Unsafe and Unpredictable: My Volvo EX90 Experience • Hacker News Board

Re: Unsafe and Unpredictable: My Volvo EX90 Experience

#381

Post by tarsinge » Wed, Jul 23, 2025, 1:51 PM UTC

PaulHoule wrote: post #103

runako wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Toyota, Lexus, Subaru, Honda. Not sure if Hyundai & Kia are quite as reliable, but if not it's on them because they have some of the best warranties in the industry.

For a long time Consumer Reports has ranked cars as Japanese > American >> European, European cars have some luxury cachet but if you want a car that starts when you turn the key look elsewhere. American cars came a long way since the 1970s when they really were trash.

The relative ranking may hold, but the problem nowadays is all cars are unreliable due to software. Sure a car letting you down because the engine is blown up is bad, but a car failing unpredictably in the middle of nowhere due to software issue a pretty serious issue to. I’m not sure Japanese are better on this.

Re: Unsafe and Unpredictable: My Volvo EX90 Experience

#382

Post by sanjayparekh » Wed, Jul 23, 2025, 2:23 PM UTC

Years ago I had bought a Volvo XC90 T5 (gas powered only). It had this stop/start feature when the car was stopped to help improve fuel economy (lots of cars have this now). Except mine wouldn't work. I took it into the dealership and the sales guy was surprised to see me there on my third or so visit. He advised making a stink with Volvo North America and sure enough after a few months and about two years or so after I bought the car they bought it back from me for my full purchase price - no depreciation.

That made me a solid Volvo buyer (I replaced that car with a newer XC90 T8 - a plug-in hybrid that I still have and is a great vehicle). That said, new versions of any product have issues sometimes but the loss of propulsion on the highway is extremely concerning. Hopefully Volvo comes through and irons this all out like they did for me.

Re: Unsafe and Unpredictable: My Volvo EX90 Experience

#383

Post by phil21 » Wed, Jul 23, 2025, 2:31 PM UTC

nicholasbraker wrote: post #328

phil21 wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As far as I know the XC90/EX90 is the only SUV in its class to not have a fatality for anyone inside it at the time of an accident yet. It’s a mass market luxury vehicle and the brand is still considered about the safest you can buy today. It’s certainly not known for quality or reliability though. You buy them if your sole focus is on crash safety it seems.

Off course it's safe, something which doesn't drive with a "Critical System Communication Fault" and unable to enter in the first place due to a "Digital Key Failure" is sure as hell not going to cause a fatality ;-)

There is a difference between crash safety and reliability.

Pretending “unable to drive” is a safety issue is silly. People don’t buy these cars for reliability or quality.

I have zero interest in a Volvo but have a few friends who are Volvo fans. They only really talk about crash survivability and crash test results - any other metric really is irrelevant to them, or at least seen as a trade off worth it to them.

Re: Unsafe and Unpredictable: My Volvo EX90 Experience

#384

Post by cpursley » Wed, Jul 23, 2025, 2:48 PM UTC

butlike wrote: post #179

cpursley wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or just buy a Zeekr (if you want a non-Elon EV) - a much more technically impressive and better looking car than the Volvo or Tesla and it was designed in Europe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvnZ0mTCBng

That touch screen-only with the different modes of activation is my nightmare and literally giving me anxiety watching that showcase if that's to be the future of auto driving.

Yeah, that's my biggest gripe with the Chinese stuff and why I would not buy one yet. Fwiw, they seem to be reintroduction physical controls in some models (so they are learning).

Re: Unsafe and Unpredictable: My Volvo EX90 Experience

#385

Post by gattilorenz » Wed, Jul 23, 2025, 3:33 PM UTC

smetj wrote: post #214

Shameless plug. My experience with emergency lane keeping systems in my car and reporting it to my dealership: https://www.smetj.net/its-for-your-own-safety.html

Which car was it?

Re: Unsafe and Unpredictable: My Volvo EX90 Experience

#386

Post by bityard » Wed, Jul 23, 2025, 3:59 PM UTC

auxym wrote: post #211

bityard wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently got rid of a 2016 Kia Sonata with a severe (and getting worse) oil burning issue. It was well under 100k miles. We really liked the car otherwise overall. Great price, seemed to be made well, easy to work on. The extended warranty on these only applies if you actually blow up engine, which I wasn't willing to do deliberately because I have scruples. (And according to forum threads, at the time this happene…

Do you mean Hyundai Sonata, or another Kia model?

Sorry, I meant Kia Sorento. I guess my brain is already actively trying to forget it.

Re: Unsafe and Unpredictable: My Volvo EX90 Experience

#387

Post by natas » Wed, Jul 23, 2025, 4:05 PM UTC

I canceled my EX90 order after reading your post.

Re: Unsafe and Unpredictable: My Volvo EX90 Experience

#388

Post by bityard » Wed, Jul 23, 2025, 4:05 PM UTC

sidewndr46 wrote: post #371

bityard wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe they are better now, but I had two Mazdas between about 2005 and 2015. They were fine for the most part, but their frames rusted out and had to be scrapped well before the rest of the car was worn out. They're not really suitable for long-term use in the midwestern/northeast US salt belt unless you're a high-roller who only leases cars.

Isn't that basically all cars in the northeast?

Yes, but the Mazdas we had were worse than average. They were made of thinner gauge metal than I've seen on any other car (both frame and body panels) and I they didn't bother to add even a token amount of paint or other rust prevention.

Re: Unsafe and Unpredictable: My Volvo EX90 Experience

#389

Post by cluckindan » Wed, Jul 23, 2025, 4:09 PM UTC

jonplackett wrote: post #163

I’m just happier and happier with my ‘dumb’ car. It has physical buttons for the aircon. No wifi = no speakers listening to me and selling my personal data (yep that’s a thing) I have to press a button on the key fob to open it so it can’t be stolen by relaying the signal. It’s pretty cheap to run because I hardly drive anywhere anyway. But when I do I just buy this stuff called ‘petrol’ that’s all around the place a…

”I have to press a button on the key fob to open it so it can’t be stolen by relaying the signal.”

Having to press a button on the fob for it to transmit a code key via radio does not mean that the key cannot be captured with an SDR by someone close by.

Only a monotonic code as a part of the key can prevent replay attacks, and only proper encryption can hinder the code from being totally cracked.

Re: Unsafe and Unpredictable: My Volvo EX90 Experience

#390

Post by culopatin » Wed, Jul 23, 2025, 4:11 PM UTC

nicholasbraker wrote: post #329

blueflow wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> .... if you want reliable quality. I'm saying this as a German, i strongly reject those accusations. Do not buy from VW group (and not from PSA/Stellantis (Citroen, Fiat, Opel etc brands), either).

I have been driving VW for decades. Never had any issue apart from some Apple CarPlay snags. Drove Golf, Touran and Tuiguan Allspace. Always a pleasure.

The headliner has come undone in every VW ive had and the DSG is great when great, and has… character otherwise. The aftermarket support is awesome and you’ll always find some nerd that knows all the quirks and how to fix them though. I work on my cars and while sometimes the engineering decisions are over complicated and you need all the specialized tools, some are clever and I appreciate them.

Looking at getting a Golf R once our Prius gives me an excuse (just got rear ended and the thing doesn’t even chirp, squeak or complain, so I might be waiting for a while).