Volvo Car Group Reviews 

I bought a new 2025 Volvo EC40 Black Edition in December 2024. By mid-April it failed (with a baby and dog in the car) showing “Propulsion system requires service urgently” and wouldn’t go into drive. It was Easter weekend, so there was no support, and I had to rent a car to make it to a family event.

Monday, April 21: I called the Ottawa dealership (Volvo at Carling Motors Co. Limited). They told me the next appointment was in two weeks and no loaner was available. After escalating, they arranged a tow and a loaner, and they promised to reimburse my weekend costs. That escalation took six calls and about three hours of my time on day one.

What followed was a month of delays and poor communication. On May 1, I learned the car still hadn’t even been assessed. May 6: still waiting. By May 20, there was still no progress; the vehicle was still waiting to be assessed. I was also still paying to fuel a gas-powered loaner while my electric vehicle was sitting in a parking lot, and I still hadn’t received the reimbursement promised over a month prior. At this point, I wrote to Volvo Canada to explain my situation.

June 2: I took time off work to return the loaner and pick up my EC40. I sat in the vehicle, and the SAME error was lit on the dash. I left and had to return again later that day. They rushed a “software fix” that afternoon, which *appeared* to fix the problem.

June 7: the same error returned again. By then, my new vehicle had spent 43 days at the dealership for the same issue and had been back in my possession for 5 days before failing again. I asked for a concrete plan within two weeks and raised the need to discuss replacement if it was a lemon.

June 19: I was told the “inverter high-voltage axle” was the culprit and it was "fixed" yet again.

June 20: my repaired car was delivered back to me—with a NEW error message showing as it arrived (something about the eCall unit this time). It’s hard to overstate how demoralizing it is to watch a technician drop off your EV while an error is literally on the screen.

Reimbursement from the dealership that they agreed to on April 21 wasn’t sent until July 4 after repeated follow-ups. Separately, Volvo Canada approved compensation on July 22 and told me to expect a J.P. Morgan email within 30 business days to release the funds. Despite multiple follow-ups at the end of August and escalating to senior corporate contacts (including global customer care and Americas leadership), I still received no response.

As of September 9, I’m waiting on yet another service appointment for a grinding vibration coming from the wheel axles, I think. A brand-new EV should not be like this.

Adding insult to injury, at the same time as I have been going through this ordeal with my new EC40, I have been having a legal battle with Volvo’s lease company CDLSI related to my previous vehicle. After I returned my XC60 in condition the representative at the dealership said was fine, CDLSI sent me a letter demanding $1192 for some questionable repairs, including an allegedly missing “tonneau cover” that was never in the vehicle to begin with. CDLSI assured me the charges were in line with the “Guidelines for Excess Wear and Use” per a vehicle return guidebook that I had never seen before, certainly had not agreed to, and which was only sent to me after the fact. Sent *after* the demand letter.

So, a new EC40 that is failing repeatedly, days upon days of wasted time, absurd mistakes, comedically bad communication, reimbursement and compensation promises ignored, and a lease-end dispute totally mishandled.

For a laugh, read the “My Volvo Experience” promise: "Life is precious. So is living. That’s why we created My Volvo Experience to improve your quality of life. It simplifies your day-to-day, helping you save your time and energy for the things that really matter." What a joke.

Volvo was flagged for investing in genocide by a UN report so as a Volvo customer I requested more information. I contacted Volvo twice and on both occasions they refused to reply. This refusal to talk actually spoke volumes because it seems like they are complicit and that's the reason for their silence. What a shame that what I thought was an ethical company turned out to be the opposite. Volvos investment in genocide will definitely not pay and they will be on the losing side. I will definitely be publicising this more and be working on putting them on the bds list as they definitely deserve boycotting

Let Down By Volvo & Bells — Faulty Car, Repeated Complaints Ignored

I bought a brand-new Volvo EX30 Twin in May 2024 through Bells Volvo and Santander finance. From the very start, the car has had repeated faults — including a broken charging flap, defective safety sensors, and software bugs. These were not minor inconveniences — they directly affected charging reliability and safe operation of the vehicle.

