Owners have filed 1,041 complaints on the Volvo S60, covering 2001–2018. The system named most often is Electrical System (148 reports). Worst years by volume: 2001, 2004, 2002; cleanest: 2018, 2011, 2009. 48 reports describe a crash, 22 a fire. On average the car was 6.8 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Volvo S60
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 1,041 S60 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 148 Read
Purchased a brand new 2016 volvo s60 - the car at incident date had 200 miles on it. While driving in traffic on a california freeway - the car lost all power, steering, lights, etc while in the number 4 of 7 lane freeway at night. The car was blacked out, no lights, no power, no engine, stalled without power in the…
The contact owns a 2014 volvo s60. While entering a commercial garage and slightly depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle accelerated without warning. As a result, the contact crashed into two parked vehicles. The air bags failed to deploy. There were no injuries and a police report was filed. The vehicle was…
While driving car, a fire started under the hood near the headlight , flames were flying although car had no engine light and ran great. Pulled over and people had fire extinguisher and fire company came to make sure if was all out. Extensive damage done to car. I am told it should of blown a fuse instead of lighting…
Fuel System 138 Read
On september 18 I was traveling down interstate 10 when my 2004 volvo s60 completely stopped running while going 70 mph. I was unable to get the car out of the traffic (no power to drive to the shoulder). My car was completely useless. I called 911 and roadside assistance to get help before I was hit (I was unable to…
2001 volvo s60 2.4t stalled on nj state highway 21 in newark, nj due to a failed etm. This resulted in the car being rear ended in the right lane causing $6927.61 in body damage. The cost of replacing the etm was an additional $753.33
The contact owns a 2001 volvo s60. While the vehicle was parked, the contact smelled a strong odor of gasoline coming from the vehicle. He also noticed a puddle of gasoline underneath the middle rear of the vehicle. He took the vehicle to a local mechanic and they replaced the fuel pump. He has not notified the dealer…
Engine 121 Read
The engine compartment was destroyed by a fire. The car was parked and unoccupied when a doorman noticed the problem and called the fire department. Sffd extinguished the fire
On 4/6/2026 At about 2:30 p.m. My son [XXX] stated that he started the car and was in the process of driving out of the parking lot when he saw smoke coming thru the vents in the car. My son [XXX] stated that he got out the car and opened the hood and the car was on fire. [XXX] stated that he called the fire…
The contact owns a 2004 volvo s60. The contact stated that while stationary, the engine caught fire. The contact stated that smoke entered into the cabin of the vehicle. The contact exited the vehicle and opened the hood, and the engine was surrounded by flames. A police or fire department report was not filed. An…
Engine And Engine Cooling 106 Read
I-55 south shortly before weber road exit I was on the left lane traveling 30 mph, decided to change to middle lane, signaled and while in process of lane change, car started to go out of control. Then steered to the left, and was heading towards cement divider. To avoid that I steered right, at this point car started…
The contact owns a 2004 volvo s60. The contact was driving approximately 30 mph when the vehicle abnormally accelerated until crashing. There were no injuries. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer but the failure was not diagnosed. The vehicle was repaired for the body damages. The failure and current mileage…
The contact owns a 2002 volvo s60 2.4. The contact was driving 70 mph when a loud explosion emitted from under the hood and smoke entered the interior. The vehicle then stalled and was towed to an authorized dealer. The dealer stated that oil was not flowing into the engine and the bearings were melted. The…
Vehicle Speed Control 79 Read
Brakes , and vacuum booster, speed control I experienced a sudden acceleration phenomenon and reached speeds of 100+ mph I manipulated the brakes and the gas in order to safe my life I eventually got my speeds down but it was too late I was ejected from the vehicle and nearly died my brakes scrubbed and I pressed my…
Volvo arrived at the hiking trailhead parking lot at approximately 10 miles an hour, slowed down more to select parking space then turn right into space in front of a cement outhouse. Space had a cement parking block. As the car was about to come to a complete stop in the space, it suddenly accelerated on its own as…
The contact owns a 2008 volvo s60. When the vehicle stopped with the contacts foot on the brake pedal, the vehicle surged forward, resulting in a crash. A police report was not filed and there were no injuries. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where they were unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle…
Power Train 59 Read
My vehicle was parked in a grocery store lot. I entered the vehicle to back it out of its parking spot. It was next to a full sized van which had carpet cleaning equipment mounted inside. I started the car and placed it in reverse as it began to accelerate on its own. I tried to slow the vehicle with the brake which…
On the above date I started my vehicle and put the vehicle in reverse to pull out of parking space. Immediately after releasing my foot from the brake and before touching the gas pedal, the car accelerated in reverse so fast that I bounced off a cement pole in the middle of the parking lot. The force was so great that…
When pulling into a parking space at my daughter's school, vehicle suddenly accelerated over the sidewalk and struck the building. Transmission popped in reverse and vehicle accelerated backwards. Even with the brake pedal all the way to the floor, vehicle would not stop. I forced the transmission into park and turned…
Fuel/propulsion System 52 Read
The low pressure fuel sensor on these vehicles is known by manufacturer to fail. This failure can cause hard start conditions, taking over 5 seconds at times to start the vehicle. The main danger of this comes from the fact this is a vehicle equipped with auto stop/start technology. I have experienced near misses due…
1st incident, december 2012. About 760 miles on new car. Quarter tank of fuel. Traveling at 65 mph on interstate, vehicle lost power, and had to coast to a stop at side of road. Fortunately in rural area with low traffic so no problems. After towing to dealer, no problem identified... Ecm-p008700 code reported as fuel…
I had a 2008 volvo s60 and now i have a 2013 volvo s60. And the same exact thing happened with both of them. Both cars had more than half a tank of gas and while driving on the freeway they started to stutter and then the car just shut off while i was driving. I was lucky to be close to an exit and i had to let the…
Air Bags 44 Read
The contact owns a 2006 volvo s60. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 mph, the vehicle became involved in a crash with another vehicle and the air bag warning light illuminated. The contact heard a loud bang and a burning odor emitted from the air bag. However, the air bag did not deploy. A police…
The contact owns a 2015 volvo s60. While driving 5 mph pulling into the garage, the vehicle independently accelerated to 60 mph. The vehicle crashed into the garage and the air bags failed to deploy. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent lot. The vehicle was…
The contact owns a 2015 Volvo S60. The contact stated that while attempting to park in a parking garage, and applying the brake, her vehicle accelerated and crashed into a concrete wall, causing the air bag to deploy. The contact stated that she did apply the brake to avoid the crash, however, the brakes did not…
S60 years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Electrical System,engine | — | — | |
| 2017 | Engine | 1 | — | |
| 2016 | Electrical System,electronic Stability Control (esc) | 1 | — | |
| 2015 | Air Bags,forward Collision Avoidance | 3 | 2 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 4 | 1 | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 7 | — | |
| 2011 | Engine And Engine Cooling | 2 | — | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 4 | — | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 2 | 1 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 1 | 1 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 12 | 10 | |
| 2003 | Electrical System | 1 | 1 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 3 | 2 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 5 | 4 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 399 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.6 |
| Worst single series | 16 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.8 years |
A model average of 2.6 hides a worst series at 16. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the S60?
By complaint volume, 2001, 2004, 2002 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which S60 years are the cleanest?
2018, 2011, 2009 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Volvo S60 have?
1,041 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2001–2018. Of those, 48 describe a crash and 22 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.