NHTSA — Electrical System Problems

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
66,095 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.

2010 Volvo XC60 electrical problems

electrical problem

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2010 Volvo XC60 Owner Comments

problem #10

Jan 052022

XC60

  • miles

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

Windshield seal developed leak. Water go into hvac shorting out system. No defrost, sever visibility and safety issue. Have seen numerous other volvo owners with similar windshield gasket seal leaks. Car is useless as visibility issue persists

- Lexington, KY, USA

problem #9

May 082020

XC60 6-cyl

  • 176,133 miles
My customer was headed northbound on hwy 63, had just passed over I-70 when the customer heard a poof and smoke started bellowing from the hood and the tailpipe. They pulled over on the side of the road immediately, but by then smoke was coming out of the vents as well. They got out of the car, and called 911 because of smoke started to thicken. About one minute later, flames started coming out from underneath the right (pass) side of the car and within 25-30 seconds, flames were coming from up under the hood as well. The fire department got there and put out the fire. The vehicle was towed back to the dealership from there. The car was in perfect condition. It passed inspection at the Honda dealership. We don't know what happened or what went wrong. We did some research and there was a recall number 09V477000; fuel system. This recall was supposedly fixed by Volvo. We contacted Volvo and they said that there is nothing that they could do. However, in carfax there is no record of the recall or that the recall was fixed.

- Columbia, MO, USA

problem #8

Jun 252015

XC60 6-cyl

  • miles
During hot weather, the backup camera becomes inoperable and may just show a blue screen with a disconnect symbol, a black screen or flicker visual image. I live in SC and it goes out often. They have a repair part (called an equalizer)available for purchase at customer's expense. It is over $200 to correct a manufacture defect. Volvo should issue recall or reimburse repair expense.

- Longs, SC, USA

problem #7

Jul 162019

XC60

  • 116,000 miles

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

There is a class action lawsuit against Volvo for both these problems and I was affected by both this month. 1. windshield for Volvo XC60 is known for a failure of bonding along the top edge. When I brought it in the service guys were able to just push the windshield upwards and out with their bare hands to show me that there is a huge gap along the top edge. This happened to my car in the past 1 month and ended in a $420 repair that involved popping the whole thing off and resealing it. This is very dangerous because the water drips onto the steering wheel and electronics, which is distracting for the driver, but also obviously a huge threat to the car's electronic system. 2. in the same month, the car just failed completely, flashing all sorts of dashboard lights and demanding to be put into park when it was already in park. It said brakes and SRS airbags were failing. The whole system went black and the fob was stuck in the console. The car had to be towed to the dealership, where they said the culprit was the rdar software, which is connected to the satellite radio. It causes a parasitic draw that keeps searches for a signal even when the car is off. They will charge everyone hundreds to update the software (not included in the free software update Volvo boasts about), and sometimes more to replace the battery, plus labor, or maybe quote thousands to try to disable the satellite radio completely, which is hard or impossible because it's integrated into the rest of the electronics. Luckily mine was parked when this happened, but I don't think this needs explanation for why it's dangerous if the car just randomly drains of battery while you're driving due to a faulty satellite radio system that Volvo + dealerships will do nothing about and charge customers hundreds or thousands even though the problem is very well documented. Disgusting and immoral.

- Teaneck, NJ, USA

problem #6

Aug 162018

XC60

  • miles
Battery drain from satellite in vehicle. Also, when engine is off, the radio comes on unless manually turned off. However, even with everything off, battery still drains. I have been left in now two areas without a running car. I replaced the battery in approximately August, 2016 after having it towed to a Volvo dealer in southern California and also replaced the battery a Volvo repair shop in August, 2018 in southern Oregon. I am worried that with the continuous draining of the battery caused by something entitled rdar that I will lose all power to my vehicle while traveling on the freeway and in areas away from any assistance for repair (I.e., 2 lane roads to the Oregon coast, freeway travel on I-5, etc.). after some research, I find that there is a pending lawsuit for this issue, filed in New Jersey.

