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Unsafe and Unpredictable: My Volvo EX90 Experience
- owenthejumper 1y agoI mean, the issues with this car are pretty well documented, so it feels like this person is really using the website (and the HN exposure, successfully), to extract the refund from Volvo that they need want. Likely rightfully so, since the ex90 subreddit is full of people invoking lemon law successfully.
- stblack 1y agoHere's the url for that subreddit: https://old.reddit.com/r/VolvoEX90/ https://old.reddit.com/r/VolvoEX90/ Edit: OMG!
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- owenthejumper 1y agoIt feels like Volvo is stuck in a sort of a cargo cult like situation. Modern car has to be software defined, so let's define the car by software. Except one of the reddit posts claims Volvo outsourced the development to Infosys. With predictable results...
- mizzao 1y agoHardware companies outsourcing software development to dev shops is almost always an avoidable disaster, unfortunately.
- bestouff 1y agoI don't know. Apparently he's using a law firm to receive its refund. The HN exposure seems to be there just to ... expose the facts to the public. Looks more like a sort of revenge/public safety announcement to me (saying "don't buy Volvo").
- wmeredith 1y agoYikes. Hitting them where it hurts. Safe and predictable is Volvo's brand.
- moneycantbuy 1y agoI really want to like volvo, especially their plugin hybrids, but their bad reliability of late is a dealbreaker. No way I'm wasting my life in mechanic hell. I'm patiently looking to upgrade from my great 2018 subaru forester xt touring, but nothing new seems much better.
- 650REDHAIR 1y agoVolvo hasn’t been a reliable brand since ~2000 when it was sold to Ford. Even less reliable when it was sold to Geely. They’ve essentially skated by on brand recognition earned decades ago.
- ssalka 1y agoFWIW I've had a 2006 S40 for the past 10 years and found it very reliable. But can't speak for their models since then
- muro 1y agoHad a 2006 or so XC90, everything was great. Now driving a 2016 XC90, had one issue with the engine cooling, was repaired in a day, 0 issues otherwise.
- cpursley 1y agoEngine cooling issue is a major flaw. Sold my Toyota with 300k miles on it - never a single mechanical issue other than regular wear and tear.
- Marsymars 1y agoHow do you distinguish what’s “regular wear and tear”? Genuinely curious, I recently sold my 14 year-old Ford Fiesta, and could arguably say the same thing, but I could imagine some people disagreeing.
- deleted 1y ago
- jjkmk 1y agoSorry you have to deal with this, what a nightmare, hopefully you're able to get your money back.
- annoyingnoob 1y agoGeely has been terrible for Volvo. Geely took a quality brand and removed the quality.
- brookst 1y agoFord did most of the heavy lifting, but Geely finished the job.
- pinoy420 1y ago[flagged]
- qualeed 1y ago>It has a technical failure. It had many failures. >They (rightly) won’t give it to you How did you determine "rightly"? Do you have additional information that wasn't disclosed in the post?
- mr90210 1y agoDid you know that cars are meant to last far more than 1200km? (I am just matching your stance)
- peterpost2 1y agoHow does Volvo's boot taste?
- efitz 1y agoDoesn’t Canada have a lemon law? Most US states have a law that says if you have to bring a new car in 3 times for the same issue in the first X months of ownership, that they have to accept a return and refund you, or give you a new one.
- qualeed 1y agoNo, Quebec does but other provinces just rely on standard consumer protection laws. At least the last time I looked into it. I think some provinces have some additional vehicle-specific laws, but no comprehensive "lemon law" as such.
- loloquwowndueo 1y agoThis person is in Quebec (or seems to be - highway 13 is in Montreal and the car was bought in the city of Mount Royal which is a suburb of Montreal (city status nitpicks notwithstanding, it’s unequivocally in Quebec). )
- qualeed 1y agoGood catch, I didn't put 2 and 2 together. I'm not positive what the eligibility requirements are to invoke it. Perhaps that's what they retained the lawyer for.
- ethan_smith 1y agoCanada doesn't have specific "lemon laws" like the US - instead, consumers must rely on provincial consumer protection acts, manufacturer warranties, or the Canadian Motor Vehicle Arbitration Plan (CAMVAP) for resolving persistent vehicle defects.
- eckelhesten 1y agoVolvo sadly no longer stands for Swedish quality and safety. What you’re buying is essentially an overpriced Chinese car with Volvo stickers. And I’m saying this as a Swede. Buy German cars, specifically within the Volkswagen auto group (Audi, VW, Skoda etc) if you want reliable quality.
