2023 Volvo XC60

Occasionally, when I put the car in reverse, the brakes do not activate. The pedal feels stiff and hard to push. But then if I let off the brake pedal, and reapply the brakes, the problem goes away. This puts me and my passengers at risk of an accident. I have not shown the problem to a dealer yet as the problem is intermittent. I have not seen any warning signs about this problem. I have owned the car for about 6 months, since September of 2025 and have seen the problem about 8 or 10 times.

Driving the car at under 20 mph making a left turn into my cul-de-sac which has an upward slope. Car system thought it would crash into the tree straight ahead and started emergency braking making loud noise and then the steering wheels locked. Ended up hitting the parked car in front of neighbors house due to brake and steering malfunction. Heard from other Volvo owners that this has been a problem. Even backing out of garage where there is no object behind the car the car emergency braking system engages causing whiplash. No longer feel safe driving this car.

Yesterday, while driving on highway, I received a tire pressure warning for all four tires. I filled all tires to the recommended 35psi. The warning went away. Today, after I parked my vehicle, I saw a “parking brake service required” message on my dash. The “park” indicator on my dash started flashing. Now, I’m worried about a brake failure. I only mentioned the tire pressure warning bc I’ve never had multiple error messages like this before.

Twice within two weeks the car was shifted into reverse and the brake became unresponsive. The car started moving backward, but the brake was not depressible. On one occasion, the car was shifted into drive, which then allowed the brake to be fully depressed. On the other occasion, the brake was pushed repeatedly until the car finally allowed it to be fully depressed after a few seconds of rolling backward.

On Friday, January 6, 2023, I left work in my 2023 Volvo XC60 Recharge. As I merged onto I26 nothing appeared out of the ordinary. As I began to speed up, my tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) alerted me to a low-pressure situation. I pulled to the side of the road and requested roadside assistance. The rear driver-side tire had a screw embedded in the tread. A plug was placed by roadside assistance, and I was told to proceed to the dealership for a new tire as the side wall had damage. About a mile from the dealership my TPMS again began to alarm. I needed to be more familiar with my vehicle to troubleshoot the issue, so Hendricks advised me to return. Hendricks again inspected the vehicle. They stated that the driver’s side tire had been over-inflated. I left the dealership to return home. As I was exiting I26 the TPMS monitor again alarmed me. I was surprised to see that it stated that all the tires were low on pressure. I was a short distance from my destination, so I decided to proceed and investigate there as it was dark. At the restaurant, I looked at the tires, which looked perfectly fine and not over or under-inflated. After dinner, I left the restaurant approximately two miles from my house and decided to contact Hendricks in the morning. Nothing was unusual about the car as I turned right into my development. One block into the development is a stop sign. At the stop sign, I turned left to go to my home. As I began to apply the brakes, the car started to alarm, “Brake Failure.” I frantically pumped the brakes, and the CAR DID NOT STOP! It kept going straight right toward our community pool and lake! Straight ahead of me is our community pool and a 300-acre lake (it is a retention pond but calling it that does not overinflate lot prices, so they call it a lake). I did not end up in an accident or the lake because I quickly “skidded” the car sideways.