2021 Volvo XC40 driver assist problems

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL

Ever since I bought the vehicle new in 2021 I have had perpetual problems with the software and technology. The cruise control system has gone out completely, all electrical fails in the vehicle, apple car play regularly goes out. What is even more of a safety concern is multiple times my car has been automatically braking and suddenly accelerates nearly causing me to rear end the vehicle in front of me. Several times I have been traveling down the road straight ahead with the cruise control system enabled and the vehicle will suddenly automatically turn sharply throwing me towards oncoming traffic or towards the side of the road. Fortunately I have been able to prevent an accident every time because of quick action but this is deeply concerning and an extreme safety concern for me and others on the road.

NHTSA complaint #11698511 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

Ever since I bought the vehicle new in 2021 I have had perpetual problems with the software and technology. The cruise control system has gone out completely, all electrical fails in the vehicle, apple car play regularly goes out. What is even more of a safety concern is multiple times my car has been automatically braking and suddenly accelerates nearly causing me to rear end the vehicle in front of me. Several times I have been traveling down the road straight ahead with the cruise control system enabled and the vehicle will suddenly automatically turn sharply throwing me towards oncoming traffic or towards the side of the road. Fortunately I have been able to prevent an accident every time because of quick action but this is deeply concerning and an extreme safety concern for me and others on the road.

NHTSA complaint #11698511 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST

Ever since I bought the vehicle new in 2021 I have had perpetual problems with the software and technology. The cruise control system has gone out completely, all electrical fails in the vehicle, apple car play regularly goes out. What is even more of a safety concern is multiple times my car has been automatically braking and suddenly accelerates nearly causing me to rear end the vehicle in front of me. Several times I have been traveling down the road straight ahead with the cruise control system enabled and the vehicle will suddenly automatically turn sharply throwing me towards oncoming traffic or towards the side of the road. Fortunately I have been able to prevent an accident every time because of quick action but this is deeply concerning and an extreme safety concern for me and others on the road.

NHTSA complaint #11698511 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING

Back up camera consistently does not turn off. Audio system, including turning signals and reverse alert do not activate. This continues to be a safety risk despite numerous software updates that have allegedly fixed the issues.

NHTSA complaint #11690240 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA

The supposed software fix for the rearview camera not being available did not solve the problem. I’m still getting “Camera is temporarily unavailable.” When shifting into reverse. Vehicle was updated to software version 3.7 and this issue persists.

NHTSA complaint #11685234 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA

The contact owns a 2021 Volvo XC40. The contact stated that while reversing, the back over prevention screen image malfunctioned and started flickering before displaying a blank screen. During the failure, the message "Camera Unavailable" was displayed. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure. The contact was informed that the vehicle was recently repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V282000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 36,000.

NHTSA complaint #11670489 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA

After having the rear camera software update to address the safety recall on 05/28, the “camera unavailable” problem persists. This vehicle has underpowered chipset in the IHU and the entire IHU should be subject to recall.

NHTSA complaint #11663945 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

-The forward automatic braking system/City Safety has misfired multiple times in all weather conditions, on surface streets and on the highway. -This causes automatic braking which could cause an accident. -The car is currently at the dealer for inspection since 10/25/2024. It is now 11/5/2024. -There was a message on the dash saying that the dashboard screen was blocked- this began a few months ago. This issue with the automatic braking began after my last service for an oil change about two months ago.

NHTSA complaint #11623705 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

Rear collision warning system activated without reason. While stopped at a traffic light the RCWS activated and the emergency brake system engaged. This has been reported before to NHTSA. Vehicle was at the dealership for repairs or to identify the issue. Had to have it towed and dragged onto the flat bed tow truck as the cars emergency brake system was engaged and couldn't be disengaged. Received vehicle back and was told to bring it back once it happened again, which it has twice. But this time, emergency brake did not get stuck and have to be towed. It occurs without a vehicle or anything behind the vehicle and the vehicle was not in reverse when the system activated. I have contacted the Volvo consumer affairs to see if they could assist with resolving the issues as the vehicle remains in an unsafe driving state. They explained to me that it was up to the dealership/shop to locate the problem and they couldn't do anything to help. Which the dealership only suggested a replacement of the hydraulic brake system and I was advised that it might not fix the problem. I've since then been instructed to bring the vehicle back again for them to continue their road testing of the vehicle. The first time the vehicle was left for road testing it was only driven under a mile as per the recorded data showed through the Volvo car application with GPS and mileage tracking. This was explained to the service manager who reiterated to the service technician manager to road test the vehicle again. It was only driven approximately 30 miles with no issues identified by the technicians. I am currently waiting to bring the car back to the dealership for further troubleshooting / road tests.