- bestouff 1y agoI want to buy European but Bosh is so disappointing. They lock everything so you can't change anything on your EV by yourself. I hate that.
- fuzzy2 1y agoReliable (consistent) quality, yes. Quality? Debatable. But it definitely keeps driving, no dangerous situations so far.
- Xenoamorphous 1y agoAren’t Japanese cars the gold standard of reliability? Or has something changed?
- AlexandrB 1y agoI don't know about the others, but Toyota has had some issues recently: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klyb2VrACZc&t=47s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klyb2VrACZc&t=47s
- quink 1y agoNew cars... but a 22 year old used Toyota, like mine, seems perfectly fine. Sure, it'll kill me because of the comparative lack of safety, but that seems like a minor sacrifice in the face of needing to deal with a new car. It also doesn't have pillars the thickness of an elephant's legs, like all new cars, significantly less compromising to visibility all around. It also lacks the now ubiquitous square and raised bonnet.
- 1y ago
- calvinmorrison 1y agoI hope this site outlasts Volvo, and that this sign outlasts BoA https://i.imgur.com/sxPpQIV_d.webp?maxwidth=760&fidelity=grand https://i.imgur.com/sxPpQIV_d.webp?maxwidth=760&fidelity=gra...
- amoorthy 1y agoInsane that Volvo doesn't just replace the car. The cost is trivial compared to the brand damage here. The complaint is so well documented and the customer is not being a jerk at all; not sure what Volvo's logic is.
- nicce 1y agoThey would need to replace all faulty cars after that. They want to avoid that.
- thefourthchime 1y agoI'm guessing that's every car.
- nicce 1y agoExactly…
- etskinner 1y agoThey'll probably agree on a settlement where they don't admit any wrongdoing and give him a decent payout, but require him to take down the site and sign an NDA or something. So they don't necessarily need to replace all of them after that If all he wants is a refund, that should do it. But if he's more interested in warning the world, hopefully he sticks to his guns and makes them give a straight up refund
- amoorthy 1y agoAh you might be right. But: 1. If they really have so many faulty cars on the road that's a serious hazard and any accidents where people die may end up destroying Volvo entirely because of negligence. 2. An economically reasonable answer might be refund the guy making the complaint and ofter all other owners $10k credit towards your next Volvo purchase or free 3 years of maintenance and service. Something like this might be enough to stem the bleeding while protecting the brand.
- ethagnawl 1y ago
- calvinmorrison 1y agonever buy a first or second year car, simple as, especially not a 'luxury' cutting edge brand.
- bobmcnamara 1y ago$150kCAD for a discount Chinese car?
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- rwmj 1y agoBut with an old, formerly quality badge attached!
- tnolet 1y agoThis is painful. Anecdotal point: I have an 2024 EX40 and it’s been perfect.
- internet2000 1y agoFor now.
- Guillaume86 1y agoSame experience here with a 2024 EX40, happy I did some research before buying (EX30 was looking nice at first). The EX40 is just another iteration of a mature platform, while the EX30/90 are new and still full of bugs apparently... It shows in the central console that looks dated but at least it works and I still have buttons for basic functionnality.
- mfkp 1y ago2023 C40 (same platform) here, similar experience. I'm happy with my purchase.
- 1970-01-01 1y agoThis is the most beautiful complaint I've ever seen!
- IshKebab 1y agoI wish he knew how quotation worked though... that was confusing to read.
- neogodless 1y agoAs a Polestar 2 (closely related to Volvo; they share a lot of components and infotainment software... bugs) owner, none of this surprises me. I've had the "Complete Center Screen Malfunction" issue on my Polestar 2 (though an infotainment reboot "fixed" it. But climate controls disappearing and climate shutting off during infotainment reboots is already pretty atrocious. I have the "backup camera unavailable" issue, and despite multiple recalls and attempts to fix in software... the issue persists. There are other issues, but none as bad as he's seen with his EX90!
- nicce 1y ago> climate shutting off In general, climate shutting off is safety issue too. In -40C it is not many minutes until you can’t see through windows.
- vultour 1y agoThese problems plague so many new cars it's incredible. I know people who don't want to buy a new Mercedes S-class, but are instead looking for low-mileage units of the previous generation because it has the same issues. I don't know what the fuck is going on with cars these last few years but the manufacturers need to wake up.
- eeks 1y agoI have the exact same experience with an EX30. Their entire line of full EVs is a disaster. I will never buy a Volvo again.
