Owners have filed 39 complaints on the Volvo V50, covering 2005–2011. The system named most often is Fuel/propulsion System (6 reports). Worst years by volume: 2005, 2006, 2007; cleanest: 2009, 2010, 2011. 0 reports describe a crash, 1 a fire. On average the car was 5.8 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Volvo V50
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 39 V50 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Fuel/propulsion System 6 Read
When I drive my car it stalls out on me all the time.. I am an 88 year old woman who has one car for myself my great grand daughter who is 15 and my son who is 50. This is extremely scary because I have to get on highway 50 to get to any stores. It has stalled out on me 4 times in one trip before and there are times…
I am 88 years old and depend on this vehicle ( our only vehicle) as my transportation for myself my son and my 15 year old great grand daughter. More times than I care to remember this car has stalled out on route 50, where I was traveling 50 to 55 miles an hour. I live about 1 hour away from ocean city, maryland.…
My volvo just shut off in traffic on rt 95 in dc. The check engine light came on and vehicle would not start. I researched the recall for volvo fuel systems and the dealer said I was not in the recall even though my year, state and I had the exact problem. Very frustrating. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the…
Engine And Engine Cooling 4 Read
The contact owns a 2005 volvo v50. The contact stated that the oil pan underneath his vehicle ruptured twice. While driving various speeds, the first failure occurred after driving over a bump in the road. The failure was noticed the second time while the vehicle was parked in the garage. The contact noticed oil…
At highway speed and without warning, engine stopped and the check engine light came on. We were on a highway with narrow break-down lanes and were in significant peril, surrounding by single and double tractor-trailers in mountainous area on interstate-90 in western massachusetts. This event was truly terrifying.…
1. The car, volvo v50 2005, was driven in a busy highway at 65 mph suddenly the speed dropped to 25 mph quickly. The dashboard started showing warning reduced engine performance. This was very dangerous when I had my children in the car in a busy highway. I searched in the web, reduced engine performance happens a lot…
Service Brakes 3 Read
On 2010 volvo,v-50 , we just bought my wife does not have any trouble switching her right foot from accelerator to the brake pedal, and back again,but it seems no matter which shoes I'm wearing ,I wear size 12 d,my foot has a tendency to catch between the pedals. I brought this to the attention of the volvo store of…
I had the brake pads replaced, then the pump only to not be able to stop the car because of the booster pump! I went right through a stop sign. The mechanic said he sees this problem all of the time with these cars
The 2005 volvo v50 with 22,000 miles did not perform as I felt it should when I applied the brakes. I felt shaking and the wheel felt out of control when using the brakes
Electrical System 3 Read
Failure to notify owners of a potentially deadly, known defective part that results in massive corrosion of electronics and cem causing engine to quit working. Electronics began to quit working while traveling. We took the car into a dealership service garage and turned the ignition off. They were unable to start the…
I dove my car in the morning when stop in the middle of street and call to aaa for towing to fix I brought the alternator I think the was fixed but I put the new battery december 3 still my car make some noise I think is electrical problem but I discover has leek inside the passenger side back and front is like pool I…
Remote key transmitter on 2005+ volvo v50 is a personal safety hazard and potential swindle for volvo on selling replacement transmitters. The design is such that the key will inadvertently fall off the valet key (which incidentally cannot be used to start the car). The latching mechanism is in close proximity (+/-…
Tires 3 Read
Sudden flat (not blowout); left rear. Tire unrecoverable
Side wall bubble leading to low speed (<10 mph) blowout
Slow leak, left rear passenger tire
Steering 3 Read
Issue: car would not start and "steering locked, please try again" error message was displayed. The wheel is not locked, I can turn it, but the engine will not start and it keeps on giving me the same message. I had to have my car towed to the dealer who explained this is a part failure and is charging me $434.00 to…
The car began making howling noises when turning right. The noises were coming from the right front wheel area. The car is an AWD model with manual 6 speed transmission. It was taken to the dealer to determine the source of the noise. Investigation revealed that the right front hub assembly was failing and required…
The contact owns a 2005 volvo v50. While pulling out of the driveway and making a right turn, there was an abnormal noise coming from the front of the vehicle. The noise recurred periodically. In addition, when driving over a slight bump, the vehicle felt as if the bottom would detach. The vehicle was taken to an…
Suspension 3 Read
3 separate issues: 1. Electrical: power windows and power locks sporadically stop working. This started happening around march of 2011. This happens without warning and does not matter if the car is in motion or not. 2. Suspension: after only 33,000 miles of driving in southern california mild weather, several parts…
Oil pan failure, leading to oil leak. This was caused by oil pan impact on road while traversing a slight dip in the roadway. Pan cracked due to defective design of either the pan or the vehicle suspension. Dealer and manufacturer do not accept any responsibility for this
Car has had poor steering and noise coming from the front end - repairs made to left front and right front - noise continues right front - repaired again and now in volvo of santa monica for 3rd repair to right front; all repairs involve suspension issues and part such as joints and wheel axel. Noises are when car is…
Fuel System 3 Read
The v50 t5 began to shake and tremble when started and placed in reverse. Driver thought the car had a flat tire. Inspected vehicle and shut car down. Turned engine back on and put in reverse. Limited power when pressing on the gas pedal. No turbo power. Pedal placed to floor and little to no speed. Vehicle trembled…
Car breakdown required the following parts to be replaced - start control module, pump control module, fuel pressure sensor
The contact owns a 2005 volvo v50. The contact stated that while exiting a parking space the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the fuel pump and the central electrical module were defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer…
V50 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Unknown Or Other | — | — | |
| 2010 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic,power Train | — | — | |
| 2009 | Electrical System,structure | — | — | |
| 2007 | Steering,electrical System | — | 1 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2005 | Electrical System | — | — |
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 | 32 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.2 |
| Worst single series | 3 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.8 years |
A model average of 1.2 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
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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 V50?
By complaint volume, 2005, 2006, 2007 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 V50 years are the cleanest?
2009, 2010, 2011 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Volvo V50 have?
39 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2005–2011. Of those, 0 describe a crash and 1 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.