NHTSA — Electrical System Problems

2004 Volvo XC90 (Page 4 of 8)

CarComplaints.com Seal Of This Might Hurt

CarComplaints.com Notes: The XC90 took its “freshman 15” of transmission complaints and turned it into a “sophomore 45.” The 2004 XC90 saw 3X as many complaints about the transmission failing as it did in its inaugural North American model year! By the following year, transmission complaints fell back in line with the 2003. That sharp spike in complaints means we recommend avoiding the 2004.

On top of transmission complaints, the 2004 XC90 also has problems with a sudden loss of power. The lucky ones are met with a “reduced engine performance” message, while others are left stranded on the side of the road waiting for a tow.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
96,144 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.

2004 Volvo XC90 electrical problems

electrical problem

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2004 Volvo XC90 Owner Comments (Page 4 of 8)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #90

Jul 212012

XC90 6-cyl

  • 170,000 miles

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

At 65 mph wipers went on by themselves then followed by split second power failure, meaning dashboard light out, hazard lights could not be turned on, windows would not open, A/C out, in the message screen at that moment antilock brake failure was displayed before everything went out, driving another 20 miles till next exit at the dusk, after pulling over and restart ( to reset) SRS failure in the message screen. Car checked by Volvo dealer and statement from them:fault in cem is shutting down network and causing dim to black out. Replacement will run about $1500, this car had automatic transmission failure at 91822 miles and ignition failure recently, and many many other costly problems.

- Mokena, IL, USA

problem #89

Aug 262012

XC90

  • 111,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Volvo XC90. The contact stated that while driving 65 mph, the radio and all of the interior lights turned off independently. The contact stated that the air bag and brake warning lamps also illuminated. In addition, the windshield wipers became inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the central electronic module needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was no longer under warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 111,000 and the current mileage was 113,000.

- Mclean, VA, USA

problem #88

Apr 182012

XC90

  • 90,000 miles
The sunroof drain has a design flaw that can cause water to enter the passenger compartment and/or electrical systems. This can present simply as water on the floor boards. But it can also present in more subtle ways with water coming in contact with electrical systems and being drawn throughout the car through copper wires acting as conduit (this effects speaker quality, radio function, cruise control function etc). Most importantly, water can accumulate in the compartment under the front passenger seat that houses the dynamic stability traction control system putting safety at risk. We have experienced this with our XC90 but see many complaints regarding other Volvo models. This is a significant safety concern but most concerning because of its subtle nature, slow progression, and prohibitive costs to repair. Many people are driving around with compromised systems and are not yet aware, unable to recognize the cause, or unable to fund the repair.

- Spokane, WA, USA

problem #87

Jun 012011

XC90

  • 123,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2004 Volvo XC90. The contact stated that while driving at any speed, the lights on the instrument panel illuminated and caused the radio, interior lights, air conditioning and the door locks to fail. The failure was experienced intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who performed a diagnostic, which located several electrical failure codes. The dealer reset the computer system and the failure was corrected. The failure mileage was 123,000 and the current 133,500.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #86

Jun 012012

XC90

  • 78,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Volvo XC90. The contact stated that while driving 40 mph the brake and SRS warning lights illuminated, in addition to all of the dash board lights and gauges failing. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis and the contact was awaiting results. The vehicle had not been repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The failure and current mileages were 78,000.

- Newark, DE, USA

problem #85

Jun 012012

XC90 6-cyl

  • 111,000 miles
All interior lights, guages, windshield wipers randomly shut down at freeway speeds and at idle. Engine power is also affected as unable to accelerate properly. Dealer replaced driver information module however problem continues. Dealer unable to source the problem as the vehicle needs to be in the process of failing for them to source the problem. This has not been possible as the issue is random and typical goes away after the car sits for several hours. The service airbag and brake failure code remains in the driver information module. This is a serious safety issue especially at freeway speeds and at night.

- Burlington, WA, USA

problem #84

Jun 092011

XC90 6-cyl

  • 152,000 miles

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

I was driving 65 mph on the I-95 when my windshield turned on by itself, then I got ABS system failure alert advising me to pull over safely. Next the dashboard died, windows didn't work and the power steering seemed to stop working. It was very scary. I got the vehicle to a dealership as luckily we were close to our destination. I turned off the ignition and explained the problem to the tech. He turned the car back on and it was like nothing had ever happened. The dashboard lit up fine and the windows worked fine. However, I did have a message stating I now had an airbag issue. They kept the car for 3 days trying to recreate what I had described and they could not figure it out. This incident happened about a year ago. It's happened no fewer than 8 times since then. I've taken it to other dealerships. I'm always charged a diagnostic fee and they can never figure out what's going on. It's very scary as there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason when the issue will occur. Sometimes my windshield wiper goes on it's own and sometimes my stereo flicks on and off; then I get the ABS system failure and dashboard goes dead. Volvo really needs to figure this out before someone gets hurt.