NHTSA complaint #11560494 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING

Rear collision warning system activated without reason. While stopped at a traffic light the RCWS activated and the emergency brake system engaged. This has been reported before to NHTSA. Vehicle was at the dealership for repairs or to identify the issue. Had to have it towed and dragged onto the flat bed tow truck as the cars emergency brake system was engaged and couldn't be disengaged. Received vehicle back and was told to bring it back once it happened again, which it has twice. But this time, emergency brake did not get stuck and have to be towed. It occurs without a vehicle or anything behind the vehicle and the vehicle was not in reverse when the system activated. I have contacted the Volvo consumer affairs to see if they could assist with resolving the issues as the vehicle remains in an unsafe driving state. They explained to me that it was up to the dealership/shop to locate the problem and they couldn't do anything to help. Which the dealership only suggested a replacement of the hydraulic brake system and I was advised that it might not fix the problem. I've since then been instructed to bring the vehicle back again for them to continue their road testing of the vehicle. The first time the vehicle was left for road testing it was only driven under a mile as per the recorded data showed through the Volvo car application with GPS and mileage tracking. This was explained to the service manager who reiterated to the service technician manager to road test the vehicle again. It was only driven approximately 30 miles with no issues identified by the technicians. I am currently waiting to bring the car back to the dealership for further troubleshooting / road tests.

NHTSA complaint #11560494 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL

Had a cracked windshield, Volvo replaced with OEM. Another pin head size rock chip resulted in another cracked windshield. Google search will reveal the Windshield on the XC40 Volvo crack with the lightest contact. The glass has a defect and the crack interferes with driver visibility and driver assist functions

NHTSA complaint #11495845 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

*We're experiencing constant phantom braking (sometimes multiple times within a day) with our vehicle on local roads as well as highways. Usually this occurs when we're approaching a vehicle in a turn lane, slowing down. Our blindspot sideview mirror lights light up when there is nothing present, even when we're in the outside lane against the curb - we have video to document this. The vehicle has also spontaneously turned off and then back on while in drive, in a turn lane. In addition, the dashboard and media center lighting sporadically dims down, making it difficult to see in bright light situations. *Whenever the phantom braking engages, it makes us vulnerable to being rear-ended. We're very lucky that this hasn't happened so far. The phantom side view mirror lights have created some panic situations where we didn't see a vehicle in the lane beside us and started to change lanes but swerved back into the lane we were in due to seeing the lights go on. Not being able to see the dashboard due to dimming of the lighting within poses obvious risks and spontaneous shut-down of the vehicle while in drive in a turn lane also makes us prone to being rear-ended. *The vehicle has been in service at Volvo of Naples, Florida for a combined time of about 30 days. The dealership put on 900+ miles on our car and claimed that they couldn't recreate the phantom braking or lighting situation. *We didn't experience any obvious issues with the car prior to the phantom braking, etc. We found that adaptive cruise control wasn't working but the dealership told us that our car doesn't have adaptive cruise control which seemed odd to us. We were under the impression that all cars at this level had adaptive cruise control. We're not sure whether to take them at their word.

NHTSA complaint #11476749 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION

*We're experiencing constant phantom braking (sometimes multiple times within a day) with our vehicle on local roads as well as highways. Usually this occurs when we're approaching a vehicle in a turn lane, slowing down. Our blindspot sideview mirror lights light up when there is nothing present, even when we're in the outside lane against the curb - we have video to document this. The vehicle has also spontaneously turned off and then back on while in drive, in a turn lane. In addition, the dashboard and media center lighting sporadically dims down, making it difficult to see in bright light situations. *Whenever the phantom braking engages, it makes us vulnerable to being rear-ended. We're very lucky that this hasn't happened so far. The phantom side view mirror lights have created some panic situations where we didn't see a vehicle in the lane beside us and started to change lanes but swerved back into the lane we were in due to seeing the lights go on. Not being able to see the dashboard due to dimming of the lighting within poses obvious risks and spontaneous shut-down of the vehicle while in drive in a turn lane also makes us prone to being rear-ended. *The vehicle has been in service at Volvo of Naples, Florida for a combined time of about 30 days. The dealership put on 900+ miles on our car and claimed that they couldn't recreate the phantom braking or lighting situation. *We didn't experience any obvious issues with the car prior to the phantom braking, etc. We found that adaptive cruise control wasn't working but the dealership told us that our car doesn't have adaptive cruise control which seemed odd to us. We were under the impression that all cars at this level had adaptive cruise control. We're not sure whether to take them at their word.

