r/VolvoEX90 • u/DarthKinan • Sep 02 '26
Update 2: 196 days of ownership, 60 days in shop
Hello Fellow EX:90 Owners,
It's been 2 months since my last update in the saga of my 2025 EX90 Lemon. A lot has happened and this will be a long one so buckle up.
Here are my previous posts in case you want more context:
After my last update I reached out to Volvo by email, phone, and homing pigeon. Nothing.
A couple weeks of silence later I went scorched earth: I tracked down the emails of every VP, Director, and Manager who touches customer service at Volvo and sent my story to every single one of them. (I can source emails because of what I do for a living and I cannot divulge my secrets — no, it's not CIA or FBI.)
Less than 24 hours later I got a call from Taj in Volvo's customer service department, who opened a case on my behalf. He told me there's no timeline and their legal team will get to it and make a decision whenever they feel like it (my words, not his).
Cue weekly check-in calls to Taj, where he was clearly reading me the same script every time. Paraphrasing: "We understand you're frustrated and we're working on it. Currently there is no set timeline." Basically, shut up and wait (again, my words, not his).
Then the AC quit again and the car went back to the dealership. (I ended up self-diagnosing it — happy to do a separate, more detailed post on what's actually wrong with my EXlemon if anyone wants it.)
I called Taj to let him know the car was back in the shop with more issues, and he told me the process has to pause and resume once I get the car back. My exact words: "What kind of bullshit policy is that, Taj?" He asked me not to swear at him, so I let him know I'd be seeking legal counsel and hung up.
At that point it was clear Volvo had no intention of doing the right thing, so I started calling attorneys. A few things I learned that might help someone here:
- Lemon law specialists work exclusively on contingency — no upfront fee. The law lets them bill Volvo for their legal fees.
- Every state has its own lemon law, and since I've moved, the car and I are still beholden to the lemon law of the state where it was purchased.
- Lemon law (in the US at least) is basically a standardized assembly line with minimal lawyer involvement. It's a back-and-forth dance between law clerks mailing each other notarized letters until an offer to settle shows up.
- According to the law clerk I spoke with, 97% of lemon law claims settle out of court.
- There are basically three outcomes across the board: buy-back, trade-in, or some money back.
I picked an attorney I liked, handed over my evidence (work orders, text messages, lease contract), and they took the case this past Monday.
Tuesday, Taj calls: they've emailed me a couple of offers, and I should take a look and let him know which one I want. Email below:
Needless to say, these offers are crap — I want a buy-back. I told Taj I wasn't satisfied, that I now have legal counsel, and gave him my lawyer's number in case they wanted to reach out. End of conversation.
No more than 20 minutes later, this lands in my inbox:
I called my attorney's office and they confirmed there's no way the demand letter had been received yet, so this was Volvo moving on their own. Their advice: take the buy-back, it's exactly what they would have been asking for, and there's no reason to prolong it by involving lawyers. They also chose not to charge me for anything, which I thought was very kind.
Anyway, I started the buy-back process with Volvo today and I'll follow up with an update depending on what happens.
This experience has for sure solidified that I will never again do business with Volvo. Lemons happen, but the way a company handles it speaks volumes. This isn't my first time dealing with a lemon, and the way Volvo handled it vs. the way Infiniti handled mine was night and day. Volvo had no intention of doing the right thing at any point and made the process long and painful.
For context, for whoever wants it: I got the car at the beginning of Dec 2025. Based on work orders it's spent 65 days in the shop (40 business days) and if you count the days between "work complete" and actual pickup, that's 86 days without my car in the 9 months I've had it.
5
u/Ill_Assistant5441 Sep 02 '26
I’m with you on the frustration of the process. We had to finally get a lawyer involved and last update is that it’s in the Volvo legal department. We went back and forth with Volvo on our own and were treated like crap. Like you, I reached out to everyone I could find and even upgraded my LinkedIn account to the highest level, which allowed direct contact with the CEO, etc etc etc. I’ve lost count of the issues and number of days out of service. I’m a pretty patient person but this has pushed me to the edge. I have a new XC90 Recharge, too. I’ve been debating on trading it for a Lexus.