- joezydeco 1y agoI own an XC40 BEV (now renamed EX40) and it's a much better car. The SPA platform was pretty mature by that point. I sat in an EX90 demonstrator a year ago at the dealer and was told not to touch anything inside the cabin. The car wasn't ready back then and, from reading owners forums now, it's still not fully baked.
- germinalphrase 1y agoThe Polestar 2/EX40 probably have the most mature software of that lineup. Not without issues (and certainly underpowered pre-‘24), but relatively stable by comparison. I don’t understand the logic of having each Polestar model running a unique software stack rather than progressively improving one system across all models - but must be a downstream impact of the fractured Geely badges.
- mfkp 1y agoAlso the Volvo C40 (same platform). I've been driving it since January and other than the software being slow to start up when it goes into sleep mode, it's been stable. They did recently issue a software recall for the backup camera, so now when the backup camera crashes it goes into 360 camera mode instead of just a black screen. Overall I'm happy with this car though and would recommend it.
- germinalphrase 1y agoI’ve been eyeing the CPO P2s. Sub-30k is tempting depending on the year.
- mfkp 1y ago
- blindriver 1y agoDoes Canada not have Lemon laws that force the company to take back the car after a certain number of defects?
- qualeed 1y agoOnly Quebec has a specific "lemon law". Which this person appears to be in Quebec, so it may be applicable -- I'm not positive about the eligibility requirements to invoke it.
- asciii 1y agoVolvo may not want to replace the car for the guy...but from a marketing standpoint, they truly picked the wrong hill. The site is very nice and pretty thorough. Makes me not want to get this car or any Volvo!
- dexzod 1y agoAgree 100% the website is very well layed out. The information is presented in very readable format. After a single scroll I was able to fully understand the issues and conclude that the guy has a valid case. Too bad for Volvo for having a horrible customer support
- ls-a 1y agoI was thinking about the site too. It looked like a perfect example for AI, then I found the lovable badge.
- chaosprint 1y agoLovable is really good at this kind of use case and experience. Ironically it's also Swedish philosophy based, no much hardcore tech(the heavy lifting is claude ) but focus on the experience. Similar to Volvo not promoting speed and handling but emphasize safety. But we know now that speed and handling in many ways show the tech of that vehicle and it reflects on safety to a large scale Imho
- cosmicgadget 1y agoNot a huge fan of the fact that everything looks like a popup or LinkedIn widget.
- mark_mart 1y agoI was genuinely thinking about buying a Volvo car today. This blog changed my mind now. It seem they are the exact opposite of what I thought.
- 1y ago
- throw7 1y agoI'm sorry, but if a car I ordered took over a year to be delivered and they couldn't even get the configuration correct I'd just say no.
- loloquwowndueo 1y agoNice AI-generated site.
- speed_spread 1y agoStill better than moron-generated car firmware.
- loloquwowndueo 1y agoDefinitely :) one thing does not preclude the other.
- mrcwinn 1y agoSimilar experience with Polestar 3. Really great sales and client advisors, but truly an awful experience with the car. I demanded an early lease return and they accepted.
- afloatboat 1y agoSad to hear that about the PS3, seeing how long it took them to go to market. Been driving a Polestar 2 for nearly 4 years now and while it’s not a disastrous experience it could be a lot better. Things have improved over the years, but still pretty disappointed. The infotainment system runs on a very outdated atom chip that’s too slow for Android Automotive. Constant frame drops, crashes or stuff just generally not working. In a recent software update they disabled the cockpit view if you put it in reverse, just to save on resources. The whole Android Automotive thing is worthless. There are barely any apps and when they finally released YouTube after 2 years it was just a buggy wrapper around the mobile web view. Most videos will just display a green screen due to lack of codec support, so I just pull out my phone now when I’m charging. But even the radio or Spotify fail to play half of the time. The 360 degree camera sometimes will just not work. I still have a tiny back window, unlike the Polestar 4, but the reverse lights are so tiny and dim that it’s impossible to see anything when reversing at night. Digital Key works, but also have to regularly pull out my phone to trigger it or manually press the button in the app. If you’re in a parking garage without internet you’re simply not getting into the car. And that’s without the random logouts. Lane assist works relatively well, if it weren’t for the constant nagging to put your hands on the wheel even if you’re lightly tugging it. I need to really jerk it a bit before it stops beeping at me, making it completely useless. Maintenance happens at the Volvo dealership where they made sure to make me feel like a second class citizen for not leasing a Volvo. They didn’t read my reservation mentioning the broken rain sensor, ensuring I had to return a week later for them to replace it because they didn’t have the part in stock. I was between a model 3 and this car initially. Mainly because of the software, and for that reason I still regret not going for the M3, but given the current situation I’m happier driving the PS2. Nearly 4 years in the chipset is still the same for the newer model.