NHTSA complaint #11476749 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING

*We're experiencing constant phantom braking (sometimes multiple times within a day) with our vehicle on local roads as well as highways. Usually this occurs when we're approaching a vehicle in a turn lane, slowing down. Our blindspot sideview mirror lights light up when there is nothing present, even when we're in the outside lane against the curb - we have video to document this. The vehicle has also spontaneously turned off and then back on while in drive, in a turn lane. In addition, the dashboard and media center lighting sporadically dims down, making it difficult to see in bright light situations. *Whenever the phantom braking engages, it makes us vulnerable to being rear-ended. We're very lucky that this hasn't happened so far. The phantom side view mirror lights have created some panic situations where we didn't see a vehicle in the lane beside us and started to change lanes but swerved back into the lane we were in due to seeing the lights go on. Not being able to see the dashboard due to dimming of the lighting within poses obvious risks and spontaneous shut-down of the vehicle while in drive in a turn lane also makes us prone to being rear-ended. *The vehicle has been in service at Volvo of Naples, Florida for a combined time of about 30 days. The dealership put on 900+ miles on our car and claimed that they couldn't recreate the phantom braking or lighting situation. *We didn't experience any obvious issues with the car prior to the phantom braking, etc. We found that adaptive cruise control wasn't working but the dealership told us that our car doesn't have adaptive cruise control which seemed odd to us. We were under the impression that all cars at this level had adaptive cruise control. We're not sure whether to take them at their word.

NHTSA complaint #11476749 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING

Backup camera fails intermittently at least a dozen times, error message "camera unavailable". Camera icon disappears from dash. Took to dealer. No code, no problem. Backed up and worked, did not understand intermittently?! Asked tech to report to Volvo, got push back. I advised I was reporting as safety failure to SaferCar and they report to Volvo. Suspect was not reported to Volvo. When camera fails other rear safety systems are inoperable.

NHTSA complaint #11475194 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST

The seat belt warning chimes audio alert does not alert when passenger does not wear seatbelt and easy to go unnoticed. (Unlike Toyota or other cars) The lane keep assist when not able to detect the lanes shows little alert in clusters & vibrate steering wheel which is easy to go unnoticed and feel dangerous to trust the system. Even the lane assist does not have audio alerts to inform driver. I feel the Lane Keep, Lane assist & seat belt reminder audio alert is not available or up-to driver’s attention. When compared to friends Toyota Rav4 car even the blind spot lights won’t light by when in buffer lane and cars passing from behind. Other issue I found dangerous is the gear shifter is like a toggle and when in emergency it is hard to switch to reverse as i have to switch double times between Neutral. The Drive mode buttons feels useless as it when pressed, it occupies the whole screen in center and distracts driving. Sometime Apple Carplay does not connect when maps and music are played together.

NHTSA complaint #11438593 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING

The seat belt warning chimes audio alert does not alert when passenger does not wear seatbelt and easy to go unnoticed. (Unlike Toyota or other cars) The lane keep assist when not able to detect the lanes shows little alert in clusters & vibrate steering wheel which is easy to go unnoticed and feel dangerous to trust the system. Even the lane assist does not have audio alerts to inform driver. I feel the Lane Keep, Lane assist & seat belt reminder audio alert is not available or up-to driver’s attention. When compared to friends Toyota Rav4 car even the blind spot lights won’t light by when in buffer lane and cars passing from behind. Other issue I found dangerous is the gear shifter is like a toggle and when in emergency it is hard to switch to reverse as i have to switch double times between Neutral. The Drive mode buttons feels useless as it when pressed, it occupies the whole screen in center and distracts driving. Sometime Apple Carplay does not connect when maps and music are played together.

NHTSA complaint #11438593 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

BACK OVER PREVENTION: AUTOMATIC SYSTEM BRAKING

The contact owns a 2021 Volvo XC40. The contact stated that the vehicle was delivered to his residence by the local dealer. Upon inspection, he became aware that the automatic emergency braking system sensor was not operating as designed while reversing with an object nearby. The local dealer was made aware of the issue however, no assistance was offered. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 7.

NHTSA complaint #11419522 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.