Marked as misleading:
>*Volvo has told Autocar that the EX30 has been taken off of its UK online configurator because a 2025-model-year version is due on 8 July. The firm insists the machine remains on sale, with examples currently in dealer stock available,and customers able to go to a dealer and pre-select an MY2025 version while the configurator is updated.*
Hat tip to u/markeydarkey2.
Now that's a misleading title, from the article:
>Volvo has told Autocar that the EX30 has been taken off of its UK online configurator because a 2025-model-year version is due on 8 July. The firm insists the machine remains on sale, with examples currently in dealer stock available,and customers able to go to a dealer and pre-select an MY2025 version while the configurator is updated.
It looks like the refunds are not a formal Volvo position, but instead are a remedy some owners have negotiated:
>These issues, owners have told Autocar, range from screens going black and steering-wheel buttons not responding to cars not charging and even emergency braking systems randomly activating.
>Owners have also shared stories and images online of bricked infotainment touchscreens, incorrect information displayed (such as time and range), profiles reverting back to factory settings and driver aids failing.
>Some issues have been so crippling that owners have returned their cars to Volvo for full refunds, Autocar has been told.
As an XC40 Recharge owner, I've been saying this for a couple years now: Volvo needs to massively invest in software. Like double their software engineering team in the next few months. At least.
In the several years the car has been out, the software updates have barely caught up to the features available in their older vehicles. Let alone the lack of camping/dog mode, a sentry mode, phone-as-key, manual preconditioning, any sort of detailed vehicle information display (battery health, temp, instantaneous kW), etc.
And then put some good hardware in the car. An Intel Atom from 2016 is not going to cut it. They should be over-spec'ing the SOC so it still runs well when the car is eight years old with numerous additions to the software. The current CPU can barely handle the load today. It's a $50k+ vehicle, they shouldn't have skimped on the computer.
I really like everything else about the car, but I would kill to have Rivian's software. Too bad Volvo didn't make a deal like VW just did.
This is a problem that pretty much every automaker (other than Tesla) has come across. Historically, most automakers have just outsourced software development to third party vendors and contractors. EVs are much more software dependent and development needs to be brought in-house, but frankly these companies just do not have the capability, expertise, and culture to write good software.
Also XC40 owner and the software is part of the reason I’m getting rid of it. AEB goes off every time I park in my car park. Sensors overall are either too sensitive or not enough. No consistency. Responsiveness of the screen is slow as shit. I paid the USD equivalent of 85,000 for this shit car.
Finnish magazine Moottori, the member magazine of the Automobile and Touring Club of Finland, [reviewed the EX30 in February](https://moottori.fi/koeajo/koeajo-volvo-ex30-den-glider-ut/). Here are my favourite picks:
* Glove box is opened via the touch screen
* There is no distinct instrument cluster nor HUD, so speed and other information is showed on the top part of the touch screen. Glancing over to see the speed is alright, but various warning lights and messages are too small.
* Adaptive cruise control following distance adjustment is via the touch screen
* Activating the rear fog light is via the touch screen, three taps from the home display, and finally confirmation via the steering wheel. This is hardly ideal on a highway.
* Driver attention monitor starts beeping after 2.5 seconds of looking at the touch screen.
* There are only two controls for the electric door windows, and a toggle for selecting between controlling the front or the rear windows.
* It feels like Volvo's years of work for traffic safety and ergonomics have been throwin in the trash. The result is a car, which is often rather irritating to operate.
* The software appears to be unfinished. The reversing camera updates at about 15fps, the navigation suggested driving wrong way around a roundabout, steering wheel heater could not be turned off, and the digital handbook was misspelled (käyttöopas became köyttöopas; "guide for tying ropes" or something). Audio equalizer settings are forgotten on almost every startup, and the soundbar sounds terrible.
* Amusingly, the awful EU-regulated speeding chime, which is specifically supposed to be enabled by default on every startup, sometimes stays disabled for days.
* Two keys are provided; a keycard which has to be taken close to the pillar for it to work, and a tiny remote without buttons which is distance-triggered. However, sometimes it triggered from 10 meters away, sometimes it had to be waved across the pillar several times. Apparently the remote will become an option later on, and the standard key will be a phone app.
* The AWD Twin Performance is RWD by default and activates the front motor as needed. However, the front motor takes more than a second to wake up, so in winter driving most take-offs start with a second of spinning the rear wheels. They joke about it being reminiscent of jumping to hyperspace in Star Wars; "It'll take a few moments to get the coordinates from the navicomputer."