- theyinwhy 1y ago
- 1970-01-01 1y agoThe open secret to EV ownership is to lease. This effectively mitigates depreciation and forces a dealership to own any problems (sooner rather than later).
- iwanttocomment 1y agoThe open secret to EV ownership is to buy after the lease. The depreciation is insane, why pay to rent the car for three years when you can buy it outright after the lease return for a fraction of the cost? EVs with active cooling systems last just about forever but people are still "oh no the battery". (Still driving my 2012 EV - not a typo - and got a can't-miss off-lease CPO deal on a "new" 2022 this year.)
- bryanlarsen 1y agoHigh mileage EV's are really cheap right now. Buyers think they'll have to spend a fortune to replace the battery when in reality those batteries still have lots of miles left in them. People are picking up 150,000 mile model 3's for $10K, and that car could be good for another 150,000 miles.
- cogman10 1y agoOther than some squeaks and creeks, my 2018 model 3 is working fine with 160,000. I don't plan on replacing it anytime soon. Battery has lost ~10% max capacity over the years.
- bsder 1y ago> The open secret to EV ownership is to buy after the lease. How do you dig into this responsibly? I really don't want to be buying a new car right now as the ICE ones all seem to be expensive trash but the EVs are changing so quickly that it isn't worth it. My Chevy Volt is beginning to show its age, but you will pry it from my cold, dead hands at this point.
- iwanttocomment 1y ago
- exiguus 1y agoElon, is this you? Serious, is there evidence that this is happening an all EX90 models? And what does a lawyer say in such cases? Normally, $90,000 cars are leased. When does the special termination apply?
- hurrrr 1y agoThe best cars were built between 2000 and 2010. Pretty much the pinnacle of the internal combustion engine without all the millions of lines of buggy code that apparently no longer allow you to open your car freely.
- mandevil 1y agoIn ~2005 I worked with a world-renowned expert on industrial automation and computer control of machines. He drove a 1989 Mercedes 300 sedan with a manual transmission, which he claimed was the last car made with no software in it at all. These two facts are not un-related.
- calvinmorrison 1y agoBy the 80s electronics were common with fuel injection, but I consider them more like factory controllers than what we call a computer. They're little 8080 variants running closed loops and activating or deactivating output pins
- seany 1y agopre 1997/8 Dodge 2500/3500 diesel trucks have mechanical engines in them. Other than the starter you really only need one other wire... goes to the shut off solenoid.
- MontgomeryPy 1y agoYes (and tip of the hat to my fellow 00s Saab owners!)
- fnord77 1y agomeh, not for all brands. current BMWs are light years more reliable than 2000-2010 models
- ethagnawl 1y agoOne of my cars is a 2011 Volvo XC90 with ~250K miles on it and I plan to drive into the ground. It's definitely the tail end of that sweet spot and it's quite surprising that it's (technologically) as simple as it is. It has a basic AWD system and only a simple cruise control system but it's the perfect feature set and I use it 80% of the time I'm driving. (I've driven late model rentals which have "smart cruise control" systems and find their "corrections" very unnerving.) For A/V, it doesn't have a backup camera (admittedly kind of a bummer), any LCD screens or touch screens and it doesn't even have Bluetooth for auxiliary audio input. The keys and fobs are about the only aspect of it that I'd say are over-complicated, as it's never had a working fob since I've owned it and getting one is prohibitively expensive ($500+). That all being said, it's (probably?) not spying on me and isn't likely to do anything unexpected and weird on the highway like the post mentions. I can also totally work on it myself or get my local mechanic to. Although, unsurprisingly, parts are hard to find and more expensive than they are for my Honda. I've taken it into the Volvo dealership for service on a few occasions and they legitimately laugh at me. ("How many miles are you looking to put on this thing?") I trust their technicians and am willing to pay for certain jobs and diagnoses (probably their most valuable offering) but their service and salespeople look down their noses at me and it's unpleasant. As others have said, Volvo was absolutely a great car company in the past but it doesn't seem to one anymore. Despite how much I like my car, I can't imagine buying one of their modern, tech-centric models -- in part because of posts like this one.