- Fulton, MD, USA

problem #83

Oct 072011

XC90 6-cyl

  • 80,000 miles
Starting in 2011 and 3 other occasions vehicle would not start. Starter motor would not turn and system appeared to be dead. Battery was tested to be in good condition. Prior to these events electrical system behaved erratically with radio switching on and off, door locks not operating from remote key fob and windshield wipers erratically turning on and off. Lights and systems seemingly behaving erratically. Airbag warning lights came on. On first occasion system was reset and mechanic changed the starter motor. In hindsight I don't believe it was bad or caused of the problem. On second and third occasions after towing and repeated start attempts the engine started. Note that when attempting starts nothing happened when the key was turned (engine starter would turn or engage. No clicking sound associated with bad battery), on fourth occasion in July 2012 Volvo reported that central electronic module was bad and multiple fault codes were present. When informed that this was a seemingly a common problem on 2004/5 XC90 with this model due to leaking grommet they denied this and stated that this was not the case for this vehicle. Module was changed at cost of $1,280.

- Annapolis, MD, USA

problem #82

Jun 252012

XC90 5-cyl

  • 117,000 miles
While driving on the highway my vehicle hiccuped intermittently three times and then the electronic panel, windows, locks, radio, A/C, signals, hazards all shut down and a message about the brakes came on. I was near the dealership so I stopped in and described the problem. With a smirk on his face the service consultant said it would cost $85 for diagnostics and then he would give me a cost estimate of the repair. They were busy and he said that he didn't think that they could get to it that day so I decided to take my chances and drive to my own mechanic. To my surprise when I started my car all power came back on and a message to get my air bag checked. When I arrived at my service station the mechanic put it on diagnostics (free) and couldn't find any error codes so he reset the car computer. Everything was fine until July 12 when the same thing happened again. This time I was driving at night on the highway about 65mph, my wife with me, when we got quite a scare when the car hiccuped. We lost all power again but fortunately our headlights and rear lights stayed on. We drove slowly and arrived safely home. What a scare! our mechanic put it on diagnostics again, found nothing and reset the car computer again. He doesn't know what's causing the problem (probably a computer issue) and told me I should take it to a dealer. Checking similar complaints on the internet this seems to be quite a problem with no fix. We fear for our safety driving the car and going any long distance. Help!

- Narragansett, RI, USA

problem #81

Jun 052012

XC90 6-cyl

  • 109 miles
Driving on street and engine just died, no reason can think of, no engine light or message in text. Happened again 2-3 weeks (yesterday) while slowing down for street accident, lost all power, had to stop car without power steering or brakes, put in park and started again. No problem afterwards and drove home. Took to Volvo dealer today where I regularly go and of course no reason found for two time failure. Luckily not driving on freeway or may have been rear-ended due to engine failure. Quite scared now to drive - when is it gonna happen again? 111,500 miles - has had new transmission 2 years ago and major service several months ago. Service manager has no idea, recommended throttle cleaning for $400+ dollars and not even sure that is close to problem.

- Tarzana, CA, USA

problem #80

Jun 272012

XC90 6-cyl

  • 71,400 miles

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

While driving on a 40mph busy road, my cd player display began to flash, then a few seconds later, my SRS air bag service urgent message came on. Everything continued to flash and then all my instruments (speedometer, rev counter, turn signals) all died. Lucky I was passing my dealer who I just bought the car from and able to turn into it. After braking, I could not accelerate the car and had to let the momentum carry me into to the lot. I have had the car for 5 days now. I noticed on the first day that simple things were not quite right, including my mirror button only working half the time as well as my window control. Also my wipers would turn on randomly. This seems to be a very common problem with this year and model car if you read any Volvo forums. It seems it has happened to enough people that there should be a recall on the electronics of this car. People's safety are great risk with the failure of these said item in the car.

- Ballwin, MO, USA

problem #79

May 132011

XC90 5-cyl

  • 122,500 miles
Driving from phx to tus at 75 mi out of phx at about 2200hrs. The car completely failed for fraction of a second then resumed normal operation until arriving at destination 10 mi. Later. The second time a week later was traveling to phx at 1800 hrs. 70mi out of tus. The car failed like the first time then a few seconds later did it again reached destination about 15mi. Later. When this happens the lights, radio, windows, dash light and gauges all stop working the mess. Comes on ABS, SRS. Its happened 5 or 6 times now with the worst being yesterday 16 June 2012. I got off loop 202 and pulled in a parking lot and shut down the car and then attempted to restart 4 times before it restarted. The A/C, windows, lights, gauges, turn signals all failed. The mess. ABS, SRS, check engine came on. I drove about 5 mi to destination. I'm now scared to drive it if the SRS, ABS warning are on are they working" if in an accident will the passengers and driver be protected "

- Marana, AZ, USA

problem #78

Jun 132012

XC90 6-cyl

  • 142,082 miles
The Volvo xc 90 2004 lost all electrical power. The car continued to drive but, there were no dash lights, turn signals, radio, defroster etc.

