Hi all,

I am a Canadian owner of 2019 Volvo XC60 T5 AWD, and I want to share my bad experience with Volvo to everyone. New buyer should be aware!

I suffered a water damage of my 2019 Volvo XC60 on Oct 11, 2021. The car was bought brand-new from Newmarket Volvo on Oct 16, 2018 and it is only 3 years old. It is still under warranty, but the dealership denied to fix my car under warranty. They told me they found an insulation-like debris(image attached) in the right-rear drain hose of sunroof. It caused my car flooded by rainwater. They also told me the debris is nothing related with the car, so I have to pay the fix by myself. The service manager quoted me 25 hours of labor(about $5000) to repair, not including parts!

I don't agree with them. First, I think the debris is something like insulation of car. Second, the defective design caused the rainwater flow into car instead of out of the car. Third, they didn't notice owners to check drain hoses from time to time although the drain hoses are so important, any clog will cause water damage of the car.

Not only me, but also a lot of Volvo owners suffered the same issue - sunroof leak, including the owners of 2019 Volvo XC60. Some US Volvo owners have filed a Class Action Lawsuit against Volvo of sunroof leak. Below is the link:
https://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2...fication.shtml
Volvo Sunroof Leak Lawsuit Still Seeks Class Certification | CarComplaints.com

I wrote 3 emails to Volvo Canada 7 days ago(today is Oct 20, 2021), complaining about it and ask them to urge the service to fix my car under warranty. No reply yet.

So, I want to share my problem with everyone, please be aware when you plan to buy a car of Volvo.

If you are owning a Volvo car which has sunroof, please check the drain hose from time to time. Otherwise, you will suffer a lot!

 

All cars with a sunroof allow water to drain into the tray and then through drains to the exterior. You can't make a sunroof that fits 100% tight or it would crack with any flexing of the body.

 

Thank you for reply. But the auto maker should seal it tightly and don't let water go into car when drain hose clogged. And they should also notice owners to check the drain hose frequently.

 

Just out of curiosity, what's the best way to check the drains? Are they visible on the later models? Can you blow them out with an air house? Will debris always be visible when looking? $5K seems pretty stout to have a dealer fix it. I've had a lot of cars with a bunch of different issues but S/R issues usually related to mechanical issues.

 

You can search it on Youtube. Or pour a cup of water to each corner of the sunroof, check whether the water will come to ground quickly and quantity of output is same as input. Usually, the outlets of the 4 drain hoses are near to wheels.

 

You can't see the hoses. You can see the front drain holes with the sunroof open. Look in each front corner. I've seen a few with debris right up there. Easy to clean. Then just pour water in there and make sure it drains to the ground.

You can't see the rear holes though.

 

This is amazing article it covers all the basics and goes a little bit more. I had the same problem. I rent tesla now

 

Thank you for replying. I am sorry you suffered the same problem. But you are lucky of getting rid of XC60. I bought it with cash and can't sell it now due to I am fighting with Volvo. I've filed a claim at Canadian Motor Vehicle Arbitration Plan to push Volvo fix my car under warranty. Still waiting for a hearing.

BTW, when I bought this XC60, one of my colleague bought BMW X3, and one neighbor bought Lexus RX350. They are all nearly the same price. But now it confirms BMW and Lexus are better than Volvo! I planed to buy another XC40, but I will NEVER buy Volvo again. NEVER!

Any buyer of Volvo should be aware this. Many Volvo car owners suffered the same problem with sunroof leak and paid it by ourselves.

 

You are right. We can't see the hoses directly. I checked them several days ago. I can't see them. I just poured some water into the channel near to the corners. If the hoses are good, water will flow to ground very quickly with siphon sound. But if the hoses are clogged, we have to find a way to reach them to blow or vacuum the debris out. For the front hoses, I think it's easy to reach them. But for the rear hoses, it's difficult to reach them.

 

yup -
2020 xc60 owner here. Several weeks ago, my car wouldn’t stay on for more than about a minute — and after that, the gearshift seemed stuck. Emergency brake wouldn’t release. Had it towed to an authorized, local mechanic who suspected and found water damage - under the floor mats, everywhere. 4wks and $3300 later, I bring the car to a Volvo dealer and they tell me it will be close to $700 to fix their sunroof “defect”. I had previously reached out to Volvo N.A. to complain so they contacted the dealer and covered the sunroof fix “as a gesture of good faith”. Oh, but then I had to have brakes replaced for $1900. My bigger issue is the looming $3600 out of pocket for a design flaw. Volvo “won’t cover that”. I have spoken with an attorney and plan to pursue through courts if necessary because I am so disappointed that Volvo still hasn’t fixed this issue. Anyone else have a similar experience? The class action suit covers mostly xc90s…. LMK!