NHTSA — Electrical System Problems

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
3,812 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2017 Volvo XC90 electrical problems

electrical problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2017 Volvo XC90:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2017 Volvo XC90 Owner Comments

problem #8

Feb 022024

XC90

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Passenger and driver side rear door lock are inoperable from outside and inside. The issue has been widely reported by other vehicle owners. The root cause has been reported as water damaging the locking mechanisms. Volvo redesigned the mechanisms but has not issued a recall.

- Seattle , WA, USA

problem #7

Feb 152022

XC90

  • miles
While driving in hybrid mode while both the gasoline and electric motor are running or shifting back and forth, occasionally the electric motor will come on with a sharp, sometimes loud, metallic -??bang-??. The sound and feel appears to be coming from the rear. The last two times it happened, the car lunged forward on its own without additional pressure on the accelerator, and once over the past week it lunged forward near an intersection when lifting off the accelerator pedal and engaging the brake. The lunge almost caused me to rear end the car in front of me which I was not very close to. This occurs about once every 50 miles travelled or once per day and at various speeds. To date it has not generated a CEL or any other type of warning.

- Long Beach, CA, USA

problem #6

Sep 012021

XC90

  • miles
"Volvo On Call Service Required" message shows up on the dash suddenly every 3-5 minutes, and the black message box itself is close to, and bigger than, the speedometer reading. It makes it difficult to monitor and maintain speed without distraction. At the same time, every 3-5 minutes, top of the center screen completely flashes with "message stored to Car Status app" to draw driver attention and causes a major distraction while driving.

- Santa Clara, CA, USA

problem #5

Mar 222021

XC90

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Central console will "reboot" for no apparent reason. The screen goes blank and after a few minutes it displays a animated rotating circle like it is starting to boot up. It can take 5+ minutes for the reboot process. While it is doing it there is no access to the instruments and controls it provides access to. It usually happens within the first 5 minutes of starting the vehicle, but it has occured 20+ minutes into a drive.

- Wallingford, CT, USA

problem #4

Dec 022020

XC90

  • miles
For 5 months now, there has been leaking from the rear side of the intellisafe module located by the middle top of the windshield. I have taken the care to the dealership in multiple locations, they have not found the root cause. I have paid for multiple replacements of the rubber trim and cleaning of interior parts. The water leaks directly over the head unit, and I fear that might cause damage such as a electrical fire or replacement of parts that might become very costly. It happens while still in park and while driving.

- Montgomery, AL, USA

problem #3

Nov 012018

XC90

  • 10,000 miles
The contact owned a 2017 Volvo XC90. While driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicle suddenly shut off and caused the steering wheel to seize and the electronic gauges to shut off. The driver lost control of the steering and crashed into a pond. The front end was severely damaged and the vehicle was deemed destroyed, but the air bags did not deploy. There were no injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer (weaver brothers Volvo, 4409 capital blvd, raleigh, nc) were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 10,000.

- Apex, NC, USA

problem #2

Sep 232018

XC90

  • 19,000 miles
While driving with two young children in car, Volvo hood started to smoke. No warning lights or signals went off. We pulled over, turned engine off, removed kids from the car, and within a few minutes, the entire hood of the car was in flames. The car was completely destroyed, even though firefighters extinguished the fire. We have no information as to the cause of the fire - engine, electrical, etc - but the car only had 18,000 miles on it. Volvo had already replaced the rotors twice in two years - highly unusual - but otherwise we had no reason to suspect a problem. We were very lucky we were on city streets and not on the highway where it would have been difficult to impossible to pull over.

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

problem #1

Feb 012017

XC90 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 1,500 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Volvo XC90. While driving various speeds with the Pilot assist and lane assist systems activated, the vehicle would erroneously change lanes and/or change directions. On occasion, the features would erroneously shut off for no reason. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but the cause of the failures could not be determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 1,500. Updated 06/02/17

- Iceland, OH, USA

Not what you are looking for?