80 of the
2,252 complaints filed about the Volvo XC90
are about the body and structure —
4% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2016.
The exterior chrome trim on the door handle has severely delaminated and flaked. The peeling metallic coating has separated from the plastic handle structure, creating a razor-sharp edge. This component is located on a primary vehicle entry point, creating an immediate laceration hazard to anyone attempting to open the door. The flaking metal shards are sharp enough to cut fingers or hands during normal vehicle operation, posing a particular safety risk to children or anyone unfamiliar with the vehicle's defect. This is a known manufacturing material failure affecting 2019 Volvo models.
NHTSA complaint #11757166 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The exterior chrome trim on the door handle has severely delaminated and flaked. The peeling metallic coating has separated from the plastic handle structure, creating a razor-sharp edge. This component is located on a primary vehicle entry point, creating an immediate laceration hazard to anyone attempting to open the door. The flaking metal shards are sharp enough to cut fingers or hands during normal vehicle operation, posing a particular safety risk to children or anyone unfamiliar with the vehicle's defect. This is a known manufacturing material failure affecting 2019 Volvo models.
NHTSA complaint #11757167 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2021 Volvo XC90. The contact stated that while retrieving items from the trunk, the contact became aware that there was water leaking into the cargo area. The contact stated that the holders were full of water. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was determined that the sunroof drain hose needed to be replaced and sealed, and the flooring needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a claim. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.
NHTSA complaint #11724553 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
If a passenger or child in the second row attempts to open a door before/while the doors are unlocked, the interior AND exterior handles no longer function. This can be temporarily fixed by doing a complicated and long random series of enabling/disabling electronic child locks and unlocking and re-locking the doors, but in an emergency situation it would not be possible. Passengers would be trapped in the case of a car fire or submerging event. This needs to be addressed by the manufacturer with a properly engineered lock that does not prevent the door handles from working if the handles are operated while locks are actuated! Here are two threads full of people with this issue: [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11707332 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
If a passenger or child in the second row attempts to open a door before/while the doors are unlocked, the interior AND exterior handles no longer function. This can be temporarily fixed by doing a complicated and long random series of enabling/disabling electronic child locks and unlocking and re-locking the doors, but in an emergency situation it would not be possible. Passengers would be trapped in the case of a car fire or submerging event. This needs to be addressed by the manufacturer with a properly engineered lock that does not prevent the door handles from working if the handles are operated while locks are actuated! Here are two threads full of people with this issue: [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11707332 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The sunroof has leaked pouring water into the car. October 29, 2025 This is the second time this has occurred. First flood was January 3, 2023. Volvo covered the first repair done by a Volvo dealership. The current estimate to repair is $13,000 by the Volvo dealer. They have the car. The electronics have not been checked yet or are part of the estimate. It is unsafe to drive a car if the electronics may fail. I have filed a claim with Volvo and to date (42 days) there is no resolution. I cannot drive a car that fills with water when it rains. My daughter has a severe heart defect and cannot be in a car with mold and mildew.
NHTSA complaint #11704480 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I am filing a safety complaint regarding a failed rear door latch actuator in my 2016 Volvo XC90. This is a known issue among Volvo owners, yet there appears to be no recall or corrective action. The defect causes the door latch actuator to seize, rendering the affected rear door completely inoperable from both the inside and outside. This means passengers seated in the rear are unable to open the door to exit the vehicle. This is an extremely dangerous and potentially life-threatening hazard. In the event of an emergency—such as a fire, collision, or submersion—rear seat passengers would be trapped inside the vehicle with no way to escape. This failure compromises basic vehicle safety standards, as all doors should be fully functional to allow for emergency egress. I strongly urge the NHTSA to investigate this recurring defect in Volvo vehicles and require Volvo to address it promptly before it results in serious injury or death.
NHTSA complaint #11680108 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
STRUCTURE:BODY:HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE:HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS
Hands-free tailgate feature initiated unintended closure and disregarded obstruction, striking my wife's head to the point of pain as she was holding our toddler. Had my wife not resisted the hatch with her head further or was holding our toddler differently, this would have caused severe injury or death.
NHTSA complaint #11677907 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2016 Volvo XC90. The contact stated that water had been leaking into the vehicle on rainy days. The contact stated that the water intrusion was causing several warning lights to illuminate and unknown vehicle safety equipment failures. The contact stated that the front and rear carpets and the spare tire were saturated with water. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was determined that water was leaking into the vehicle, but the dealer was unable to determine the point of intrusion. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 168,000.
NHTSA complaint #11654041 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2017 Volvo XC90. The contact stated that after a rainstorm, there was water leaking from the rearview mirror, which leaked into the vehicle, causing the electrical system to fail. There was an abnormal sound of water swishing around inside the vehicle. The on-call warning and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with a cracked sunroof cassette leak. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case. The failure mileage was approximately 147,000.
