2025-2026 Volvo EX30 4 Door Immobilised car and recovery User Manual
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Immobilised car and recovery for Your Volvo EX30 4 Door First Generation (2025-2026)

14. Immobilised car and recovery  
If you can’t drive your car, it’s considered to be immobilised. You can always contact an authorised Volvo  
workshop if you’re unable to find a solution in the user manual or if you are uncertain about how to proceed.  
Depending on the nature of the problem, you may be able to solve it on your own or with assistance from an authorised Volvo  
workshop or other services. In this part of the user manual, you will find a number of scenarios and how to handle them safely.  
In a situation where there are injuries or risk of injury, prioritise safety and medical needs over car recovery. Don’t hesitate to  
contact emergency services if necessary.  
The following scenarios have their own manual sections that can help you identify the underlying issue and what the necessary  
steps for recovery are.  
The car malfunctions and the car can't be used as intended.  
The battery is flat and the car is unresponsive.  
There is physical damage to the car. The damage can make the car unsuitable to drive or cause immobilisation. Even  
superficial damage needs to be evaluated to ensure that you can safely use the car.  
Important  
Having your car towed  
If your car requires towing, there are some guidelines you need to follow. If your car is undamaged and has power, tow  
mode must be activated to pull your car onto a recovery vehicle's platform. When your car is in tow mode, the speed of  
the recovery vehicle should not exceed 5 km/h (3 mph) and the towing distance should not exceed 10 m (30 ft). If tow  
mode cannot be activated, the car must be lifted onto a recovery vehicle.  
14.1. Damaged car  
If your car is damaged, it is important to identify the extent and severity of the damage to determine how to  
handle the car safely.  
Damage can immobilise your car or make it unsafe to drive.  
Contact an authorised Volvo workshop if your car has been damaged or if it shows signs of damage sustained while parked. If  
the damage immobilises or severely impairs your car's performance, recovery through a roadside assistance and recovery ser-  
vice is necessary.  
The content of this manual represents the status of the user manual at the time of printing and may not be completely valid in future  
instances. For more information, refer to the first page for the complete disclaimer note.  
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Important  
Minor damage  
Your car can self-diagnose many defects, but it can’t detect all types of damage or predict their consequences. A small  
impact resulting in superficial damage can disturb components behind the affected area, such as misaligning a parking  
sensor behind a bumper. It is therefore important to have seemingly minor or superficial damage examined by a trained  
technician to determine the full extent of the damage.  
Immobilising damage  
There are several types of damage that can immobilise your car. They include, but are not limited to:  
Collision damage  
Puncture  
Windscreen damage  
Water damage  
Mechanical failure  
Collision damage  
After a severe enough collision, your car enters safety mode and needs to be recovered.  
Important  
If possible, do not try to drive or move your car after a severe collision. If the car poses an acute traffic hazard, an  
exception can be made to move it a short distance out of immediate danger if the state of the car allows it.  
Water damage  
Water damage can cause permanent damage to your car and severely affect how well it works.  
Important  
Simply drying the car out or allowing it to dry will often be insufficient to resolve significant water damage. A trained  
technician should examine any water damage to determine its full extent and severity.  
Mechanical damage  
The best way to avoid mechanical failures is to follow the intended use and to regularly maintain your car. It is important to con-  
tinuously perform check-ups of the car.  
14.2. Malfunction  
The content of this manual represents the status of the user manual at the time of printing and may not be completely valid in future  
instances. For more information, refer to the first page for the complete disclaimer note.  
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When part of your car or one of its features is not working as designed, that counts as a malfunction.[ ] It  
1
may not be safe to use the car at all, depending on what type of malfunction the car is experiencing.  
Note  
Immobilised car  
You should consider your car to be immobilised if a malfunction prevents you from driving safely.  
Unresponsive car  
There is a separate section in this manual for power-related issues.  
General advice for malfunctions  
If a function doesn’t work properly, try the following actions:  
Read what the user manual has to say about the function. Make sure that you are aware of what’s required for it to work  
properly. The cause of the problem might be that you are unaware of a limitation of a specific function.  
Restart all related devices and systems. This applies to your car itself, but can also include your phone or an app.  
If there is more than one way to use a function or perform a task, try the alternatives.  
Note  
Changes after software updates  
Software updates can introduce changes to functions that affect how they work. Be sure to read the information  
provided with each update so that you understand why your car may behave differently.  
Possible causes  
When a function isn't working the way you expect it to, there are several possible causes:  
The car's settings have been changed.  
Environmental conditions are affecting your car and its systems.  
Signal interference is affecting connectivity and wireless systems.  
A fuse has blown and needs to be replaced.  
Software error.  
Mechanical failure.  
Contact an authorised Volvo workshop if needed  
If you can’t solve the problem using the information in the user manual, contact an authorised Volvo workshop.  
Take note of what happened around the time the problem appeared. It may help identify the cause. A key event could be:  
Damage to your car.  
Exposure to extreme conditions.  
The content of this manual represents the status of the user manual at the time of printing and may not be completely valid in future  
instances. For more information, refer to the first page for the complete disclaimer note.  
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Recently performed servicing, maintenance or replacement of a component.  
Recently updated software.  
Any other faults or malfunctions.  
[1]  
In some cases, a suspected fault or failure may instead be an intentional limitation under the conditions experienced by the  
car.  
14.3. Powerless or unresponsive car  
If your car is unresponsive or appears to have no power, the cause could be flat batteries or something  
affecting its electrical systems.  
