Used 2023 Volvo XC40 Recharge Consumer Reviews
Used XC40 Recharge for sale
We have a limited number of reviews for the 2023 XC40 Recharge, so we've included reviews for other years of the XC40 Recharge since its last redesign.
Volvo XC40 Recharge - typical "Volvo Unreliable"
JohnK, 06/17/2021
updated 08/23/2021
2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure Electric P8 4dr SUV AWD (electric DD)
90 of 94 people found this review helpful
My Volvo XC40 Recharge had multiple issues, just 2 days after taking delivery of the XC40 Recharge center console crashed and reset to factory default, and lost navigation display in driver side. Even after a few visits to Volvo dealer, issues are not fully resolved. After dealer fixed the driver navigation display issue, the car is stuck in the “guest profile”, I am unable to login to Google account. At this point, your dealer is unable to fix the issue properly and whole is very frustrating that nothing really works properly. Volvo Mobile app on this car is simply terrible. If you click on the Demo mode on the mobile app you can't get out of that demo mode. And you can't simply reconnect either- simply awful. Looks like some high school dropout wrote the mobile app. And also, you have to set the privacy setting to fork over all car data to Google before anything works properly- Charge level won't show unless you set the privacy setting open to all your data to Google and Volvo. I heard about this about Volvo, but, good grief this very frustrating that your dealer can't properly fix the issues.This is my first Volvo and probably my last! I had similar frustrating experience my Tesla Model 3 with leaky tail lights and leaky roof, but at least Tesla actually fix the issue. Not the Volvo, can't seem to figure it what is wrong with the car. Update: At ~80 miles infotainment system got stuck in reloading screen and got reset to factory default and lost driver side navigation view. At~120 miles stuck in “Guest profile” and requires full reload of Software- dealer couldn’t even fix this repairs without help from Volvo USA. At ~580 miles AC stopped working in middle of 95 degree weather. At~640 miles, looks like June update happen to car and YouTube music and few other apps stop working. At ~720 miles, car reboot itself awhile driving to Volvo dealer to fix other issues. This cannot be safe to drive. More update: At ~1140 miles shut down and restarted in middle of driving again. At ~1500 miles shut down again. At ~1800 miles charging port stuck in Green. At ~2220 miles dealer finally replace IHU, AC issue is not fixed. Volvo think that replacing IHU will fix the Air Condition. At ~2250 miles same day that IHU was replaced infotainment system reboot again. Yes, Volvo is fully aware of Air Condition issues with compressor on Volvo XC 40 Recharge- they are not sure how to fix it and also part that required fix is out of stock for next 6 months.
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Poor reliability and efficiency; worse support
E.H., 06/23/2021
2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure Electric P8 4dr SUV AWD (electric DD)
68 of 71 people found this review helpful
I fell in love with this car when I test drove it. It's snappy and fun, it's quiet, and it looks great. Then I bought it, and everything went to hell. There were electrical problems every day I owned it. The glass spontaneously shattered (nothing hit it) and covered us in sharp fragments and nearly caused a deadly accident. Volvo's Roadside Assistance refused to respond (told me to call insurance), and their Support could not be bothered to help. The Volvo of Tacoma GM suggested I write up the entire experience and submit it to the Volvo corporate office, which I did in full detail. It was sent early in the work day, and they promised a response in 2 hours. I didn't hear back until the following day, and what I received was a formulaic response that asked me to re-type all the details I had just sent them. Either they had not bothered to read it, or Volvo has their Support people burden their customers so that they give up and go away. So after less than three months as a first-time Volvo customer, I am going away. I am paying the price to sell this rubbish so that I can buy something from a company that actually cares about its build quality, reliability, and support.
