'dumpster Fire in a Train Wreck:' Volvo Is Replacing Every Ex90's Computer

Posted3 months agoActive3 months ago

georgecmu

19 points

13 comments

insideevs.comTechstory

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Debate

70/100

Software-Defined VehiclesAutomotive TechnologyQuality Control

Key topics

Software-Defined Vehicles

Automotive Technology

Quality Control

Volvo is replacing every EX90's computer due to software issues, sparking concerns about the reliability of software-defined vehicles and the challenges of managing complex automotive software.

Snapshot generated from the HN discussion

Discussion Activity

Moderate engagement

First comment

44m

Peak period

1-2h

Avg / period

2.6

Comment distribution13 data points

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Based on 13 loaded comments

Key moments

01Story posted
Sep 23, 2025 at 11:59 AM EDT
3 months ago
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02First comment
Sep 23, 2025 at 12:43 PM EDT
44m after posting
Step 02
03Peak activity
6 comments in 1-2h
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04Latest activity
Sep 23, 2025 at 9:05 PM EDT
3 months ago
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Discussion (13 comments)

Showing 13 comments

EvanAnderson

3 months ago

2 replies

This is the first I'd heard the phrase "software defined vehicle". That's a chilling combination of words to me.

more_corn

3 months ago

Made me shudder

muro

3 months ago

This has been creeping in since early 2000s.

joezydeco

3 months ago

1 reply

As an XC40 Recharge owner I'm slowly realizing that Volvo/Geely really bet the farm on having a single system run the car and the IVI. There's no other explanation why an OTA upgrade to the system to improve silly little things like ETA in the map display suddenly made the OPD braking system fail. And the backup camera setup still isn't right.

Throwing a faster system at it is a band-aid. It's scary. My car is still on an old 2023 release of code and I'm keeping it there until it's sold. If the backup camera fails again, I'll use the glass window. At least that works.

My dealer invited me to see the EX90 "demo unit" a year and half ago. A demo unit that wasn't drivable and came with a Volvo employee admonishing us from touching any of the controls. Where do I wire my deposit?

hedora

3 months ago

The whole automotive industry is doing this to cut costs, and supposedly improve the driving experience.

I'll believe that when they ship a single car with a better UI than the pre-touchscreen vehicles I used to own. Until then, there's no way I'm getting any of these stupid software defined vehicles. We have one (Kia EV9), which is also a "dumpster fire in a train wreck", and are getting rid of it. We've had more issues than the people interviewed in the article about the Volvo. So have the other EV9 owners I've talked to.

rangestransform

3 months ago

1 reply

Why is the ADAS computer the same one as the infotainment computer?

joezydeco

3 months ago

1 reply

Pay no attention to that. Did we mention it's NVIDIA? They're cool, right?

hedora

3 months ago

So... an NVIDIA(?)-powered ADAS keeps trying to murder me.

Who do I call to get them to pull their boards from the market + flip that remote termination switch they agreed to when they signed on to the Seoul Declaration?

edit: Actually, I'm not sure who built said ADAS hardware. The question still stands for the Volvos in the article, assuming replacing the onboard computer doesn't fix the busted software.

more_corn

3 months ago

Anybody who thinks “software defined vehicle” is a selling point has never managed software. I don’t want my vehicle to function “because software”. I want it to function “despite software”.

hedora

3 months ago

We hit similar problems with our Kia EV9. There was a rumor they were going to push a massive software fix this spring, but it never happened.

Maybe they'll take a page from Volvo's book (assuming the current EV9 is drivable, which I doubt).

AlotOfReading

3 months ago

The continual and repeated failures of OEM software are Conway's law in action. It's not that the developers are uniquely incapable of writing software. The constraints of the organization make good software a virtually impossible goal.

Moving to a new board based on the same hardware with dual SoCs might help a few bugs around the edges (though I have my doubts), but it doesn't address more fundamental causes. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm afraid it's going to take another 2008-esque disaster for them to really "get" it.

muro

3 months ago

They just launched the 2026 version, so good timing.

tenacious_tuna

3 months ago

previously (july 22 2025) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44652374 "My Volvo EX90 Experience"

Guy made a CVE style disclosure page about all the issues he'd experienced with his EX90. This feels related.

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ID: 45348864Type: storyLast synced: 11/20/2025, 4:11:17 PM

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