* The most dangerous moment of the test drive happened while driving at a stable speed with the cruise control, when the car suddenly and spontaneously accelerated hard enough to break rear traction and cause the car to start swerving left. Cruise control did not auto-cancel however, nor did stability control react until after well over a second, by which time the driver was already compensating.
* Average energy consumption was considered rather high.
* Despite the weight, the EX30 does not feel like a large car to drive; the rear is quite bouncy.
* The steering lacks feel, and is best described as "toy car -like"
Good: internal space compared to external dimensions
Bad: ergonomics, driveability, energy consumption, software
Well, it's basically a Chinese Zeekr X with a more sparsely-equipped interior. I sat in the sister model, Smart #1 (Brabus), and was also frustrated by some of the design choices. Sure, the #1 did have both an instrument cluster display and a HUD, but for example side mirror adjustment had to be selected on the touch screen (while the actual adjustment was done via buttons on the steering wheel). Oh, and it too [hid rear fog light in the touch screen menus](https://old.reddit.com/r/electricvehicles/comments/1chtde3/smart_1_review_and_drive/l25taff/).
Sharing window buttons between front and rear has to be one of the oddest cost cutting methods I have read about. I want to say there is another brand which did this. How does an engineer or designer even begin to think this is worthwhile?
>How does an engineer or designer even begin to think this is worthwhile?
Honestly it's not the worst cost-cutting idea by far. If you think about it, how often does a driver actually need to lower the rear windows from the driver's seat? I certainly can't remember the last time I did that.
I'm honestly surprised Tesla wasn't the first to come up with this idea given how much more cost-cutting they do overall (which I find acceptable for the most part - I have zero problem with having the mirror adjustments, trunk opener, lock/unlock, etc integrated into the screen).
> how often does a driver actually need to lower the rear windows from the driver's seat?
You asked, so the honest answer is from april through october (minus the times it's really hot so I'm using AC), it's *every time I drive my car.*
> how often does a driver actually need to lower the rear windows from the driver's seat? I certainly can't remember the last time I did that.
I see you don't have small kids...
I actually have a nephew who visits often enough that I keep a child seat in storage. I still haven't had to lower the window for him, because my back seat has climate vents.
My car has back vents too, but still my kids love to have the windows down to say hello to their friends as we pass by or to just enjoy the breeze when we're not on the highway
Yeah I have an ID4 and despite every single reviewer harping on it for years it’s a total non-issue. Once a year I want to activate the rear windows I’ll hit the toggle switch. Such a dumb thing to complain about
I’m not too bothered, but in climates with moderate temperatures but a lot of sun, opening all the windows at low speed is often the quickest way to cool the vehicle
Same thing in the VW ID.4, but honestly, I don't mind so much. I had dedicated buttons for front and rear windows in my Prius, and I frequently hit the back buttons stabbing blindly when I tried to roll down the front windows. On my ID.4 it's front by default, and I have to push an extra button if I want to open the rear windows. Not a problem, of course, for rear passengers... All in all , I think there are real reasons for cutting the extra two buttons
As a mostly happy XC40 owner this is sad to read. We were considering Volvo for our next EV down the line, but not anymore with the direction they're going. I guess we'll get a Rivian.
Yeah, it's kinda like the Smart #1 where everything is on the touch screen, and the owner's manual has tens if not hundreds of warnings like this:
> WARNING Risk of interference caused by the centre display
> You may be distracted if you operate the integrated information and communication equipment while driving. You could lose control of the vehicle.
> Note the road and traffic conditions, *stop the vehicle safely*, and then operate the centre display.
I hate this trend for every car maker to ditch all hardware knobs and leave everything to be controlled by the central touchscreen. It is not only inconvenient, but it is also dangerous. And if you steal something from your competitor, at least steal the good ideas, not the terrible ones.
I mean they had to pull the 3.X update because it caused so many issues. My rearview camera would fail to launch, which is a crazy safety hazard (how they are not forcing a recall on this is interesting). There were even reports of the AGM batteries running at 15V instead of 12V which is very damaging.
Not to mention Maps taking minutes to launch from a cold boot, it's clear that all their resources are on the 3/4.
I have 3.0.3 and have no major issues and the camera is better than it was before with no flickering. Obviously some people are having problems and it should have been tested but it’s nothing compared to what the EX30 software state currently is at.
