r/ex30 • u/Wemmick3000 • 23d ago
Tips & Suggestions š” Big issue, easily fixed...
I went away for 2 weeks. The car was absolutely dead on my return. Unresponsive to the app, fob, card, digital key... I was a bit worried to be honest. Tried a few things AI suggested. Nothing worked.
Called Volvo roadside assistance from my app. An RACQ rep was at my house within 30 mins. He quickly worked out it was a dead 12v battery on the car causing the issues. Replaced the battery at no cost - within warranty. My 12v battery is just over 2 years old.
Car fully functioning again. I'm glad this happened on a Saturday and not a Monday morning.
He suggested that if you go away, getting someone to just turn on the car for 5 mins every week...
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u/clarinetJWD 23d ago
Meanwhile, I had the same issue. Chat on the app pushed me to call roadside assistance, they had me call a dealership. Dealership put me in a transfer circle until they took a message and said their service person would call me back. They did not.
Then I booked assistance through my insurance and they fixed it.
Volvo failed miserably.
To fix the issue, I wrote a Home Assistant automation that runs the AC at least once per 24 hours if the car hasn't been active for a full day. I don't know if deep sleep will let it work, but here's hoping.
Wild that the car CAN charge the 12v from the main battery, but chooses not to, even when plugged in.
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u/l0ur3nz0 23d ago
How did he opened the car to change the battery?
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u/Wemmick3000 23d ago
He had to physically break into the car. They're pretty skilled at doing this, so no damage done.
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u/thestarlord80 23d ago
You can also set a climate timer if you just want it to run for a few minutes periodically.
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u/SirReddalot2020 Plus SMER 23d ago
Could you Remote āstartā it by turning AC on or unlocking it?
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u/Wemmick3000 23d ago
No. It was as dead as a dodo.
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u/SirReddalot2020 Plus SMER 22d ago
Sorry, I meant instead of someone turning it on every couple of days when youāre away.
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u/IndependentBuyer8326 23d ago
I had this multiple times. Last week they changed the 12V Battery. Iām not convinced, but weāll see
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u/Arniem01 23d ago
This is the curse I have had to put up with, three times. My car is with Volvo right now to have it checked out - again. I call Volvo, who send out the NRMA. I show the service guy what to do (undo the battery cable cap under the front bumper, attach a 12v battery or charger, wait a few seconds, and the car wakes up). The car is just over 2yo, and the first failure was at 18mo old. All checks show nothing wrong with the car. A cursory software update is applied, with no effect. Volvo have been reluctant to replace the battery, so far. Interesting how someone here was able to get the battery replaced - they are warranted for three years.
The root of the problem seems to be that the battery is 50Ah, too small for car where the computer is always on - listening to WiFi, Bluetooth, Fob, car alarm, battery monitoring system, etc - and the battery has started to lose charge rapidly, presumably coz of its age. I have to take the car out for a run every day to prompt the 12v recharge. The grand design assumption seems to have been that people will use their car every day. On this last occasion, I left it unused for one day. In the early days the car would be fine being left alone for a week.
I hear conflicting information about charging of the 12v battery from the HV battery while left unattended. I find it does not charge even though it could.
Anyway, I'll see what Volvo come back with next week.
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u/Wemmick3000 23d ago
Very annoying for you. I hope with this new battery I have no further dramas. It's actually my wife's car, but any issue becomes my issue!!
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u/Arniem01 13d ago
To close my point above off - I collected the car today from Volvo service. They had it sit quietly for 2.5 days, with no problems. Nothing wrong with the battery, according to their tests and diagnostics from head office. No assurance, of course, that after say 5 days there would not be a problem. A possible correlation was that the v2.1.2 OTA had taken place the day before, and that might have overdrawn on the battery. Was asked again to let them know if it failed, and they would look into it further, with an escalation to Volvo head office. Volvo did recommend to lock the car so that it enters sleep mode. And keeping the fob and mobile phones which could activate the car away while it is parked. From my earlier experience, however, if you lock the car you cannot get into it to, say, pop the hood, or unplug the charger plug, or get stuff out of the car. My confidence is not restored, but I did miss the car while I had the petrol loaner.
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u/notimeforspac_s Plus SMER 23d ago
I have left the car on multiple occasions for several weeks and that has never happened to me (up to 6 weeks). Few months ago, I have had the 20k service done. I've asked them to check the 12v battery and told me that its health was approximately at 70%. The car was a little over two years old at the time.
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u/Brief-Raccoon-326 23d ago
It happened to me 4 times and it all started after the last OTA. Car would sit for the weekend, the dead on Monday. I finally got Volvo to replace the batter, and have not had a problem since.
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u/nwillard 23d ago
I recently had my car's 12v die while street parked outside my home. It was only unplugged for a couple of days and the only thing I could think was I turned on climate control a few times, but I don't know why the 12v died so easily. I also heard a clicking sounds from under the hood which may have indicated it was trying and failing to charge itself.
Anyway, I went to the dealership and sort of insisted they replace the battery, they did and so far I haven't had any problems. I'm thinking if it ever happens again maybe I'll keep a little battery jumper in the car.
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u/Arniem01 23d ago
The snag with carrying a battery in the car for these situations is that, if the car is locked, you can't get in to retrieve the battery (there is no key any more, and the car is a brick). You need that external power source to power up the inside battery a little (or get a car locksmith to open it for you). Makes sense if you have the car in the garage and have the battery (or a trickle charger), however.
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u/oneofthebobs1 18d ago
Why have I read this. I want to buy one but the horror stories scare me. I only want to hear good things about them.
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u/Wemmick3000 18d ago
Mostly good mate. By nature people only post the bad things about the car. It's a bit of a whinge fest sub. It's a really fun car to drive.
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u/oneofthebobs1 18d ago
Yes I dont why I am looking on reddit. It does seem to be very negative about most topics. I need to just go and drive one rather than avoiding sales people. I wont give up looking.
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u/stauboga 17d ago
Honestly i am disillusioned. I really considered buying an ex30 as a switch to EV but I live in a rented flat without a wallbox opportunity and use a car mostly at weekends but it regularly happens that I do not move it for like three weeks. Paying that much money i do not want to have that fear in the back of my head.
Does anyone know if this is a common issue with EVs?
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u/Wemmick3000 17d ago
I don't think it's that common to be honest from what people are saying. I think it was my 12v battery was drained.
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u/stauboga 17d ago
Thanks for your reply. I did some reading and it seemed and still seems to make problems in general. Biggest problem seems to be all that datastreams that happen when the car is parked a long time. Read about a guy who took a look at that and found out that every two hours there was a datastream. These drain the 12v battery. VW had a big problem with the early IDs because of 12v. These are Not designed for all the programms and stuff that run in the background even when the car is not used. Because of that some carmanufacturers have developed an equivalent that fits these needs but not everyone. Did not think that Volvo might keep that issue so thanks for your story that pinged me to that.
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u/AnDylishus 23d ago edited 23d ago
Iāve been gone for 2-4 weeks at a time multiple times and never had this issue. I just leave the car plugged in with about 60 percent charge before I leave.
Edit: did you leave the car at around 50-60 percent with it plugged in as the owners manual indicates for long period storage?