The National Consumer Commission (NCC) said Volvo Car SA had notified the commission about the recall of the three models.

The NCC said the three models affected by the recall were the:

• XC90 made available for sale on 20 January 2023.
• XC90 made available for sale on 29 October 2024.
• XC40 MY2024, which was made available for sale on 24 January 2024.

Despite the NCC stating that Volvo Car SA had notified it about the recall of the three models, information on Volvo Car SA’s webpage about the recalls was not easily accessible despite the supplier stating that “safety is at the core” of everything Volvo Car SA does.

Volvo Car SA’s webpage contains no information about the three model recalls unless a consumer enters the vehicle identification number (VIN) of their vehicle in a specific box, which will then allow a consumer to search if their vehicle is affected by the recall.

The NCC said Volvo Car SA informed the commission that their investigations have identified a potential software failure in the brake control module on the XC90 model, which was made available for sale in January 2023.

It said according to Volvo Car SA: “In rare cases, this leads to a loss of braking support function.”

The NCC said the XC90 model made available for sale on 29 October 2024 is being recalled owing to a rod between the brake pedal and brake booster that may not have been assembled according to manufacturing specifications.

If the rod detaches, the brake pedal will not work correctly,” the NCC said

The NCC said the XC40 MY2024 has an issue related to the turn indicator system.

“This, according to Volvo Car South Africa, could ‘in rare cases lead to a temporary loss of the left rear turn indicator function’,” it said.

The NCC said consumers who have these vehicles are urged to contact the supplier.

Media reports suggested that this recall marks the second time in as many months that Volvo has had to address safety concerns with its vehicles.

They claimed the company recalled certain XC90 units in January 2025 owing to a fault with the second-row seatbelt buckle, which may not have been tightened to the correct specifications and could result in inadequate protection during a crash, increasing the likelihood of injury.

However, these reports indicated that only five units of the XC90 were affected in South Africa.