2023 XC90 Recharge Engine problems

SJKMWF · May 6, 2023

My 2023 XC90 Recharge is six months old with 1600 miles on it.
The check engine light (CEL) has come on four times, requiring four trips to the
dealer, once to replace bad spark plugs, and three times to reset the software.

Do these issues tend to settle out , or should I anticipate them continuing
indefinitely?

ricardo-XC90 · May 6, 2023

SJKMWF said:
My 2023 XC90 Recharge is six months old with 1600 miles on it.
The check engine light (CEL) has come on four times, requiring four trips to the
dealer, once to replace bad spark plugs, and three times to reset the software.

Do these issues tend to settle out , or should I anticipate them continuing
indefinitely?

Hi,

I have heard several similar complaints. My experience with the XC 90 is the opposite.
I had 2 XC90s I and the only problem I had was replacement of a gasoline pump on the last one when approaching 10 years of age.
Then I had 2 XC90s II (one D5 and one T8, 2016 and 2019 respectively). Zero mechanical problems.
The T8, which is my daily car, had one or two minor software glitches. Nothing that you wouldn’t find on an Audi, BMW or MB.

I hope yours gets fixed and stable.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

DFrantz · May 6, 2023

Check engine lights rarely have anything to do with the engine. Unfortunately it's a very common software issue. Dealer can clear it, but it may well come back until a software patch comes out. They do settle out.

SJKMWF · May 6, 2023

DFrantz said:
Check engine lights rarely have anything to do with the engine. Unfortunately it's a very common software issue. Dealer can clear it, but it may well come back until a software patch comes out. They do settle out.

There is a rumor that you can clear the check engine light at home by turning the car off, and then restarting using the app on your phone. Is this possible, and is it a good or bad idea if it works?

Old Reliable · May 6, 2023

In all honestly as far as I am concerned a new Volvo is probably the most reliable car you can buy overall. Now this also doesn't excuse them from having problems. I want to make that clear. This is just overall. A lot of times if it is software you are good, but cars that show MANY mechanical problems early on are never a good sign and could be a sign the vehicle will not be reliable in the future. But the spark plugs seem to be a minor annoyance. I wouldn't worry too much. I think you bought a good dependable car. Just see how it goes and if it's a continuous problem let us know what they are. But software I wouldn't worry about too much right now.

capndavey · May 6, 2023

22.5 here, I’ve also been a frequent flier at the dealer. On one hand, my 11 year old Honda literally never has needed anything other than scheduled service. On the other hand, none of the systems that have failed on the Volvo exist on the Honda. It’s impressive how much technology is in the T8 and how well it works all things considered.

DFrantz · May 7, 2023

SJKMWF said:
There is a rumor that you can clear the check engine light at home by turning the car off, and then restarting using the app on your phone. Is this possible, and is it a good or bad idea if it works?

I haven't heard that. Won't hurt anything. Check engine lights are generally just to scare people into fixing things that no one would care about unless they said "check engine". When it's actually bad, it would flash at you and potentially go into the turtle mode.

BenjaminD · May 7, 2023

Your early hiccups will most certainly even out as the car gets 'broken in'. Good luck to you and happy driving!

roberosein · May 9, 2023

With how complicated these cars are nowadays, it has to be accepted as a simple fact of life, that sometimes things will break. For some owners less, for some more, but if you buy a loaded car with all the options, there is so many failure points that to even get it to this level of reliability is mind blowing to me. There are thousands of components that can go bad at any time, and the fact that they dont, or only one of them goes in a long while is simply an amazing feat of engineering.

Having said that, dont be nice to your authorized Volvo repair shop, be firm and demanding, you have paid a premium and repeat visits for the same problem are not an option. They fix it once, test it well and only then report it as solved, dont let them drag you around 3 times with little sorries in-between.

DFrantz · May 9, 2023

roberosein said:
With how complicated these cars are nowadays, it has to be accepted as a simple fact of life, that sometimes things will break. For some owners less, for some more, but if you buy a loaded car with all the options, there is so many failure points that to even get it to this level of reliability is mind blowing to me. There are thousands of components that can go bad at any time, and the fact that they dont, or only one of them goes in a long while is simply an amazing feat of engineering.

Having said that, dont be nice to your authorized Volvo repair shop, be firm and demanding, you have paid a premium and repeat visits for the same problem are not an option. They fix it once, test it well and only then report it as solved, dont let them drag you around 3 times with little sorries in-between.

Anecdotically I can't say I've seen the options being an increased cause of failure. Obviously more vented seats break in cars that have them than in cars that don't, but features and accessories are pretty established and not generally a cause for big concern. It is the telematics and followed by engine management systems that give us the most headaches these days. So I'd say trim and options aren't going to be a big factor.

brandacej · May 14, 2023

SJKMWF said:
There is a rumor that you can clear the check engine light at home by turning the car off, and then restarting using the app on your phone. Is this possible, and is it a good or bad idea if it works?

Has not worked for me. Engine light c 3

Old Reliable · May 15, 2023

DFrantz said:
Anecdotically I can't say I've seen the options being an increased cause of failure. Obviously more vented seats break in cars that have them than in cars that don't, but features and accessories are pretty established and not generally a cause for big concern. It is the telematics and followed by engine management systems that give us the most headaches these days. So I'd say trim and options aren't going to be a big factor.

I don't think it's as big of a deal with Volvo but when you start getting into some other makes and models with CCB options other active suspensions etc. it can greatly increase the cost especially if the person who owns the car doesn't know how to work on it. Volvo seems to keep it more minimalistic in certain ways though. 👍

2023 XC90 Recharge Engine problems

SJKMWF

ricardo-XC90

DFrantz

SJKMWF

Old Reliable

capndavey

DFrantz

BenjaminD

roberosein

DFrantz

brandacej

Old Reliable

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