise, the electrical system completely shut down, and all the dash lights and associated electronics shut down.

- Encinitas, CA, USA