If your car's batteries are flat, the car will not respond to some of your actions. This includes trying to unlock or start it.  
If your 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 your 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 your 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.  
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. Your 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 your 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, your car will be completely unresponsive. This can happen if something prevents the traction bat-  
tery from keeping the 12 V battery charged, such as allowing the traction battery to go flat and then not charging the car in time.  
The content of this manual represents the status of the user manual at the time of printing and may not be completely valid in future  
instances. For more information, refer to the first page for the complete disclaimer note.  
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If both batteries are flat, your 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 your 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 your 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 your car and charge it.  
Important  
12 V terminal  
In the event of a total loss of power, your car can't be unlocked as the locks are electrically operated. To access your car  
and charge it, it can be powered for a short time using the externally accessible 12 V terminal. The terminal can be ac-  
cessed by removing a small panel below the front bumper, near the front left wheel.  
Before any use of the 12 V terminal, consider the following:  
Volvo recommends that the 12 V terminal is only used by service technicians for the purpose of accessing the car as  
part of immobilisation recovery.  
The external 12 V terminal on your car should only be used to make your car accessible. Do not attempt to charge  
another car or similar external source from this point.  
Only use a 12 V charger with a maximum charging current below 40 A.  
Connecting any power source that delivers currents higher than 40 A blows the terminal's fuse, thereby disabling it.  
Only use the 12 V terminal for short amounts of time. This is not meant as a way of powering the car continuously.  
Make sure to follow the positive and negative markings on the terminals as reversing the polarity of the low voltage  
system can lead to damaging the low voltage system components or blowing the 40 A fuse.  
Other no power scenarios  
There may be cases where you are fairly sure that the battery level is not low. In those 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 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 user manual, contact an authorised Volvo workshop.  
14.4. Recovery  
Recovery of your car typically requires transporting it with a recovery vehicle. This is necessary if the car is  
immobilised and its functions cannot be restored where it is.  
The content of this manual represents the status of the user manual at the time of printing and may not be completely valid in future  
instances. For more information, refer to the first page for the complete disclaimer note.  
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Contact an authorised Volvo workshop if you need to recover your car.[1]  
The recommended recovery procedure depends on the conditions and state of the car. If your car is undamaged and has power,  
tow mode can be activated to pull the car onto a recovery vehicle's platform. If the car is damaged, it should be lifted onto the  
recovery vehicle's platform.  
Important  
Wheels off the ground  
Regardless of your car's condition, it must be transported with all wheels off the ground when recovered. Forced wheel  
rotation during transportation can severely damage your car.  
Keep a safe distance  
Do not allow anyone to stand directly behind your car as it is pulled onto the recovery vehicle.  
[1]  
For urgent recovery needs, you can also directly contact a recovery and roadside assistance service.  
14.5. Safety mode  
If your car detects damage that compromises safety, it can enter safety mode.  
Safety mode limits the available functions when your car has sustained damage. When safety mode is active, you cannot drive  
your car and it must undergo damage assessment and repairs[1]. Contact an authorised Volvo workshop if safety mode has  
been activated for any reason.  
The display clearly indicates when your car is in safety mode, if it is still functioning.  
Warning  
Do not use or stay in your car when it is in safety mode.  
Do not tow your car without first activating tow mode. This can be done in the display.  
Resetting your car's status without performing damage assessment and repairs can result in further damage to the  
car as well as personal injury.  
[1]  
Volvo recommends an authorised Volvo workshop.  
14.6. Having your car towed  
The content of this manual represents the status of the user manual at the time of printing and may not be completely valid in future  
instances. For more information, refer to the first page for the complete disclaimer note.  
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Your car can be towed short distances. For this, tow mode must first be activated.  
Important  
Before having your car towed  
To avoid triggering the alarm inadvertently, you need to reduce your car's alarm sensitivity before towing it.  
You can only access tow mode if the car has power. If your car can't be powered on, it will need to be lifted onto the  
recovery vehicle's platform.  
Be sure to read all information about having your car towed before you activate tow mode.  
You should not tow your car further than 10 m (30 ft). Towing your car longer distances can damage the car by  
causing the battery to charge incorrectly.  
In tow mode, the towing speed of your car should not exceed 5 km/h (3 mph).  
To tow your car, you must first activate tow mode, which involves attaching the towing eye and the winch wire. Make sure that  
you have all the necessary equipment ready.  
Activate tow mode.  
1
Tow mode activation confirmation appears in the display, if it is still functioning.  
>
Tow your car onto a recovery vehicle or to a safe place, such as the side of the road.  
2
When the car is in the necessary place, engage the parking brake.  
3
Tow mode deactivates.  
>
If necessary, remove the towing eye and winch wire.  
4
Important  
Always use a recovery vehicle to transport the car whenever it cannot be driven. Forced wheel rotation during  
transportation can severely damage your car. Make sure the car is only transported by a recovery vehicle such as a  
flatbed, so that the car's wheels do not touch the ground while being transported.  
The content of this manual represents the status of the user manual at the time of printing and may not be completely valid in future  
instances. For more information, refer to the first page for the complete disclaimer note.  
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Related Topics

Damaged car Malfunction Powerless or unresponsive car Recovery Safety mode

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