Not every recall is especially serious. They can involve issues as simple as a federally-mandated warning light not being the right size, or a rearview camera not functioning properly. Others are genuinely serious and life-threatening if not taken care of, and that’s the case with this Volvo recall. It relates to the brakes on a wide range of electric and plug-in hybrid Volvos, and the danger is that the brakes won’t work properly while driving. Even though the recall went out in June, the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) says that many owners haven’t had the recall addressed, putting the owners in danger. How much danger? Well, take a look at the video below.
In Case It Wasn’t Obvious, This Is A Dangerous Issue
The video shows what appears to be one of the affected XC40, EX40, or C40 models slowly descending a narrow mountain road toward a coastline. At least, that’s how it starts. After rounding a tight hairpin at about the 1:34 mark in the video, it becomes clear that the vehicle has lost its braking ability, as the vehicle suddenly starts gaining speed. The driver keeps it on the road during the straightest section, but upon coming to a sharper right-hand turn with a dip, the vehicle has too much speed and ends up bouncing into the embankment. Fortunately, something happened in which the vehicle regained stopping ability after returning to the pavement. As such, the car didn’t go over the edge of the road, and the driver was presumably unharmed. It’s still a scary reminder of the importance of brakes, and why NHTSA is trying to alert owners again.
The Details On The Volvo Brake Recall
The recall covers just 11,469 vehicles, but the range of models is extensive. Among plug-in hybrids, it covers the 2025 to 2026 EX40, 2023 to 2025 S60, 2025 S90, 2024 to 2025 V60, 2022 to 2026 XC60, and 2020 to 2026 XC90. Included EVs are the 2023 C40, 2025 EC40, and 2023 to 2024 XC40. The exact issue is that if the vehicle has coasted for at least a minute and 30 seconds in either “B” mode in a PHEV, or in “One Pedal Mode” in an EV, the car could lose its regenerative braking, and the brake pedal may not respond.
Volvo does have a solution for the issue, and it’s simply a software update, one that can even be done over-the-air at home. That’s what makes it so shocking that, according to NHTSA, about 1,000 cars still haven’t had the issue addressed. Volvo has even gone to sending text messages to owners to try to get them to update their cars.
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Everything You Wanted To Know About Over-The-Air Updates
Over-the-air is simply the most reasonable, efficient, effective method to administer software updates.
If you happen to be one of those owners, you should go get that fix downloaded right away, or schedule a time to go to your dealer for the fix. It is, of course, free whether you download it yourself or go to the dealer. And if you have to go to the dealer, Volvo says that you should not drive the vehicle in the “B” mode or “One Pedal Mode” until after the update has been installed.
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