2016 Volvo XC90 Transmission and drivetrain Problems
- Complaints
- 10about this part
- Share
- 5%of 197 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 5,000miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 10 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2016 Volvo XC90, 5% of the 197 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 5,000 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“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“Around 10.30 am on sunday, 26th june 2016, I was driving on I-95 (near stamford ct) with my family when the car suddenly lost power, slowed down dramatically in the middle of I-95 and started to crawl at 10 miles/hour. We were in danger of being hit by a number of vehicles while I negotiated to exit the highway on exit 9 and pulled over into a side street. The instrumentation panel of the car had blanked out. The car could only crawl at about 10 miles/hour. It would not shift to higher gear even in manual mode. …”
NHTSA complaint #10876773, filed 2016-06, 5,000 miles“The dashboard instrument panel suddenly went blank on a city street and the car could not accelerate more than about 5-10 miles per hour. It's frightening to imaging what would have happened if this occurred on a highway. Volvo's towing company put rear wheels on ground and damage all wheel drive system during towing. After stayed at dealership for a month but within 48 hours after pickup, a warning message all wheel drive service required popped up.”
NHTSA complaint #10910994, filed 2016-10, 2,900 miles“The eRAD (Electric Rear Axle Drive) on my 2016 Volvo XC90 T8 PHEV failed completely. The warning light appeared approximately 11/3/2025, within one week of purchasing the vehicle at 88,000 miles. The failure was confirmed by a Volvo dealership. The eRAD is the component that powers the rear electric motor and provides AWD and hybrid function — its failure results in complete loss of rear wheel drive and hybrid system operation. Safety risk includes unexpected loss of AWD traction control in adverse weather conditions. …”
NHTSA complaint #11737317, filed 2026-05“Known supercharger leak on 2016 Volvo XC90 at 60,000 miles. Numerous reports of the same failure. Dealer and Volvo declined goodwill repair. Potential safety/fire issue if oil leakage worsens”
NHTSA complaint #11685940, filed 2025-09Related service bulletins
- 11033734May 7, 2026This is a Technical Journal: Intermittent knocking noise during acceleration. If the sound corresponds to attached sound file, change front drive shafts to the below part numbers.
- 10252719Mar 14, 2024This is a Technical Journal: ERAD (Electric Rear Axle Drive) Bearing Noise. Bearing kit replacement.
- 10249190Jan 4, 2024This is a Technical Journal: Transmission Shifts From D or R to P Immediately After Starting. This symptom can occur if the driver changes the position of the gear shifter from P…
- 10244098Sep 8, 2023ERAD (Electric Rear Axle Drive) Bearing Noise
- 10241679Jul 17, 2023Bearing Noise.
- 10182499Oct 27, 2020This is a technical Journal:If the vehicle has a click sound from the left engine pad, follow the advice under "Service". Make sure that the sound is coming from the engine pad…
- 10171679Jan 8, 2020This is a Technical Journal: In case of complaint of Noise, some "tools" have been created to help you to do a better and more precise fault tracing
Transmission and drivetrain: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 5 | 14% |
| 2023 | 3 | 7% |
| 2022 | 1 | 3% |
| 2021 | 3 | 8% |
| 2020 | 3 | 9% |
| 2019 | 3 | 7% |
| 2018 | 5 | 10% |
| 2017 | 5 | 6% |
| 2016 | 10 | 5% |
| 2011 | 3 | 16% |
| 2008 | 4 | 14% |
| 2007 | 5 | 13% |
| 2006 | 3 | 6% |
| 2005 | 62 | 28% |
| 2004 | 145 | 31% |
| 2003 | 49 | 53% |
Other parts of the 2016 Volvo XC90
86 complaintsElectrical system
56 complaintsOther or unknown
36 complaintsBody and structure
23 complaintsBrakes
15 complaintsFuel system
13 complaintsVehicle speed control
11 complaintsAir bags
8 complaintsSteering
7 complaintsLatches, locks and linkages
6 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
6 complaintsElectronic 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 30, 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