Seems to be linked to just getting in and driving. If you give it a little time to do the boot sequence first, it’s less common in my experience. But if you want to try it, jump in, stick in reverse and go
I also wonder if it has to do with how many apps are installed. The processor is weak and I think installing a lot of apps may make things worse. I don’t have many issues with my P2 software but the camera does blink sometimes. In general, it’s just not a high quality camera, but that’s hardware not software.
The other issues listed for the EX30 don’t seem to be 100% for the P2. For example, I’ve had no problems with the phone app (iPhone 14), or Phone as a Key. Don’t have dog mode, but who needs dog mode if you have manual conditioning with the app? I don’t leave my dog in the car for more than 30 minutes, honey. I kind of like that the P2 doesn’t have a bunch of modes. It just does what I want it to do.
My Google maps and Spotify take turns restarting when I switch between them. Loads of fun on a long trip. After the 1.x versions until 3.0.3 I never manually rebooted it. Now I have to do that at least every other time I get in the car. I guess the moral here is stick to even number major releases.
Not everyone. Dji probably have some of the best drone software around. My BYD has become better as the updates come through. From the experience of VW owners, their software leaves a lot to desire as well. The point is that bad software can come from anywhere.
Speaking from experience, Volvo's hardware quality is really good but their software is extremely bad. I won't be getting another, there are so many software issues.
People said the software would be great because it runs Google software, but there's probably still a lot of lower level software that isn't from Google.
Inevitable when a significant hiring numbers are not for talent but to fill certain quotas.
Or like asking to invert a binary tree on white board during interview?
I can promise you the drop in Google product quality is not due to lack of talent on the engineer's part. it's due to an utter failure of leadership and fiscalization of the company.
Should see VWs software.... they cant even figure out OTAs 3+ years on and are touting promised OTAs as "brand new features" for the 2024+ models essentially abandoning 21-23 models and their promises.
For the record, there is an US ID4 OTA that's been going out successfully to the 21-22 models since Dec 2023
https://www.vwidtalk.com/threads/has-anyone-received-the-3-2-12-ota-update-yet.14331/#post-258398
Yeah a single one to bring it up to date with the 23s so they dont get sued because the 21-22 UI was all but unusable. 3.2 is still pretty bad and has constant crashes/disconnect issues... ive had it literally just crash and not come back on for any of the screens on a cross country trip for over an hour. No speedometer, gps, nothing.
They also promised bidirectional charging, preconditioning, and general QOL updates at launch and advertised it from 21-23... if you go look at their site for the 2024s you'll notice they have no mention of OTAs anywhere for the 2024s.
Worse yet is the radio silence... VW determined its better to just say/do nothing and hope the problem goes away...
I've owned a 2022 for two years and driven it over 36k miles. I've had zero crashes, nor issues to speak of. It's been practically perfect.
The Default UI can work just fine and without issues, I haven't even felt the need to use Carplay. I'm not suggesting you're doing something wrong, but that VW isn't supporting you with resolving your issues. Your issues don't sound like a "software" problem...it sounds like faulty hardware.
It’s not easy to contact VW about rare incidents because the dealer can’t reproduce the issue and they’re not software engineers. On my 23 the infotainment screen goes black sometimes and I press the power/mute button until it restart. It could be as simple as a navigation tile on the display having a rare memory leak and it would not affect everyone because people use different tile layout on the screen or not using the navigation tile. Not so thought out programming produce all kinds of unintentional side effects.
Yeah... my next car will likely be a Rivian if VWs only involvement is them borrow software from Rivian and nothing to do with anything build or software related in Rivians current process.
Agreed. The R2 is targeted around 40k base, so the R3 (minus the X model) is probably gonna be low-mid 30s. Which would be a real sweet spot for an electric hot hatch that nobodys done yet.
I wonder how it is with the sister car from a different brand : ZEEKR. (why the heck my SwiftKey automatically capitalize the brand?)
IIRC ex30 volvo = zeekr x. (no, I don't want capitalize the brand)
Here in the US, it is 100% due to them deciding the EX30 vehicles shipped here will have to be built in the Ghent, Belgium plant. This is almost entirely due to the upcoming US govt tariffs that would be imposed on EX30cars made in China.
As an owner, the car is fine. A few bugs to start with, but they are mostly fixed now. Just waiting for CarPlay and digital key. Both of which were said to be coming via ota and not promised at launch.
Totally clickbait article. The EX30 configurator has been down for a while as we wait for the MY25 year model to arrive (as they sell off their remaining inventory). There is no such source for it being related to a small portion of owners having severe issues.