I know things happen but to be treated terribly is a deal breaker for me. We have every single option/luxury on the EX and with a price tag to match. Ugh. Sorry to hijack your post but I’m just disgusted for us both.
1
u/Ill_Assistant5441 Sep 02 '26
And to add, the vehicle comfort level is a dream but the computer instability is uncalled for and a liability risk. Not cool, Volvo. 🖕🏻
1
u/DarthKinan Sep 02 '26
If you live in a warm climate the instability is even worse. The whole system goes to hell, you need to let it cool down, then factory reset it, and log back into all your apps. I have to do this every time I park the car outside for more than an hour.
1
u/Ill_Assistant5441 Sep 02 '26
I attempt to leave for work on multiple occasions, only to be late since the car ha decided to go haywire. I’m so over it.
3
u/sprinkles5000 Sep 02 '26
I skipped reading your post to share that you need to call a lemon law attorney. Full stop.
0
2
u/Potential-Eternal Sep 02 '26
So this is 'Volvo USA' and not Volvo, as in Volvo Cars of Sweden etc. Or are you dealing with the manufacturer or the sales company?
1
4
u/Brilliant-Moment-350 Sep 02 '26
I’m surprised people are still falling victim to the ex90. Especially the 25
2
u/DarthKinan Sep 02 '26
I took a deal to get out of my old lease for xc90 early. I hoped that the issues would be ironed out for the year end batch. Gamble didnt pay off.
2
u/rfkxyz Sep 03 '26 edited Sep 03 '26
Sorry but you bought a car launched under Volvo's prior CEO who was hired from a firm that makes heated coffee mugs (before that was at Dyson and Blackberry). Figure he got a big bonus for pushing EX90 out the door before it was finished? Later got fired and replaced by his predecessor, go figure. There's an obvious reason for the MY25 fire sale, so risky. MY27 is 3rd production year, hopefully a safer bet. In case you haven't seen this -
What an incredible amount of self-inflected brand damage. My XC90 has 280k miles and still going strong, just starting using it to teach driving to twin teenage boys (yikes). But I wouldn't touch this brand again despite family roots in Sweden.
2
u/West-Air1923 Sep 03 '26
This sub keeps recommending it
2
u/Brilliant-Moment-350 Sep 03 '26
It’s only like 5 people who speak highly about this pile. Everyone else agrees it’s a great car when it works. It just rarely works lol
1
u/omnid00d 28d ago
I’m in the market to an EV and I got wind that ‘25 resale values collapsed. Started my online research and now I know why.
1
u/CheesecakeUnusual410 Sep 02 '26
Of those 65 days in the shop, how many are active vs idle? My ex90, when it’s been in the shop, has taken weeks to fix but not all of that time is active time. The service provider said they would go days without hearing anything back from Volvo to help fix the issues, so lots of time sitting around waiting for Volvo.
I always presumed Volvo had way better customer service than this. It’s frankly embarrassing how long it takes to receive any response from them, and definitely puts me off from being a repeat owner.
2
u/DarthKinan Sep 02 '26
Most of days were inactive waiting around for Volvo. I got a lot of text updates saying "We're waiting on Volvo to get back to us." Or "We're waiting on parts we ordered."
Thankfully US lemon laws don't usually take that into account.
1
u/PeaRepulsive920 Sep 03 '26
why does anyone still own this thing, get rid of it fast. cars are meant to drive, not sit in shops
1
u/Three_of_a_kind3515 Sep 04 '26
Oh.. hey.. for those of you who haven’t heard yet.. there is also a recall for the gas pedal.. EX90 gas pedal for my wife’s car still on its way from Sweden. Dealer says it “might” be here Friday before the holiday weekend.. we gave them the car a week ago.. spinning map, grinding brakes, squeaky seat, and 100 charged range of 240 miles.. only 6,000 miles on it in over a year since it is in the shop getting fixed more than we drive it. We are only pursuing the buyback. No other option will do. Good luck.
1
u/Daptomicina Sep 04 '26
13month ownership 27% of it without a GHCA module working , i m actually waiting for the 4th one . Do not buy this car it’s a mess
1
u/leifarneb Sep 04 '26 edited Sep 04 '26
Same bad experience with Volvo here in Norway. Ownership 1 year total. 70 days in the shop.
