[HarryDog]

Just bought an XC90 a few months ago. Nice vehicle but the radio is driving me crazy. When I turn on the radio, it will play a station (or a CD track) for about 30 seconds, and then jump to another station or CD track randomly. It does this for about 15-20 mintues and then things seem to be ok. I took to dealer a few times, and they can't repeat issue, and thus are unwilling to do anything about it. Any suggestions or advice is appreciated.

 

[Tech]

That is not the first complaint I've heard about that.The best thing to do is try to get it to act up and show the dealer what it is doing.Get the shop foreman or the service manager involved.That will be the only way you will get it fixed.

 

[HarryDog]

Tech...thanks for the heads up. I am somewhat relieved to hear that someone has heard of this problem. I will be discussing with service manager tomorrow, will let you know how I make out.

 

[Tech]

Sounds good.

 

[tokyosurf]

HarryDog...

Was wondering what ultimately happened with your radio. I am having the same problem. I thought that maybe I had somehow set the autoscan function going, but for the life of me, I can't figure out why the radio continues to cycle through the set stations after about 15 seconds. It's to the point I don't want to turn on the radio. The only problem is that the CD player will skip frequently, so that it's impossible to hear a track all the way through until about 15 minutes later, when for some reason the CD player calms down...

 

[HarryDog]

tokyosurf,

i was finally able to convince volvo dealer to replace my radio. I am still waiting for them to contact me to schedule install. they sell a lot of XC90s and I am the only case that they said has had this problem. I too, thought there was something I was doing wrong with autoscan, and had the same problem with skipping radio channels and skipping cd tracks. The radio is at a point where I can't listen to it. the skips are more frequent, and they don't go away even after 15 minutes of warm-up. Keep in touch, and I'll let you know how I make out with my new radio.

 

[xc90newbie]

This happened to me with my new XC 90 too!!

Turned out the the radio buttons on the steering wheel were "sticking". This was identified by my husband...not the tech folks at Volvo. They replaced the radio TWICE....it still randomly scanned backwards on radio and CD.

My husband suggested that they check out the controls on the steering wheel. They replaced them and I have not had the problem since!!

Hope it works for all of you

 

[Tech]

Thanks for posting the info it will be very helpful.

 

[HarryDog]

I had my radio replaced 2 weeks ago, and still had the scanning issue. My dealer finally contacted Volvo Tech service, as they refused to send another radio. They just replaced the scanning control on the steering wheel and the radio panel today, and I am holding my breath because it seems to have worked. I'll let you know how I make out, and thanks for everyones input and feedback!

 

[tokyosurf]

I had the same issue and they did the same thing - replaced the pad on the steering wheel because it was sticking. Looks like it's fixed both the radio scanning problem and the cd skipping problem.

The love affair has been rekindled...

 

[kninnc]

hi-
Just got a new T6 and have the same problems with psycho radio and CD player.

This occurs even if I use the in-dash controls and don't touch the steering wheel!.
Could it still be the same issue? What should I request from the dealer?
thanks very much for any input!

 

[xc90newbie]

Yes! I would believe it to be the same problem. The buttons seem to take control even if the dash controls are used.

I'll bet if they change your controls...it stops the problem. Certainly worked for me...and others it appears.

Good luck!!

 

[tokyosurf]

I agree. Even if I used the console only, I had the same problem. And with the replacement of that pad on the steering wheel, my radio and CD have been playing fine!

 

[blueguy]

Picked up a pre-owned '05 XC90 2.5T. Everything worked fine except the radio was really psycho. It would skip within a track when playing a CD, between tracks and even when the radio was playing it would skip from station to station.

The problem was diagnosed as a faulty "modulator" that sits behind the radio control unit. This modulator is essentially like our brain in that it controls all of the various functions like radio, CD, and other related controls. Since having the modulator fixed (I think the dealer called an ICM), everything works fine.

 

[Roz]

I wrote a big long blurb about this in another inquiry but long story short. It took six months of warranty work and replacing every electronic component with regards to the entertainment system and dash for them to find that there was moisture getting into some electronic sensor under the hood.

What you explained happened exactly the same as me. See if you can find my other posting to read more.

 

[Ted K]

We had this same problem. Ours turned out to be the buttons on the steering wheel.

 

[Boris Z]

I was delighted when found this blog - I have apparently the same problem with my XC 90: it looks like the CD/radio unit randomly reboots itself - the display momentarily goes off, and afterwards, radio changes the channel it was tuned at and lowers the audio volume (the volume bar being displayed for a fraction of second), or, if a CD is played, it jumps to the beginning of the track being played (with the same volume bar being displayed). The problem disappears after running the engine for 20-30 min. The car has been on service with an authorized Volvo dealer for nearly two weeks, they replaced the Infotainment control panel (aka ICM) - for 1500 USD - yet the problem persists. Based on what I read here, I just advised them to replace controls on the steering wheel - let's see if it helps. Sadly enough, after Volvo became Ford, its reliability went into history.