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Take my Volvo, please
L C, 11/27/2021
2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure Electric P8 4dr SUV AWD (electric DD)
34 of 35 people found this review helpful
Do your research! Do your research! Do your research! Same issue as review I just read, center console computer went out on my maiden voyage home from the dealership. Took almost 2 weeks to secure a loaner just to have it looked at. After 2 days I picked it up and the console went out on the way home and 3 more times before I could get back to the dealer the same day. They loaner I got was the same make, model and color -- all electric. 3 days later the rear brakes locked up (according to the manual, these are proprietary and can only be serviced by Volvo, great another red flag). There's more but I won't bore you, the wind up is that it took almost a month to fix it. 4 weeks ago, in the middle of this month of no car, I contacted Volvo requesting a full refund. They've been dragging it out hoping I lose interest. One more complaint, I was promised by the dealer as well as in a Volvo ad that I'd receive a home charging unit for free, nearly two months later it's still a no-show. Do your research!
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86k and happy!
Jak, 11/08/2022
updated 05/09/2024
2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure Electric P8 4dr SUV AWD (electric DD)
20 of 20 people found this review helpful
Figured we have a bunch of miles more than the average user so wanted to share that we’ve had a very good experience. Not to discount troubles others have had, we just have not had them and have over 86k miles in both warm summer and MN winter driving. Your experience may differ and a warranty may make sense. So far so good here, and love driving this car! As an update we changed tires at 55k, the continental tires from factory were probably only good for 45-50k and went from great to garbage very quick at end of life; we waited a bit too long to do that. Rear tires wore more heavily than front. We went with Michelin cross climate2’s on this round and will update how that goes, so far very similar noise and handling to the factory tires. The infotainment system has one or two bad days that require a restart and then seems fine. Seems to be around software update times, but nothing consistent or persistent. Normally works beautiful and has all the features needed, despite the mobile app lacking some of the functions that would be nice (like changing charge limit from phone while on a charger ). If you need more range then there might be better options, we push the limits of that some days but the consistency and quality are hard to beat so far. Only 1 warranty repair so far and received a complimentary 40k service. So far so good. ***Update, over 70k and only very intermittent issues with needing to turn off and restart the infotainment (probably 5 times in life of vehicle). Volvo dealer analyzed the battery and there was only a 2% reduction in capacity. Very consistent with the Tesla data on 200k + vehicles (https://www.motortrend.com/news/tesla-model-s-x-battery-health-over-time/) ... so shouldn't see any more memes... ***Update 2, Had to resurface front rotors at 75k. Pads had lots of life so resurfaced and kept them on. Will need to do rears in coming 10-15k. This might have to do with doing some driving on gravel somewhat frequently. Very normal if not above average wear and tear. Continues to be a great vehicle.
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xc40 recharge electronics buggy
Lynn R, 08/26/2021
2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure Electric P8 4dr SUV AWD (electric DD)
25 of 26 people found this review helpful
Volvo has not figured out why I can't get connection to on call to work..2 days in service so far and multiple calls to Volvo USA. The console periodically needs reset or Maps stops working. Modem only reads AT &T and my account does not connect to Volvo..so no metrics or alerts. You need it to know when charged or if charging. Nobody is properly trained or helpful..the car was rolled out without testing. The Swedish pride is gone..instead you have Chinese rigging. I regret buying this car . should have bought Tesla Y
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Wonderful mechanically. Shameful Electronics
Cleo Rodney, 06/19/2021
2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure Electric P8 4dr SUV AWD (electric DD)
52 of 56 people found this review helpful
Bought the vehicle 2 weeks ago, fully optioned. Silver color. Looks wonderful, drives beautifully- comfortable fast and responsive. So 5 stars to Volvo for the basic mechanical design and build. But electric cars in particular are supposed to showcase the latest in IT linked enhancements. Being fitted with "native Google"we assumed that the infotainment component would come close to matching Tesla. And maybe it could, but with hands-down the most useless manual (paper and on line) of any car I have ever driven, a user interface that is tersely obtuse to the point of incomprehensibility, and a system instability that requires frequent resets, it is impossible to actually get the car to perform as the advertisements claim. Volvo USA don't appear to have invested in dealer training, or if they have the money has been squandered, since neither the dealer reps nor the "OnCall Help" staff have a clue either. Maybe Volvo did the design and Geely the programming and UI, but something somewhere has gone badly awry and the car is simply not fit for purpose.
