Buyers who have ordered a new Volvo XC40 Recharge electric SUV are waking up to emails from Volvo explaining why they can’t have their new car yet. The good news is that the fix for the problem should be very quick. The bad news is that after unloading the cars at U.S. ports, Volvo is parking them there for the time being. This includes vehicles already paid for.
The problem is simple enough. The vehicles appear to have left the factory without the Volvo On Call software activated. Volvo On Call, similar to systems deployed by many automakers, connects the car to the owner’s smartphone. It allows owners to turn the vehicle on and off remotely, lock and unlock doors, and see diagnostic information and battery charging status.
Which sounds like a convenience feature, right? It’s something you’d like to have, but you’d probably prefer to take delivery first and let them fix it later when the solution is ready.
Larger Issues at Play
But there are reports on some Volvo owner forums that the software issue affects more critical systems. The problem may prevent the odometer from counting miles driven. That would at least explain why Volvo hasn’t sent the cars to owners with an apology for the inconvenience and a date for Volvo On Call to activate. We’ve reached out to Volvo for an explanation and will update this story when we have it.
The problem apparently can be fixed with an over-the-air software update. This should mean the problem can be resolved quickly – perhaps simultaneously in every XC40 Recharge – once the needed software patch is ready.
For now, Volvo representatives have answered multiple media inquiries with the phrase, “The timing of U.S. customer deliveries of XC40 Recharge has not changed from the original schedule of Q1 2021.” While true, that isn’t much comfort to customers who’ve paid for a car they don’t have.