It's a real shame. I've had Volvo in the past and ten years ago their central touch screen was really rather good by normal standards. Sure, it didn't get updates and wasn't at Tesla level, but it was streets ahead of most of the competition. Then a few years back they switched it to Android-based and it all started going downhill.
It would have been great to get a small decent EV designed to look and feel reasonably smart inside, a small Volvo or similar to a Golf. But it looks like this isn't it either, we have to keep waiting. Also, the price for what it is is completely nuts.
Software issues aside, how is Volvo/Polestar getting such terrible efficiency? The EX30 gets the same or worse efficiency as our ID4 and it's like 1/3 the size.
Maybe not, maybe they should have used the Chinese software and things would be good, they probably had the Swedish software developed by cheap Indian subcontractors, in that case they'd need 3 iterations to fix.
Not really. I cited the 2015 XC90 earlier, but Volvo's infotainment game has always been lacking. They were putting Garmin navigation systems [driven by remotes](https://www.ebay.com/itm/311669284606?_ul=IN) in their cars back in the 2000s and 2010s.
They have Android Automotive on this One and also their latest Cars. Honestly the basic needs should be handled by It. By the articles It seems to affect more than Just the Infotainment, having quirks in the ADAS and the hardware itself locking a bit, which of you look at the various Bjorn tests Is what most china brand perform at launch.
Right, but my point is that Volvo's problems with electronics and lack of infotainment experience were issues way before Geely acquired them.
That they haven't improved, that's on them too, obviously.
The EX30 was so disappointing; my boyfriend was ready to spring for one for his next car, but with everything on the touchscreen we passed. Now this? It seems like Volvo needs to put work on their software
It was all touch screen from the very first announcements. How could he be ready to buy it, and then realise it was all on the touch screen at the last minute? Did he just not look at any photos before going to buy it?
We understood that it was touchscreen focused, but we reserved judgement until reviewers got hands on. Seeing the touchscreen was in-practice was what turned us against it.
Wait, doesn't Volvo also make polestar (or the same parent group makes both, anyway)? Which are, as far as I've heard, pretty well received and liked. So why don't they use the same software that they do for the polestar cars?
It's a completely separate company now. They worked together on the EV platform Polestar 2 uses, and Polestar obviously stole from the Volvo parts bin, but now Polestar is completely on its own.
If you go to the Polestar forums you’ll see that they have the exact same issues with buggy unreliable infotainment systems and OTAs that degrade car functionality that Volvo does.
> The EX30 relies heavily on its software, with most key functions, including the headlights, wing mirrors and climate control, accessed through its central touchscreen.
That right there is why I will most likely never own any modern car (EV or not). My 2017 has more junk in it than I like, but at least it still has a key, and actual physical controls for everything.
People have to have a certain amount of care to be outraged.
No-one really cares about Volvo the way they do about Tesla.
People care about Tesla so much that there are many popular subreddits full of people who like to spend their time expressing their deep emotions about the brand and the people behind it
Marked as misleading: >*Volvo has told Autocar that the EX30 has been taken off of its UK online configurator because a 2025-model-year version is due on 8 July. The firm insists the machine remains on sale, with examples currently in dealer stock available,and customers able to go to a dealer and pre-select an MY2025 version while the configurator is updated.* Hat tip to u/markeydarkey2.
Now that's a misleading title, from the article: >Volvo has told Autocar that the EX30 has been taken off of its UK online configurator because a 2025-model-year version is due on 8 July. The firm insists the machine remains on sale, with examples currently in dealer stock available,and customers able to go to a dealer and pre-select an MY2025 version while the configurator is updated.
It looks like the refunds are not a formal Volvo position, but instead are a remedy some owners have negotiated: >These issues, owners have told Autocar, range from screens going black and steering-wheel buttons not responding to cars not charging and even emergency braking systems randomly activating. >Owners have also shared stories and images online of bricked infotainment touchscreens, incorrect information displayed (such as time and range), profiles reverting back to factory settings and driver aids failing. >Some issues have been so crippling that owners have returned their cars to Volvo for full refunds, Autocar has been told.
Crazy how low this comment is. READ THIS \^
Amazing how Autocar would just lie with their title.
Idk why it just seems weird to call it a “machine.” 😂
Wow Volvo really has bombed their first dedicated EV vehicles between this and EX90 development hell.
