2005 Volvo XC90 lights problems

Filed Mar 5, 2025 · Airbags, Electrical · MO

I was getting off the highway and made a left turn. As I was accelerating the motor gentle cut off.. (You wouldnt even notice if you wasnt driving) Full Traffic was behind me, so luckily I was able to get out of the way and pull to shoulder. It was the day before Christmas and car hasn't ran since. Upon investigation I found the CEM was effected. When the car died I was in left hand lane and I had to make my way to right, the shoulder. Yes the problem was diagnosed by myself. However I did investigation and researched using all data at library. It has not been inspected by anyone else. There where no warning lamps or messages prior to the failure. It happened all of a sudden in the middle of traffic when I was getting off the highway.

Filed Aug 30, 2017 · Electrical, Engine · 178,417 miles · MD

My 2005 xc90 (odometer approx. 178,000 miles) throws check engine, reduced engine performance and engine service required dashboard warnings intermittently, despite the fact that it has a new cem and a second new throttle body in less than two months. It also issues a low beam headlight bulb failure warning, even when the bulb is lit, and the left turn blinker is sticky. Sometimes, the driver's seat and passenger side rear view mirror readjust simultaneously upon opening the driver's side door, with no key in the ignition and no one sitting in the seat. Recently while traveling on an expressway at 65 MPH, the car abruptly lost speed (a terrifying experience) and struggled to accelerate to 40 MPH. A few days later, it lost power in heavy city rush-hour traffic (also terrifying) as a red light turned green. It barely made it to 10 MPH and came close to causing a chain reaction crash with the cars behind it (also terrifying). Luckily I was able to steer into a nearby bank parking lot, turn it off and restart it. It drove normally but the warning lights remained. I have taken the vehicle to the volvo dealership multiple times, citing electrical system woes, which resulted in the two previously mentioned repairs. They identified a wiring short as the cause both times, yet act mystified as to why the problems have persisted despite those repairs. I reported the seat/mirror shifts and the ongoing low beam bulb failures to the service manager, who replied (without examining the car) that the bulb was either burnt out or loose in the socket, and that the seat shifting was simply the way the memory function works. I get the sense that volvo does know what's wrong with this vehicle, and they don't want to tell me. I am extremely disappointed and frustrated with the lack of answers, and am afraid to drive this car.

Filed Feb 6, 2016 · Lights · OK

Front head lamps go out while driving. This happened at night. The next day I drove the car and the lights were on but one is very dim. I have already replaced this light. It is still dim and I got a warning from a police officer on 01/30/16.he stated this is a safety hazard and next time I would get a ticket.

Filed Nov 3, 2015 · Body, Electrical · 162,189 miles · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 volvo xc90. The contact stated that when it rained, water entered the vehicle through the passenger side and onto the dashboard, causing the instrument panel lights to dim. While driving 40 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning and the radio no longer worked. Additionally, the headlights turned on and off. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who was unable to diagnose the failures. The manufacturer was not notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 162,189.

Filed Oct 5, 2015 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 130,000 miles · GA

Aside from normal care, I have only replaced my tires and a gas cap. I started to experience some water seepage onto the driver-side. I covered the vehicle when it rained and figured I would have a look at it when I had time. July 2015, I took my volvo to savannah volvo, fixed my breaks along with other safety fixes, after 14 hrs of having my vehicle and 2800 later, pete stated everything was taken care of and the water seepage was due to the drains being clogged, but, they are all clear now, we did a water test and everything is ok. You will experience some more water seepage but it should dry up in a few days. He also mentioned some other work that needed to be done though not until november, december. I said great and got on my way. Three days later it did rain, confident I did not need to cover my vehicle and was still experiencing water seepage from my visit, I did not think any thing of it. The next day, my control panel started to light up. I called savannah, and he mentioned it must just be because you put a full tank of gas....what??? Ok. As the week went on the control panel continued to light up one by one. The day before going back, my driver side turn signal was on. Hoping I did not have a dead battery the next day, I headed to volvo. After 4 hrs they tell me the roof drains were cloggd and seeped onto the cem, and it is damaged. I said to pete, I thought the drains were clear when I left a week ago??? Yeah, well, we can't create a problem with your drains. Though, after 10 yrs I leave there and 3 days later experience a problem, after you told me my drains were all cleared? Several phone calls to the dealership and volvo headquarters, not one person is taking responsibility for this bad design, which could have caused my transmission to limp and a possible accident! It now sits in my driveway, after spending 2800.00 I will never purchase another volvo!