NHTSA complaint #11645958 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2016 Volvo XC90. The contact stated that water was entering the vehicle through the sunroof. There was an abnormal odor of mold inside the vehicle. The carpet was not wet. There was an abnormal swishing sound detected inside the vehicle. After it rained, the contact noticed that the passenger side front floorboard had an accumulation of water a quarter inch deep. The contact noticed the water was leaking on the airbag from the exterior A-pillar. The contact moved the headliner, and the rubber boot was intact. The call/SOS warning light was illuminated. The contact called the local dealer, who informed about diagnostic testing and scheduled an appointment. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.
NHTSA complaint #11632722 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My 2018 Volvo XC90 had repeated water leakage from the panoramic sunroof. In most cases, when the vehicle is parked flat or the front is at a slight angle, water leaks in and collects in the cargo area. It collects into a plastic compartment over the battery located on the right side of the cargo area and/or on top of the rear cargo mat. When the vehicle is moving and it is raining, water leaks in from the rearview mirror, making the entire dash, screen, shifter and both driver and passenger wet. The rain also comes in from the rear right side of the second row making the entire seat or any passenger sitting there wet. Volvo is not acknowledging this defect nor are there any solutions in place. This is extremely concerning.
NHTSA complaint #11631071 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Door handle for drivers side door breaks off into hand. Exiting vehicle made extremely complicated: if window is compromised in any way or lock system is compromised in any way, exit of vehicle is impossible.
NHTSA complaint #11622921 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Same issue as complaint #11416043. Leak in sunroof has caused several electrical issues with the car. I had noticed occasional drips from the rear view mirror but had no idea that water was pooling under the spare tire in the trunk where several electrical components are located. When I originally brought it to the dealer (when I noticed the occasional drips) they said I needed to replace a major part of the sunroof which would have cost around $2,000. They did not mention that the water could/would reach the under carriage (not sure if that is the correct term) and could cause major electrical issues. I've since noticed that many others with this vehicle have had issues with the sunroof. I also had multiple times when my battery had to be replaced in the rear of the car when it should have been fine (was relatively new) which looking back could have been a result of the sunroof leak.
NHTSA complaint #11603169 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Rear passenger door won’t open. We had freezing temps in Colorado, when I tried to open the rear door to get my 2 month old out of the car the door would not open. Apparently this is a known problem for this vehicle the rear door motors spontaneously stop working.
NHTSA complaint #11566201 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
In cold weather, doors will not close back once opened. It just bounces back at you. Thought door was closed a few times and it flew open on highway when exiting. My niece was in the back seat. How is this not recalled with multiple complaints on the Volvo forum?
NHTSA complaint #11564989 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The 2017 Volvo xc90 hybrid regularly experiences these two issues when it is below freezing in Montana: 1) doors do not catch in the latch so they do not close and/or will fly open when turning. This occurs every time the temperature is below zero. 2) when below zero temperature occurs,
NHTSA complaint #11523326 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The rear right door cannot be open from inside the car. It opens fine from outside. I am aware there is a child safety lock, but in this case the problem is somewhere else. Regardless of the child safety lock position, the door cannot be open. This is a hazard, because in case oof an accident the passenger will e trapped inside the car.
NHTSA complaint #11522373 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
On April 29th 2023 while washing my Volvo XC90 I opened the trunk to clean out the crevasses around the car. As I continued to wipe down/dry the vehicle I placed my hand at the top of the trunk opening and moved my way downwards to wipe the bumper and side of car. Unfortunately, the handsfree tailgate feature activated and the trunk began to close on my hand. Due to my hand being so close to the the spring and the speed in which the trunk door closed I was unable to move my hand fast enough. My Middle, Index and pinky finger were all crushed inside of the car trunk. No one was able to render aid to me for several minutes. I was able to contort my body enough to push the trunk button and unlock it but the gate itself would not lift. I even in a state of panic tried to kick under the car to initiate the lift, I tried lifting as best I could to get relief off of my hands. Finally about 5 minutes later a passerby came and rendered aid to me and he had to manually lift the trunk up to free my fingers. The experience has been traumatic and I am taking all necessary steps via the Volvo dealership and Volvo to have this matter checked out and resolved. The car has no sensors around the trunk with the exception of something blocking it from closing completely. Also, if you are not carefully and are leaning into the trunk and trip the handsfree tailgate sensor it can close on you if you are leaning into the trunk - this is an issue I saw with my XC60 (2021) that clearly was not resolved. I did go to the ER and wound up with thankfully a bruised hand/tendons but no broken bones but I will need to follow up with a hand surgeon to ensure I do not have tendon/nerve damage.
NHTSA complaint #11519908 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The secondary hood latch release cable is not functioning, preventing the hood from opening. Thousands of owners complaining about that. There is a Volvo Service Bulletin Action but they are pretending to charge for that. Quality bulletin service action: S89651 What can I do?
NHTSA complaint #11514415 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.