- yrcyrc 1y agoHad a new Kia for the past five years and there were no issues apart from a speaker replaced under warranty. I cannot trust PSA, Renault, Stellantis or any other brands anymore. (Takata airbags) As for those flagships from renowned brands, it feels like a trend. I ‘did’ trust Volvo but won’t anymore. The way it was handled is particularly poor.
- xenadu02 1y agoOur leased 2024 Kia EV9 has similar terrible software problems. Anyone who thinks Tesla's Autopilot/FSD (or any aspect of their software) is bad... much of the competition is far worse. A few issues: * Lane keeping gets dangerously close to other cars in turns for no apparent reason * Lane keeping will randomly decide to follow non-existent lanes * You can't turn off lane assist (the baby version of lane keeping) and it tries to override you, leading to jerking of the steering wheel at high speed (eg to avoid an obstacle in the road). * When switching from R to D it wants you to press the brake. But if you are still moving a tiny bit or you don't press the brake hard enough it just shifts you into N instead (!!). I live on a hill and this is only detected when I press the accelerator pedal and nothing happens. But you have to come to a full stop to shift into D (Why???). * Some settings refuse to save to driver profile; to get single pedal driving you must use the paddle shifters each driving session to go from iDrive 3 to Max. But if you are moving too fast it refuses to change the mode. If you set the mode in R it resets when you move to D. * Despite being an EV with key/digital key detection you must manually press the ON button and manually press the Off button. Otherwise when you get out of the car it just sits there ready to be driven away by a thief. * No auto-lock when walking away. * Remember the pedal thing from shifting? Same with pressing ON button. If you don't press the brake pedal down hard enough or give it 1-2 seconds before pressing ON it just turns on accessory mode. * No geofencing so no ability to configure anything to behave differently at home. * Want to control the charge plug locking behavior? Don't bother going to Settings. You won't find it. You must go to the home page, then press the EV Leaf box. Then go to EV Settings from here. There you will find a new settings menu that has the same ones from Settings but it now has a couple of new categories not present with all the other settings of the car. Including whether to lock the charge port door and whether to lock the charge cable into the car itself. * Sometimes in following cruise control mode it just locks in at a speed different from the one you set for no reason. * When you touch the accelerator in cruise it turns cruise off so when you let off the accelerator the car actually jerks you around as it decelerates for a period of time before cruise kicks back in lurching you forward. * Don't press the accelerator for too long or it will just turn cruise control off entirely, including lane keeping. * It wants your hands on the steering wheel but if you move too much it turns off lane keeping but leaves cruise control on. * It has the usual massive plethora of physical buttons randomly scattered throughout the cabin. Some on the center console. Some on the three stalks. Some on the left side where you can't see them. Some below the touch screen. * Different controls behave differently. Sometimes next to each other with similar functions! Opening the rear door? Press and hold. Open the frunk? Double tap the button. The buttons are next to each other. The buttons below the touch screen? Capacitive it seems. Why when the rest are physical? * Despite the cluster being just a huge LCD they do almost nothing with it. The only customizations are for-pay add-ons. * Did I mention the light-up squares on the front are customizable? If you pay for them. Each pattern is an add-on you pay for. * Their app is an absolute disaster. I could do an entire post just about how awful every aspect of it is.
- mttch 1y agoI wouldn’t buy Tesla again but I’ve never experienced software issues in mine. Although some of the menus could be re-arranged for clarity, it’s otherwise clear and responsive. The app is great and the third party apps are even better. I’ve not heard positive things from VW or MG owners in terms of software either. Is there any good alternative to Tesla in this domain?
- sixQuarks 1y ago[flagged]
- kelnos 1y agoIt's one thing to have terrible political views. It's quite another to join the government and lead a crusade to (illegally?) slash and burn government agencies. And while it's not ok to have terrible views, I can at least summon a token minimal level of respect for someone who keeps quiet about them, vs. someone who needs to yell them over and over, as loud as possible, for everyone to hear.
- pbasista 1y ago> You just don’t hear about the other ones. That is possible, yes. I think it is a fair point. But I also understand that people want to somehow publicly show their opinions about Elon Musk. Or others. For some, a public social media post is enough. Others want to do so with their wallet. Which, unlike a typical person's social media post, has the potential of catching, albeit indirectly, Elon Musk's attention. Which is their goal. So I would not dismiss or make fun of the people who want to do it this way. I would not call it "virtue signaling" either if it is done with a genuine goal to publicly point out that some of Elon Musk's opinions are problematic or even dangerous. These people are most likely not doing it because they want to "look like" they have a problem with such opinions. They do it because they genuinely believe that such opinions are harmful.
