2025 Volvo EX90: headlights failing or too dim

Filed Oct 18, 2026 · Electrical · CA

I am reporting repeated total electrical failures in my 2025 Volvo EX90 that create a serious safety concern, particularly regarding access to and escape from the vehicle. The vehicle has repeatedly become completely unresponsive, with the dashboard, headlights and interior lights dead. In the latest incident, this occurred approximately 15 minutes after parking at home. The alarm sounded for around 10 minutes before stopping, but the vehicle remained completely dead. The key fob, key card and Volvo app could not restore access. A roadside technician jump-started the vehicle through its 12V system, and it immediately woke up. The dealership had reportedly tested both 12V batteries and found them healthy. The most alarming issue is that the vehicle can be impossible to open from outside even when the doors are understood to be unlocked. If a child or another occupant were inside during a total electrical failure, someone outside might be unable to gain access to help them. We have young children who regularly travel in this vehicle. My wife’s phone was inside during an incident, and she could not access it. This creates a potentially life-threatening risk if a child is trapped inside during hot weather, a medical emergency, a fire, or another dangerous situation. I am also concerned about whether occupants can reliably exit during a complete power failure and whether an effective mechanical override is available for exterior entry. The vehicle spent approximately one month at the dealership for diagnosis but was returned without a confirmed root cause or lasting repair. The failure recurred on the same day I drove it home. Earlier, the dealership reported a loose ground cable contributing to a general electrical failure and performed software updates. The problem remains unresolved despite repeated contact with Volvo Customer Care (case 07229666). I request that the federal safety agency investigate the recurring electrical failures that have zero mechanical or safe manual override

Filed Aug 4, 2026 · PA

While parked, unoccupied, and locked on a nearly level asphalt residential driveway, the vehicle began moving on its own and traveled approximately 15 feet down the driveway before coming to rest. The movement began several hours after anyone had last operated the vehicle. Conditions were dry at onset with no ice or snow beneath the tires. No driver was present and no input was given. The driveway terminates at a public street. The event was captured in its entirety on a residential exterior security camera. Eleven video files exist and are available for inspection on request. The vehicle itself is also available for inspection. Safety risk: an infant and two dogs are present in the household, and the vehicle traveled toward a public roadway with no occupant able to brake or steer. Had a person or child been in the path, or had the vehicle reached the street, the outcome could have been a serious injury or collision. The failure has not been reproduced or confirmed by any dealer or service center. The event was reported to the manufacturer's customer care in writing in March 2026 and escalated in April 2026. No diagnostic inspection was offered at that time and no response was received for approximately three months. The vehicle was delivered to an authorized dealer in July 2026, and the manufacturer dispatched a field specialist. No root cause has been provided to the owner in writing. Whether the manufacturer identified a cause is UNKNOWN. Prior warning symptoms: beginning within weeks of delivery in December 2025, the vehicle displayed recurring fault messages including headlight fault, system communication fault, emergency call system fault, charging fault, and park assistance fault, on separate and unrelated occasions over several months, documented with date-stamped photographs. Separately, in May 2026 the vehicle suffered a total failure and would not start, with blank displays and non-functioning turn signals, resolved only by a factory reset.

Filed Mar 29, 2026 · Electrical, Lights · GA

On November 28, 2025, my 2025 Volvo EX90 displayed a headlight warning message on the dashboard and the headlights failed to function properly while parked and after starting the engine. The defect temporarily resolved but recurred on December 5, 2025. A headlight defect that is not immediately apparent to the driver poses a serious safety risk before or during nighttime driving. The symptoms are consistent with the federal safety agency Safety Recall No. 25V‑071 (Volvo internal reference R10298), which covers 2025 EX90 vehicles and involves unexpected headlight malfunction. I request that the federal safety agency investigate whether my vehicle's defect is related to Recall No. 25V‑071 and whether the recall remedy has been properly implemented. If unrelated to Recall No. 25V‑071, I request that the federal safety agency investigate this as a separate unreported safety defect. Other 2025 EX90 owners may be experiencing the same issue without reporting it. Volvo has contacted me directly on multiple occasions to schedule a central computer replacement on my vehicle. I understand this replacement is being offered to all 2025 EX90 owners. I request that the federal safety agency investigate whether this widespread hardware replacement is related to the safety defect I experienced and whether it should have been conducted as a formal safety recall. When brought in for repair on December 13, 2025, the service department advised parts were on indefinite backorder with no estimated delivery date. The vehicle remained at the service center for 47 days while Volvo was unable to supply the necessary parts. I request that the federal safety agency evaluate whether this represents an adequate response to a safety-critical defect.

Filed Feb 4, 2026 · Lights · CA

The instrument panel displays symbol for exterior lights malfunction and the vehicle status screen reports “1 serious issue detected – Headlight fault – Book a service”. The high and low beams appear to function normally on both sides of the car. The daytime running lights (white) around the headlight are only illuminated on the drivers side; the passenger side running lights are not working. This issue is intermittent. It first occurred within one day of ownership and has recurred about once per week since then. Service department stated in mid-December that this is a software issue that will be fixed in a future update, but there hasn’t been one and the issue still presents. Car software is currently version 1.4.15, and I believe has been since delivery.

Filed Jan 5, 2025 · Driver assistance · VA

At 164 miles on the odometer, I had the following issues: a. Received a message that the active high beam was not available and that it would be necessary to run the wipers to clean the front camera. I ran the wipers with washer fluid to clear the camera as instructed, but it did not clear the error message during the drive cycle; b. Car has Driver Support System Fault; and c. Car has Lane Keeping Aid Fault later in drive cycle which turned off the lane keeping aid function. Car was taken to dealership on 12/23/2024 and returned to me on 1/2/2025.

Filed Jan 5, 2025 · Driver assistance, Electrical · VA

On Saturday, [XXX], I drove from Woodbridge, VA to Fairfax, VA without any issues or error messages. Car was parked and locked for approximately 2 1/4 hours. When I came back out to the car and opened the door, the display behind the steering wheel stated "System communication fault. Pilot Assist deactivated. Find a place to stop and select P to park. When parked, the system will reset." I followed the directions as specified in my parking spot without any change. I moved the car to another location in the parking lot and repeated the process as directed without any change. I then got out of the car, locked the car, walked away from the car so that I was well out of range of the car, and then came back to the car. Despite these efforts, when I unlocked the car with my Key Tag and got back in, I was not able to get the message to clear. This resulted in the following issues: (a) No speedometer on the display or in the HUD; (b) No green graphic for the turn signals to indicate that they were working; (c) No display of information concerning cruise control, headlight function or windshield wiper settings; (d) Speed limit sign reading in HUD was stuck on 25 mph even though I was driving on roads with higher speed limits (e.g., [XXX] - 45 mph and [XXX] - 55 mph); and (e) Center stack stated "1 serious issue detected - Emergency Call System fault - book a service". The car was driven this way from Fairfax, VA to the Service Department of the Volvo dealership with no change and when I left, the cluster behind the steering wheel and the center stack were still in the same condition. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)