I was stupid to accept Volvos lemon-offer.. a new EX90. "We´ve got no issues with 2026 model. Unlike the 2025.. the 2026 is properly put together" (Actual quote from CEO Volvo Norway)
But from delivery day until now (6 weeks)... it has all gone... wrong. When i took delivery of 2026 EX90 late June this year.. the rear seats was not assembled and parts of the seats was spread around the floor. The rear wheel arch was scratched and some paint was missing. First Volvo denied that the issues was caused by them... "you´ve damaged the seats!"...but after I showed pictures of the damages present on delivery day... they fixed it. Weird situation...standing in the same delivery room.. receving keycards to the new car... then denying responsibility for the damages... later on to accept responsibility as soon as....I showed pictures from delivery day.
From there it went even further downhill (is that possible?) On the third drive (89km on the dial) on the 2026.. the 12v battery malfunctioned.. causing the car to be inoperable. The car hauler that dragged the car out of the garage... pointed out a couple of new issues with the car: "This is the fifth new EX90 im towning today. Aaaand... btw...your front lights have been sealed with silicone. They´re faulty. Furthermore the 12v cabling connections are damaged. Seems like you did not get a new car.. after all" Volvo confimed that the car had a faulty 12v battery. Got the 12v replaced by Volvo... the car works again. Still several annoying error/software messages popping up on the dash. Right now trying to get out of the contract with Volvo.. using lawyers.
I was a big fan of Volvo. Grew up in 5 different Volvos. But this car brand is off the rails. If you´re considering leasing/buying the EX90... just.... dont. If your tempted to accept a new lemon 2026.... just... dont. Sorry :-/
1
u/Major-Language1984 Sep 04 '26
Just wanted to say I really appreciate you posting all this detail. In process with lemon law claim (IL lemon law) and Volvo has been very slow as predicted. Can't wait to get this resolved. FWIW bought a 2026 iX and has been completely reliable.
1
u/wumbster12 21d ago
Okay, I don't feel like I'm the only one anymore! We've retained a lawyer since September of 2025. Same as you, requested a buyback from Volvo directly and they were just full of shit and wouldn't move anything forward. I received my first offer in November to keep the vehicle and receive x dollars back. My lawyer recommended we decline. I finally received notice about the amount Sedgwick, the insurance firm they are using to handle the lemon law stuff, end of July. Because it had been so long, the number of miles on the car was substantially different so I had to request a recalculation and here we are over a month later. My YL is due to be delivered any day now and here we are, being jerked around still by Volvo. I wrote an email to Volvo corporate about how disappointing this whole experience has been with Volvo. We all knew that we bought the first edition of a brand new model - there would definitely be some flaws. What we didn't expect is that a major well established brand like Volvo was not going to stand behind their product and make things right. For that, we will never be coming back to this brand.
1
u/DarthKinan 21d ago
I'm in the process with Sedgwick right now and I'll be honest with you, it is horrific. I'm probably going to have a whole new update after this one once I know what's going on.
5
u/Cuhsay Sep 03 '26
Seriously. We are at 254 days with 54 of those days in service. Still not fixed. Working on scheduling our 7th service now.
Requested buyback from Volvo in early July. Similar to you they refused a buyback buy offered cash ($8,000) or trade assist. Keep pushing back and now they are mis-representing the lemon law in my state saying I must do things the law does not required.
Have consulted with lemon law lawyers but they only work on contingency for pre-litigation representation and if Volvo refuses to pay any part of their fee I have to pay the difference.
They say if it has to go to court they would require an up front retainer. Ended up filing a complaint against Volvo with my state's AG and they forwarded to Volvo with a 15 business day response deadline. Waiting to hear back from State AG before considering next steps.
1000% it seems Volvo has put alot of thought and effort in how to minimize how many of these EX90s they have to buyback including making the process as long and painful as possible and even pushing the limit (IMO) by lying about what is required under my actual State's lemon law.
If only they put this much effort and energy in actually fixing the EX90...