As an XC40 Recharge owner, I've been saying this for a couple years now: Volvo needs to massively invest in software. Like double their software engineering team in the next few months. At least. In the several years the car has been out, the software updates have barely caught up to the features available in their older vehicles. Let alone the lack of camping/dog mode, a sentry mode, phone-as-key, manual preconditioning, any sort of detailed vehicle information display (battery health, temp, instantaneous kW), etc. And then put some good hardware in the car. An Intel Atom from 2016 is not going to cut it. They should be over-spec'ing the SOC so it still runs well when the car is eight years old with numerous additions to the software. The current CPU can barely handle the load today. It's a $50k+ vehicle, they shouldn't have skimped on the computer. I really like everything else about the car, but I would kill to have Rivian's software. Too bad Volvo didn't make a deal like VW just did.
This is a problem that pretty much every automaker (other than Tesla) has come across. Historically, most automakers have just outsourced software development to third party vendors and contractors. EVs are much more software dependent and development needs to be brought in-house, but frankly these companies just do not have the capability, expertise, and culture to write good software.
Volvo fired a big chunk of their software team at the end of 2022. Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea.
Also XC40 owner and the software is part of the reason I’m getting rid of it. AEB goes off every time I park in my car park. Sensors overall are either too sensitive or not enough. No consistency. Responsiveness of the screen is slow as shit. I paid the USD equivalent of 85,000 for this shit car.
They also botched the shit out of the US launch. People were supposed to get emails for configuration last thanksgiving and delivery this spring lmao.
Finnish magazine Moottori, the member magazine of the Automobile and Touring Club of Finland, [reviewed the EX30 in February](https://moottori.fi/koeajo/koeajo-volvo-ex30-den-glider-ut/). Here are my favourite picks: * Glove box is opened via the touch screen * There is no distinct instrument cluster nor HUD, so speed and other information is showed on the top part of the touch screen. Glancing over to see the speed is alright, but various warning lights and messages are too small. * Adaptive cruise control following distance adjustment is via the touch screen * Activating the rear fog light is via the touch screen, three taps from the home display, and finally confirmation via the steering wheel. This is hardly ideal on a highway. * Driver attention monitor starts beeping after 2.5 seconds of looking at the touch screen. * There are only two controls for the electric door windows, and a toggle for selecting between controlling the front or the rear windows. * It feels like Volvo's years of work for traffic safety and ergonomics have been throwin in the trash. The result is a car, which is often rather irritating to operate. * The software appears to be unfinished. The reversing camera updates at about 15fps, the navigation suggested driving wrong way around a roundabout, steering wheel heater could not be turned off, and the digital handbook was misspelled (käyttöopas became köyttöopas; "guide for tying ropes" or something). Audio equalizer settings are forgotten on almost every startup, and the soundbar sounds terrible. * Amusingly, the awful EU-regulated speeding chime, which is specifically supposed to be enabled by default on every startup, sometimes stays disabled for days. * Two keys are provided; a keycard which has to be taken close to the pillar for it to work, and a tiny remote without buttons which is distance-triggered. However, sometimes it triggered from 10 meters away, sometimes it had to be waved across the pillar several times. Apparently the remote will become an option later on, and the standard key will be a phone app. * The AWD Twin Performance is RWD by default and activates the front motor as needed. However, the front motor takes more than a second to wake up, so in winter driving most take-offs start with a second of spinning the rear wheels. They joke about it being reminiscent of jumping to hyperspace in Star Wars; "It'll take a few moments to get the coordinates from the navicomputer." * The most dangerous moment of the test drive happened while driving at a stable speed with the cruise control, when the car suddenly and spontaneously accelerated hard enough to break rear traction and cause the car to start swerving left. Cruise control did not auto-cancel however, nor did stability control react until after well over a second, by which time the driver was already compensating. * Average energy consumption was considered rather high. * Despite the weight, the EX30 does not feel like a large car to drive; the rear is quite bouncy. * The steering lacks feel, and is best described as "toy car -like" Good: internal space compared to external dimensions Bad: ergonomics, driveability, energy consumption, software Well, it's basically a Chinese Zeekr X with a more sparsely-equipped interior. I sat in the sister model, Smart #1 (Brabus), and was also frustrated by some of the design choices. Sure, the #1 did have both an instrument cluster display and a HUD, but for example side mirror adjustment had to be selected on the touch screen (while the actual adjustment was done via buttons on the steering wheel). Oh, and it too [hid rear fog light in the touch screen menus](https://old.reddit.com/r/electricvehicles/comments/1chtde3/smart_1_review_and_drive/l25taff/).
