Powerless or unresponsive car

If your car is unresponsive or appears to have no power, the cause could be a flat battery or something affecting its electrical systems.

If the car's batteries are flat, the car will not respond to some of your actions. This includes trying to unlock or start it.

If the car doesn't respond due to low power, there are several recovery options depending on the situation.

The following situations can lead to both batteries in the car going flat:
  • The car is driven to 0% battery level and is then not immediately recharged.
  • The car is left with a low battery level. If not plugged in for charging, the battery level drops further as the car uses a small amount of power while parked.
  • The car is left without being charged for a long time, which allows the battery level to drop.
  • Low temperatures temporarily reducing battery capacity below the required level to keep the car powered.
Conditions or uses that increase power consumption and result in a faster-than-expected drop in battery level include:
  • Use of accessories or power-consuming car functions.
  • Low temperatures temporarily reducing battery capacity below the required level to keep the car powered.
  • High temperatures triggering battery cooling.

Recovery from a flat traction battery

If only the traction battery is flat, the car's systems have power but it can't be started or driven. The car shows that the battery level is at 0%. In this situation, the 12 V battery can power the systems needed to initiate charging of the traction battery. It's important to conserve energy in the 12 V battery so that you can access and charge the car.

Car recovery actions:
  • If you can charge your car where it's parked, do so immediately.
  • If your car can't be charged at your current location, have the car recovered and transported to a charging source. In the meantime, try to conserve the remaining power in the 12 V battery. This is important for battery health, but also keeps essential functionality available for you to use in an emergency.

Recovery from total loss of power

If the 12 V battery goes flat, the car will be completely unresponsive. This can happen if something prevents the traction battery from keeping the 12 V battery charged, such as allowing the traction battery to go flat and then not charging the car in time. If both batteries are flat, the car is entirely unresponsive and cannot be charged as usual.

Recovery actions:
  • Contact an authorised Volvo workshop or a recovery and roadside assistance service.
  • If there is a charging source where the car is immobilised, it may be possible to temporarily power the car using a special exterior 12 V terminal. This can allow you to initiate charging.
  • If the car can't be charged where it is, it needs to be transported to a location with a charging source. An authorised Volvo workshop has the equipment to power the car and charge it.

Other no-power scenarios

There may be cases where you are fairly sure that the battery level is not low. In these cases, a lack of power indicates that the 12 V battery isn't receiving power from the traction battery or can’t deliver power to the car.

Possible scenarios that affect the 12 V battery's power delivery are:
  • A fuse has blown and needs to be replaced.
  • The 12 V battery is defective.
  • There is an electrical, hardware or software fault preventing the car from turning on.

If you can't identify the cause of the problem or solve it by referring to the manual, contact an authorised Volvo workshop.

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