Despite multiple visits to the dealer and direct contact with Volvo UK, the problems persist. Eventually, an official ACE inspection confirmed some issues were not repairable — including misting on safety-critical vision sensors.

Volvo and the dealership have closed complaint cases multiple times without actually resolving the problems. I’ve now had to raise complaints with the Motor Ombudsman and Financial Ombudsman Service, and I’m considering legal action to reject the vehicle under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

I’ve spent months chasing answers for a premium electric car I can’t rely on. I would never have expected this level of treatment from Volvo.

On Monday my C40 broke down, recovered to Aberdeen dealer. Told not to expect it to even be looked at 'Anytime Soon' and No Courtesy Car available for a month+ and they refused a Hire car, saying they couldn't offer one as my SARA had been removed from Volvo UK's system, this is a SERVICE tag. Before my warranty ran out at the end of March they got me in for an MOT but no Service, shortly after I got an email offering an extended warranty and service plan which I took up. Now they say because I didn't get it serviced in March the SARA was removed so no Hire car. I am now in day 4 of speaking to customer service who have had 2 supervisors trying to get the Service team to make a decision. The customer team care agree with me that the car is an EV the Service Interval is 2 years or 18K miles so the SARA should be restored. My car was serviced under warranty in March 2025 and mileage is under 18K. Customer Service and the Service Team are now batting it back between one another with no resolution is sight. Now of course I'm stuck, I don't know IF I'll get a hire from Volvo, it is only for 10 days, and I will likely need to Hire a car come what may but I can't at the moment because they haven't made their minds up !

Have owned a Volvo XC40 Recharge since August 2023.

For all bar three months I have been reporting issues, mainly to do with a clunking or popping sound when accelerating or decelerating under 50km/h. Despite them saying they fixed it several months ago it is still there. Have now been told it needs a full Drive Shaft replacement.

As well, have not had reversing warning beeps for 5 months. Despite them saying they had fixed it last week. Now have a warning of an "Exterior Sound System Malfunction - Service Required" - it was serviced "supposedly" two days ago.

When I received the vehicle, I was told I would be contacted by Volvo Australia to arrange a first year health check, and also for a 2 year service. On both occasions I had to chase this up without prompting from Volvo.

You would be better off buying a Geely at 25k than a Volvo at 87k - they are one and the same as the ownership suggests.

@VolvoCarUK My XC90 (only 44,000 miles, full service history) suffered a dangerous ERAD failure—clearly a known design fault. No support, no courtesy car, just a 20% goodwill offer on a £4,000 repair. I’ve been without a car for a month. Why won’t Volvo take responsibility? #VolvoXC90 #ConsumerRights

Volvo Car Nederland verzorgt tegen betaling de digitale faciliteiten van jouw auto zoals de digitale handleiding, het openen en sluiten op afstand en wat vooral van belang is de navigatie met al zijn meldingen, zoals files. De lokale dealer zegt overigens desgevraagd niets met deze activiteiten te maken te hebben. De jaarlijkse facturering verloopt dus daarom landelijk. De filesignalering van de navigatie werkt al zeer geruime tijd niet. Volvo Car Nederland meldt dat echter niet aan de klant en factureert gewoon. Pas als de klant reclameert geeft Volvo Car dat na twee weken wachttijd toe, maar zegt tevens het defect te hebben opgelost. Het programma kan bij de plaatselijke dealer worden ingelezen. Mij helpt dat niet want ik ga daags daarop al met vakantie. Ik vroeg aan Volvo Car Nederland of zij een coulance aanbod wil doen. Maar dat doet Volvo Car Nederland niet, daar moet je voor bij de lokale dealer zijn. Vreemd, want die staat daar toch buiten? Wat ik bedoelde was een gebaar, niet om het geld maar om het gebaar omdat je geruime tijd de betaalde service niet krijgt. Gewoon in gebreke zijn dus, juridisch vertaald. En dan vergoedt je de schade. Heel normaal toch? Ik had het nog kunnen billijken als Volvo Car Nederland haar klanten zou hebben ingelicht over dit euvel, maar dat was blijkbaar niet de moeite waard. Vervolgens schuift zij het toch weer door naar de lokale dealer. Die draait dus blijkbaar op voor de fouten? Triest voor Volvorijders en de lokale dealers en zo onnodig ook. Gedraag je volgende keer transparanter en correcter Volvo Car Nederland.