Sharing window buttons between front and rear has to be one of the oddest cost cutting methods I have read about. I want to say there is another brand which did this. How does an engineer or designer even begin to think this is worthwhile?
>How does an engineer or designer even begin to think this is worthwhile? Honestly it's not the worst cost-cutting idea by far. If you think about it, how often does a driver actually need to lower the rear windows from the driver's seat? I certainly can't remember the last time I did that. I'm honestly surprised Tesla wasn't the first to come up with this idea given how much more cost-cutting they do overall (which I find acceptable for the most part - I have zero problem with having the mirror adjustments, trunk opener, lock/unlock, etc integrated into the screen).
> how often does a driver actually need to lower the rear windows from the driver's seat? You asked, so the honest answer is from april through october (minus the times it's really hot so I'm using AC), it's *every time I drive my car.*
> how often does a driver actually need to lower the rear windows from the driver's seat? I certainly can't remember the last time I did that. I see you don't have small kids...
I actually have a nephew who visits often enough that I keep a child seat in storage. I still haven't had to lower the window for him, because my back seat has climate vents.
My car has back vents too, but still my kids love to have the windows down to say hello to their friends as we pass by or to just enjoy the breeze when we're not on the highway
Yeah I have an ID4 and despite every single reviewer harping on it for years it’s a total non-issue. Once a year I want to activate the rear windows I’ll hit the toggle switch. Such a dumb thing to complain about
I’m not too bothered, but in climates with moderate temperatures but a lot of sun, opening all the windows at low speed is often the quickest way to cool the vehicle
ID4 solved that problem too. Hold the “rear” switch until it starts to blink, then the drivers side switch rolls down all 4 windows at once.
Cool, I hope that works for me too!
Same thing in the VW ID.4, but honestly, I don't mind so much. I had dedicated buttons for front and rear windows in my Prius, and I frequently hit the back buttons stabbing blindly when I tried to roll down the front windows. On my ID.4 it's front by default, and I have to push an extra button if I want to open the rear windows. Not a problem, of course, for rear passengers... All in all , I think there are real reasons for cutting the extra two buttons
As a mostly happy XC40 owner this is sad to read. We were considering Volvo for our next EV down the line, but not anymore with the direction they're going. I guess we'll get a Rivian.
My favorite part of your comment is we put everything on the touch screen, but the driver has only 2.5 seconds to do what he/she is going to do.
Yeah, it's kinda like the Smart #1 where everything is on the touch screen, and the owner's manual has tens if not hundreds of warnings like this: > WARNING Risk of interference caused by the centre display > You may be distracted if you operate the integrated information and communication equipment while driving. You could lose control of the vehicle. > Note the road and traffic conditions, *stop the vehicle safely*, and then operate the centre display.
Darn, and I was interested in the Volvo EX30. Maybe it'll improve in a year or two. Alternatively, there is the Rivian R2 and R3
I hate this trend for every car maker to ditch all hardware knobs and leave everything to be controlled by the central touchscreen. It is not only inconvenient, but it is also dangerous. And if you steal something from your competitor, at least steal the good ideas, not the terrible ones.
How much of this was Volvo and how much Geely and “required libraries”?
It's the same thing for the XC40/Polestar 2. This is what happens when you outsource your entire software stack.
What’s wrong with polestar? I had no problem with software.
I mean they had to pull the 3.X update because it caused so many issues. My rearview camera would fail to launch, which is a crazy safety hazard (how they are not forcing a recall on this is interesting). There were even reports of the AGM batteries running at 15V instead of 12V which is very damaging. Not to mention Maps taking minutes to launch from a cold boot, it's clear that all their resources are on the 3/4.
I have 3.0.3 and have no major issues and the camera is better than it was before with no flickering. Obviously some people are having problems and it should have been tested but it’s nothing compared to what the EX30 software state currently is at.
Seems to be linked to just getting in and driving. If you give it a little time to do the boot sequence first, it’s less common in my experience. But if you want to try it, jump in, stick in reverse and go
I also wonder if it has to do with how many apps are installed. The processor is weak and I think installing a lot of apps may make things worse. I don’t have many issues with my P2 software but the camera does blink sometimes. In general, it’s just not a high quality camera, but that’s hardware not software. The other issues listed for the EX30 don’t seem to be 100% for the P2. For example, I’ve had no problems with the phone app (iPhone 14), or Phone as a Key. Don’t have dog mode, but who needs dog mode if you have manual conditioning with the app? I don’t leave my dog in the car for more than 30 minutes, honey. I kind of like that the P2 doesn’t have a bunch of modes. It just does what I want it to do.
