1 more question. Regarding the B5 models, are these cars OK with usage where it might sit in a garage for 5 days or so? I don't drive my car everyday sometimes. Are these 48 volt batteries made to be driven/charged everyday? I know cars with regular 12v systems can go weeks, but wondering if you would leave your B5 at the airport for a 10 day trip and expect it to start when you get back.

 

I can’t answer the first question, but we parked my wife’s 2024 XC60B5 for 6 weeks and it started right up when we got back. The small 48 volt icon still showed full when we got home too. Because the 12 volt battery does seem to lose charge fast, I hooked up a battery tender before we left. I have been doing that for years on our other cars.

 

Thanks! What charges the 12 volt? Normally it’s an alternator in a regular ICE, but if the B5 doesn’t have one, is that why the 12 volts die so fast? It is best practice to thing of these as sort of plug in hybrids but to battery tenders vs AC outlets in your opinion?

 

One comment on the GLC is that it was hard for me to find it anywhere with any of the options I wanted (like real leather seats or HUD). I was more than willing to order and wait, but I got a lot of resistance from local dealers when I tried to do so. I think the B5, even without a lot of options, will feel more upscale inside.

The GLC also feels quite a bit smaller to me.

 

Equally priced, the XC60 will feel more luxurious. As for driving experiences, they are both SUVs, so take that for what its worth….. 😂

 

I can’t answer that question. Our 12 volt battery died after an over the air software update. To get the car back to them, I had to charge the car using a 12 volt charger. Volvo had the car for several days and found nothing wrong, so they replaced the 12 volt battery. Been fine since then, and that was about 10 months ago. But, I’ll bet a power inverter charges the 12 volt battery from the 48 volt battery, but it must only do it when the engine is running. There is no way for us to charge that battery if we can’t start the car.

 

Your experience is making me a bit nervous. I could see the 22s have a problem, maybe (first year of B5 tech in U.S.), but if yours is a 2024 B5 and the 12 volt battery is not good, that seems like a fairly big issue. Reading reports of people being stranded or needing jumps for 12 volt batteries.

Sad thing is, the GLC doesn't seem to have rolled out their latest version of the car with Mild Hybrid very well either. Lots of complaints of being stranded, over and over, on those too. All related to Mild Hybrids or associated SW or systems. Thanks for the report on yours!

 

Been owning XC60 B5 for almost close to 3 years now.
Great ride, took it for a cross country with distance 2000km+ over a few days no issues encountered.
Rear seats are comfortable, both my kids and wife mostly fall a sleep during the ride.

the only troublesome part is the AAOS as it's still in mature and under development here and there, thus please expect few issues along the way.

 

run away from a b5. aaos alone is enough to drive you insane. i have over 75k on mine and it easily spends a week a year in the shop for stupid issues.

 

Your B5 XC60 spends that long in the shop? OUCH! Sorry about that.

 

I'm not a fan of MB, but in any case I'd rather buy a GLC than an XC60

 

I change my cars like my underwear. The B5 XC60 is the car I have kept the longest and plan to keep it for few more years. To be honest, the car is a little boring but has the best seats in the industry and I have never had any issues with it. I have Mechanical breakdown insurance through my car insurance company and plan to keep it beyond the warranty time. Mercedes is a great car too but I don't like the seats of the GLC.

 

Thanks. What year is your B5? How many miles? Any issues?

 

Mine is a 23 model with 24k miles on it. No issues whatsoever. Before that I had a 2019 S90 and while I loved that car, it had 2 major issues: 1. The car had a tiny gas tank of 14 gallons and 2. I went through 3 or 4 sets of brakes within 20k miles. All brakes jobs were taken care of under warranty but I was fed up with it and traded in the S90 for the XC60. The XC60 has a 18 gallon tank and thanks to the mild hybrid I have regenerative braking, which completely eliminated the issues with the brakes. I had during my last inspection with 17k miles still 8mm pads left and the rotors looked great.
That is also the reason, why I would never buy a non (mild)Hybrid modern Volvo. The non Hybrids built before 2022 had all the issues with the brakes. So you should be safe with the B5.

 

We have over two years with our B5 XC60. Never had a battery issue. Never used a battery tender, that's ridiculous to think of having to use. Car will sit for a week sometimes if we are road tripping in the XC 70. People like to blow issues out of proportion here in the form. And AAOS is great. Some Sensus owners just want to complain, which is their right. But Sensus is dead going forward and AAOS will only continue to get better.

 

Some Sensus owners just want to complain, which is their right. But Sensus is dead going forward and AAOS will only continue to get better.

When Sensus appeared in 2016, it was an outdated system, lagging behind the competition in everything
Especially since in the first two years, 2017 and 2018, Volvo used bad processors and slow memory

 

Go back to post 9, our 2024 XC60 had its battery replaced because it died after a software update and Volvo told the dealer to replace it. Also, the battery also died on my wife‘s 2023 XC90 Recharge, also right after a OTA software update. It took a ride on a truck back to the dealer where they also said they didn’t know why it died, but it did. So, for me that is two bad batteries out of two on brand new cars. We no longer own the XC90 due to all the issues we had with it, mostly due to the Google system.

 

Bang,
I don't disagree = I agree.
This one does not require you to argue.

 

I looked at a couple 2025 XC60 B5s today. Both had the panoramic sunroof. I paid close attention to the outside seal on the rear fixed portion of glass. Both of them did actually have a seal that had a break in the seal. By that I don't mean the seal was broken, but it appears that the "soft" rubber seal portion doesn't meet the harder plastic glass surround at the back very well. Like the seal is too short? I've seen pictures on here where you could stick your finger tip in the seal. These were NOT like that. You could probably stick the tip of a flathead screwdriver in it, or two credit card edges. Is that how they all come? I only got to see two cars. That "space" was the same in both. No water leaks in the cars and no funny wind noises. Thanks.

 

Yes, that is how they look when new. The gap will grow slightly with time. Spending time covered in a garage will likely slow the shrink rate. I will try and take a pic of ours to show you what it looks like 2+ years later. It's slightly bigger but not enough to give me cause for concern.

 

Thanks! Do we know why they shrink? Drying out from sun and wind maybe? If so, I wonder if silicone spray or some gummi pflege stuff would keep them moist and not shrinkable. Glad to know they all start off with that open section.

 

AAOS is fine. Don't get scared about that. Its not GREAT but neither was SENSUS. Overall, I enjoy and have not found it hard to live with.

I had a B5 XC40 for a week and was not impressed by the drivetrain. It felt buzzy to me and lacked low RPM oof. That's an XC40 though and the engine in the XC60 may or may not be tuned differently.