- sixQuarks 1y agoI’m kind of pointing out the hypocrisy in that if you’re not buying a Tesla because of Elon, then I’d hope you’re also boycotting all Israeli products, because you know, a little thing called a genocide is happening. If not, then I find it weird and I’m calling it out.
- websap 1y agoThanks for documenting your experience, I would not buy a Volvo ever.
- allenrb 1y agoNew cars are a fool’s game for most people, imho. Unless you just insist on having the newest thing, they rarely make sense. Couple that with the relentless electronic gadgetry and phone-home surveillance and I may never own a car produced after ~2020. Our current stable: 2007 Mazdaspeed 3, just keeps going. All buttons, no screens. 2016 Porsche Cayman, one small multifunction screen, display only, no touch. Buttons for the very few “features” present on the car. 2016 Ford Transit Connect. 200k miles. Just goes. One small screen, doesn’t interfere with anything critical.
- mrcwinn 1y agoThis is just a silly statement. Your 2007, 2016, and 2016 vehicles were all new cars in 2007, 2016, and 2016. There are plenty of 2020-era cars that are, so far, remarkably reliable and cheap to maintain and repair. It's simply that Volvo and Polestar are quite bad at making vehicles.
- FredPret 1y agoSure but if they bought those cars in 2010 and 2019, then there would've been plenty of time for quality issues to show up in those models.
- devnullbrain 1y agoAnd plenty of time spent in dealerships waiting for recalls or keeping the service record pristine
- worik 1y agoMake survivor bias work for you
- allenrb 1y agoTo clarify, I was making two independent points and didn’t do a good job of separating them. These being: 1. It frequently makes sense to buy older cars for several reasons (cost, common problems being recognized and understood). 2. I’m not interested in anything after ~2020 or so, not because they aren’t built well, but because they include too many “features” that I refuse to own. Two-way telemetry, that sort of thing.
- Havoc 1y ago>Find a place to stop and select P to park. When parked, the system will restart. Oh I know how to fix this one. Format windows partition and install linux
- addisonj 1y agoI had an ex90 on pre-order for a long time, placed it within the first ~30 days of it being open. It looked to be (and is!) an absolutely beautiful vehicle and also seemed to be making choices in the hardware (lidar) that I hoped, would, eventually deliver a combination of safety and self-driving capabilities that would be unmatched. I was willing to pay a premium and knew that it would take some time for the self-driving to come to fruition, but figured it would be a capable vehicle until that point in time. But dang, what a botched launch. Not only were there all these issues, which are insane to me that Volvo didn't have more people in social media / subreddit, but also from a financial perspective the car is just insanely hard to get into. Lease terms were absolutely terrible. I ended up getting a Hyuandai Ioniq 9 and am really glad I went that direction. Yeah, it doesn't offer as much as a Tesla in terms of FSD, but it also has better build quality and interior quality nearly matching the Volvo. I like the styling (but I know some do not), and it has actual physical controls for the stuff I care about and the best heads up display I have used (favorite feature: you get photos of incoming caller). NACS is also great... but I can't bring myself to take 2 spots yet at superchargers.
- sandos 1y agoFunny that many say the Ioniq 9 looks like an older Volvo. I guess you really like Volvo! Jokes aside, I would love the Ioniq 9, I think it looks much better than the EV9, or even EX90 which I find old looking.
- theturtle 1y agoThe last truly good volvo was manufactured around 1992. There are lots of them around still.
- chaosprint 1y agoThe better I become at system programming the more scared I become about current systems
- jonplackett 1y agoI’m just happier and happier with my ‘dumb’ car. It has physical buttons for the aircon. No wifi = no speakers listening to me and selling my personal data (yep that’s a thing) I have to press a button on the key fob to open it so it can’t be stolen by relaying the signal. It’s pretty cheap to run because I hardly drive anywhere anyway. But when I do I just buy this stuff called ‘petrol’ that’s all around the place and takes like 30 seconds. I also still get to feel smug because the environmental cost of producing a new electric car is WAY greater than the petrol I’m burning.
- bdamm 1y agoIt doesn't take much driving for a new EV to balance out the environmental cost of harvesting, shipping, pumping, and burning all that petrol. As I understand it, about 20k km or 15k miles, on average.
