Some 2022-2023 Volvo PHEV vehicles could experience a loss of drive power because of a software error that may prevent the combustion engine from starting. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed in December.

Volvo first became aware of the problem after receiving complaints of a vehicle no start condition in several Volvo models. (A low coolant flow issue was determined to be a potential cause.) Further investigation found that the estimated cooling flow on the electrical drive (ED) cooling circuit was set to zero when max cooling was requested. The problem was caused by faulty software logic. When the estimated cooling flow is set to zero the inverter generator module will set available torque to zero and the combustion engine will not start.

If the issue occurs the driver will experience a warning message in dim that “Propulsion System Service is Required“, at start. The vehicle will continue to start and drive on electric propulsion until a second warning appears – “Turtle in DIM and speed limited to 75 km/h“. If the driver ignores these visual and mechanical warnings, the vehicle will display “stop safely” and lose electric propulsion as the high voltage battery is depleted.

The vehicles affected include:

The problem will be corrected through a ECM software update. Volvo’s number for this recall is R10198 and the NHTSA campaign number is 22V-793.

If your vehicle is experiencing repeated problems it could be a Lemon. Know your Lemon Law Rights. If you have any questions about your rights and the California Lemon Law, please call our office at 1-888-395-3666 and get some great Lemon Law advice!