Owners have filed 18 complaints on the Volvo S90, covering 1998–1998. The system named most often is Service Brakes (5 reports). Worst years by volume: 1998; cleanest: 1998. 2 reports describe a crash. On average the car was 4.7 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Volvo S90
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 18 S90 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Service Brakes 5 Read
Brake pads are burning out. Consumer has taken the vehicle to dealership 13 times for replacement of brakes and pads.*ak
Brakes and rotors failed. Nlm
No summary listed for above vehicle
Vehicle Speed Control 4 Read
While backing into my garage on 2/6/2010, my 1998 volvo s90 suddenly accelerated. I realized that the car was speeding and I applied the brake. Unfortunately, the car was going so fast that it crashed into a wooden platform in my garage. The platform and my car were severely damaged. The platform has been repaired;…
The contact owns a 1998 volvo s90. The gear shift became stuck when the contact attempted to drive the vehicle in reverse. She pressed the gear release button and placed the vehicle into reverse. The vehicle surged forward and crashed into the garage wall and then into the house. The vehicle, garage wall, and house…
S10 appropriate handling- letter from regarding volvo problems *tgw the consumer stated the engine would race in an erratic manner for no particular reason as high as 5,000 RPM's. Using the brake had no effect. The consumer stated he had to shift the vehicle in park to stop the vehicle. The consumer has since traded…
Visibility 2 Read
The sun roof struts failed intermittently when trying to open/close the sun roof. The dealership repaired the problem once, but the consumer is still having the same problems
Window surfaces appear etched making visibility poor at night and during rain
Structure 2 Read
Automatic door lock. Air conditioning
Inside main lock switch on the dashboard failed. Mjs
Engine And Engine Cooling 1 Read
While driving at regular speed engine cut off without a warning
Parking Brake 1 Read
The contact stated while performing a state inspection of the vehicle, it was determined the parking brake lines were worn and fractured. The parking brake lines were previously replaced for the same condition, but the problem had reoccurred. The dealer and manufacturer were notified
Power Train 1 Read
I am the owner of a 1998 volvo s90 with 69,000 miles. The etm unit on the car has failed. I did some research on it and found that it is a known problem with that car. It causes the transmission to act erratically. My mechanic has told me that even if I change it , it will fail again in a short while because it has a…
Steering 1 Read
Transmission shifter sticks constantly. Currently, it sticks in park. Vehicle towed to the dealer. *ak noises coming from steering. Gear shift did not release, washers are inoperable, key sticks in ignition.*ts also the power steering rack and antenna were replaced
S90 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Engine And Engine Cooling | 2 | — |
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 | 13 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.4 |
| Worst single series | 3 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.7 years |
A model average of 1.4 hides a worst series at 3. 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
- No ads, on every page
- 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 S90?
By complaint volume, 1998 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 S90 years are the cleanest?
1998 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Volvo S90 have?
18 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1998–1998. Of those, 2 describe a crash and 0 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.