NHTSA Complaint #10445894 — 2004 VOLVO XC90

WHILE DRIVING, THE ELECTRONIC PANEL ALL SHUT DOWN AND I GOT MSG REGARDING BRAKE FAILURE AND TO STOP SAFELY. I WAS ON LEFT-MOST LANE OF HIGHWAY AND MY SIGNALS AND HAZARD LIGHTS WOULD NOT TURN ON!!! EVEN MY POWER WINDOW WOULD NOT WORK SO I COULDN'T OPEN FOR ME TO MAKE HAND-SIGNALS. LUCKY MY FATHER-IN-LAW NEXT TO ME HAD WINDOW OPEN SO I TOLD HIM TO MAKE MOTIONS TO SURROUNDING CARS FOR ME TO CHANGE LANES SAFELY. WHEN I WAS ABLE TO STOP, I TURNED OFF CAR, TURNED ON AGAIN AND GOT SRS AIRBAG URGENT MSG ON PANEL. SINCE CAR STARTED OK BUT WITH MSG, I TOOK SIDE STREETS HOME BUT IT SHUT OFF AGAIN 2 TIMES. I DID SAME THING (STOP/RESTARTED) AND MADE IT HOME. I HAD MY IN-LAWS WITH ME AND MY 3 YOUNG KIDS WHEN IT FIRST HAPPENED ON 12/23/11. BECAUSE OF HOLIDAYS/VACATION AND SINCE NEAREST DEALER IS 20 MILES AWAY (AN HOUR DRIVE WITH TRAFFIC) AND SERVICE DEPARTMENT ONLY OPEN ON WEEKDAYS, WE COULDN'T TAKE TO DEALER RIGHT AWAY. SINCE IT WAS AN AIRBAG MESSAGE, MY HUSBAND NOT TOO CONCERNED - HE WASN'T WITH ME WHEN IT FIRST HAPPENED SO I DON'T THINK HE REALIZED THE GRAVITY. HE USED IT FEW TIMES AND 2 WKS LATER, IT HAPPENED TO HIM. THIS TIME WHEN RESTARTED, THERE WAS ALSO CHECK ENGINE MSG AND NOTICED DIFFICULTY STEERING. HE TOOK TO DEALER, AND BOTH TECHNICIAN AND MANAGER COULD NOT DIAGNOSE PROBLEM! THEY JUST RESET TO REMOVE THE SRS MSG AND DID A SOFTWARE UPDATE. WE THOUGHT/HOPED IT WAS FIXED BUT THEN YESTERDAY THE SAME THING HAPPENED (ALL SHUT DOWN)! LAST NIGHT WE STARTED CHECKING ON-LINE AND FOUND MANY SIMILAR COMPLAINTS! WE ARE DEVASTATED BECAUSE WE LOVE/TAKE CARE OF THIS CAR, WHICH WE USE PRIMARILY ON WEEKENDS AND TRIPS. WE THOUGHT IT'S SAFE FOR OUR FAMILY BUT NOW AREN'T COMFORTABLE THAT TAKING BACK TO DEALER WILL FIX PROBLEM. I AM VERY SURPRISED THERE HAS BEEN NO RECALL. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE BECAUSE IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THERE ARE FATALITIES. *TT