Owners have filed 12 complaints on the Volvo VHD, covering 2001–2013. The system named most often is Engine And Engine Cooling (5 reports). Worst years by volume: 2005, 2007, 2004; cleanest: 2001, 2008, 2013. 0 reports describe a crash, 1 a fire. On average the car was 2.0 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Volvo VHD
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 12 VHD complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine And Engine Cooling 5 Read
Horton fan hub failure similar to action number ea09-008 for failure in kenworth and peterbilit trucks. I have a volvo truck (2007 vhd) that is on its third horton fan hub. Very expensive failure, identical design problem to kenworth and peterbilt, its time to link this problem to volvo too
2007 volvo vhd heavy truck. Volvo ved12 engine. Egr cooler failure resulting in heavy truck disabled on highway. Near miss accident from vehicles approaching from rear. Environmental discharge of engine coolant and heavy smoke. Speaking with volvo truck representatives and other volvo truck owners, it is likely that…
On may 9th, we purchased a new volvo v 40 station wagon from putnam volvo in burlingame, california. On may 17 2004 this brand new car stalled dead while moving forward in traffic, a week after it was purchased. We called the dealership and they blew us off and said they had never heard of such a problem and that it…
Electrical System 1 Read
The contact owns a 2013 volvo vhd. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, a loud whistling noise was heard from the front passenger's side air intake vent. The failure recurred whenever the vehicle was in operation. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle…
Fuel System 1 Read
Repairs on a class 8 over the road tractor, two fuel pump has being install with no,resort the third one will be install on friday the 23 of january hoping that will be enough to do the job
Suspension 1 Read
While driving at 40 mph consumer felt vibration, and then noticed wheels rolling passed the vehicle. The brakes were applied, but failed to stop the vehicle. It coasted to a complete stop on its own. Vehicle was towed to the impound. The right rear duel wheel separated and came off. The second tandem wheel bolts…
Power Train 1 Read
The vehicle started shaking uncontrollably followed by a loud banging noise coming from the front. Consumer drove vehicle to the dealer, and mechanic determined that the transmission bolt sheared off, causing the transmission to drop down from the vehicle. Transmission needed to be replaced
Visibility 1 Read
Dt: 2005 volvo s60 t5. The consumer stated the windshield has a glare from the dashboard which interferes with driver's visibility. The glare has been on windshield since the consumer purchased the car. There has not been any accident yet. The consumer contacted the dealership, and the dealership told the consumer to…
Wheels 1 Read
1. A tri axle truck owned by dahn tibbett and manufactured by volvo model vhd-84f was involved in three separate failures of the wheel studs which are part of the rear wheel hub assembly. The referenced truck was used on paved roadway hauling of sand, loam and aggregate material. All hauling was done with legal loads…
Steering 1 Read
Consumer states that when the truck is steered to the left the driver loses control the dealer has repaired the vehicle three times and the problem has reoccured. Nlm
VHD 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2008 | Fuel System, Diesel | — | — | |
| 2007 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | 1 | |
| 2005 | Power Train | — | — | |
| 2004 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — | |
| 2003 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — | |
| 2001 | Steering | — | — |
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 | 11 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.1 |
| Worst single series | 2 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 2.0 years |
A model average of 1.1 hides a worst series at 2. 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
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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 VHD?
By complaint volume, 2005, 2007, 2004 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 VHD years are the cleanest?
2001, 2008, 2013 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Volvo VHD have?
12 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2001–2013. 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.