Filed Apr 12, 2015 · Electrical, Lights · 54,300 miles · CA

After rainfall we began experience power failures in our volvo. No windows were left open and the interior was not exposed to any water. But while driving the dashboard went out the needles for the fuel, miles per hour and everything went out. It came on shortly after then off again this time with the radio and windows could not roll down or up. Once the car was off it came back on only to repeat the same issue the dash and radio come on and off while driving and at one point will shut off everything until the car is turned off again. The headlights will flicker as well from time to time. This is extremely frightening considering I have a toddler and small child and while driving on a highway to have everything shut off was beyond frightening and extremely worrisome. I have been told it has something to do with the cem and I have read many forums with people with the same problem and even a friend whose car did the same thing. I am extremely frustrated that I don't feel safe driving my car and that I have to pay a lot of money for something that does not seem like a normal failure especially since my car does not even have many miles on it. Please investigate and look into this please. Thank you.

Filed Oct 24, 2014 · Acceleration, Electrical · 170,000 miles · VA

While driving vehicle at 55-60 MPH all dashboard lights came on and car lost power. This caused a frightening and extremely dangerous situation. Without headlights or tail lights I could not be seen by other drivers. I tried to cross 2 lanes and get onto the shoulder with no power steering or engine power. While I was very fortunate I was not in or did not cause a serious accident I had an extremely close calls. I changed lanes and almost collided with another vehicle traveling at 55. Once in the lane another driver who was unable to see my vehicle (no lights) came up behind me at a high rate of speed. Only a last minute swerve avoided a rear end collision that no doubt would have caused a terrible accident with very serious if not tragic results. Additionally other drivers had to swerve to avoid the vehicle-causing a very dangerous, chaotic situation. The loss of power and loss of lights came close to causing a major multi-vehicle accident. Many are aware of this problem. Please do not wait until people are killed to reopen the investigation and re-consider a safety recall.

Filed Apr 8, 2014 · Lights · 119,150 miles · WI

We purchased this 2005 volvo xc90 used in october 2011 and since that time have had to replace the headlamp module 3 times. The left headlights would sometimes work and other times not. Each time we took it in for diagnosis, we were told that the headlamp module needed to be replace. This is a $460 part, one that has a long history of failure. My wife is afraid to drive this vehicle at night, for fear that the headlights will go out. I can understand if the module failed once, or maybe even twice, but three times in only 2.5 years and less than 20,000 miles. It appears that this is a recurring problem with other volvo owners as well, yet volvo has not taken steps to remedy the issue. I consider this to be a significant safety issue, one that need to be addressed. I am very disappointed with volvo's lack of action to correct this problem. Checking online, I see that many other volvo xc90 owners have been experiencing the same problem. Any assistance will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Filed Sep 11, 2013 · Lights, Transmission · 146,342 miles · WI

While driving back from work the passenger low beam went out. I bought a new bulb and the light still did not work l then checked. The wiring going into the headlight and there was no power for the low beam how does this happen it was bad enough I had to replace the whole transmission just 3months ago and now this I also read nonlinear they had problems with the trannys.

Filed Apr 29, 2013 · Electrical, Lights · 117,000 miles · AZ

2006 volvo xc90 t6 awd april 21, 2013 approx 8:30 pm driving at approx 8:30 pm, traveling at about 55 miles per hour, remote 2-lane highway (us191, eastern arizona) on twisty mountainous road, switched from high-beam to low-beams to accommodate oncoming vehicle approaching around a bend. A moment or two after switching to low beams, the volvo's headlights lights flickered and went out all-together. Error message reading something to the effect of "low beam bulb failure" appeared on message screen. High-beams didn't appear to be operable either. I activated fog lamps and proceeded cautiously to destination (approx 25 miles away). Approx 15 miles from that point, I was pulled over by dps patrol advising I had no headlights...and that my license plate light was also not operating. The next morning, investigated further, discovered there were no issues with the headlight bulbs (low beam and high beam) or with license plate bulbs specifically (they were not burnt out), nor were there any issues with any blown fuses related to those exterior lights. I did discover that the drl (daytime running lights) were still operating as normal (which utilize the same bulb as the low headlights) confirming that there were no issues with those bulbs. All research since this event is pointing me to conclusion that this monumentally unsafe condition was caused by a bad/faulty cem design by volvo (online research, speaking with volvo mechanics and reviewing similar the federal safety agency complaints). There is no preventative maintenance that I could have done to prevent this from happening. This is not an owner maintenance issue, this is a design or materials issue. Volvo should be required to recall & repair to prevent this safety issue. I request the federal safety agency open (re-open?) investigation into this issue, as this very dangerous safety issue that needs addressing before much worse consequences result.