- jonplackett 1y agoThis is comparing BUYING a new gas car to BUYING a new electric car. I already have the gas car from 8 years ago. From what I can tell keeping this is way better than buying any new car - of course if I do buy a new one it’ll be electric. But keeping an existing car uses way less co2 than buying a new one.
- bdamm 1y agoThe markets for EVs and gas cars are fairly established, so your personal choice to keep fixing your car vs selling it to someone else who will fix it instead doesn't have a net change on the environment. Nor does your choice to buy a new car or a used car. The only thing that matters, really, is whether you are personally supporting the oil market or the electric market, how much, whether electric generation in your area has a good mix of green sources, and your support for political willingness to embrace policy that identifies and prices-in the side-effects on the environment, such as eliminating subsidies for oil companies. It all boils down to your willingness to put your money where your beliefs are, which for some people is very hard to do, for some people is not very hard to do, and for some people the environment just doesn't factor into their decision making at all. Tragedy of the commons, or will enough people actually care? Those who have the means and the awareness, definitely should.
- butlike 1y agoOk. I'm starting to think that the touch displays should have a common interface codified into law. The fact that these interfaces, with no tactile feedback can be completely different softwares with UIs is alarming and dangerous to me.
- cosmicgadget 1y agoAcknowledging that this dude is in Canada I still want to entertain the hypothetical of the current US Congress writing vehicle user interface statutes.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- vickenkanadjian 1y ago[dead]
- maurimtl 1y agoI have an XC90 but the hybrid that is not plug in. I can say that the software is complete trash. The screen often goes black. I’ve had to replace twice parts that made the entertainment system dead. My second car is a model Y and now I dread driving the Volvo. It’s bigger so we use it to go to the cottage but other than that, I wish I had something different.
- glonq 1y agoIf you're selling cars at that price tier ($150K CAD / $110K USD), you'd better be backing it with top-tier service.
- jerlam 1y agoWhen I saw the price, I thought it was a typo. Volvos aren't the cheapest cars but they're not six figure cars either. The base price (USD) is 81K - after clicking on every single option, I managed to bump it to 105K.
- muragekibicho 1y agoExactly my thoughts. 110k is porsche prices. I guess Volvo realized the upper-middle class car market is unsaturated.
- glonq 1y agolol i converted from CAD to USD, so the extra $5K is just the being in canada tax i guess.
- dzhiurgis 1y agoShame, I hear the reviews say it's such a nice car. But looking at those screenshots I'll refuse to buy anything else until software matches Tesla. 90% of car features is software now and buying anything else than Tesla (or Rivian) is just asking for trouble.
- apparent 1y agoRecently test drove a used EX90 PHEV. I was shocked at how rough the transition from electric to ICE was. The owner said he never drove it in all-electric mode, just in hybrid mode (so the ICE is on all the time). We liked other aspects of the vehicle, but once we saw the vehicle history from the dealer, we knew it'd be thousands of dollars every year or two for repairs.
- iwanttocomment 1y agoThe EX90 is a new all-electric BEV released for the 2025 model year. Perhaps you drove an XC90 plug-in hybrid?
- apparent 1y agoAh yes, my mistake. And when I googled it, I saw many stories of HVAC issues that cost thousands to fix. If it happens under warranty, it's just the hassle of taking it in for service all the time. If it happens out of warranty, you're screwed.
- dreamcompiler 1y agoApparently writing reliable software is harder and more expensive than legacy car makers expected. VW finally figured this out and is paying Rivian $5billion to write their software, but AFAICT no other legacy car maker has accepted that software is kind of important in modern cars and not just a showroom afterthought like it was 10 years ago when car buyers routinely ignored the stupid screen in the dash and just used their phones for everything. That crap won't cut it with EVs.
- epgui 1y agoI’ve had similar issues with a 2023 Honda Civic and with a 2025 Audi A3. I don’t think good cars exist anymore. All car software is shit.
- smetj 1y agoShameless plug. My experience with emergency lane keeping systems in my car and reporting it to my dealership: https://www.smetj.net/its-for-your-own-safety.html https://www.smetj.net/its-for-your-own-safety.html
- LeoPanthera 1y agoIt's difficult to trust anything that contains AI-generated content.
- smetj 1y agoCould you elaborate please? Genuine question.
- LeoPanthera 1y agoThe image at the top of the article is obviously AI generated so it indicates that the rest of the article might be as well.
- smetj 1y agoUnderstood ... thanks for clarifying ... I'm genuinely intrigued. You're right that image is generated by a generative model, however my humble blog content .... I do write myself. "Don't judge a book by its cover!" ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- RumourRider 1y agoThe dude is being ridiculous. I use AI / Stock Photos for cover images. Plenty of people are fine with it.
