As of Thursday, Volvo is recalling 121,605 vehicles in the U.S. due to a possible failure of the automatic emergency braking system. As the system is fitted as standard equipment on every model, this affects 2019 and 2020 examples of the S60, V60 and V60 Cross Country, S90, V90 and V90 Cross Country, XC40, XC60 and XC90.
Here’s the issue: Automatic emergency braking is supposed to work by detecting objects in the car’s path and stopping faster than a human may react in that situation. However, Volvo says incompatible software working with new hardware on these vehicles may not detect other vehicles or objects. As a result, the system may not “engage as intended.”
A recall is necessary to fix the issue, but the repair itself is straightforward. Affected owners need a software update, which will ensure the hardware communicates properly with the appropriate systems. Volvo expects to begin the repair campaign on May 1. Owners obviously shouldn’t rely on the AEB system even in normal circumstances, but it pays to be especially careful while waiting for the update to be installed.
Although the recall is concerning, we still appreciate just how safe and capable Volvos have become. Here’s one of our more entertaining outings in a Volvo XC40 recently:
