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Electrical systemPart report

2016 Volvo XC90 Electrical system Problems

Complaints
56about this part
Share
28%of 197 total for the year
Median mileage
10,000miles
Trend
RisingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% higher than in the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 56 complaints about the electrical system of the 2016 Volvo XC90, 28% of the 197 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 10,000 miles. 3 of these say a crash was involved and 2 a fire, according to the filers. 1 recall campaign on record is filed under a similar system.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“When driving my Volvo after it has rained and I begin to break, while on a road with a minimal decline, rain water pours into the cabin. I was told by Volvo service technicians the water is not able to channel through the sunroof channels correctly due to corrosion or clogging in the drainage tubes/sunroof tray assembly. The water pours into the cabin near the intellisafe/rearview mirror area. This event creates a distraction to the driver especially if breaking while on a right hand curve as the water pours out towards the drivers field of vision. …”

NHTSA complaint #11413653, filed 2021-04, 117,000 miles

“2016 XC90, engine is decelerating on street road going from 40-45 miles per hour, to 10 miles per hour suddenly and quickly. With closure of back door where there is no lock button to hit by accident, car is locking all doors by itself when closing the passenger door. I am aware of babies being locked in the cars due to this fault in system and my pet was locked in due to the locks locking on their own when I closed passenger door which does not have a lock button I could have hit by accident. …”

NHTSA complaint #10945403, filed 2017-01, 300 miles

“During driving on a local road at approx. 45 MPH, the electronic dashboard disappeared (so you have no visibility to speed, fuel, warnings), the car rapidly decelerated to 10 MPH and wouldn't go any faster and all non-steering controls (radio, AC, navigation, etc.) froze. It has remained that way since even after power cycling. Apparently this can be temporarily fixed by disconnecting the 2 batteries. But it can happen again with no warning. This happened to me and has happened to others I know.”

NHTSA complaint #10916434, filed 2016-10, 13,500 miles

“While the car was running in my garage and the front driver side door closed, I believe I put it in reverse then went to open the front door to see if my daughter was tightened in her car seat, the car didn't move. I am not sure if I put it back in park but after I took my foot off the brake, it didn't move. After a few seconds and my feet and body completely out of the car, it started to go back and almost ran me over. Luckily I jumped back in the Volvo truck and the door crashed into the garage. …”

NHTSA complaint #10893136, filed 2016-08, 2,000 miles

“The SUV has had lots of problems with the engine. The engine has stopped without warning numerous times while in motion. It even stopped one time on the highway. The vehicle loses power in an instance and few times we have had to tow the vehicle to our house and to the dealership for repair. Even though this problem has occured over and over (which the dealership has attributed to the pistons misfiring), the dealership can not seem to repair the issue. We have asked dealership/Volvo to buy back the vehicle as it is not driveable at all. …”

NHTSA complaint #11067047, filed 2018-02, 25,000 miles

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Electrical system: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2025724%
20241746%
20231024%
20221445%
20211333%
20201132%
20191126%
20181529%
20171923%
20165628%
2013218%
2011526%
2009343%
2008828%
20071437%
20061630%
20055123%
200415834%
20031819%

Other parts of the 2016 Volvo XC90

Engine
86 complaints
Other or unknown
36 complaints
Body and structure
23 complaints
Brakes
15 complaints
Fuel system
13 complaints
Vehicle speed control
11 complaints
Transmission and drivetrain
10 complaints
Air bags
8 complaints
Steering
7 complaints
Latches, locks and linkages
6 complaints
Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
6 complaints
Electronic stability control
5 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2016 Volvo XC90

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology