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Car failed to restart during stop/start

9K views 41 replies 19 participants last post by  whyte_glove 
#1 · (Edited)
I had the most unpleasant experience to date happen last night in this car. I was on my way home with dinner and came to a busy 4 way stop near my house. The engine cut, like it always does, when I came to a stop and waited for my turn. My turn came, took my foot off the brake and hit the gas- nothing. Looked down and a message was coming from the top-center of the drivers screen saying something about failing to restart and needing to shift and restart. Usually I hear the engine restart, but I had the stereo pretty cranked, which I usually don’t.

So then, in a panic I shifted to park and tried restarting- all the startup/idiot lights were coming on and my gauges were going all the way up and back down, but the car wasn’t even cranking. At this point I had a chorus of horns behind me- put the flashers on. Tried two more times and it finally started and I just took off and drove home. I got no error messages and the damn stop/start system was still active as soon as I got the engine running again. And every time I had tried starting it, before it cranked, all these different messages from the top-center of the screen kept popping up.

I let it stop the engine a couple times when I got back to my driveway and it fired right up like usual.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this? I’m seeing some examples in the XC90 forum and it seems like it might be related to a bad battery, or of course, software. But the posts I’m seeing there are from a couple years ago and I would hope the software has been figured out across the fleet at this point. This car already has 2 unresolvable problems; it doesn’t need a 3rd.


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#2 ·
I had the most unpleasant experience to date happen last night in this car. I was on my way home with dinner and came to a busy 4 way stop near my house. The engine cut, like it always does, when I came to a stop and waited for my turn. My turn came, took my foot off the brake and hit the gas- nothing. Looked down and a message was coming from the top-center of the drivers screen saying something about failing to restart and needing to shift and restart. Usually I hear the engine restart, but I had the stereo pretty cranked, which I usually don't.

So then, in a panic I shifted to park and tried restarting- all the startup/idiot lights were coming on and my gauges were going all the way up and back down, but the car wasn't even cranking. At this point I had a chorus of horns behind me- put the flashers on. Tried two more times and it finally started and I just took off and drove home. I got no error messages and the damn stop/start system was still active as soon as I got the engine running again. And every time I had tried starting it, before it cranked, all these different messages from the top-center of the screen kept popping up.

I let it stop the engine a couple times when I got back to my driveway and it fired right up like usual.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this? I'm seeing some examples in the XC90 forum and it seems like it might be related to a bad battery, or of course, software. But the posts I'm seeing there are from a couple years ago and I would hope the software has been figured out across the fleet at this point. This car already has 2 unresolvable problems; it doesn't need a 3rd.

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1. I always recommend filming these problems (break out the smart phone). And then when you take into service, you can show Volvo what happened.

2. Some of these gremlins are harder to replicate than others. I'd start by taking your vehicle in for service and seeing if any codes were thrown. They might start by replacing the start / stop battery or checking for an electrical issue. That'd be my guess.
 
#3 · (Edited)
For sure, next time I'll be ready with my iPhone. It just really caught me by surprise and my only focus was on making the beeping behind me stop and getting out of traffic.

I guess I have no choice but to bring it in to the dealer this week. I was really hoping I could push any further repairs out to the 10k service, but I'm only at 2k now... they'll cringe for sure when they see me pull in.

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#4 ·
Breaking out your iPhone when the honking starts behind you might not be prudent...

One day it will just stop working and they'll want an outrageou$ amount of money for a battery, which you can decline and just enjoy life with out the Volvo Beta Auto Start Stop (B/A/S/S).
 
#5 ·
The Start/Stop isn't supposed to work if the battery State of Charge is below a certain level. That said, I have had customers who came in with similar concerns. I wasn't able to verify it. I would test drive it but Start/Stop wouldn't work. Then I checked the batteries and one or both failed. Replaced the failed batteries, reset the BMS, made sure software was up to date and test drove and everything functioned properly.
 
#6 ·
Would you say that the auto-start/stop feature in cars is a bad idea? That it isn't good to keep turning the engine on and off many, many times a day in usual urban commuting traffic? That it'd be better to keep the auto-start/stop option turned off, so that the engine remains on when doing lots of stops and starts?
 
#9 ·
I wouldn't worry about the health of the car in general. If the engine is cold, it won't work. So they are warm starts. The only concern might be the starter, which they say can handle it. Whether it can handle it or not, less starts on a starter is less wear.
 
#12 ·
I was actually really getting into it until that happened. It took some getting used to, but it’s much smoother and faster in the ‘19s than the older models.

My around-town fuel mileage definitely benefited from having it on.


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#13 ·
Same Experience Yesterday 10/26

I had the most unpleasant experience to date happen last night in this car. I was on my way home with dinner and came to a busy 4 way stop near my house. The engine cut, like it always does, when I came to a stop and waited for my turn. My turn came, took my foot off the brake and hit the gas- nothing. Looked down and a message was coming from the top-center of the drivers screen saying something about failing to restart and needing to shift and restart. Usually I hear the engine restart, but I had the stereo pretty cranked, which I usually don't.

So then, in a panic I shifted to park and tried restarting- all the startup/idiot lights were coming on and my gauges were going all the way up and back down, but the car wasn't even cranking. At this point I had a chorus of horns behind me- put the flashers on. Tried two more times and it finally started and I just took off and drove home. I got no error messages and the damn stop/start system was still active as soon as I got the engine running again. And every time I had tried starting it, before it cranked, all these different messages from the top-center of the screen kept popping up.

I let it stop the engine a couple times when I got back to my driveway and it fired right up like usual.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this? I'm seeing some examples in the XC90 forum and it seems like it might be related to a bad battery, or of course, software. But the posts I'm seeing there are from a couple years ago and I would hope the software has been figured out across the fleet at this point. This car already has 2 unresolvable problems; it doesn't need a 3rd.

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This exact thing happened to my partner yesterday morning in our 2018 XC60 and was frightening. She had come up to a two lane highway from a side street on a downhill, proceeded to remove her foot from the brake to turn onto the highway and nothing happened. The car rolled out into traffic since the sidestreet was a hill. Sitting in the middle of the road, she first tried shifting to reverse to back up with no luck. After trying that she put the car in park, shut it off, turned it back on and back in drive where the engine turned on. This whole thing happened in the middle of the road and we're really lucky there was no cross-traffic.

After talking about it, she mentioned that there was a message friday or saturday about a recent software update that had completed when she turned the car on. We're not 100% sure it was before or after the incident.

Either way we're both frightened by this and don't feel comfortable using the feature anymore. If there had been cross-traffic things could have ended up much worse...
 
#17 ·
This exact thing happened to my partner yesterday morning in our 2018 XC60 and was frightening. She had come up to a two lane highway from a side street on a downhill, proceeded to remove her foot from the brake to turn onto the highway and nothing happened. The car rolled out into traffic since the sidestreet was a hill. Sitting in the middle of the road, she first tried shifting to reverse to back up with no luck. After trying that she put the car in park, shut it off, turned it back on and back in drive where the engine turned on. This whole thing happened in the middle of the road and we're really lucky there was no cross-traffic.

After talking about it, she mentioned that there was a message friday or saturday about a recent software update that had completed when she turned the car on. We're not 100% sure it was before or after the incident.

Either way we're both frightened by this and don't feel comfortable using the feature anymore. If there had been cross-traffic things could have ended up much worse...
This easily could have been the case with me too- luckily the intersection was flat, but I live in a hilly area and there have been lots of times my car was already rolling while it was restarting.

This is one of those systems that shouldn't go anywhere near a production car until it's fully tested and validated. I read through the manual and it says that if you have the stereo turned way up, or there are any other large draws on the electrical system then it won't activate the start stop system. Yet, it did exactly what it said it wouldn't here.

And while the battery may have a fault or something, it has never seemed that the battery is low on charge. The car cranks quickly and fires up really quick. I'm surprised that it wouldn't even try to start when this happened. There was no clicking or anything to suggest it was trying.

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#14 ·
This happened to our '16 XC90. Sometimes it wouldn't start in the morning but it took a dozen or so tries to finally work. When you try to turn the car on, it was just a click or two and then nothing.

It was the starter that needed replacing which isn't great for a 3 year old vehicle.
 
#21 ·
FWIW, I've had S/S enabled in my P3 for all three years I had it. I liked it too. Mostly because it always worked and I never had an issue.

In my SPA S60, I turned it off the moment I got it, and I'm never turning it back on.
In my next SPA car after the 2018 XC60 I'll be turning it off permanently as well. (I drive XC60 in Individual mode with S/S turned off)
I drive mostly highway, so it makes no sense for me anyway.
 
#31 ·
I have been driving the Drive-E Volvos since they debuted, more than 5 years ago; I have driven over 30 different cars for an average of 11,000 to 12,000 miles each. Never had such a problem occur, not invalidating of course what some people have experienced here.

I know that this feature may take some time to get used to. However, it's there for a reason and if we all care a bit more for the environment, we wouldn't be turning it off. Every second of our cars not emitting exhaust (no matter how "clean" our exhaust fumes are) makes a difference.
 
#22 ·
I understand people’s opinions that they don’t like it. Me when I pull up to a situation just like that I turn the system off just not to lose that second or two when you need to get going.

That aside I don’t think that a car with this system is any more dangerous then a car without it. In a traditional car if you have a battery failure your engine will also turn of at low idle condition. Sure one can argue the more technology circuits we place in a car we make it more “dangerous” or prone to issues but data and static’s show otherwise.

Loose terminals is normally what causes issues like this, this could cause the battery to fail but if you address this sooner then later you are good to go.

If you did not had a chance to go to the dealership I would recommend a visit soon. tell them to check all the batteries, connections, and the charging system.

Good luck and keep us posted
 
#23 ·
I understand people's opinions that they don't like it. Me when I pull up to a situation just like that I turn the system off just not to lose that second or two when you need to get going.

That aside I don't think that a car with this system is any more dangerous then a car without it. In a traditional car if you have a battery failure your engine will also turn of at low idle condition. Sure one can argue the more technology circuits we place in a car we make it more "dangerous" or prone to issues but data and static's show otherwise.

Loose terminals is normally what causes issues like this, this could cause the battery to fail but if you address this sooner then later you are good to go.

If you did not had a chance to go to the dealership I would recommend a visit soon. tell them to check all the batteries, connections, and the charging system.

Good luck and keep us posted
I just scheduled an appointment for next Wednesday. I've asked that they test both batteries and check all connections.

I'm also having them try to figure out why the car still shakes above 65, fix any loose weather stripping and replace the noisy front brake dust shields- so it's likely to be in there for a few days at least.

Thanks for everyone's reply's and helpful tips. I'll update this post once I know what's going on.

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#25 ·
I just wanted to update this post- I had to reschedule my appointment at the dealer until next week due to work.

I’m shooting for early/middle of next week. I’ve been leaving the start stop system off mostly and haven’t had any issues with starting the car since.


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#26 ·
I dropped the car off this morning with the dealer. They’re checking out the charging system and batteries- I’m hoping it’s something as simple as a faulty battery.

Unfortunately the battery is only one of a handful of problems, so it could be a day or two before I hear back. They’re also looking at my weather stripping issues, brake noise, shaking 19” pirelli tires, static/flickering of map in drivers screen, and hopefully some software updates to eliminate the lag I get when hitting the gas from a stop.

I’ll post updates as I hear from the dealer.


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#28 ·
Well I finally heard from the dealer this past Friday afternoon, but didn’t really get a lot of info from them. They said they needed to keep the car through the weekend, at least, and were waiting on some brake parts.

The SA sounded a little flustered by the amount of issues with my car, but if I understood him correctly they didn’t find a bad battery but they are following instructions from Volvo and applying software updates to try to remedy the start/stop issue. And he said something about opening another case with Volvo.

So I’m guessing that means they’re seeing a problem- but it wasn’t really clear over the phone...

@Tech- would the car have stored any error codes in the car when the start stop system failed? It’s didn’t throw any dash lights and it didn’t save a message in Sensus, I just got a bunch of messages while it was happening then everything went back to normal.


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#30 ·
Well I finally heard from the dealer this past Friday afternoon, but didn't really get a lot of info from them. They said they needed to keep the car through the weekend, at least, and were waiting on some brake parts.

The SA sounded a little flustered by the amount of issues with my car, but if I understood him correctly they didn't find a bad battery but they are following instructions from Volvo and applying software updates to try to remedy the start/stop issue. And he said something about opening another case with Volvo.

So I'm guessing that means they're seeing a problem- but it wasn't really clear over the phone...

@Tech- would the car have stored any error codes in the car when the start stop system failed? It's didn't throw any dash lights and it didn't save a message in Sensus, I just got a bunch of messages while it was happening then everything went back to normal.

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There likely would be codes stored, yes.
 
#29 ·
This has happened to my wife as well, but we figured out what causes it, and it's operator error. :p

We were able to replicate it by coming to a stop (engine stops), then going back and forth from brake to gas too quickly and too aggressively. (aka: digital driving) Every time that would result in stalling/cutting out the motor. I believe this is a fail safe that the car is doing because the driver is so quickly going from brake to gas to brake again, that the electric starter is still engaged, and it's killing everything to save the flexplate and starter motor.

Moral of the story? Be an analog driver. Transition smoothly from one pedal to the other and don't mash the pedals.
 
#34 ·
I do not find that having the start/stop inhibits my driving or otherwise makes me feel unsafe. To the contrary, I wish that it was easier for my start/stop to engage. Perhaps it is because I came from driving a hybrid for the past 8 model years.
 
#35 ·
I had a 2020 T5 loaner for a few days and I didn’t mind the start/stop system at all. It just seems wasteful to me to be idling unnecessarily. I’m flooring it in Dynamic off the red lights on the highways so I’m making up for it when stopped. :whistle:
 
#37 ·
I picked the car up Wednesday from the dealer and they said it was a software issue. I’m not really sure what to think, but I have start stop back on for now.

I really don’t mind the system in most driving circumstances, ands it’s easily turned off when I don’t want it. I would say I’ve changed the way I drive a little with it though- I really don’t like giving it gas until the engine has a second to run, so I don’t think I was being too quick with it when it failed. But I did have the stereo cranked and wasn’t listening to the engine, so who knows maybe I did jump on it too quick.

Either way, it’s going to take a while for me to be totally comfortable with it again. But I like the system overall, especially the reduction in emissions and fuel consumption, so it’s turned back on for now.


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#38 ·
I just wanted to update everyone that the start/stop problem hasn’t recurred since the software update ~ 6 weeks ago. I will say that it activates a lot less since the update, and it didn’t activate at all for almost a week when I first got it back. But it was pretty cold so that could’ve been preventing it. I might try throwing it on the smart charger to see if that makes the s/s activate more- but it’s at the dealer getting looked at for the high speed vibrations for, I’m praying the last time. I’ll test the charger out when I get it back home.


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#39 ·
I just wanted to update everyone that the start/stop problem hasn't recurred since the software update ~ 6 weeks ago. I will say that it activates a lot less since the update, and it didn't activate at all for almost a week when I first got it back. But it was pretty cold so that could've been preventing it. I might try throwing it on the smart charger to see if that makes the s/s activate more- but it's at the dealer getting looked at for the high speed vibrations for, I'm praying the last time. I'll test the charger out when I get it back home.

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Cars are computers on wheels with a mind of their own. Hope the kinks get worked out so you can start enjoying the vehicle.
 
#40 · (Edited)
Agreed- I expected some hiccups with this level of newer tech, especially considering it’s a new model from a brand new plant.

Even with all these problems, I still like the car and I’m starting to get pretty attached to it. My wish is that they will finally fix whatever is causing this shaking for good and I can just focus on enjoying it.


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#41 ·
Agreed- I expected some hiccups with this level of newer tech, especially considering it's a new model from a brand new plant.

Even with all these problems, I still like the car and I'm starting to get pretty attached to it. My wish is that they will finally fix whatever is causing this shaking for good and I can just focus on enjoying it.

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I bought a 2015.5 and it had a lot of bugs that needed hammered out. And oddities that left me confounded. But things have been resolved, but it definitely tried my patience.

1. Took four attempts to dealer (160 mile round trip) to fix my backup camera. It randomly failed to engage, would same camera unavailable, etc. Took replacing Wiring Harness, Camera, Software Updates, Camera Seal, etc. Could have lemon lawed the vehicle but I stuck through it.

2. Driver's side folding mirror motor died.

3. Rearview Mirror Clouded Over

4. Gearshift enamel cracked

Nothing like getting a new model year and all the kinks that need worked out / repaired with it. FYI, I now enjoy the 15.5 but took a while.
 
#42 ·
I had the most unpleasant experience to date happen last night in this car. I was on my way home with dinner and came to a busy 4 way stop near my house. The engine cut, like it always does, when I came to a stop and waited for my turn. My turn came, took my foot off the brake and hit the gas- nothing. Looked down and a message was coming from the top-center of the drivers screen saying something about failing to restart and needing to shift and restart. Usually I hear the engine restart, but I had the stereo pretty cranked, which I usually don’t.

So then, in a panic I shifted to park and tried restarting- all the startup/idiot lights were coming on and my gauges were going all the way up and back down, but the car wasn’t even cranking. At this point I had a chorus of horns behind me- put the flashers on. Tried two more times and it finally started and I just took off and drove home. I got no error messages and the damn stop/start system was still active as soon as I got the engine running again. And every time I had tried starting it, before it cranked, all these different messages from the top-center of the screen kept popping up.

I let it stop the engine a couple times when I got back to my driveway and it fired right up like usual.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this? I’m seeing some examples in the XC90 forum and it seems like it might be related to a bad battery, or of course, software. But the posts I’m seeing there are from a couple years ago and I would hope the software has been figured out across the fleet at this point. This car already has 2 unresolvable problems; it doesn’t need a 3rd.


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I also had this yesterday. Sounds very similar. The symphony of horns is not Prokofiev but rather a queue of pissed off drivers wondering what this moron is doing not moving forward. At that time, getting your phone out isn't the first thing on the mind.
 
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