"Volvo, being Swedish, did things differently. The approach was not necessarily bad, but different. While companies like Volkswagen and BMW sandwich an electric motor somewhere between the gas engine and transmission, Volvo basically splits its all-wheel drive PHEVs in two: the front half is powered by a 2.0-liter gas engine, while the back half is exclusively powered by an electric motor."
"That electric motor is integrated into something that the company calls an Electric Rear Axle Drive (ERAD). The component has proved to be problematic ever since its introduction in 2015, with many owners experiencing catastrophic failures and facing huge repair bills, according to forums, social media posts, mechanics and technical journals published by Volvo. The ERAD drives the rear wheels independently of the front one, providing all-electric driving and enabling all-wheel drive when the gas engine is running."
"It's also complicated, which can scare off traditional mechanics when it does go wrong, according to some Volvo technicians I spoke to for this story. This, coupled with repair bills that can easily go over $10,000 if done at a Volvo dealer, could scare potential customers away from the automaker's plug-in hybrid offerings. I don't blame them. Some owners have had their ERADs replaced multiple times in the span of less than 100,000 miles, while others have driven well over 200,000 miles without a hiccup."
Plug-in hybrid systems must coordinate a combustion engine and an electric motor. Volvo divides its all-wheel-drive PHEVs into a gasoline-powered front axle and an electrically driven rear axle called the Electric Rear Axle Drive (ERAD). The ERAD debuted in 2015 and has been linked to catastrophic failures and large repair bills reported on forums, social media, by mechanics, and in Volvo technical journals. The ERAD enables independent rear-wheel electric drive and reduces driveline losses compared with integrated-motor solutions, but its complexity can deter traditional mechanics. Dealer repairs can exceed $10,000 and failure patterns vary among owners.
Read at InsideEVs
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