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daily problems
Glenn Crighton, 09/01/2021
2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure Electric P8 4dr SUV AWD (electric DD)
23 of 24 people found this review helpful
I like the car and its performance but when I get in to drive somewhere I am so nervous waiting for the daily problem to crop up - what will it be today. The problems vary - AC not working, GPS not working, Drivers assist not working , not connecting to internet , maps quit working, display does a reset as I am driving, backup camera quit working, lost all account data so had to spend hours resetting accounts, crappy advise from Volvo on call, Volvo cars does not work
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$60k of cheap EV
Tony, 07/07/2021
2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure Electric P8 4dr SUV AWD (electric DD)
20 of 22 people found this review helpful
Drive fast, this is only good thing but with only 150 miles range at summer. Infotainment is junk, nothing works or able to connect cell phones. don't mentioned cell phone apps " on call ", its not working at all since day one, I am totally regretted for buying this car !
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It’s almost a great car.
SavyCarGirl, 07/15/2023
2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure Electric P8 4dr SUV AWD (electric DD)
14 of 15 people found this review helpful
A short disclosure I have driven every electric vehicle on the market to date and this is the one that I did choose. A short disclosure I have driven every electric vehicle on the market to date and this is the one that I did choose. My favorite was the MINI Cooper EV, but it did not have the range and space that I needed so this was second best. To start with the positives, this car is grossly overpowered, which is nice. Just be aware when the first time you press your gas paddle because it’s sensitive with a quick response. The seats are very comfortable for the front; I cannot review the backseats because I have not sat in them for long periods. The front seats and the back seats have an option for heat which is nice. Now if you are 5’4” or shorter, you might have some problems with trying to move your s visor from the forward position to the side position to block the sun. It is just not possible without moving the seat back. The backseats are stationary positions which moving from a MINI Cooper countryman was a little disappointing to see. The backseats also only can split in two ways versus the MINI Cooper countrymen's three-way split. Regarding the backseats, it's a little disappointing that you cannot adjust the headrest so it can make it cumbersome whenever you have a high back front-facing car seat. This is something I will keep in mind when you have children. I was a little surprised by this since I feel Volvo is a very family-oriented company. I think this was an oversight on their end. The interior option is good for high-heat areas because the seats don't get too hot with the materials that they choose. The design on the inside is a little underwhelming, but the seats are comfortable. The frunk has a decent amount of space to fit a charger cable or a few knickknacks and is easy to access. The visibility of this vehicle is wonderful and there are almost no blind spots, especially with the 360 mirrors. The center console compartment I think could have better space management options, but it seems like there are a lot of mods you can purchase after market. The charger that it comes with is quite impressive because it gives you different options on how to plug in to get a higher voltage pull or have it in a classic household plug for a long-term charge. It's nice that you can do a one-pedal drive system. You don’t even have to touch your brakes when you’re using this. The regeneration power of this vehicle is intense. The only downside is you have to go into settings to switch from that to the classic coasting of a normal car setting if you’re driving through the highways. So it just seems to be best to have it on one pedal drive unless you’re planning on taking a long road trip. The way I would compare this center console screen technology to some of the other vehicles that are offered is this is the Apple phone versus our Android which has customizable features. The technology screen is what you see is what you get. I like that personally. I prefer something that doesn’t keep my eyes off the road and have to figure out how to make everything work. It’s more plug-and-play or should I say plug-and-drive. I do like how it has over-the-air updates, which is very nice. I think in the United States, we are still waiting for a lot of updates to come out that Europe already has. If you’re willing to have patience, this might be a good car for you. In the hatch area, it is a two-level compartment. the top level has a decent amount of room, but I still feel like it in some ways. It is less than the MINI Cooper countryman, despite the specs saying differently. It has a nice feature where there’s a handle that you can lift and fold to get to the second compartment, which has about a