- RumourRider 1y agoThat is ridiculous. Having a hero image being AI (most people are crap with image editing) doesn't meant the rest of it is.
- gosub100 1y agoGotta fight that climate change, right? Can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.
- tibbydudeza 1y agoVolvo is owned by Geely from China - it exists in name only - another badge.
- wenc 1y agoVolvo is still primarily Swedish. https://www.gunthervolvocars.net/who-makes-volvo-cars.htm https://www.gunthervolvocars.net/who-makes-volvo-cars.htm The Volvo EX90 (in the article) is made in Charleston SC.
- jorlow 1y agoI had a horrible experience with my XC90 plug in hybrid. It took months of back and forth with the dealership and thousands of dollars to find out that it's dangerous behavior (refusing to stop without flooring the break with all my might) was due to a wire harness a critter had chewed on. Very similar response from Volvo in my case. No accountability and very low competence. Avoid Volvo.
- kurtoid 1y agoI'm shocked that that didn't trigger any kind of warning or alert
- aembleton 1y agoLovely site, and created by lovable.ai. You can even 'Remix' it here: https://lovable.dev/projects/64e17878-d0c5-49bd-a18b-39d3b93b6dec https://lovable.dev/projects/64e17878-d0c5-49bd-a18b-39d3b93...
- IlikeKitties 1y agoCustomer Support has become a battlefield it seems. Maybe it's always been but enshitification and lack of agency (and responsibility) by the customer support agents has made getting help when something goes wrong almost impossible everywhere. So now you need to create a social media shitstorm to force a reaction from the company above the normal lines of escalation. I think this is a terrible mistake from the companies.
- decryption 1y agoI have a 2024 Volvo EX30, driven it about 11,000km. It uses the same computer system platform as the EX90 and while it's not fantastic (my previous Tesla is superior), it's better than most EVs I've driven and hasn't given me any problems. I love the car, so it's a shame the more expensive and "luxury" EX90 is plagued by these issues. That said, Volvo Canada really needs to lift its game and just give the guy a new car already. Hope the bad PR and lawsuit gets Volvo to realise their mistake, apologise and refund him.
- kassner 1y agoI think I’ll never buy an electric car. They all have way too much more software than needed, most depend on touchscreens to access basic functionality, and I simply do not want that. I have a 2010s VW, and I think it has the right amount of software. The screen has CarPlay, radio and some configurations, but 100% of the driving can be done without using it. Things like wipers, AC, cruise control, everything is manual. Yet the car even has the latest safety stuff like lane assist and BLIS. Is there an EV out there with the same level of software? Can we essentially buy a 2019 Golf with the fuel tank gauge exchanged for a battery level indicator?
- sandos 1y agoOur 2015 Passat is also like this, it's so... perfect. I juuust want to replace the drivetrain to electric!
- sandos 1y agoJust a very tangential tanget: They added the Swedish phrase "Med vänliga hälsningar!" into the mail from Volvo Cars North America. Nothing else speaks of anyone speaking Swedish or anything, I found that a bit surprising.
- neurostimulant 1y agoThe site is hugged to death. Archive: https://archive.is/1Ieup https://archive.is/1Ieup
- sanjayparekh 1y agoYears ago I had bought a Volvo XC90 T5 (gas powered only). It had this stop/start feature when the car was stopped to help improve fuel economy (lots of cars have this now). Except mine wouldn't work. I took it into the dealership and the sales guy was surprised to see me there on my third or so visit. He advised making a stink with Volvo North America and sure enough after a few months and about two years or so after I bought the car they bought it back from me for my full purchase price - no depreciation. That made me a solid Volvo buyer (I replaced that car with a newer XC90 T8 - a plug-in hybrid that I still have and is a great vehicle). That said, new versions of any product have issues sometimes but the loss of propulsion on the highway is extremely concerning. Hopefully Volvo comes through and irons this all out like they did for me.
- natas 1y agoI canceled my EX90 order after reading your post.
- dbs 1y agoThis is very very similar to my recent personal experience with a XC60. Everyday there was something that was not working. Unpredictable, unreliable and especially unsafe (built like a tank but prone to accidents due to all the random electronic failures and malfunctions)
- RemainsOfTheDay 1y agoVolvo Cars is Chinese-owned. What did he expect? Tell me one quality and reliable Chinese brand in North America, just one.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]