- Ashland, OR, USA

problem #5

Jun 122017

XC60

  • 35,000 miles
Cowl train clogged and sunroof drain tubes clogged causing electrical problems. I have to constantly replace the rear brake light bulbs ever few weeks. Water gathered in the front passenger floor as well as the rear passenger floor. Water in side boards as well. The airbag indicator light is on stating urgent service needed. The power button for the sunroof curtain works intermittently. As well as the fan motor runs after turning off the ignition. All signs of an electrical problem caused by the clogged tubes and cowl train. I want to be part of the existing class action suit. No settlement has occurred yet. It was brought up in 2010 and has just been reinstated again. Similar Volvo's with the same year having these same problems and issues. Hope the government investigates this issue. Very concerned that the airbags will deploy or worse yet not work at all. This is definitely a safety issue.

- East Meadow, NY, USA

problem #4

Mar 262017

XC60

  • 69,813 miles

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

Volvo XC60 flooded when parked & pool of water gathered in driver side floor board water damage in electrical has compromised safety system per dealer (air bag warning went off). Dealer indicated airbags may not deploy in event of crash (yikes, NHTSA please can you put to top of priority list tonsee what other Volvo may be affected?) due to computer board damage due to water leak. Dealer indicated windshield needs to be resealed (dealer found windshield leaking& advised when pressed windshield was loose). Sunroof leaking & dealer advised due to drain pipes clog that needs to be cleaned/modified. Had called Volvo car usa (spoke w/ bettty) B4 going to dealer, but was referred to dealer, said ultimate decision was up to midwest manager ("mm"). mm advised our cost was about over $800, & Volvo would pay around $1,000. Mm gave us only 24 hours to accept or reject their offer they called a "goodwill offfer". I called Volvo car usa, left message w/ ann for betty but was advised again ultimate decision up to mm. We countered to be reasonable w/ $300 offer for us to pay which mm flatly rejected. Please see link & specifically see highly concerning comment by the champ dated 1/16/14-volvoforums.com/forum/Volvo-XC60-51/leaking-front-windshield-2010-XC60-67995/. why hasn't a recall happened? dealer told us class action wasn't settled yet...we hope the gov. Will investigate broadly. How many others have/had these issues & more importantly how many lives are at stake due to electrical damage to system(s) involved w/ airbag deployment, etc. How long has big corporation known about issues & what do their internal documents say? the gov. Has authority & should look into it w/ a prompt document request to Volvo w/ a public announcement. Windshield wiper & side mirror broke too.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #3

Nov 292016

XC60

  • 99,000 miles
The contact owns a 2010 Volvo XC60. The contact stated that water entered the vehicle and it stalled multiple times. The dealer inspected the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided no solution. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 99,000.

- Devon, PA, USA

problem #2

May 272016

XC60

  • 87,000 miles
Sunroof drains tubes are too short and attach to a sound trap in the a pillar of vehicle. Sound trap allows the rain water to drain to outside of vehicle. With the design on the short tubes, they often detach from the sound trap causing excessive water to enter the interior of vehicle thereby flooding the floor boards and electrical systems that control the sunroof and airbags. Airbags are then deactivated and require immediate servicing. During heavy rain and parked in lot, 3 inches of water collected at brake pedal area and rain dripping from sunroof control area. Rain water shorted out my sunroof motor rendering it unusable. I was also advised by mechanic while performing an oil change that the airbags are deactivated and vehicle information system displays an urgent SRS code. Mold spores may develop under carpet presenting heath concerns for myself and child. All systems functioned properly prior to water leaking into vehicle. Five months prior Volvo service dept. Recommended a windshield repair due to water entering the vehicle while parked and driving which I consented. After nine days in Volvo shop, I towed my vehicle to a windshield repair facility. New windshield was installed 12/2015 at my cost. Rain water leak appeared again in 5/2016 after multiple day rain. Leaks in exactly same locations. Advised Volvo immediately, however service department unwilling to repair at Volvo expense and denied me future services. Faulty drainage tubes are a documented problem by customers and manager O. E. burke of freedom Volvo Virginia beach, va. He discusses full details in utube video dated 23 Aug, 2013. Freedom Volvo offers a preventive maintenance plan to address the problem. No recall or campaign has addressed this common issue. I'm afraid to drive the vehicle while airbags deactivated, please require Volvo to fit these vehicles with proper tubes

- Aurora, IL, USA

problem #1

Dec 082014

XC60

  • 78,000 miles
The contact owns a 2010 Volvo XC60. While driving approximately 30 mph, the speedometer displayed 80 mph and the shift lever would shift gears from drive into neutral and then into park independently. The contact mentioned that the electrical system was not working properly. The failure recurred several times. The dealer was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 78,000.

- Brandywine, MD, USA

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