My Google maps and Spotify take turns restarting when I switch between them. Loads of fun on a long trip. After the 1.x versions until 3.0.3 I never manually rebooted it. Now I have to do that at least every other time I get in the car. I guess the moral here is stick to even number major releases.
The Chinese just can't do good software, hardware yes but not software for some reason.
All of the Chinese brands have much better software than Volvo. The non Geely brands I should say.
Not everyone. Dji probably have some of the best drone software around. My BYD has become better as the updates come through. From the experience of VW owners, their software leaves a lot to desire as well. The point is that bad software can come from anywhere.
Yes always some jank with Chinese software even if the rest of the EV is good. MG have similar problems.
The software is Google.
I have no software issues with my XC40.
Agree. Many mistakes have been made. I think their price point could also be an issue
Speaking from experience, Volvo's hardware quality is really good but their software is extremely bad. I won't be getting another, there are so many software issues.
People said the software would be great because it runs Google software, but there's probably still a lot of lower level software that isn't from Google.
The google part is the only good part.
Google made good software, these days not so much, just look at gmail or YouTube. It’s all worse than 8 years ago
Inevitable when a significant hiring numbers are not for talent but to fill certain quotas. Or like asking to invert a binary tree on white board during interview?
I can promise you the drop in Google product quality is not due to lack of talent on the engineer's part. it's due to an utter failure of leadership and fiscalization of the company.
That too
Also…Google makes shit software.
Yes, but it's still better than everyone else's software, save Apple and whoever made Craigslist.
I mean they don't but OK
Damn now I'm worried about my Macan 4 running Android Automotive..
Should see VWs software.... they cant even figure out OTAs 3+ years on and are touting promised OTAs as "brand new features" for the 2024+ models essentially abandoning 21-23 models and their promises.
For the record, there is an US ID4 OTA that's been going out successfully to the 21-22 models since Dec 2023 https://www.vwidtalk.com/threads/has-anyone-received-the-3-2-12-ota-update-yet.14331/#post-258398
Yeah a single one to bring it up to date with the 23s so they dont get sued because the 21-22 UI was all but unusable. 3.2 is still pretty bad and has constant crashes/disconnect issues... ive had it literally just crash and not come back on for any of the screens on a cross country trip for over an hour. No speedometer, gps, nothing. They also promised bidirectional charging, preconditioning, and general QOL updates at launch and advertised it from 21-23... if you go look at their site for the 2024s you'll notice they have no mention of OTAs anywhere for the 2024s. Worse yet is the radio silence... VW determined its better to just say/do nothing and hope the problem goes away...
I've owned a 2022 for two years and driven it over 36k miles. I've had zero crashes, nor issues to speak of. It's been practically perfect. The Default UI can work just fine and without issues, I haven't even felt the need to use Carplay. I'm not suggesting you're doing something wrong, but that VW isn't supporting you with resolving your issues. Your issues don't sound like a "software" problem...it sounds like faulty hardware.
It’s not easy to contact VW about rare incidents because the dealer can’t reproduce the issue and they’re not software engineers. On my 23 the infotainment screen goes black sometimes and I press the power/mute button until it restart. It could be as simple as a navigation tile on the display having a rare memory leak and it would not affect everyone because people use different tile layout on the screen or not using the navigation tile. Not so thought out programming produce all kinds of unintentional side effects.
Which is why they went with Rivian. Volvo should go with Rivian too.
Yeah... my next car will likely be a Rivian if VWs only involvement is them borrow software from Rivian and nothing to do with anything build or software related in Rivians current process.
Just hoping that the lower level Rivian models can help the company stay afloat long enough to become a mainstay player lol
Agreed. The R2 is targeted around 40k base, so the R3 (minus the X model) is probably gonna be low-mid 30s. Which would be a real sweet spot for an electric hot hatch that nobodys done yet.
Both are underpinned by Android Automotive OS.
I wonder how it is with the sister car from a different brand : ZEEKR. (why the heck my SwiftKey automatically capitalize the brand?) IIRC ex30 volvo = zeekr x. (no, I don't want capitalize the brand)
It’s time these car companies give up forcing their own software on consumers
It’s not like Tesla is crazy good, even if they are considered the best of the car makers.
