Volvo Cars has issued a recall affecting over 14,000 electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in the United States due to a serious software glitch that could disable braking.
At the heart of this recall is a software malfunction (version 3.5.14) that can completely disable your vehicle’s braking system under specific conditions. This is particularly concerning because it affects regenerative braking modes, which are a core feature of electric vehicles.
Here’s how it can happen: If you’re coasting downhill for more than 100 seconds without touching either pedal in ‘B’ mode (for PHEVs) or One Pedal Drive mode (for pure EVs), the software bug can kick in. This can impacts the brake control module and the overall driveability of your vehicle, undermining one of the key user experience features of modern EVs.
A Volvo has advised drivers to avoid using ‘B’ mode or One Pedal Drive until the corrective software has been installed. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recall notice confirms that the brake module software update will be provided free of charge, either over-the-air (OTA) or by a dealer. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed out around August 6, 2025.
The recall impacts “certain” models from 2020-2026. Here’s a list of the vehicles involved:
- 2023 Volvo C40 BEV
- 2025 EC40
- 2023-2024 XC40 BEV
- 2020-2026 XC90 PHEV
- 2022-2026 XC60 PHEV
- 2023-2025 S60 PHEV
- 2024-2025 V60 PHEV
- 2025-2026 EX40
- 2025 S90 PHEV
It appears this issue is isolated to a specific dealership-installed software version that wasn’t available over-the-air initially. However, Volvo has since released a corrected version, 3.6.4, which began rolling out via OTA and at retailers’ workshops on June 16.
This isn’t the first time Volvo has faced a recall for its electrified fleet this year. Earlier, approximately 7,500 PHEVs from 2020-2022 in the same model range were recalled due to defective high-voltage battery cells that posed a fire risk.
