Volvo XC40 Recharge gets held while customers wait for delivery

Volvo’s rollout of its 2021 XC40 Recharge electric crossover hasn’t exactly been the smoothest operation. Many buyers have been getting irate over the fact that their shiny new vehicle is just sitting at its port of entry, with Volvo telling them to be patient. Why? Because the Recharge models shipped without the Volvo On Call system enabled, according to a report published Monday by The Verge.

What is Volvo On Call? Well, it’s a subscription service that pairs with a smartphone app that lets owners remotely do all kinds of things with their vehicle, like lock and unlock it, turn it on, flash the lights or honk the horn. We experienced an earlier version of it with our long-term XC40 back in 2019. It’s great.

The issue even has its own National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall, which, interestingly, lists no affected vehicles. The good news is that the only thing necessary to get the system working is an over-the-air software update — one that Volvo has already started to push out. This is separate from another recent OTA update that overhauled the Recharge’s main vehicle software and increased range while reducing charge times as well as fixing a bug in the system similar to the one that affected the Polestar 2.

“The recall can be remedied with a software update and a majority of the affected vehicles have not been released to customers,” a Volvo representative said in a statement. “Volvo is reaching out to the small number of individuals who have possession of a vehicle to have their car updated.”

This is all pretty minor as far as recalls go, and while it’s probably incredibly frustrating for those buyers waiting for their XC40 Recharge, it’s at least an easy one. It’s a little unfortunate, though, that this unfolded on the day that Volvo launched its C40 Recharge coupeover.