Here in the US, it is 100% due to them deciding the EX30 vehicles shipped here will have to be built in the Ghent, Belgium plant. This is almost entirely due to the upcoming US govt tariffs that would be imposed on EX30cars made in China.
As an owner, the car is fine. A few bugs to start with, but they are mostly fixed now. Just waiting for CarPlay and digital key. Both of which were said to be coming via ota and not promised at launch.
Totally clickbait article. The EX30 configurator has been down for a while as we wait for the MY25 year model to arrive (as they sell off their remaining inventory). There is no such source for it being related to a small portion of owners having severe issues.
Putting everything into that touchscreen was so risky.
If you take a page from the Tesla playbook, ya gotta nail the software experience.
Touchscreens save so much money in the manufacturing, carmakers almost have to to compete with eachother.
Except Tesla's screen controls actually work...
Silver lining?
It's a real shame. I've had Volvo in the past and ten years ago their central touch screen was really rather good by normal standards. Sure, it didn't get updates and wasn't at Tesla level, but it was streets ahead of most of the competition. Then a few years back they switched it to Android-based and it all started going downhill. It would have been great to get a small decent EV designed to look and feel reasonably smart inside, a small Volvo or similar to a Golf. But it looks like this isn't it either, we have to keep waiting. Also, the price for what it is is completely nuts.
called my local Volvo for a refund on the deposit. Not looking good for this car
I kinda wanted one these things, but, uh...the Recharge seems nice. Extra $20k, though.
Software issues aside, how is Volvo/Polestar getting such terrible efficiency? The EX30 gets the same or worse efficiency as our ID4 and it's like 1/3 the size.
So... It's really a chinese car then.
Maybe not, maybe they should have used the Chinese software and things would be good, they probably had the Swedish software developed by cheap Indian subcontractors, in that case they'd need 3 iterations to fix.
Not really. I cited the 2015 XC90 earlier, but Volvo's infotainment game has always been lacking. They were putting Garmin navigation systems [driven by remotes](https://www.ebay.com/itm/311669284606?_ul=IN) in their cars back in the 2000s and 2010s.
They have Android Automotive on this One and also their latest Cars. Honestly the basic needs should be handled by It. By the articles It seems to affect more than Just the Infotainment, having quirks in the ADAS and the hardware itself locking a bit, which of you look at the various Bjorn tests Is what most china brand perform at launch.
Right, but my point is that Volvo's problems with electronics and lack of infotainment experience were issues way before Geely acquired them. That they haven't improved, that's on them too, obviously.
Is the chinese twin : zeekr x, also got the same issue?
They are a car company not a software company.
I've been a software developer for over 30 years and have never worked for a software company.
The EX30 was so disappointing; my boyfriend was ready to spring for one for his next car, but with everything on the touchscreen we passed. Now this? It seems like Volvo needs to put work on their software
It was all touch screen from the very first announcements. How could he be ready to buy it, and then realise it was all on the touch screen at the last minute? Did he just not look at any photos before going to buy it?
We understood that it was touchscreen focused, but we reserved judgement until reviewers got hands on. Seeing the touchscreen was in-practice was what turned us against it.
Is the software specific to Volvo, or is it common to other Geely cars?
Volvo specific.
Dang, I was going to get one as my first EV
"Volvo has told Autocar that the EX30 has been taken off of its UK online configurator because a 2025-model-year version is due on 8 July."
Wait, doesn't Volvo also make polestar (or the same parent group makes both, anyway)? Which are, as far as I've heard, pretty well received and liked. So why don't they use the same software that they do for the polestar cars?
It's a completely separate company now. They worked together on the EV platform Polestar 2 uses, and Polestar obviously stole from the Volvo parts bin, but now Polestar is completely on its own.
Oh, interesting! Thanks for the information
If you go to the Polestar forums you’ll see that they have the exact same issues with buggy unreliable infotainment systems and OTAs that degrade car functionality that Volvo does.
> The EX30 relies heavily on its software, with most key functions, including the headlights, wing mirrors and climate control, accessed through its central touchscreen. That right there is why I will most likely never own any modern car (EV or not). My 2017 has more junk in it than I like, but at least it still has a key, and actual physical controls for everything.
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People have to have a certain amount of care to be outraged. No-one really cares about Volvo the way they do about Tesla. People care about Tesla so much that there are many popular subreddits full of people who like to spend their time expressing their deep emotions about the brand and the people behind it