2018 Volvo S90

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.

Volvo is aware of a major safety issue that has to do with the drain hose of AC. They have issued a recall on models 2016 and 2017 and produced replacement parts.My car was purchased in 2017, but is a 2018. I have had the AC hose leak into my passenger compartment and cause my filter behind my glove box to be soaking wet. This has also damaged my speaker in my passenger door. I have paid over two thousand dollars.Trying to get this a c fixed with no results before finding out about the recalls. I have since found out.This leakage can prevent the passenger airbag from deploying in an accident. I have reached out to volvo directly they are denying any responsibility. I not only can not afford what could end up being over 5,000 dollars if not more to repair the AC the speaker and potentially the airbag as I am disabled. Although volvo is refusing to do the right thing, even though they know this is a problem. I have asked them what changes were made between 2016 to 2018 in the production of my vehicle. They are not responding.

NHTSA ID

11754063

Incident

Jul 1, 2025

ISSUE 1 – VOLVO ON CALL / VCM "SERVICE REQUIRED" MESSAGE: My vehicle has displayed a persistent "Volvo On Call Service Required" error message in the Driver Information Module (DIM) for over one year. This is directly covered by: • Volvo Technical Journal TJ 36916.1.0 (NHTSA ID: MC-10253788), issued April 2024 • Fault code: VCM-U105000 (Vehicle Communication Module) • TSB explicitly covers 2018 S90 vehicles • The TSB states the required software packages are free of charge I contacted Volvo Cars USA at [XXX] , who acknowledged the issue and arranged a complimentary diagnostic and fix with the Manasquan dealer. But, the dealer would not perform the diagnostic at no charge, leaving me unable to confirm the fault code or proceed with the TSB-specified remedy without paying out of pocket. I have had this unresolved warning message for over one year now. The dealer told me that if I did not pay for the repair my car could lose power and stop suddenly. ISSUE 2 – PARK ASSIST SYSTEM FALSE ALERTS: My Park Assist System sensors generate false proximity warnings for objects more than 20 feet away — far beyond the system's normal detection range. Cleaning the sensors did not resolve the issue. This is directly covered by: • Volvo Technical Journal TJ 31558.8.0 (NHTSA ID: 10161789), issued April 2019 • Root cause: Water ingress into park assist sensors and connectors due to a defective splice in the cable harness • Volvo introduced a harness splice correction in production starting June 2018 — meaning vehicles built before that correction may contain the defective harness • TSB covers 2016–2019 Volvo vehicles A malfunctioning park assist system is a direct safety concern — drivers rely on accurate proximity alerts when maneuvering, and persistent false alerts undermine confidence in the system and may cause drivers to disregard genuine warnings. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11735364

Incident

Jul 25, 2025

There is a great deal of vibration at highway speeds. It has been like this since I purchased the car.

NHTSA ID

11717421

Incident

Feb 10, 2026

The AC system releases refrigerant into the cabin due to Volvo improperly engineering the climate control and allowing the evaporator core to freeze and crack. They acknowledge the issue and have released a resister cable to prevent the evaporator core from cracking. I have tested the air in the cabin, and the VOC level is at a dangerous level due to the refrigerant leak. I have the car currently at a dealer, where they have quoted over $3,800 to repair the issue. A quick search shows a large and quickly growing number of people complaining about this. The leaks in some cases are so bad that you can smell the refrigerant when you open the car door, as was the case with ours. This is a huge environmental and health safety issue. I have reached out to Volvo, and they refuse to assist with the repair, despite acknowledging that it is an engineering error. I don't feel safe having my kids be exposed to that level of refrigerant gas, and we don't know what to do with the car.

NHTSA ID

11692511

Incident

Oct 6, 2025

Rear right door lock failed, stuck closed. Extremely unsafe if someone was sitting in the back and unable to leave vehicle. It has been confirmed by others. It has been inspected by an independent mechanic. There has been zero warning lights to indicate the issue

NHTSA ID

11647854

Incident

Mar 9, 2025

At 5pm while driving home, which was 2 hours away, I needed to stop and refuel. At the pump I pushed the fuel door and it would not release to open. After many tries it would not open. I called Volvo On Call and informed them of the problem. The agent relayed that I should go to the back of the car near the fuel door, and with the remote lock and unlock the door which should release the door. It did not work. I tried it again with no success. The agent then informed me that there is no other way to open the door and to go to a Volvo dealership to get repaired. I asked the agent is there a way to open the door from the trunk, for instance like a rope to pull to manually open the door. He said unfortunately no. So, I am no where near a dealership and if I was it would be closed, it is after 5pm on February 17 and its 20 degrees outside and I need fuel to get home. I get in my car and search the internet on a possible way to open the door and I see that this is a big problem with Volvo that has affected many families and individuals that, as I, have been put in a compromised possibly dangerous position. While at the gas station I fortunately saw a tow truck and asked the driver if I could borrow a screw driver to try to pry open the door to which I was successful. A simple pull cord in the trunk, as some vehicles have, would have solved this issue without putting anyone in a precarious situation. I took my car to a mechanic and he replaced the fuel door lock solenoid.

NHTSA ID

11643791

Incident

Feb 17, 2025

The rear door will not open from the inside or the outside. Apparently this is a door lock actuator issue experinced by many volvo owners. It is extremely dangerous not to be able to open a rear door in the case of an accident or other incident where you need to enter or exit the car. Dealer confirms that there is an issue with these. No warning message appears when inoperable.

NHTSA ID

11573556

Incident

Feb 12, 2024

255/35 R20 Bleb in sidewall with air leak through tread adjacent. No unusual trauma to tire.

NHTSA ID

11551417

Incident

Oct 20, 2023

This is a Technical Journal: Text plus 1 .jpg attachment - If remote control key is not detected by the car and shows message in DIM "Car key not found" or if functions such as lock/unlock are not working, please follow advice for detecting key

This is a Technical Journal: Headlamp condensation inside lens - information/leak test. If the result is not ok (air leak), it is ok to replace the headlamp

This is a Technical Journal: Intermittent knocking noise during acceleration. If the sound corresponds to attached sound file, change front drive shafts to the below part numbers.

This is a Technical Journal: Text plus 2 PDFs and 1 .PNG Oil Consumption test. Perform the test. Follow service procedure
 Description and Service sections updated to clarify that vehicle reports are not required.

This is a TJ text only - The purpose of this TJ is to be a master reference list to easily identify any components that are on prior approval. This TJ will be regularily updated as items are added or removed from prior approval.
 Current items under prior approval are listed in the "Service" section

This is a Technical Journal: Text plus 1 jpg and 1 mp4 file -- If there is a strange chafing or creaking noise when turning the steering wheel, follow the advice under Service.