foot of depth space. There’s probably about 4’ x 3’ of space in this area in length. this is nice to put flatter smaller items. There’s also the benefit of where you can kick under the hatch to open it hands-free. this is a piece of technology that I have never mastered. I've had it in previous vehicles, and I have always struggled to get it to activate. I think once you learn it, you can get it done quite easily. I love the visibility of the screen in the center console. It's very crisp and clear in the 360. Cameras are very nice and come on even when you're going through the drive-through or a tight area. This is a very handy feature, whenever you wanna avoid curbs. it has plenty of automation that makes it a self-driving vehicle when you have a cruise control assist activated with the lane assist. I find that the alerts and notifications that this vehicle offers are very soft and subtle versus some other vehicles, which are more aggressive. If you start to veer out of your lane, you get a soft vibration with a correction that is easily able to be overridden if you need it to be. I found with the Hyundai Genesis that it was quite strenuous to override that feature while it was active. The front odometer's speed/regen reading is unique. you only have two options for the middle of that screen. You could have Google Maps open on it or you could have it blank which leaves a large empty black void. Some notifications can pop up in this location. hope that we get better updates and more options for that center area. I feel like it's not utilized as well as it should be compared to the Volkswagen ID4. I think there are still a lot of little tech glitches in this vehicle but like I said before I hope that they’ll get resolved with over-air updates soon. I think the most annoying point is that you have to reset your tire pressure often depending on the barometric pressure and temperature but this is just like the Volkswagen also. I am sure they have the same technology. This is a complaint that both have. Overall, I think this is the easiest electric vehicle to walk into not knowing much about EV life. I just can’t emphasize enough how you have to have patience because I feel like technology is this list thing for all of the EVs to receive updates on in the States compared to Europe. I think my last comment that was a huge sewing point for this vehicle was the fact that had a panoramic roof that still had a sunroof that would open alongside the fact that it had a sunshade that would open and close. I think this is something very crucial whenever you live in a higher heat area or have children who necessarily don't want to have the sun on them all day long. It makes for a more comfortable drive. These are all the observations I have had after owning it for 48 hours of driving. I am sure I will learn more things as I have opportunities to take it on road trips, and other explorations. If this is a car, you choose, I highly recommend you download the PlugShare app and ABRP to help you plan your routes and know what areas to charge if you’re not charging at home and you’re on a trip where you don’t have the range. to help you plan your routes and know what areas to charge if you’re not charging at home and you’re on a trip or you don’t have the range both of these help you design The best route for you to get to the locations you’re trying to get to the best route for you to get to the locations you’re trying to get to.
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Love the car, hate the first model year issues
BeckyC, 03/06/2023
2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure Electric P8 4dr SUV AWD (electric DD)
8 of 8 people found this review helpful
This is my second XC40, the first being the first model year gasoline version. Love them both but I did not have the first-model-year issues with the gas version that I'm having with the electric. It is every bit as fun, sporty, etc. as the gas version but have had challenges with the infotainment center. I didn't even make it home from picking it up (after waiting a year for it to be built) and the infotainment center died. After 3 weeks I got the car back and loved it for almost 2 years (still under 7,000 miles on the odometer) and the infotainment had hard faults and had to be replaced again. If it weren't for the significant drop in confidence in the durability of the vehicle I would keep it until they develop longer range batteries. With the infotainment center issue (that would cost a small fortune if it weren't under warranty) I will not keep the car beyond the warranty. I love the style, pep, drive, and everything else about the car so am almost positive I will get a newer model of the same, which speaks to just how much I enjoy the car. I don't drive that much or take long trips so the range isn't a significant issue for me but can definitely see how it would be for those that do drive quite a bit. If you can get past the range, the XC40 (gasoline or Recharge version) in general, is an awesome car and I absolutely recommend either one, just not the first model year of the Recharge.
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