- Palmer, AK, USA

problem #77

Jun 022012

XC90 5-cyl

  • 53,000 miles
Drove to the grocery store on Saturday morning, car was fine. When I came out, I couldn't unlock the vehicle with the fob, I had to use the key to open the drivers door. Then I tried to open the locks and was unsuccessful. The car did start, but had no dash info (nothing worked), ac, radio did not work either, front windows only worked, rear did not. I limped home because the car did not have any power. Had it flatbedded to Volvo dealer on Monday, 6/4/12 and they still haven't determined what the problem is. Had this same issue (only worse) in 2008 and they finally replaced (so they said) the computer. At the time of the 2008 incident, the vehicle only had approx. 33K miles. Now in 2012, it has 53K! 20K additional miles and still issue still exists even with replaced computer!

- Saint Petersburg, FL, USA

problem #76

Dec 232011

XC90

  • 68,000 miles
While driving, the electronic panel all shut down and I got msg regarding brake failure and to stop safely. I was on left-most lane of highway and my signals and hazard lights would not turn on!!! even my power window would not work so I couldn't open for me to make hand-signals. Lucky my father-in-law next to me had window open so I told him to make motions to surrounding cars for me to change lanes safely. When I was able to stop, I turned off car, turned on again and got SRS airbag urgent msg on panel. Since car started ok but with msg, I took side streets home but it shut off again 2 times. I did same thing (stop/restarted) and made it home. I had my in-laws with me and my 3 young kids when it first happened on 12/23/11. Because of holidays/vacation and since nearest dealer is 20 miles away (an hour drive with traffic) and service department only open on weekdays, we couldn't take to dealer right away. Since it was an airbag message, my husband not too concerned - he wasn't with me when it first happened so I don't think he realized the gravity. He used it few times and 2 wks later, it happened to him. This time when restarted, there was also check engine msg and noticed difficulty steering. He took to dealer, and both technician and manager could not diagnose problem! they just reset to remove the SRS msg and did a software update. We thought/hoped it was fixed but then yesterday the same thing happened (all shut down)! last night we started checking on-line and found many similar complaints! we are devastated because we love/take care of this car, which we use primarily on weekends and trips. We thought it's safe for our family but now aren't comfortable that taking back to dealer will fix problem. I am very surprised there has been no recall. Something needs to be done because it's only a matter of time before there are fatalities.

- West Covina, CA, USA

problem #75

Sep 012011

XC90

  • 68,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Volvo XC90. The contact stated that the lights on the instrumental panel illuminated, indicating a failure with all components. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for a diagnostic test and the dealer stated that electronic driver information module and the central electronic module failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 68,000 and the current mileage was 75,030.

- Lakewood Ranch , FL, USA

problem #74

Jul 032010

XC90

  • 76,000 miles
While driving at highway speeds (typically on long trips of 4hrs or more) I hear a loud thumping noise that is very unnerving. It feels like the piston has left its bearings and is ramming into the car. This is followed by a sharp jerk then a momentary loss of engine power. At this point the dashboard goes blank, the headlights flicker and the windshield wipers turn on. This turn of events gets so scary that I pull off the road and wait for a few minutes. I am then able to turn the car on and keep driving. But once the issue has occurred it keeps occurring more and more frequently if I keep driving, about every 10 to 15 minutes. However if I let the car rest for a few hours or overnight I am able to drive the car fine. As a trend this problem is worsening. When I first experienced this problem in the summer of 2010 it only occurred once. I was able to resume my long road trip with no other incident. The next time it occurred was on the saw mill river parkway, a winding road from NY city to ct. It occurred at night and was far more scary than before. Again I was able to resume my trip but this time the problem occurred twice before I reached home. The third time it happened was on the last leg of a long road trip from ct to Florida. Same symptoms but with more frequency. On all the occasions I was traveling with my family that included two small kids and on one occasion two elderly people too. Not only has this cost me a lot of money by way of emergency car rentals and overnight stays (on the 3rd failure) but it has also put me and family at risk of serious accidents. I have had my car examined by 3 different Volvo dealerships in 3 different states and none of them could figure out the root cause. I notice that many 2004/2005 Volvo Xc90S have the same problem and am surprised that you have not issued a safety recall.

- Brookfield, CT, USA

problem #73

Dec 012011

XC90

  • 54,000 miles
Radio fails to reliably power up and after occasionally operating, ceases to work after a few minutes. Radio interfaces with rear collision avoidance system, which is now nonoperational.

- Olympia, WA, USA

problem #72

Oct 282010

XC90 5-cyl

  • 135 miles
While driving on the highway at night, all electrical indicators on dashboard including the turn signals stop working then the vehicle started slowing down. After stopping I was unable to open gas tank and tailgate where the battery is located. I took the vehicle to the Volvo dealer and they were unable to duplicate the incident. Now this has happen 7 more times. I am a single parent with minor children in my vehicle. Please assist. Someone inform me the problem might be with the central electrical module. I purchase this vehicle used and it is out of warranty. I have seen lots of complaints about this vehicle why is there not a recall on the central electrical module? please do something before there are fatalities.

- Cape Coral, FL, USA

problem #71

Jul 052011

XC90

  • 110,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Volvo XC90. The contact stated while driving 50 mph the vehicle loses all electrical components. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer and the dealer performed a software upgrade as well as an upgrade to the central electronic module. None of the upgrades remedied the issue with electrical components. The dealer stated that the vehicle may need a new wiring harness installed. The failure mileage was 110,000.

- Manchester, CT, USA

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