Volvo Car Netherlands provides the digital facilities for your car for a fee. These include the digital owner's manual, remote locking and unlocking, and, most importantly, the navigation system with all its notifications, such as traffic reports. The local dealer, when asked, says they have nothing to do with these activities. As a result, the annual billing is handled nationally.

The navigation system's traffic reporting has not been working for quite some time. However, Volvo Car Netherlands does not inform its customers about this and simply continues to bill them. Only when a customer complains does Volvo Car admit to the defect after a two-week waiting period, but also claims to have solved it. The program can then be loaded at the local dealer. This doesn't help me, as I'm going on vacation the very next day.

I asked Volvo Car Netherlands if they would offer some form of goodwill compensation, but they said no; I have to go to the local dealer for that. That's strange, since the dealer is supposedly not involved, right? What I meant was a gesture, not for the money, but for the principle of the matter, because I haven't been receiving the paid service for a long time. In legal terms, they were in default of their obligations. And in such a case, you compensate for the damages. That's a normal thing to do, isn't it?

I could have perhaps accepted it if Volvo Car Netherlands had informed its customers about this issue, but apparently, that wasn't worth the effort. Then, they passed the buck back to the local dealer. So, the dealer is apparently the one who has to pay for their mistakes? It's sad for Volvo drivers and the local dealers, and it's so unnecessary. Next time, be more transparent and correct, Volvo Car Netherlands.

I was charged for a full software update and radar/camera calibration at an authorized Volvo dealer in Romania (Primus Auto).
Despite this, the Adaptive Cruise Control still fails daily, creating a serious safety risk for me and other road users.

The so-called ‘final diagnostic report’ was completely blank, with no error codes and no customer signature – misleading and non-transparent.

Even worse, new malfunctions appeared after the update (passenger seat vertical adjustment stopped working).

This is unacceptable from a premium brand dealer. Transparency, real diagnostics, and working safety systems should be guaranteed, not ignored.”*

Bought a xc60 from volvo Shrewsbury, had a few issues,they got fixed,other issues started so i asked for a full refund under consumer rights 2015,was given a buy back scheme, which meant I was £354 out of pocket..they ignored my email asking for the shortfall.

I was having issues with my Volvo and took it to the Volvo center. They told me the NSF spring was broken and that was the only problem. I mentioned several times that my car was becoming wobbly, that there was corrosion on the rims, and I asked if anything else was wrong. They said both the rims and the other parts were fine. They replaced the spring and handed my car back, saying everything was fine. The second I put my key in, a low oil warning appeared on the dash. Over time, the car became more and more wobbly and something was definitely not right at all.

I then took it to an independent garage, where they told me the CV axle was worn out and needed replacement. Volvo does not sell the original parts outside, which was very frustrating, especially since they had not diagnosed the issues properly and now I cannot get the original part. I also believe some rims still have issues and there is a sound coming from the front part as well.

This process has been extremely frustrating and time consuming. I emailed Volvo on 9th August, and now it is the 21st, yet I still have not received any support. In the meantime, I have to drive like this and take my car to other places just to diagnose and fix the problems. They are still investigating whether the car belongs to us while I continue dealing with these issues. Totally a nightmare, I would not recommend at all. I love my Volvo but as my experience the service and customer support have been terrible so far.

I enjoyed 3 years of good motoring in a Volvo XC60. When the lease ended and they came to collect the car, they wanted to charge me over £900 per wheel for damaged rims. The collection agent pointed out thatbother comparable car brands charge a max of £200 per wheel and refurbish the rims. Volvo refused to discuss the issue, closed the official complaint I made without discussing it with me, passed my data without my permission to a third party agency and then offered a feeble £200 in compensation for this data breach which they never paid. They sent a string of harassing emails. In the end we paid because I was undergoing treatment for a serious illness. My advice is never to enter into any agreement with Volvo Finance. The cars might be good (I have owned six over the years) but the Finance Team are terrible, aggressive, inflexible and careless of your data and your loyalty.

