NHTSA Issues Urgent Brake Failure Warning for Select Volvo Vehicles

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urges owners of select model year 2020-2026 Volvo plug-in hybrid or battery electric vehicles to immediately complete an important over-the-air safety recall. 

Without this recall remedy, an affected vehicle could completely lose its ability to brake while going downhill. One serious incident, captured on video, has already happened due to this defect. Volvo has advised owners not to drive their car and to turn off regenerative braking until their car’s software is updated with the recall remedy. 

Volvo issued recall 25V-392 on June 12 for 11,469 vehicles, and as of July 15, approximately 1,000 have still not had this urgent over-the-air recall downloaded. The affected models are: 

• 2023 Volvo C40 BEV
• 2025 EC40 BEV
• 2025-2026 EX40 PHEV
• 2023-2025 S60 PHEV
• 2025 S90 PHEV
• 2024-2025 V60 PHEV
• 2023-2024 XC40 BEV  
• 2022-2026 XC60 PHEV  
• 2020-2026 XC90 PHEV 

NHTSA advises owners of unrepaired vehicles:  

• Do not use regenerative braking. Turn off “B” mode in PHEVs or one-pedal driving in BEVs until the repair is completed. If a vehicle is in one of these modes and coasts downhill for at least 1 minute and 40 seconds with no pedal application, the brakes may lose braking capabilities. Download the over-the-air recall remedy if your vehicle information center indicates the software is ready to install.  
• Call your local Volvo dealership with any questions or to schedule a service appointment.

The defect originates from the over-the-air recall remedy for recall 25V-282, which addressed rearview camera failures while backing up. Owners can call Volvo’s Customer Care Center at 800-458-1552 with questions.

How to Check for Recalls 

Use NHTSA’s Recalls Lookup Tool to use the license plate number or vehicle identification number to search for any open safety recalls. 

• Download our SaferCar app and let it check and notify you automatically.  
• If your vehicle does have a safety recall, call the vehicle’s local dealership to schedule the free recall repair.  
• Sign up at NHTSA.gov/Alerts to be notified by email of future recalls.