Owners have filed 787 complaints on the Volvo S80, covering 1999–2016. The system named most often is Vehicle Speed Control (144 reports). Worst years by volume: 2000, 1999, 2001; cleanest: 2014, 2011, 2012. 38 reports describe a crash, 18 a fire. On average the car was 6.4 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Volvo S80
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 787 S80 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Vehicle Speed Control 144 Read
Drove to toronto from windsor ontario and came off the highway and came to stop at red light behind another vehicle and the car suddenly accelerated to 6000 RPM and I put the brake on but the car wheels kept spinning and put on the hand brake=and finally shut off the motor after colliding with car in front . The…
The car hesitates when pressure is applied to the gas pedal, and in order to speed up the pedal has to be pushed again. I have complained to the service department several times. The second time I complained the service manager drove the car and said it the way the car was suppose to be, the computer system worked…
The contact stated while in reverse the vehicle accelerated suddenly and ran into a cactus. As a result, the vehicle sustained body damage. The dealership inspected the vehicle; however they were unable to duplicate the problem. The vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop, which replaced the rear passenger…
Electrical System 98 Read
While driving between 35 to 40 miles per hour for approximately 5 minutes, I began to smell something burning. There was no engine nor temperature indicator lit up on the dash. Assuming it was from a passing vehicle, I continued to drive for 1 to 2 minutes. Then looking in the rear view mirror, I could see black smoke…
The contact owned a 2003 volvo s80. While parked, the battery compartment caught fire without warning. The fire department extinguished the fire and filed a report. There were no injuries. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. The vehicle was…
Vehicle caught fire under the hood, possible electrical system wiring failure. Nlm
Engine And Engine Cooling 93 Read
B+ battery cable at starter solenoid shorted to starter case and grounded. Causing a fire in engine compartment. Car shut down without warning. Engine went off, lights went out all in an instant. Emergency flashers were inoperative. Pulled off to the side of the road and stopped using the emergency brake. Smoke was…
- the contact called regarding the 2000 volvo s80. The contact stated that the check engine light and the emission service light kept turning on, the failure mileage was 32,000. The local volvo dealer refused to diagnose the vehicle because of past problems regarding the bill. The contact stated that there were no…
Driving on freeway at night, experienced a sudden loss of power. Engine check light came on. Fortunately coasted to a stop on an exit ramp. Upon stopping observed smoke coming through the edges of the hood. Turned off the ignition and exited the car. Noticed a flame under the engine compartment. Within one minute the…
Fuel System 72 Read
On june 18 2009 I was driving the car and all the sudden the car just died completely. No accident occurred as I was driving in my subdivision and there were no cars around me. I could imagine there might well be a serious accident involved if I was driving on a busy street or on the highway. In addition to this…
Re: 2003, volvo s80. I had just pulled into a parking space at my preschool son's school, I went to shift gears and take my foot off the brake and my car had a sudden accelertation causing me to be without control of my car for over 50 feet, hitting a tree, 3 shrubs and a 3000 lb. Rock. My preschooler and I sustained…
The contact owns a 2016 Volvo S80. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle jerked and stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact pulled over safely to the side of the roadway and restarted the vehicle. The contact also stated whenever the fuel tank was below half…
Suspension 57 Read
1) events leading up to failure: purchased new volvo s80 car on 9/3/2005 with 813 miles, drove it home. No information was given on the 813 miles already on the car. The next day there were oil puddles underneath car and oil was all over the passenger side frame underneath the car. The car was taken in for service…
Tla* the contact owns a 2004 volvo s80. While driving approximately 55 mph, the vehicle veered to the right and drove into an embankment. The front passenger side wheel separated from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not…
While driving at 50 mph, road was clear, consumer didn't have any warning signs, and vehicle swerved to the right and came through guardrail. On december 10th, took vehicle to dealer for a clunking noise
Power Train 54 Read
The contact owns a 2015 volvo s80. While stationary the vehicle rolled forward after the contact exited the vehicle. The vehicle almost ran over the contact the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was approximately 12,000.…
My car has the start/stop function. It has a button to manually deactivate the start/stop system but it has to be pushed every time the car is restarted. My husband was driving the car a couple of weeks ago and decided to stop at a convenience store to get a pepsi. He parked in a parking space. He didn't realize that…
I ordered my s80 from autonation volvo irvine april 23, 2013. It was manufactured on july 4, 2013 and I accepted delivery at the volvo facility in gothenburg. I immediately returned the auto to volvo for shipment to the us. I received the car on oct 11. I took the car to autonation for service on oct 9, 2013, feb 11,…
Steering 42 Read
The contact owns a 2000 volvo s80. While driving at 7 mph the steering wheel locked. The vehicle crashed into a tree and rolled over. Upon impact, the air bags did not deploy. The road conditions were clear. The vehicle has not been inspected to determine the cause of the failure. The current and failure mileage were…
Dealer advised car had a defective steering rack, which was replaced along with associated "o" rings. Eleven days after warranty work was completed, owner was driving vehicle when the car caught on fire. Fire was attributed to a "crimped" o-ring. Dealer replaced the o-ring and has been test driving vehicle since then.…
A batch of metal used for the steering wheel trim prematurely wears down at the base of the steering wheel in 2 locations out of sight with normal use and becomes razor sharp. When turning the wheel, the spinning razor edge can cause the driver to lose control due to sudden pain due to slicing into the fingers. The…
Service Brakes 40 Read
The contact owns a 2005 volvo s80. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 mph, the vehicle started to rattle and smoke was emitting from the front of the vehicle without warning. The contact tried to merge over to the slower lane and discovered that the brake pedal had become inoperable. The vehicle…
After about one year of use the brake pedal goes too low before the braking effect takes place. Resulted in accident. Problem many times reported to the dealer.the dealer admits that there are many similar complaints from customers. Still dealer insists that this is not a problem but this is a construction difference
I want to make you aware of a very serious car accident that my mother had on 9-5-18. She was driving her 2000 volvo s80 when her car began to accelerate on its own. She was not able to control the car. My mom had her foot on the brake but that did not stop the vehicle. Unfortunately, at that point the car was out of…
S80 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Electrical System,engine | — | — | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2014 | Power Train | — | — | |
| 2013 | Engine | — | — | |
| 2012 | Power Train | — | — | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 1 | 1 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2009 | Electrical System,exterior Lighting | — | — | |
| 2008 | Air Bags,seat Belts,fuel/propulsion System | 3 | — | |
| 2007 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 1 | 2 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags,seat Belts | 4 | — | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 1 | 1 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 1 | 2 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 7 | 2 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 13 | 7 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 4 | 3 |
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 | 254 |
| Average complaints per series | 3.1 |
| Worst single series | 19 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.4 years |
A model average of 3.1 hides a worst series at 19. 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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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
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 S80?
By complaint volume, 2000, 1999, 2001 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 S80 years are the cleanest?
2014, 2011, 2012 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Volvo S80 have?
787 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1999–2016. Of those, 38 describe a crash and 18 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.