New class action says Volvo's Google-based infotainment screens freeze and take climate and rearview camera with them

The case is Alopogianis v. Volvo Car USA, LLC, case number 1:26-cv-13953 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. It was filed on October 26, 2026, and assigned to Judge Edward S. Kiel. The court docket shows the summons was served on Volvo on November 5. Volvo has not yet filed a response.

According to the complaint, the infotainment system built on the Android Automotive operating system can lock up, restart on its own or stop responding to touch. Because so many functions run through that screen in these cars, the plaintiffs say a failure can leave the driver without navigation, audio, climate and defrost controls, and in some cases the rearview camera image. The lawsuit alleges Volvo has known about the problem since at least 2021 and that software updates and replacement parts at dealers did not make it go away.

The proposed class covers owners and lessees of several Volvo lines from the 2021 to 2025 model years, including the XC40, C40, XC60, XC90, S60, S90, V60, V90, EX30, EX40 and EX90. The plaintiffs ask for damages, notice to owners and a permanent repair. These are allegations only. No class has been certified, and the court has not found that the vehicles are defective or that Volvo did anything wrong.

The rearview camera part of the story is already on the record with federal safety regulators. In May 2025 Volvo filed recall 25V282000 for 413,151 vehicles from the 2021 to 2025 model years because the camera image may not appear when the car is put in reverse, and the remedy was a software update done by a dealer or over the air. In December 2025 Volvo filed a second recall, 25V908000, for the same condition on the same number of vehicles.

Owner complaints sent to the federal safety agency point the same way. In complaints about the models named in this case, we count 94 reports from 2021 to 2025 model year vehicles that describe the center screen or infotainment display freezing, going black, rebooting or becoming unresponsive, and 46 of them also mention the camera. The XC60 (32 reports), XC90 (24) and XC40 (17) lead the list, and new reports were still arriving in late October and early November 2026.

If you own one of these Volvos, first check that both camera recalls have been completed on your car; a dealer can confirm this from the VIN. If the screen still freezes, write down the date, mileage and what stopped working, keep every repair order, and file a complaint with the federal safety agency so the problem is on record. You do not need to do anything to stay part of a possible class at this stage. If you are shopping for a used Volvo from these years, test the screen, climate controls and camera several times during a long drive, not just in the lot.

Owners of the vehicles involved have filed 268 safety complaints in the electrical category with the federal safety agency.

Court records and sources

• Court docket: Alopogianis v. Volvo Car USA, LLC, 1:26-cv-13953 (D.N.J.)
• Recall 25V282000: rearview camera image may not display
• Recall 25V908000: rearview camera image may not display