My car is part of global recall to replace a battery module in my 2017 Volvo XC60 hybrid. The necessary module is not available. I have bought in the meantime a new Volvo and as long as the repair can’t be done I cannot sell my old car due to safety reasons. In the meantime I pay insurance and other costs for the old car. Volvo is refusing to compensate these costs.

Leather is pulling away from the dash. Called Volvo and explained the issue. From reading other forums, it was said that Volvo admitted to not using enough glue on the dash boards. Spoke with Volvo customer service and they said there is nothing they can do. Do better Volvo.

My brother just sold a 2019 x90 , normal mileage .
Engine needed replacing and transmission just done.
disaster. Not the cars that they used to be, stay away.

It’s has been the worst car buying experience I have ever had. When ordering the xc90 in the showroom the order got stuck in the system so had to go home not knowing if I had ordered a car or not. 5 hours later had to finish the order at home.Then a week later got a date to pick the car up. So off we went on the day to pick the car up. Only to get a call when were 10 minutes from the dealer to say the car wasn’t ready and it would be another 2 days.Then the service book said the needs servicing in 12 months time but the car says 8 months time.so got in touch with customer service to find out why. Said they would get back to me in 48 hours that was a week ago. The car is ok but customer support is shocking so this will be my first and last Volvo and will be going back to BMW as soon as possible.

We had a fault with our Volvo V60. It took 7 days for our usual dealer Bells of Northampton to ring us back and in the meantime we had to take the car elsewhere. Then it turns out that Volvo are completely out of stock of shock absorbers and we have to order them from Europe.

Volvo Tauranga New Zealand are absolutely hopeless.
The sales team might be good however the the maintenance workshop is an absolute joke and I am very disappointed in the workshop manager as well they should close down the service department and only sell cars.
My xc60 2013 was for 6 months in the garage collecting dust previous to that they told me with the standard line we have tried to replicate the issue you experienced but couldn't faulty the car a statement from the front desk lady who did the test driving! Seriously !
Close down the service department from Volvo in Tauranga.
Due to this I purchased now I a Mercedes and will replace my other Volvos too.
I am absolutely guttered that I can't drive Volvo in Tauranga New Zeeland any more due to there level of incompetence.

My Volvo C40 broke down, and I have an appointment in the service in 4 months!
I booked an appointment in two weeks (on 9th July) via their website for a service in London. They emailed me saying the website was showing incorrect dates due to a technical issue, so they had an appointment in August. I booked an appointment in August via their app. A few days later, they called and said they were fully booked until mid-October. What? You buy an expensive car and they’re making you wait 4 months for an appointment in the service! It’s a shame for the brand, considering themselves premium.

Be warned: the MK2 Volvo V60 has a known issue with its tailgate struts. On early models, Volvo acknowledged the fault and issued a recall to replace defective components under warranty. However, for later models, they did nothing — despite the same issue clearly persisting.

I own a 5-year-old V60, bought new and with just 61,000 miles. The tailgate struts have now completely failed. The tailgate no longer stays open and drops suddenly — a serious safety hazard. I have to stand back to avoid being hit.

Volvo's response? A repair cost of over £1,200 — and they expect me to pay half. Completely unacceptable for a safety-critical fault that is clearly a manufacturing issue.

Trying to escalate this within Volvo leads nowhere. Any complaint is pushed straight back to the ineffective Customer Relations team. No one takes ownership or accountability. Their final word? "If you don’t agree, take it to the Motoring Ombudsman."

For a brand built on promises of Safety, Quality, and Reliability, this experience has been deeply disappointing. Those values, it seems, have been quietly abandoned.

Probably the worst service you can expect from Volvo Head Office. Paint work is coming off the front bumper on a 15 month old car. Unfortunately Volvo have classed this us wear and tear and stone chip. Two independent body work garages have confirmed it’s not wear and tear but faulty paint work. As for warranty, once again it only covers 1st owner. Paid over £35,000 for a car and it’s poor showing by Volvo.