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Unsafe and Unpredictable: My Volvo EX90 Experience

myvolvoex90.com

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Re: Unsafe and Unpredictable: My Volvo EX90 Experience

#91

I really want to like volvo, especially their plugin hybrids, but their bad reliability of late is a dealbreaker. No way I'm wasting my life in mechanic hell. I'm patiently looking to upgrade from my great 2018 subaru forester xt touring, but nothing new seems much better.

I was so excited to get my S60 PHEV. Mechanically it is an amazing machine, great handling, great power, I rarely have to put gas in it. BUT. It is a nightmare with the technology. Like most new cars, everything is tied into the center display/computer. It will crash while driving, which will remove all sound from your car, and I don't mean just the radio/spotify/whatever. You can be in mid-turn with your turn signal…

Pure electrics also work when the screen crashes. My Tesla behaves almost exactly as you describe. When the screen crashes / reboots, you loose all displays, all sound, signals, etc. But the car still drives.

Re: Unsafe and Unpredictable: My Volvo EX90 Experience

#92
post #31

I have the exact same experience with an EX30. Their entire line of full EVs is a disaster. I will never buy a Volvo again.

I own an XC40 BEV (now renamed EX40) and it's a much better car. The SPA platform was pretty mature by that point. I sat in an EX90 demonstrator a year ago at the dealer and was told not to touch anything inside the cabin. The car wasn't ready back then and, from reading owners forums now, it's still not fully baked.

The Polestar 2/EX40 probably have the most mature software of that lineup. Not without issues (and certainly underpowered pre-‘24), but relatively stable by comparison.

I don’t understand the logic of having each Polestar model running a unique software stack rather than progressively improving one system across all models - but must be a downstream impact of the fractured Geely badges.

Re: Unsafe and Unpredictable: My Volvo EX90 Experience

#93
post #88

I wouldn’t buy Tesla again but I’ve never experienced software issues in mine. Although some of the menus could be re-arranged for clarity, it’s otherwise clear and responsive. The app is great and the third party apps are even better. I’ve not heard positive things from VW or MG owners in terms of software either. Is there any good alternative to Tesla in this domain?

[flagged]

Re: Unsafe and Unpredictable: My Volvo EX90 Experience

#94

Volvo sadly no longer stands for Swedish quality and safety. What you’re buying is essentially an overpriced Chinese car with Volvo stickers. And I’m saying this as a Swede. Buy German cars, specifically within the Volkswagen auto group (Audi, VW, Skoda etc) if you want reliable quality.

> Volvo sadly no longer stands for Swedish quality and safety.

which Swedish or EU companies do?

not a trick question - I'm genuinely baffled by systematic QA neglect in most EU based companies (which are still better than much US companies) .

Re: Unsafe and Unpredictable: My Volvo EX90 Experience

#95
post #88

I wouldn’t buy Tesla again but I’ve never experienced software issues in mine. Although some of the menus could be re-arranged for clarity, it’s otherwise clear and responsive. The app is great and the third party apps are even better. I’ve not heard positive things from VW or MG owners in terms of software either. Is there any good alternative to Tesla in this domain?

I was recently shopping for a new car and looked at Volvo. We've had a Model Y for a few years now and when the Volvo salesperson proudly showed us how the truck height could be set by holding the button, I asked "is that a global setting or does it remember where it is when you set the height?"

The salesperson looked at me like I was crazy and confirmed it was global (the Y remembers what the proper height is at various locations using the GPS). It's frustrating to me that Teslas have fit and finish issues (though they get better) and there are some parts of it that I think are made cheaply (paint for example), but the software on the Tesla is miles ahead of anything else.

Re: Unsafe and Unpredictable: My Volvo EX90 Experience

#96

The open secret to EV ownership is to lease. This effectively mitigates depreciation and forces a dealership to own any problems (sooner rather than later).

The open secret to EV ownership is to buy after the lease. The depreciation is insane, why pay to rent the car for three years when you can buy it outright after the lease return for a fraction of the cost? EVs with active cooling systems last just about forever but people are still "oh no the battery". (Still driving my 2012 EV - not a typo - and got a can't-miss off-lease CPO deal on a "new" 2022 this year.)

High mileage EV's are really cheap right now. Buyers think they'll have to spend a fortune to replace the battery when in reality those batteries still have lots of miles left in them. People are picking up 150,000 mile model 3's for $10K, and that car could be good for another 150,000 miles.

Re: Unsafe and Unpredictable: My Volvo EX90 Experience

#98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aren’t Japanese cars the gold standard of reliability? Or has something changed?

Was told by a mechanic a few months back that continuously-variable transmissions are standard in gas cars now, but have reliability problems. Old-tech automatics can (could?) still be had from Toyota and Mazda.

Nah only Subaru and nisssan. 10 speed automatics are most common.

Re: Unsafe and Unpredictable: My Volvo EX90 Experience

#99
post #65
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be honest, it has never been about pure brand. Every brand has had clunkers and has had great models. Having said that, Toyota is known for their reliability, and Volvo (+ Polestar) was / are known for their safety. Just to emphasize the point: Nissan is doomed because generally no one wants their cars, but they have perhaps one of the greatest bang-for-buck EVs outside of Chinese brands: the Leaf 2.

I have a 2022 model Leaf, the one with 230 miles range, and it's... boring in a good way. It just works. Zero problems whatsoever and zero noticeable battery degradation after about 27K miles. Only big downside is poor rapid charging, but we use ours as a city car and rarely if ever need it. Put a CCS fast charge port and better battery cooling in this thing and it'd be the perfect boring reliable EV with physical da…

My girlfriend has the same car and I had about the same feeling in it - it's just a cheap Nissan that happens to be electric (and I mean that in a good way). As you said, quite good as a city car, and we even did a short road trip in it, but the lack of chargers for it does produce some range anxiety.

Re: Unsafe and Unpredictable: My Volvo EX90 Experience

#100
post #45

Volvo may not want to replace the car for the guy...but from a marketing standpoint, they truly picked the wrong hill. The site is very nice and pretty thorough. Makes me not want to get this car or any Volvo!

Agree 100% the website is very well layed out. The information is presented in very readable format. After a single scroll I was able to fully understand the issues and conclude that the guy has a valid case. Too bad for Volvo for having a horrible customer support
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